CCISD News - April to June 2006

School District trustee elected to Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards leadership position

From the Clear Creek Independent School District
June 10, 2006

LEAGUE CITY—Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustee Member Joanna Baleson has been elected as a Director of the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards (GCAASB) for the 2006-2007 school year.

The GCAASB is a voluntary organization composed of more than 50 school boards in the greater Houston area to enhance the quality of education for public school children in the Texas Gulf Coast area by providing education and information to local school boards, and creating an opportunity for local school boards to impact legislation affecting the public schools.

The dues paid by GCAASB member school boards and associate members, who are supporters of public education, provide state-required training for local trustees at quarterly meetings, produce a regular newsletter and support educational excellence at the local school level through a scholarship program.

“The experience that Mrs. Baleson has gained on her local Board of Trustees will benefit all of the students, staffs and schools in the Gulf Coast Area Association as it is combined on the Executive Board with the experience of trustees from 14 other school districts,” said GCAASB Executive Secretary Jerry Smith. “That leadership will be meaningful.”

Local trustees serving as 2006-2007 officers of the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards include President Wayne Schaper of Spring Branch ISD, First Vice President Marshall Kendrick of Pasadena ISD, Second Vice President Pete Vincent of Alvin ISD, Secretary/Treasurer Earl Boykin of Crosby ISD and Past President Sara Winkler of Alief.

Local Trustees serving as 2006-2007 GCAASB Directors include Marine Jones of Aldine ISD, Clint Fancher of Anahuac ISD, Joanna Baleson of Clear Creek ISD, Cruz Hinojosa of Galena Park ISD and Manuel Rodriguez of Houston ISD.

Also serving as GCAASB Directors are Joe Adams of Katy ISD, Mary Lou Dujka of Lamar Consolidated ISD, Maxine Lane-Seals of North Forest ISD, Ron Crier of Spring ISD and Kathy Hanson of Tomball ISD.

More information about the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards may be obtained by e-mailing GCSchoolBoards@aol.com or by visiting www.tasb.org/related/area_assocation/index.aspx.

Source and Image Source: CCISD

CCISD - CCISD trustee elected To Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards leadership position

School District Graduation Slated for District Stadium May 25 through May 27

Clear View graduation on May 27 at Clear Creek High.

Each graduation ceremony will be broadcast in real time in the Clear Creek High School auditorium and over the CCISD web site at ccisd.net for guests who are sun-sensitive or without tickets.

In case of rain, each school's graduation will be held in the Carlisle Field House adjacent to District Stadium and will be divided into two sessions.

League City Intermediate and GoForth Elementary have been designated as Park and Ride sites. Transportation to District Stadium from the bus ramp will be provided every 10 minutes, starting at 5:30 p.m. Handicapped parking will be available at District Stadium and Clear Creek High School.

Noisemakers are not allowed.

Changes in ceremony time and location due to rain will be placed on the CCISD web site or can be obtained by calling the Communication Hotline at (281)284-0027.

For more information about graduation, contact the campus of the graduate.

Data Source and Image Source: CCISD

CCISD - May Graduation Slated for District Stadium

Brookside Intermediate School retirees Vickey Tadlock, Jeanne Worth, Anne Armiger, David Armiger, Sue Upchurch and Kathy Johnson with Brookside’s principle Deanna Daws at the retirement celebration held May 8. Retiree Vickey Tadlock said, “Ever since I was in first grade, I have wanted to be a teacher. Mrs. Jones, my first grade teacher, made me love learning and inspired me to be that kind of influence on children.”
Photo Credit - CCISD.

All the places you will go - School district retirement celebration

From the Clear Creek Independent School District

May 10, 2006

LEAGUE CITY—Clear Creek ISD honored 53 retirees with a combined total of 1,446 years of service during the “All the Places You Will Go” retirement celebration at the South Shore Harbour Hotel May 8. There were lots of laughs and many tears as the district recognized remarkable teachers, paraprofessionals and staff who made Clear Creek ISD their professional home.

CCISD 2006 Retirees

Source: CCISD

CCISD - All the places you will go retirement party

Research shows gifted children especially vulnerable to effects of bullying

May 6, 2006

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AScribe Newswire) — Bullying in the gifted-student population is an overlooked problem that leaves many of these students emotionally shattered, making them more prone to extreme anxiety, dangerous depression and sometimes violence, says a Purdue University researcher.

In what is believed to be the first major study of bullying and gifted students, researchers found that by eighth grade, more than two-thirds of gifted students had been victims. Varying definitions of bullying in other studies make comparisons difficult, although the prevalence here is similar to findings in a few other studies.

"All children are affected adversely by bullying, but gifted children differ from other children in significant ways," says Jean Sunde Peterson, an associate professor of educational studies in Purdue's College of Education.

"Many are intense, sensitive and stressed by their own and others' high expectations, and their ability, interests and behavior may make them vulnerable. Additionally, social justice issues are very important to them, and they struggle to make sense of cruelty and aggression. Perfectionists may become even more self-critical, trying to avoid mistakes that might draw attention to themselves."

Peterson and Karen E. Ray, a doctoral student in counseling psychology, surveyed 432 gifted eighth-graders in 11 states. The students were asked if they had experienced bullying behavior, such as name-calling, pushing, hitting and other physical violence, or teasing about family, grades or appearance.

The researchers found that 67 percent of gifted students had experienced bullying by eighth grade, 16 percent defined themselves as bullies and 29 percent had violent thoughts. Interviewed students described depression, unexpressed rage and school absenteeism as responses to bullying.

