A local Boy Scout’s Eagle project was literally made in the shade.

Pflugerville resident JuanCarlos Falcon beautified a barren plot of land behind Brookhollow Elementary School earlier this month to provide a shaded area from which BES teachers can supervise classes at recess while avoiding the unrelenting Texas sun.

“My mom works at Brookhollow so I asked her where would be a good spot to build an Eagle Scout project? And she said there is a perfect spot at the back of the school where there’s a tree that shades everything,” Falcon said. “I put benches here so that teachers can lounge while they watch their students over in the recess area.”

The project was one of the main requirements Falcon had to meet to earn his Eagle Scout rank, which he did.

To utilize the natural shade of a tree that had been going to waste, Falcon constructed paths and planters around a bench beneath the tree. He also constructed what he calls an “octagon garden” that he said adds to the beauty of the area. His landscape includes planters consistent to the aesthetic of other planters around the campus where the Brookhollow staff can grow vegetation of their choosing.

Falcon said Troop leaders shot down his idea for the shade garden initially because they were concerned with flooding and wheelchair accessibility. Falcon modified his plans for the site to accommodate both of those variables and got the project approved.

“For a couple of nights I had been thinking of the design, and then I saw these planters and thought, what if I were to put paths between these planters over here that leads to a garden.”

Once he broke ground, Falcon finished the beautification project in a single day. He said the labor was the easy part.

“The hardest thing about the project was getting the funds, because I hard to raise over a $1,000 purely by donation. That took me about 10 days,” he said. “I called many people. I sent out e-mails. I met people face-to-face and asked them for contributions toward the project, and it all worked out really well.”

The 2010-2011 prices for school meals are as follows:

Elementary school: $1.50 for breakfast; $2.25 for lunch;

Secondary schools: $1.50 for breakfast; $2.50 for lunch; and

Reduced-priced meals are 30 cents for breakfast; 40 cents for lunch.

Pflugerville ISD will be converting to a new “Gold Standard” menu on Sept. 22. These new menus including a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and meet the Gold Standards for school meals as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s HealthierUS Schools Challenge.

Families must apply every year for free or reduced-price meal status. They may do this by filling out a paper application from their child’s school or going online to pflugervilleisd.net/dept/food and preparing an online application. Applications must be turned in before Oct. 7. Those who return them before Sept. 24 may help their children’s school win a free waffle bar at breakfast.

Information from PISD Food Services is available online at pflugervilleisd.net/dept/food.  Viewers may download the latest child nutrition newsletter or menus and sign up for a school’s cafeteria e-mailing list.

Parents may manage their children’s school meal accounts online at mylunchmoney.com. From this website they can track spending history and budget meal expenses.

The Pflugerville ISD Food Services Department has moved buildings and is now located behind the city’s fire department building at: 201-B E. Pecan St., Pflugerville, TX 78660. The general phone number has also changed, to (512) 594-0430.

Madeleine Bewley, of Pflugerville, has been accepted as a freshman at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.

Hardin-Simmons University, founded in 1891, is a fully accredited church-related Master’s (comprehensive) University.

Bewley is among approximately 550 students who will start fall classes on Aug. 23.

Harris graduates from Kaplan U

Shay’La Harris of Pflugerville has been awarded a Master of Business Administration degree in business administration from Kaplan University.

Harris’s accomplishment was celebrated during a live graduation ceremony on Aug. 7 in Chicago. Harold Ford, Jr., a former U.S. representative, served as the commencement speaker.

“Graduates like you must use your education and skill set to make this a stronger, more vibrant and dynamic nation,” Ford told the approximately 730 graduates in attendance. “It takes courage and determination to improve your own life and the lives of those around you.”

The Kaplan University summer 2010 class, which included more than 4,200 graduates, earned associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees – as well as professional certificates – completely online.

Kaplan University has graduated nearly 27,000 online students since it began offering web-based degrees in 2001.

Legband on SMU honor roll

Katie Legband, a resident of Pflugerville and a first year at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, is listed on the SMU honor roll with distinction.

To be listed on the SMU honor roll with distinction, students must be in the top 10 percent of their school of record.

SMU’s 2009-2010 enrollment included 11,832 undergraduate students.

SMU is a private university located in the heart of Dallas. Today, more than 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach afforded by SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.

