NEWSLETTER OF THE COPPELL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

WINTER 2013

VOLLEYBALL WINS BACK-TO-BACK STATE TITLES!

expressexpressINSIDE E•XPRESS:

Superintendent Speaks ...• Trustees Recognized

• Volleyball Accolades

In The Classroom ...• THPS Consortium Update

• Sustainability Challenge

• Gifted and Talented

Program Evaluation

• Standards-based Reporting

• High Stakes Testing

Partner Pride ...• Education Foundation Grants

District Happenings ...• High School Options

• Important Dates

• Inclement Weather

Erica Bohannon named MVPCowgirls Do It Again … Texas 5A State Champions

Chiaka Ogbogu Named Gatorade Texas Volleyball Player of the Year

Sustainability Challenge Committee AssessingGifted & Talented Program

Tracy Fisher named the 2012 State Parent of the Gifted

Town Center students work in their campus garden

Bond Committee Recommendations

Future Elementary Site in Cypress Waters

Volleyball photos courtesy of www.timothymartinphotography.com

Mobile AppComing in March

T his year, we have continued to make good progress in prepar-ing students for a successful 21st century future that includes college and career readiness. Under the district’s theme, “Operation Transformation,” we have sharpened our focus on

student engagement in the curriculum (for learning at a much deeper level) while exploring new ways to respond to fast-paced societal chang-es led by advances in technology.

As we move forward in 2013, we will continue: • Working with our community to address the growth needs over the short term (2-4 years). The student enrollment growth we have been experiencing in the southern sector of the district has been managed for several years through bussing; however, with the rapid pace of de-velopment in the North Lake area, our community has asked that we look at a more permanent solution which will more closely align with the district’s neighborhood schools philosophy. CISD is poised to meet these needs through a May bond election which would include the construction of an elementary school in the new Cypress Waters development. • Serving in a co-leadership capacity of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium (23 school districts from across the state) as we work with the legislature to develop the next generation of standards, assessments, and accountability measures. The work of these 23 pilot school districts will have a crucial impact on the success of future learn-ers and in returning our schools to local control. We are leading the way for other public schools to follow.

• Participating as a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the state. We hope to successfully mitigate some of the adverse impacts of the budget cuts - such as higher class sizes - imposed during the last legislative session. We will be working with our representatives during the upcom-ing session to help pass laws that will support public schools in Texas.

• Helping our students on their path to graduation and meeting state testing requirements. We are working at the legislative level to make changes in the state’s assessment and accountability system that will allow our teachers to do much more than teach to a test andprepare our learners to do more than bubble-in answer grids.

• Encouraging our learners to enroll in more rigorous coursework such as International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement. We remain confident our test scores will continue to increase despite national scores that have flat-lined.

As I mentioned earlier, the pace at which CISD continues to experience transition in our classrooms (to stay abreast of the needs and desires of our society) is rapid, and these changes present a huge challenge. We are leading the way in this educational transformation, and I recognize that many others (educators, parents, and business leaders) are looking to us for answers.

For the past several months, the 2013 Bond Steering Committee has been meeting to assess various campus and district needs in Coppell ISD. They made their recommen-dations to the Board of Trustees during the Regular Monthly Meeting on Monday, December 17. The Board will consider calling a bond election in February. If called, early voting would begin on April 29 and continue through May 7. Election Day would be Saturday, May 11.

I am proud of the work of our stu-dents and staff and excited about your support of the lead-ership role we are taking in Coppell ISD to create a new system of public education in Texas!

Superintendent Speaks …

The month of January is “School Board Appreciation Month” in CISD and across the State of Texas. This year’s theme is “Rising to New Heights” – fitting for their volunteer service that gives all students their own “wings to soar”! The Board members were recognized for their outstanding leadership and service at the regular meeting on Monday, January 14. (Back row L-R) Judy Barbo (Place 6), Tom Hulme (Place 4), David Apple (Place 2/Vice President), Tracy Fisher (Place 7) (Front row L-R) Susie Kemp (Place 1/Secretary), Anthony Hill (Place 3/President), Amy Dungan (Place 5).

Denton Creek 5th grader Emilie Sangerhausen’s winning artwork was selected for CISD’s holiday greeting card.

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Board of Trustees

January is School BoardAppreciation Month

Can’t attend the Board meetings? Watch them streamed live on the website:

www.coppellisd.com/liveboardmeeting

Volleyball Accolades (cont’d. from cover)

• Laura Beaty – Academic All-State • Cassidy Pickrell – Academic All-State• Kylie Pickrell – 5A State Tournament Team

• Erica Bohannon – All-State Volleyball Team, MaxPreps Under Armour All-American Team/Honorable Mention

• Chiaka Ogbogu – 5A State Tournament Team, 4A/5A Athlete of the Year All-State Volleyball Team, MaxPreps Under Armour 1st Team All-American.

