AISD’s Partner to Partner Newsletter

December, Edition

Dear Education Partner:

During the December Board meeting, our Board of Trustees reorganized. The nominating committee, chaired by Patricia Ann Bourgeois, selected Rose Avalos president, Rick Ogden vice president, Patricia Ann Bourgeois secretary and Merlin Griggs assistant secretary. Trustees Steve Mead, Paul Shanklin and Dr. Viola M. Garcia will serve as members.

Dr. Garcia served as president for the last year and I, along with her fellow board members, want to thank her for her leadership. This will be Ms. Avalos’ second time to serve as president and we look forward to her leadership in the coming year.

We are moving forward with plans for the $798 million bond referendum passed by voters in November.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Archie Blanson and Patrick Mouton, executive director of Facilities Planning and Construction, and I have been meeting with architects to discuss design plans for the new schools we will be building over the next five years. We are also including stakeholders from various groups in these meetings.

We have also been meeting with staff to discuss our grade reconfiguration plans included in the bond at the Pre-K-8 levels. We will accomplish this by converting intermediate schools to elementary schools or Pre-K schools, converting elementary schools to grades 1-5 and converting middle schools to grades 6-8. The reconfiguration changes will reduce the number of transitions between grade levels.

We met with the Steering Committee on December 2 to update them on plans and will hold additional meetings to keep them informed. In January, stakeholders will be able to monitor projects via our district web site.

These are exciting times as we plan for Aldine’s future and I want to once again thank our community for the overwhelming support in the November 3 referendum.

On December 11, the Aldine Education Foundation’s “Prize Posse” surprised a number of teachers throughout the district when they awarded teacher grants. This year, the “Prize Posse” awarded 15 teacher grants totaling more than $55,000. The grants were awarded to AISD teachers to implement innovative teaching programs in their respective classrooms. Former Superintendent Nadine Kujawa was joined by fellow AEF Board members Patti Acosta, Jeff and Ann Hartmann, Stacey Smith, Marine Jones, Rose Avalos, Kyle Sadler and Bill Ginder, who dressed up as Santa Claus, in delivering the good news to our teachers. AEF Director Michele McGovern and AEF Consultant Judy Hoya also accompanied the AEF Board members in announcing the grants. Over the last four years, AEF has awarded 35 teaching grants totaling $104,810.98.

On December 28-30, Aldine ISD hosts the National Basketball Showcase. The Showcase is a partnership with AEF and is presented by Chick-Fil-A. The tournament will showcase 32 boys’ teams from Texas and across the country and will feature some of the nation’s best talent. Aldine ISD will be represented by Aldine High, Davis High (which is currently ranked No. 5 in the state), Eisenhower High, MacArthur High and Nimitz High. Teams from California, Louisiana and Oklahoma will also make up the field, along with a number of other Texas teams. Tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a three-day pass. Games will be played at all of our high schools and at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center. The championship game will be played on December 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the MOC. Tickets can be purchased at all locations on the day of games and at the Aldine ISD Athletic Office, located in the MOC. For more information contact Richard Delgado, director of athletics at (281) 985-6100.

I want to wish all of you a merry Christmas and happy Holiday Season. This is a wonderful time of year to spend with family and friends, take a look back at 2015 and look ahead to 2016. We will continue to face challenges in the coming year, but I hope you will take time to enjoy this magical season. If you are traveling, please travel safely. Again, thank you for your support. Our students and staff are looking forward to the break, and hopefully will return refreshed and energized on January 4.

Sincerely,
Wanda Bamberg Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

District Highlights

• The Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) recently recognized art programs in Aldine ISD with the Youth Art Month Award. Dr. Michaelann Kelley, program director of fine arts, accepted the award on behalf of the district at the TAEA Conference held in Galveston. AISD was one of four school districts honored from across the state.

• Ten Aldine ISD students earned national recognition for their PSAT scores. The 10 students are Alessandra Urbina, Alejandro Becerra, Ruben Oblitas, Rolando Benitez, Melanie Castellanos, Ana Colindres, Richard Paredes, Melissa Perez, Jose Tello and Dayana Vasquez.

• Victory Early College High School student Ruben Oblitas was named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. He is competing with 16,000 other students from across the country for one of the more than 7,400 NMS scholarships in the spring. The scholarships are worth more than $32 million.

• Nimitz High School National History Day students Brent Vela, Sayfaldin Thabit, Makayla Jefferson and Natalie Garza were recently recognized in Austin by the State Board of Education. The Nimitz students were honored because their projects finished either first, second or third at the National History Day competition in June of 2015.

• Eisenhower High School band student DeVionne Jones was named All-State Jazz after earning All-State Band honors in 2014. DeVionne plays the trombone and is taught by Michael Owens.

• The Aldine Noon Optimist Club recently donated 68 bicycles (34 girl’s bikes and 34 boy’s bikes) to the district’s 34 elementary schools. Each campus used the bikes as an incentive to encourage and promote reading among the district’s elementary students. Aldine ISD Trustee Steve Mead, and Optimist Club member, helped organize the give away.

• Three Aldine ISD football teams qualified for the Class 6A state playoffs. The Eisenhower Eagles, under the direction of head coach Kerry Bamburg, won the District 18-6A title and defeated Cy-Fair in bi-district. The Davis High Falcons, under the direction of head coach James Showers, finished second in District 18-6A, lost to Cy-Creek in bi-district play. The Nimitz Cougars, under the direction of head coach Rich Slater, finished fourth in District 18-6A and lost to Cy-Falls in the bi-district play.