Pflugerville man earns doctorate from SMU

Carl Trovall, a resident of Pflugerville, received a doctorate degree in religious studies during the 2009-10 SMU commencement ceremonies.

After the university-wide commencements, SMU’s schools and departments held individual ceremonies throughout the day to honor graduates.

PISD lands Department of Agriculture funding

The Pflugerville ISD Food Services department will receive $68,500 in Texas Department of Agriculture grant funds this year for its nutrition education programs Go For More! and Chef Patrick’s Pals. Food Service Director Geoff Holle applied for the funds in April, hoping that the TDA would recognize the innovation of these programs.

“These resources will do a great deal of good in our district,” Holle said. “We’re thrilled that our efforts will be supported.”

Go For More! is a PISD-exclusive program through which Aramark provides elementary school students with free second-helpings of fruits and vegetables to students who purchase a school lunch. Piloted at test locations in the 2009 school year, Aramark expanded the nutrition program to all PISD elementary schools last year.

District food service officials estimate fruit and vegetable consumption increased as much as 33 percent last year with Go For More!

The other program receiving grant funds is Chef Patrick’s Pals – a nutrition education program that is aimed to be fun and relevant to students. Chef Patrick’s Pals includes interactive demonstrations that allow a hands-on experience for participants. These demonstrations are aimed at educating students on the importance of making healthy food selections while showing them how easy it can be to make food.

This live show toured PISD elementary schools in spring 2010, and Aramark officials hope the grant funds will allow the program to continue with new demonstrations and education materials.

The grant money comes from two different programs: The TDA’s Best Practices and TDA’s Nutrition Education Grant. Both grants are a result of action taken by the 81st Texas Legislature to provide funding to organizations to help combat childhood obesity and promote healthy eating habits among Texas children.

DeCuir on Dean’s List at Ithaca College

The following local residents were named to the Dean’s List at Ithaca College for the spring 2010 semester.

Sarah DeCuir, daughter of Louis DeCuir and Sue Ann DeCuir of Pflugerville, was named to the Dean’s List at Ithaca’s Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies.

Ithaca College is a nationally recognized independent college of some 6,300 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. Located in Ithaca, N.Y., the college offers more than 100 degree programs.

Pflugerville pair on Angelo State Dean’s List

The Dean’s List for the 2010 Spring semester has been announced at Angelo State University in San Angelo.

To be eligible for the Dean’s List, students must be enrolled full-time and maintain a 3.25 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

The honorees include the following from the Pflugerville area: Terrill A. McKissick and Cory M. Stevens.

Shaffer on TSTC President’s Honor Roll

Christopher Shaffer of Pflugerville has earned a place on the President’s Honor Roll for the 2010 spring semester at Texas State Technical College Waco.

Shaffer, a student in Aviation Maintenance Technology, is among those recognized with a scholastic achievement of a 4.0 grade point average for the semester.

By James Rincon

Pflag Reporter

Procrastination is a common trait of the dreaded psychological slacking syndrome known in American high schools as “senioritis,” but it seems at least one Pflugerville High senior is showing signs of immunity.

Seventeen-year-old Cree Bautista was the nation’s first student to apply to college this year via the Common Application, a general application form used by more than 150 independent colleges to evaluate incoming talent.

The form opened for use at midnight Aug. 1, and by 3:30 a.m. the admissions office at New York University had Bautista’s information and essays.

“I was just really excited to kick off senior year, and what better way than applying to college?” Bautista said. “I felt like I was ready. I didn’t feel like there was anything to wait for, so I just went ahead and did it.”

Bautista said out of the four schools to which he plans to apply, NYU is the only one that accepts the Common App. Most of his other prospects accept the Apply Texas application, including Steven F. Austin State University and University of North Texas.

Bautista is a member of the PHS choir and said he wants to major in vocal performance in college. He has never even visited NYU or even the state of New York, but he said when he thinks of New York, romantic images of a bohemian art scene make it an ideal place to get his education.

“NYU is kind of my out-there. If I get in great, but I’m not expecting anything choice. My choice for in-state schools are [Texas] Tech and SFA and UNT,” Bautista said.

If NYU admissions haven’t begun whittling down next year’s applicant yet, they may still know Bautista is among them. Since beating the rest of his class to the “send” button on the Common App, Bautista has been the topic of articles in the New York Times and New York Magazine.

