ActionLine…Your Board Meeting Update February 11, 2015

Staff assignment approved

Aldine ISD Trustees approved three staff assignments during the Feb. 10 Board meeting.

Dr. Sara Ptomey was named assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction after serving as executive director of curriculum and instruction. Dr. Ptomey received her bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1979 from Drexel University. She earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 1991 from the University of St. Thomas and in 2006 she earned her Doctor of Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University. She is certified for this position. She began her teaching career as an elementary teacher in 1989 with Houston ISD. In 1992, she moved to Aldine ISD to serve as an ESL teacher at Stephens Elementary School. She transferred to Reed Intermediate in 1994 where she taught math. In 1997, she was promoted to program director for intermediate and middle school mathematics. In 2003, she was named program director for secondary mathematics and was promoted to her current position as executive director of curriculum and instruction in 2007. Dr. Ptomey has 26 years of experience in the field of education and she has spent 22 of those years with Aldine ISD.

LaTonia Amerson was named principal of Eisenhower Ninth Grade School after serving as the assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at that same school. Amerson received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1998 from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned her master’s degree in administration in 2007 from Sam Houston State University. She is certified for this position. She began her teaching career in 2004 with Aldine ISD as a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Parker Intermediate School. In 2008, she was named assistant principal at Conley Elementary School. She transferred to Eisenhower High School in 2012 where she served as an assistant principal. She moved into her current position as an assistant principal at Eisenhower Ninth Grade School in 2012. Amerson has spent all nine of her years in education with Aldine ISD.

Inetta Carter was named principal of Cypress Point Elementary School (which will open in August of 2015) after serving as the principal of Harris Academy. Carter received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1991 from Texas Southern University. She earned her master’s degree in counseling in 2000 from Prairie View A&M University and another master’s degree in administration in 2005 also from Prairie View A&M University. She is certified for this

position. She began her teaching career in 1991 with Aldine ISD as a classroom teacher at Goodman Elementary School. In 1999, she moved to Gray Elementary School to serve as a skills specialist. She was named assistant principal at Harris Academy in 2006 before being named the school’s principal in 2012. Carter has spent all 23 of her years in education with Aldine ISD. Calendar approved for 2015-16 school year

Aldine ISD Trustees approved two calendars for the 2015-16 school year during the Feb. 10 Board meeting. The first one approved would make Monday, Aug. 24, the first day of instruction (current state law states that school can start no earlier than the fourth Monday of August). The last day of instruction will be Thursday, June 2. Other key dates are:

•Sept. 7 (Monday) – Labor Day Holiday •Nov. 23-27 (Monday-Friday) – Thanksgiving Holiday •Dec. 21-Jan. 1 (Monday-Friday) – Mid-Winter Break •March 14-18 (Monday-Friday) – Spring Break •June 2 (Thursday) – Last day of instruction •June 3 (Friday) – Staff development day •Three-day weekend: September (Labor Day), October (Columbus

Day), January (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), February (President’s Day), March (Good Friday) and May (Memorial Day)

If new legislation gives school districts flexibility with the school start date, a second calendar will be considered. The first day of school would be Monday, Aug. 17. The Thanksgiving break, Mid-Winter break and Spring break would remain the same as the calendar that was approved with an Aug. 24 start of school date, as would the three-day weekends in September, October, January, February, March and May.

Students, employees recognized

A number of students and Aldine ISD employees were recognized during the Feb. 10 Board of Trustees meeting.

Dr. Jeff Laird, director of secondary performing arts education, announced that two AISD band students have been named all state by the Texas Music Educators Association. Eisenhower High student DeVionne Jones was named an all-state trombone

player. He is under the direction of Michael Owen. MacArthur High student Jorge Galvan was named an all-state alto sax player. He is under the direction of Jose Diaz. Galvan and Jones had to go through three rounds of auditions to earn all-state honors. Being named TMEA all state is the highest honor a high school musician can attain.

Dani Sheffield, executive director of child nutrition services, named the cafeteria staff at Nimitz Ninth Grade School as her department’s Team of the Month. The staff is headed by manager Bobbie Castanon. The staff consists of specialists Kendra Broussard, Marilyn Brown,

Zandra Flowers, Maria Gonzalez, Mary Howard, Nelly Martinez, Kalynn McCarty, Maria Rodriguez and Angeli Williams. The CNS Supervisor is Terri Littleton and the school’s principal is Tonya Landry.

Emitte Roque, executive director of buildings and properties, named Hall Center for Education as his department’s Building of the Month. On hand to accept the award were head custodian Maria Rosario Perales and Principal Anthony Watkins.

Roque named Oleson

Elementary School as his department’s Yard of the Month. On hand to accept the award were head custodian Santos Ipina, yard man Joe L. Brown and Principal Guadalupe Munoz.

Robin DeRouen, executive director of transportation, named Yolanda Osborne as the department’s Employee of the Month. Osborne is a Star driver at the Westside Transportation Department.

Grants announced

Stacey Smith, program director of resource development, announced a number of grants during the Feb. 10 Board of Trustees meeting.

Debera Thomas, principal of Kujawa Elementary School, and teachers Linda Johnson and Jenita Thomas secured a $2,360 grant from Donor’s Choose to purchase science books and experiment kits to assist students explore STEM education. Johnson and fellow Kujawa teacher Fatimata Lam also secured a $700 grant from Target to fund a fourth-grade field trip to the San Jacinto Monument.

A number of Aldine ISD schools earned a $5,000 grant from H-E-B as part of the grocery chain’s “Excellence in Education” awards program. AISD is one of five finalists for H-E-B’s Early Childhood Award. On hand to accept the grant during the Feb. 10 Board meeting were Aldine Area Superintendent Dr. Linda Rodriguez, deSantiago EC/Pre-K principal Maria Galindo, Keeble EC/Pre-K principal Michelle Burke, MacArthur Area Superintendent Ann Stockwell, Hinojosa EC/Pre-K principal Sandra Arredondo, Garcia-Leza EC/Pre-K principal Juan Santos Garza, Nimitz Area Superintendent Pat Wade and Jones EC/Pre-K principal Gladys Moton, Eisenhower/Carver Area Superintendent Dr. Todd Davis, Vines EC/Pre-K principal Linda Reed, and Reece Academy principal Sherrie Batro.

Robin DeRouen, executive director of transportation, and Alfred DeBose, assistant director of transportation, were awarded $100,000 by the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase five new buses as part of its Bus Rebate Program. Aldine ISD was one of only two school districts in the Houston area to be selected by the EPA for the monetary award.

Program presented

Akilah Willery, program direction of instructional technology and IT specialists Brad Kaplan, Sandy Faler, Joshua Hicks, Jacob Elmhorst and Chad Cochran, presented the program during the Feb. 10 Board meeting. The group provided an overview of the Technology and Curriculum Conference of Aldine (TCCA), which is the second

largest technology conference in Texas. The annual event is held in October in the district and during the Feb. 10 presentation, the IT specialists presented a video highlighting the 2014 event. The 2015 TCCA event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 17.