In The Classroom ...

Texas High Performance Schools Consortium

The Coppell Independent School District was honored to be selected as a member of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, along with 22 other districts from across the state of Texas. Dr. Turner is Co-Chairing the group, whose charge is to propose (to the Governor, Legislature and Commissioner of Education) new methods to transform the state’s standards, assessment and accountability systems.

“Our students need and deserve a system that supports 21st century learning with innovative and next-generation standards and account-ability, not one based on a single snap-shot test,” said Tabitha Branum, Executive Director of Leading and Learning.

The consortium delivered its first report to Commissioner Michael Wil-liams in early December. Next, they will make recommendations - in early February - to the legislature regarding waivers, such as exemptions from the STAAR and End of Course Exams (EOC) mandates. These exemptions are needed in order to give the 23 districts the necessary control to move forward in designing a multi-year rollout plan for a more accurate and informative accountability system.

The 23 districts have formed the following six working groups in order to complete their charge:

1. High Priority Learning Standards 4. Communications & the Digital Learning Environment 5. Transition2. Assessment and Accountability 6. Evaluation3. Waivers

Regardless of the legislative outcome, Coppell ISD is committed to find-ing better and more meaningful ways to communicate to students and the community on how our schools are performing. Continue to check the CISD website for updates.

Which Campus is the Greenest?CISD’s Sustainability Challenge

“Operation Transformation” is underway and sustainability is one way CISD is transforming classroom instruction. A district-wide challenge has been launched to increase sus-tainable practices at each campus. Campuses will compete within such categories as Green Spaces, Recycling, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Energy Conservation. Awards will be granted in each category as well as to the overall “green-est campus.” Groups of students from Holly Anderson’s CHS environmental science classes will meet with students to set goals and provide support.

Each category has four levels: Novice, Apprentice, Ad-vanced, and Expert. To achieve the Expert level within the Green Spaces category, a campus will maintain a school garden using environmentally friendly practices, including the use of compost and rain barrels. Within the Energy Con-servation category, the campus will utilize a student club or group to actively monitor electricity use, analyze energy data and communicate the need for energy conservation with the community. Expert campuses within the Carbon Dioxide Emissions category will increase the efficiency of traffic flow through the parent loop and have regular “walk to school” or “carpool” days to reduce pollution. Expert Recycling campuses will have clearly labeled recycling bins and will analyze data from trash audits to determine the effectiveness of their recycling program. Campuses will incorpo-rate methods that reduce the use of paper and plastic such as “trash free lunches” or the use of digital drop boxes.

Winning campuses will be announced on or around Earth Day each year. The date for spring 2013 has been set for April 22nd.

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Make your voice heard about high stakes testing!

Join the Coppell PASA (Parents for Authentic Student Assessment) and ask for a better state accountability system. Visit coppellpasa.org to learn more.

CISD has announced the Campus Teachers of the Year. (Back Row Standing L-R) Brian Choate-Cottonwood Creek and Wes Vanicek-NTH@C (Middle Row Standing L-R) Kelly Young-CHS, Kristy Cash-Wilson, Amanda Cooper-CMSE, Tracy Gipson-Valley Ranch, Colleen Michaelis-Pinkerton, Kelsey Donohue-Denton Creek, Kimberly Pope-CMSN,Cacey Narez-Lakeside (Sitting L-R) Shari Zoda-CMSW, Dianne Johnston-Mockingbird, Kelly Jackson-Town Center, Leah Schafer-Austin

The Mission

The Mission of the Coppell Independent School District,

as a committed and proven leader in educational

excellence, is to ensure our learners achieve personal

success, develop strong moral character, and become

dynamic leaders and global citizens with a zeal for

service by engaging each individual through

innovative learning experiences led by a

visionary staff and progressive community.

In The Classroom Continued ...

Gifted and Talented Program Evaluation

The district has formed a Gifted and Talented Program Evaluation Committee charged with systematically assessing CISD’s gifted and talented services. The CISD Gifted and Talented program is one of the largest programs in the district serving 26% of the student population (the State’s average is 8%).