He said he didn’t expect all the attention when he sent in his application, but thinks it’s “pretty cool.”

“I wasn’t looking for anything. I was just looking to apply to school,” Bautista said. “I showed a bunch of people. I told a bunch of people, “Hey I’m going to be in the New York Times.”

But Bautista’s excitement over his publicized punctuality is dwarfed by that of his proud parents. “They think it’s like the coolest thing ever,” he said. “They’re really supportive of it. Obviously they’re a little sad if I would go so far away, but they think it’s great.”

Bautista is about to begin his final year at PHS, which means one more year of choir, cross country and track before years of dorm rooms and roommates. He said he plans to concentrate on using his last year at PHS to pad his GPA as much as possible.

“I’m just trying to get through senior year,” he said. “I want to boost up my GPA with the last chance that I get and try to settle everything out and finish off with a bang.”

Pflag Reporter

Pflugerville ISD’s Food and Nutrition Services program will roll out a new standard in the district’s cafeterias this fall that will expand students’ mealtime selection of fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

The district’s food service provider Aramark will convert to a “Gold Standard” menu Sept. 22. These new menus include a variety of healthy options that meet the recommended school meals standard defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthier U.S Schools Challenge.

“There are several components of [the new standard], but it encourages healthy nutrition, nutritional education and overall wellness and health of our children through nurses and Physical Education,” Aramark Food Service Director Geoff Holle said. “As far as menus and recipes go … for this Gold Standard, the meals must meet all USDA nutrition standards including the requirement that a variety of fruits and vegetables be offered daily as well as the addition of whole grains wherever possible and exclusively serve low-fat or skim milk.”

Holle said the district is also adopting more stringent standards for the fat content in its foods.

“We’re doing our best as always to remove some of our prepackaged foods where applicable. We’ve already eliminated trans fats. We’re reducing some of the items that have traditionally been through of for methods of preparation. Frying has been out for a while,” Holle said.

Deputy Superintendent Keith McBurnett said district staff is excited about the debut of the new menus and of its food service provider.

“The new menus will exemplify school nutrition at its finest with an increased variety of fruits and vegetables, a wide selection of whole grains and more choices of healthy, from-scratch options. These innovative menus from Aramark’s team put our district on the forefront of school meal nutrition and meets all the recommendations for Gold-level distinction from the USDA,” McBurnett wrote in a statement.

Holle said the district has been able to keep student meal costs at a minimum by implementing changes to the menus over an extended period of time.

“What I’ve found is we’ve been proactive in doing a lot of these things previously, so … there won’t be sticker shock in regards to our menu. We have been proactive as a food service department in working with the TDA and USDA guidelines to approach these standards,” Holle said.

The 2010-2011 prices for school meals are as follows: Elementary School: $1.50 for breakfast and $2.25 for lunch. Secondary Schools: $1.50 for breakfast and $2.50 for lunch. Reduced-priced meals are 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

Families looking to receive free or reduced lunch must apply every year for those meal statuses. Families can apply at pflugervilleisd.net/dept/food. Applications must be turned in before Oct. 7.

The district is optimistic about the affects the new Gold Standard program will have on its students’ health after last year’s implementation of health and nutrition plans into the schools.

“Last year expansions included implementation of ‘Patrick’s Pals,’ which gave interactive cooking demonstrations and instructions to classrooms, and student groups expanded the GoForMore program, which made free fruits and vegetables available to students who purchased reimbursable meals. Those programs will continue,” Holle said. “In fact we just recently received $70,000 in Texas Department of Agriculture grant money to continue those programs.”

Parents can get up-to-date information from PISD Food Services by visiting the department’s website as well as view online menus, download the latest nutrition newsletter, and sign-up for a cafeteria emailing list. Parents can also manage their child’s meal account online at mylunchmoney.com and track their child’s spending history.

“What we’re doing this year will set a new bar,” Holle said.

Managing Editor

Boxes big and small lie stacked upon each other inside the shiny new building off of Kelly Lane, in what used to be a corn field. But soon, those boxes will be gone and the halls of the school will be abuzz with the sounds of ever-growing Patriots.

