Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2011 Page: 3 of 14
fourteen pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
www.crowleystar.net
Thursday, September 29, 2011 ★ Crowley Star ★ Page 3
SCHOOL BOARD
Students will get some chances to retake tests
DAVE SORTER/CROWLEY STAR
Students from Sycamore Elementary School perform a dance to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month
at the Crowley ISD school board meeting Tuesday night. Many campuses are conducting art contests and
other activities to celebrate Hispanic heritage.
By DAVE SORTER
crowleystar@thestargroup. com
How many chances
should a student get to pass
the end-of-course exams
mandated by the new State
of Texas Assessment of Aca-
demic Readiness account-
ability system?
That was the question
debated by the Crowley ISD
school board Tuesday night
as it considered a new board
policy on grading. The key
phrase in the policy was,
“The district shall permit a
student who meets the cri-
teria detailed in the grad-
ing guidelines a reasonable
opportunity to redo an as-
signment or retake a test for
which the student received a
failing grade.”
Trustees approved the
policy, 6-1, with Sherri Whit-
ing voting no. She believes all
the extra chances that could
be provided are too much.
“We need to give kids a
deadline and not let them
wait until the last minute,”
Whiting said. “We give them
so many opportunities, but
they wait until it has to be
done. Are we allowing high
achievement when we tell
them, You have so much
time?’”
The issue rests on what
the definition of “reasonable
opportunity” is, Superinten-
dent Dan Powell said.
‘There are two extreme
schools of thought on this,”
Powell said. “One is there’s
a deadline, a test date, a date
an assignment has to be done
and has to be done right. The
other is that learning is a life-
long activity, and whether a
student demonstrates mas-
tery of the content on Oct. 23
or Nov. 3, as long as its done
in the school year, it doesn’t
matter. That’s where ‘reason-
able opportunity’ comes in.”
Teachers don’t want to
spend all their time grading
and re-grading work multiple
times, Powell added.
“So we need to define a
short period of time to resub-
mit something for the better
good,” he said. “A balance
between what teachers can
live with and students being
able to demonstrate mastery.
Ultimately, you don’t have
unlimited chances for do-
overs.”
The policy also includes
the state mandate that end-
of-course exams count for 15
percent of a student’s grade
in a course. The CISD add-
ed that retake scores would
count as 15 percent of the
grade only if it helps the stu-
dent earn credit for the class.
In other business, trust-
ees:
■ Discussed the for-
mulation of new campus
and district plans. Deputy
Superintendent Bill John-
son said the new plan will
include a timeline of how
principals are evaluated
and showing how measure-
ments and evaluations are
improved. Trustee Debbie
Alenius said she wants the
board to be able to see the
data being used before ap-
proving the plans.
■ Heard that the dis-
trict’s enrollment as of Sept.
20 was 15,062 students, 33
students less than the same
date last year. Because the
CISD staffed schools for
15,300 students, all classes
are at or below the state’s
maximum student-teacher
ratio, so no class-size waivers
are needed.
■ Approved a $25,000
donation of trees, shrubs and
plants for the Sewell Agricul-
ture Science Center from the
Texas Nursery Landscape As-
sociation.
■ Approved a condi-
tional contract with a part-
nership of Pepco and Envi-
romatic Systems to install
air-conditioning units if
the district receives a Texas
Cool Schools Grant worth
about $800,000. If the
grant is received, it will fund
new chiller units at Jackie
Carden Elementary School
and Crowley Middle School,
and drives for chill-water
systems at other campuses.
The school board met on
Tuesday instead of its usu-
al Thursday because some
trustees and administrators
are leaving today for the
Texas Association of School
Boards’ annual convention in
Austin.
NON-PROFIT
Meals-on-Wheels ready for third Crowley route
By DAVE SORTER
crowleystar@thestargroup. com
The Meals-on-Wheels
program has expanded in
the Crowley area to the point
at which a third route is
needed.
The Tarrant County
branch of the organization
that provides food and more
to homebound people —usu-
ally senior citizens —is seek-
ing five volunteers to staff
the new route, according to
Denise Harris, special events
coordinator for MOW-Tar-
rant County.
AWARD
FITZGIBBON
ABWA
announces
Woman of
the Year
Tris FitzGibbon of Crow-
ley was named the American
Business Women's Associa-
tion charter chapter of Bur-
leson's Woman of the Year at
an awards ceremony in July.