The 30-member committee will use the comprehensive Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted and Talented Students as a bench-mark for evaluating the components of our program. The State’s plan includes a rubric for the following five evaluation areas:

• Student Assessment• Service Design• Curriculum and Instruction• Professional Development• Family/Community Involvement

At the May 20, 2013 school board meeting, the committee will present their findings and recommendations for moving the gifted and talented services towards an exemplary program. Following the committee’s report, Kristen Brown–Director of Advanced Academics and CTE, will work with educators this summer to review and develop a plan for the program in response to the committee’s recommen-dations. “This will give us the opportunity to update our GT program with 21st century learners in mind. We want to ensure that our gifted program is reflective of the best practices in the field and aligns with ‘Operation Transformation’ throughout CISD,” said Brown.

Continuing with Standards-based Reporting

Since 2004, CISD has gradually integrated standards-based report cards in Kindergarten through third grade. Standards-based report cards list the most important skills (standards) students should learn. Instead of grades, students receive marks such as “mastered expec-tations” or “approaching expectations” that show how well they have mastered a skill. Standards-based grading more accurately assesses students’ progress by evaluating specific standards.

A committee of educators and parents determined that stan-dards-based reporting at 4th and 5th grade needed to be slightly different than standards-based reporting at K-3. The committee stip-ulated that grading at 4th and 5th grade would be a dual reporting system including both grades and progress towards standards.

In preparation for our expansion of a dual grading system at the fourth grade level next school year, the regular report card will be sent home as well as a progress report (standards-based report card) for the last nine weeks (June 2013). Parent information sessions about the dual reporting system will be held in April and May of 2013. Please look for more information about this from your child’s school.

High Stakes Testing Update

In 2007, during the 80th Texas Legislative Session, Senate Bill 1031 was passed requiring 15 end-of-course (EOC) exams to be adminis-tered to students beginning with the freshman class of 2011-2012. The legislation also stated that EOC exam performance be afactor in earning a high school diploma. In addition to includingEOC exams in students’ graduation requirements, SB 1031mandated that 15 percent of a student’s final grade in a course be based on exam performance. In early December 2012, the Com-missioner waived the 15 percent rule for the 2012-2013 school year. Although EOC exam performance will not be included as 15 percent of a student’s grade, students are still required to meet the gradua-tion requirements associated with the exams. More information on graduation requirements is available on the Testing and Assessment page at www.coppellisd.com.

Kristi Scates, Austin Elementary PTO President, presented a High Stakes Testing Resolution to the CISD Board of Trustees. The resolution described weaknesses in the states’ new accountability system/assessments and included signatures of support from every PTO President (and their Board) in the district.

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Administration Leadership:

Dr. Jeff TurnerSuperintendent of Schools

Dr. Marilyn DenisonAssistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction

Brad HuntAssistant Superintendent for Administration

Sid GrantAssistant Superintendent for Business & Support Services

Kelly PennyChief Financial Officer

“The Discussion”“The Discussion” held on Wednesday, January 23rd in the CHS Lecture Hall, covered topics including 1) pitfalls of the new accountability system, 2) the initial report from the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium to the Commissioner of Education, and 3) community suggestions for accountability alternatives. To view this presentation, visit http://youtu.be/xqRUPJ2YpW0.

Partner Pride ...

Foundation’s Grant Patrol Delivers

Directors representing the Coppell ISD Education Foundation recently awarded innovative teaching grants on six campuses. Eighteen teachers (in classrooms impacting over 250 learners) were awarded $33,539 in grants. Once again, a variety of subject areas and student groups will be impacted by these grants. According to Foundation President Josh Imhoff, “These grants will offer our teachers additional funding for resources that will expand the innovative and engaging instructional lessons in their classrooms. We couldn’t be more pleased with the generosity of our community. This is really what the Foundation is all about … raising money to give back to the students and staff of CISD.”

For a detailed listing of grant awards for each campus, visit www.coppellisdef.com

You can be a part of funding innovative teaching grants like these by taking part in some of the Education Foundation’s fundrais-ers and events:

Red & Black AttackAnnual Drive Donate today

Foundation Plaza @ CHS StadiumBuy a brick for your senior by going towww.coppellisdef.com

2013 Run to Fund – 10k - 5k - Fun RunSAVE THE DATE: May 11, 2013

CISD Day @ The BallparkMay 29, 2013

Academic Recognition BanquetMay 7, 2013

For information about table sponsorships for the Student/Teacher Academic Recognition Banquet call 214.496.6054.

Town Center – $4500.00“Kids Getting Konnected with K’Nex”Through this grant, 2nd-5th grade students will be able to use K’Nex cubes to grasp abstract concepts such as the relationship between mass and distance, kinetic and potential energy and 3D geometric shapes.