Riojas Elementary will open as Pflugerville ISD’s 18th elementary school this year, with former Delco Primary principal Tammy Rebecek at the helm. Located in the new Avalon Park subdivision, the school is named after a World War II veteran and its mascot is the Patriot.

“Opening up a new brand new school is one of the most exciting things I could imagine,” said Rebecek, who brings more than 20 years of experience as an educator. “You’re building a community, a culture from the ground up. There’s a huge sense of pride I feel in opening this, especially a school named after a veteran.”

Hendrickson High School Assistant Principal Willie Gipson recently received the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals 2010 Outstanding Assistant Principal Award for Region 13.

TASSP recognizes outstanding principals and assistant principals for the twenty region Education Service Centers in the state. School administrators are nominated and chosen by their peers within their regions. Nominations are based upon exemplary performance and outstanding leadership. As Region 13 winner, Gipson is eligible to compete for the state title of Texas Assistant Principal of the Year.

Gipson has served as an Assistant Principal at all three PISD high school. He came to Pflugerville ISD in 1992 as an AP at Pflugerville High School, and then joined the Connally High staff in 1996. When a family move took him to Frisco in 1998, Gipson went to work for Frisco ISD as an AP at Wakeland High. The Gipson family moved back to Pflugerville in 2008 and he joined the Hendrickson High staff

As regional winner, Gipson was recognized during the Opening General Session of the annual TASSP Summer Workshop at the Austin Convention Center.

By James Rincon

Pflag Reporter

Pflugerville ISD is appealing its Academically Acceptable accountability status after missing the completion requirement for Recognized status by a single student.

According to the Texas Education Agency’s accountability report release Friday, the district met or exceeded Recognized levels on all 25 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills performance indicators, but it came up 0.1 percent short in the area of student completion.

“We were one student short of the 85 percent. It’s very frustrating. But we have gone back and checked each student, one by one, and we’ve actually found two students,” PISD Curriculum and Instruction Executive Director Barbara Gideon said. “One student was a graduate and was under-reported, and another student had some special education paperwork that indicated that that student would be a graduate and that student was coded as a dropout.”

The district filed the appeal with TEA commissioner Monday, but Gideon said the commissioner may decide that the opportunity for the districts to correct this data was not dealt with in a timely manner. If successful in its appeal, PISD will achieve Recognized status for the first time in the district’s history.

“We’re certainly hopeful that the commissioner will allow us to make the correction in that data,” Gideon said. “Our campuses, our teachers and principals and students have all worked so hard to show the gains in academic achievement, that we were very disappointed to have this 2-year-old graduation data have us miss and by such a tiny percent.”

The district may have narrowly missed the cut for Recognized status, but 15 of its campuses achieved Recognized designation – five more than in 2009. The district also scored with five Exemplary rated campuses, up two from last year.

“Pflugerville’s promise to our students and our community is that the District will prepare Each Child for Their Future in Our World, and I believe the gains our students have made in the last few years show we are closer than ever to fulfilling that promise,” Superintendent of Schools Charles Dupre said in a PISD release. “We know there is still much work to be done, but our teachers and campus leaders are doing a tremendous job focusing on the needs of individual children and helping them to achieve at the highest level possible.”

The district’s at-risk students showed gains in Math, Science and Social Studies, while also increasing or maintained performance in 21 of the 25 TAKS measures.

PISD also marked improvement in student Commended Performance measures by maintaining or growing performance in 15 of 25 measures. Commended Performance measures identify students who have performed at a level considerably above state passing standards and have shown a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills at the grade level tested.

Gideon said it may be months before TEA rules on the district’s accountability rating appeal which TEA assigns based on as many as 35 indicators, with the lowest score determining the district’s rating.

“The student who is under-reported is on a state list as a dropout and we have proof that he was a graduate. So we feel pretty certain that we will be able to correct that,” Gideon said.

jrincon@pflugervillepflag.com

“With new homes in Falcon Pointe selling at nearly twice the rate so far in 2010 as they did in 2009, we hope that this promotion will result in a very significant donation to the foundation,” said Vaike O’Grady, marketing director for Newland Communities.