The most common kind of bullying during the first nine years of school was name-calling, followed by teasing about appearance, intelligence and grades, and pushing and shoving. Teasing about appearance had the most negative effect emotionally.

While most of the bullying reported was verbal, it doesn't mean it was any less harmful than the physical variety, Peterson says.

"The words that are put on you when you're young are likely to stay with them the rest of their lives," she says. "It's important to remember that although cognitively these children are advanced, physically, socially and emotionally they may not be. They are affected by teasing and aggression, as other bullies' targets are, but also somewhat uniquely and possibly more intensely."

The surveys for the Peterson and Ray study were done by mail, and the researchers conducted in-depth follow-up interviews with 57 of the bullied students in six states for an additional study. The results of the survey study are published in the April edition of Gifted Child Quarterly, and the results of the interview portion of the study will be published in the same journal in July.

The research was funded by the Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Arizona.

The study was not designed as a comparative look at bullying in gifted versus non-gifted students, but instead sought to document the prevalence and impact that bullying has on gifted students. In their review of the literature, however, Peterson and Ray found that anywhere from about 60 percent to 90 percent of students in the general population had been bullied, and around 20 percent of students were bullies.

Peterson says bullying can lead to a variety of problems in children, as was evident in some interviews.

"We found some very unsettling findings when it came to how gifted children coped with being bullied," she says. "Eleven percent said they responded with violence."

Also, a substantial number of students - both those bullied and not bullied - reported having violent thoughts. By eighth grade, 37 percent of boys and 23 percent of girls said they have had such thoughts.

Peterson says the fact that students consider acting in violent ways was one of the most troubling findings in the study, and one that should be explored further.

"The disturbing thing about this is that we don't know what those violent thoughts are," she says. "They could involve kicking a trash can or blowing up their school. We just don't know. But the fact that so many had thoughts of violence and that some who were bullied had violent thoughts about their perpetrators should make all of us pay attention."

Peterson says there are things schools, parents and school counselors can do to improve the situation for students.

"The key here is to improve communication - between students and parents, students and school counselors, and parents and school counselors," she says. "Parents should use open-ended questions and probes with their children like 'What is your school day like?' or 'Tell me about how students treat each other,' not 'Have you been bullied recently?'"

"We found that the vast majority of students who were bullied were silent about it because they thought others would see them as weak or because they believed they wouldn't be taken seriously. That's why it's crucial that adults take an interest in their child's life and pay attention if they mention they're being picked on."

Parents should be on the lookout for symptoms such as a flatness of emotions, wanting to avoid school and insomnia. She says if a parent suspects their child is being bullied, the first step is to talk with school officials.

"Studies have shown that when school counselors are involved with students and parents, great things can happen," Peterson says. "We're hoping for a cosmic shift in the way schools see bullying, and we're hopeful that counselors, teachers and administrators can agree on how to identify and respond to bullying, just as we've been taught to identify and respond to sexual harassment."

Other key findings from the study include:

• The peak year for bullying was sixth grade, when 46 percent (54 percent of males and 38 percent of females) had experienced bullying. In that grade, 35 percent of survey participants were called names, 24 percent were teased about appearance, 13 percent were pushed and 12 percent were threatened.

• In terms of emotional impact on the gifted students, fifth grade was the peak year, with 13 percent indicating that they were bothered "a lot" by bullying. By eighth grade, just 8 percent said that bullying bothered them a lot, and 16 percent said it didn't bother them at all.

• A larger percentage of males than females were bullied. As bullies, girls tended to rely on more indirect methods, such as rumor- spreading and social exclusion, than boys did.

• Twenty-eight percent of gifted students (33 percent of males, 22 percent of females) had bullied someone at some time during the first nine years of school. The main bullying tactics used by gifted students were name-calling and teasing.

Health - Bullied children

Clear Creek High School will host a May 4 Spaghetti Supper at 6 p.m. for current students, incoming CCHS freshmen, family members, faculty and community members at the second CCHS Community Educational Forum. The topics will be the current rebuild of Clear Creek High School and trends in high school education. Photo Credit - Marilyn Clark, League City Area News Online.

Clear Creek High Spaghetti Supper and second Community Forum

April 28, 2006

LEAGUE CITY—Clear Creek High School invites our community, faculty, and our current students and families and the students and families of our incoming freshmen to Clear Creek High School’s second Community Education Forum. The meeting includes a spaghetti dinner and begins at 6 p.m., May 4 at the Clear Creek High School Cafeteria. The meeting’s topic is Rebuild and Reform.

Dr. Fred Hayes, principal of Clear Creek High School, will speak on the current rebuild of Clear Creek High School, and will serve as the moderator of the event.

Dr. Glenn Freedman, President, Bay Area Houston Technology and Education Center, and Vice President of the Clear Creek Independent School District School Board, will address trends in high school education.

There will be a question and answer session at the end of the meeting. For more information, call Alice Quinn Schwarz (281) 338-5600.

Source: CCISD

CCISD - Second Forum at Clear Creek High - Rebuild and Reform

National test confirms TAKS trends

From Texas Education Agency

April 22, 2006

AUSTIN—National test results released March 30 show that the average performance of Texas students in reading and mathematics is above the national average in the elementary grades.

CCISD - National test confirms TAKS trends

Area Secondary Art Students to participate in state Visual Art Scholastic Event at UH - Clear Lake April 7 and 8

Not Everything Can Be Explained Lisa Dufala Clear Brook High 2005 State VASE Medallion

The state Texas Art Education Association Visual Art Scholastic Event will be held at the University of Houston-Clear Lake April 7 and 8. This free event is open to the public in Atrium II on April 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photo credit: Texas Art Education Association.

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