Valley Ranch - $6987.46 “Garden of the Stars”A new outdoor learning garden, “Garden of the Stars,” will provide an environment for observation, investigation, problem solving, and hands-on learning for Pre-K-5 students.

Coppell High School - $2010.00“Future Success”Anatomy & Physiology students will experience hands-on manipulation using models of the human body.

Austin – $4061.93“iIntegrate - iCommunicate - iCreate - iPads in Art!”Through the unification of Art and iPads, Lisa Ric-ciardelli’s K-5 grade students will become better prepared to enter the 21st century workforce by learning art through the use of today’s authentic tools.

Coppell Middle School East – $2755.00“Adaptive Movement Using Technology”Students with disabilities from CMSE will use the technology provided through this grant to participate in sports via digital simulation.

Coppell Middle School East – $7479.60 “Using Technology to Add Quantitative Measures to Ecosystem Studies”This grant will help 6th, 7th and 8th grade sci-ence students improve understanding of system interactions within terrariums and aquariums by utilizing digital probes and data loggers.

Mockingbird – $5745.00“Global Collaboration – The World Moon Project” Susan Hall’s 5th grade students will be using their new iPads to gather data as they discuss precision and accuracy of measurements.

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January February March

April May June

Calendar

SPRING SEMESTER: January 22-June 5

GRADING PERIODS:

9 Week (Elementary): January 22-March 28 42 daysApril 1-June 5 47 days

Semester (Secondary): January 22-March 1 28 daysMarch 4-April 19 29 daysApril 22-June 5 32 days

January 14 CISD Board Meeting January 21 Holiday February 18 Professional Staff Dev. February 25 CISD Board MeetingMarch 4-8 Texas Public Schools Week March 11-15 Spring Break March 25 CISD Board MeetingMarch 29 Weather Day April 22 CISD Board MeetingApril 29 Chamber of Commerce Education Luncheon

Board Meetings Weather DaysHolidays Special Events Staff DevelopmentSpecial School Dates

May 7 Ed. Foundation Recognition BanquetMay 20 CISD Board MeetingMay 27 HolidayMay 29 CISD Day at the BallparkJune 5 Last Day of ClassesJune 6 CHS Graduation, 2:00 p.m./UNTJune 6 Weather DayJune 7 NTH@C Graduation, 2:00 p.m./IBC June 7 Professional Staff Development

Schools in the Coppell Independent School District are accredited by the Texas Education Agency. CISD is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, race, creed, age, sex, or disability.

Incoming Freshman Registration Information Date Event Location TimeNew Tech High @ Coppell Dates Jan. 31 1st Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMFeb. 7 2nd Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMFeb. 11 3rd Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMFeb. 13 4th Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMFeb. 15 Legacy Learner Application Deadline Feb. 19 5th/Make-up Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMFeb. 21 6th Parent Information Meeting NTH@C/Cafeteria 6:30 PMMar. 2 First Come, First Serve Applications Accepted 8:00 AMMar. 7 NTH@C Lottery Applications Due Mar. 8 NTH@C Lottery

Weighing High School Options

As spring registration approaches, students are beginning to think about the 2013-14 school year and the choices available through both Coppell High School and New Tech High @ Coppell. CHS and NTH@C will conduct site visits for all 8th graders in order to help facilitate a smooth transition to CISD high schools while exposing them to all available opportunities. Several informational meetings will be held this spring regarding registra-tion. See a complete timeline of important dates below.

Coppell High School Dates Date Event Location Time

Jan. 29 8th grade Preview Night for students & parents CHS 6-8:30 PMFeb. 3 CHS Counselor-parent meeting CHS Auditorium 1-2PM/3-4PMFeb. 5 8th grade Shadow Day-West CHS Feb. 6 8th grade Shadow Day-North CHS Feb. 7 8th grade Shadow Day-East CHS Feb. 7 CHS Counselor-parent meeting CHS Auditorium 6-7PM

Self-Control

Effort

Respect

Patience

Honesty

Inclement Weather … Parent Alert

In the event school must be cancelled due to inclement weather, the decision to close will be made as soon as possible, but no later than 6:30 am. CISD’s existing communication meth-ods, an automated notifications system will broadcast a closing status message via phone call and email.

Please do not call the district, schools, or the Transportation Dept. All information will be posted on the CISD Homepage (www.coppellisd.com) or you can call the CISD voice-mail system at 214.496.8901.

District Happenings ...

NOTE: Interested 8th grade students and parents must attend at least 2 of the 6 informational sessions to meet the requirements for submitting an application to NTH@C.