FitzGibbon has been a
member of the Burleson
ABWA charter chapter for
the past two years. She has
been a financial advisor for
Edward Jones since 2008
and was previously the own-
er/operator of Comet Clean-
ers and Fitz's Fine Dry Clean-
ers for 25 years. She was also
the owner of Stitch N Time
Embroidery.
She and her husband,
Mark FitzGibbon, have been
married for 25 years and have
five children, Megan, Taylor,
Ryan, Ashton and Devin.
FitzGibbon is an active
member of Burleson Bi-
ble Church, Burleson Area
Chamber of Commerce and
the Burleson Rotary Club.
She also volunteers weekly at
the Burleson Pregnancy Aid
Center.
“We’ve already got a few
people signed on and ready
to go,” Harris said. “Crowley
is kind of spread out, so we
need more people.”
About 25 clients are in
the Crowley area, which in-
cludes the unincorporated
part of Tarrant County sur-
rounding Crowley, and east
of Interstate 35W to Ren-
don. The new route, Harris
said, would be located in the
Garden Acres area, about
one mile east of I-35W off
of FM 1187. It will begin op-
eration when all volunteers
are found.
One of the current routes
is near Rendon, and the oth-
er is in Crowley. First United
Methodist Church of Crow-
ley is the area’s distribution
center.
“We’re getting more and
more clients in that area,”
Harris said. “It’s so spread
out; it’s kind of a rural area.”
To attract volunteers,
MOW is “just making an
appeal to the community,”
Harris said. “We’re on the
Internet, on Facebook, and
we’re constantly going to
churches.”
The only requirements
to volunteer to deliver the
meals are to have a vehicle
with insurance and to pass
a Department of Public
Safety background check.
Volunteers usually run a
route one day per week,
and the route usually takes
about one hour, Harris
said.
“We tell people, it’s one
gallon of gas, one day a week
and one hour a day,” she
added.
Meals-on-Wheels does
more than just deliver lunch
each weekday — food that
staff members eat each day
as well, Harris said.
‘They do yard mainte-
nance, social visits and even
minor home repair,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as
screwing in a light bulb.”
There’s even a pet pro-
gram, in which volunteers
come to a home once a month
with some bags of pet food.
That is paid for totally from
private funds.
That came about, Harris
said, because “some people
were sharing their meals with
their pets.”
Clients get a choice of
two meals each day — “my
favorite is the eggplant par-
mesan,” Harris said — and
special meals are offered,
such as diabetic meals, En-
sure for people watching
weight and frozen meals for
clients to keep.
“Being able to choose
meals is important for their
life,” Harris said. “They
don’t have control over
many things, being home-
bound, but this gives them
something they can control.”
The service is free to
homebound people, but they
may donate money to the
cause. Less than 7 percent of
the clients actually do so, so
fundraising along with public
money is necessary to pay for
the meals.
To volunteer, call 817-
258-6426 or visit www.meal-
sonwheels.org.
Get Otmed/
t
iW”
■ •
WJL »
rlk i
3s
^§j§i^
Smile! Now you can own for a lifetime the picture of that unforgettable
moment captured in the newspaper. Family, friends, sports and
special events or photos related to your business become timeless
when professionally matted and framed or printed on a t-shirt,
mug or mouse pad. Delivered to your door in a day or two!
Visit www.crowleystar.net
and click the blue button.
Obstetrics &
Gynecology
Chandra
Chellappan, M.D.
Chandra Chellappan, M.D., has joined Huguley Medical Associates and
opened an obstetrics and gynecology practice. She cares for women at
all stages of life, including pregnancies and well-woman check-ups.
Dr. Chellappan is trained on the da Vinci surgical system, a robotic
platform designed to expand the surgeon's capabilities and allow
complex surgery through small incisions. She also offers various
treatment options for both medical and surgical problems, including
several minimally invasive procedures performed in her office.
Dr. Chellappan completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at
John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. During her training, she also
provided obstetrical and gynecological medical care for Tarrant County
facilities. She earned her medical degree from Texas A&M University
Health Science Center College of Medicine, and she holds an
undergraduate degree in nutritional sciences from Texas A&M
University.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Dr. Chellappan welcomes new
patients and accepts most insurance plans, including Medicare and
Medicaid.
Chandra Chellappan, M.D.
11803 S. Freeway, Suite 206
817-551-9339
HMA
huguley medical
associates
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Sorter, David. Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2011, newspaper, September 29, 2011; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth809273/m1/3/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.