“The idea evolved after we became so excited about the 2010 TEA accreditation ratings received by our onsite schools, including an Exemplary ratings for Murchison Elementary and for Kelly Lane Middle School and Recognized ratings for Hendrickson High School,” said O’Grady. “We thought the PEF would be a great recipient because they do so much to supplement the district’s established academic excellence, with wonderful programs such as Innovative Teaching Grants and the annual Teacher of the Year program to recognize exceptional educators. The money raised for the foundation will go directly to the onsite Falcon Pointe schools.”

Zenda Johnson, PEF executive director, said the foundation has thrived due to support from local businesses like Newland Communities “who want to make a positive impact on public education.”

“As the largest planned community in Pflugerville, no one has been a bigger supporter or cheerleader for local schools than Falcon Pointe and Newland,” Johnson said. “We are excited to work with them to tell the exciting Pflugerville story to as many new residents as possible.”

Falcon Pointe offers new homes priced from the $150,000s to $300,000s by homebuilders including Centerra Homes, D.R. Horton, Lennar and Meritage.

By James Rincon

Pflag Reporter

Educators in Pflugerville are speaking out against the district’s 2010-11 Compensation Plan approved 5-1 by the Board of Trustees in May.

The newly adopted model for paying PISD teachers will do away with the current experience-based step schedule in the district, which some say allowed employees to anticipate raises from year to year.

Members of the Pflugerville Educators Association, a group of more than 500 district teachers, said employees affected the most by the board’s decision were cut out of the discussion and are unhappy with the result.

“We called a meeting and all the members with an opinion about it did show up and gave us their views on it,” PEA President Glenda Hickman said. “Everybody felt pretty much the same about it. They were unhappy with it.”

Superintendent Charles Dupre said the compensation plan, which was presented to the district by the Texas Association of School Boards, will allow the district to restore local budgetary control from the grip of expensive legislative mandates.

“One of the biggest issue we face is when the legislature meets and mandates a pay increase. Last year they said every teacher is going to get $1,000 and a step on the schedule. Well, it’s clear in the law that if you don’t have a step-based schedule, then you don’t have to give that extra raise. Now it’s not about not giving money to teachers. It’s about no one in our district got a raise this year except teachers,” Dupre said “Even teachers came to us and said, ‘Can’t we give something to the educational support folks who help us every day in our classroom? Can’t we take some of our money and give them a small raise.’ But our hands were tied by the legislature. In the end what we’re advocating for is local control.”

School board President Carol Fletcher said the modifications will give the district more flexibility when distributing teacher raises.

“It doesn’t mean teachers aren’t getting a raise,” Fletcher said. “It means the legislature can’t come in and say everybody on the step scale has to get x, y or z, which is what they did to us last year.”

Hickman said PISD teachers are have not receive consultation or explanation about how the plan will affect their future raises.

“When they say it gives them more flexibility it naturally makes you think – they don’t need flexibility to give us more pay,” Hickman said. “Mr. Dupre has told us that all teachers will receive a step increase for 2010-11 based on the old step schedule, but that’s as far as he goes. After that we have no idea if we’re going to have to negotiate our pay like new teachers can; if we’re going to have to do extra duties, or if we’re going to be part of a merit system. What is the plan? Where is it? We feel like this should all be spelled out and put in writing before they remove the salary step schedule, and we feel like teachers should be involved in that decision making too.”

Teachers in the district will receive scheduled raises for the coming year according to the old system, and the new compensation plan simply states that from now on teachers entering the district with no prior experience will receive a minimum salary of $41,000, plus stipends for those certified as bilingual or in special education. It also sets a salary cap of $57,350.

“This is confusing to us – the current PISD teachers,” Hickman said. “Can a person with no experience negotiate a salary all the way up to $57,350?”

Dupre said initially the district’s hiring practices will not change, and new hires will not be able to negotiate salaries. However, the 2010-11 Compensation Plan opens the district to the possibility of delving into salary negotiating in the future.

“The whole business of teachers negotiating salary, that is feasible. That could happen way in the future, but in the near term that’s not even something that we’ll be engaging in,” Dupre said. “Is this opening the door for the district to just start cavalierly negotiating salaries and just dispensing special things to certain teachers? No. That is just not going to happen… Any time that we move forward with a change in compensation that would differentiate teacher pay in any way, substantially, that would enable a negotiation or compensation for special performance, that kind of thing, that would require board action. If we step in that direction we would have teachers at the table developing a plan.”

Although Dupre and the board may plan to include teachers in future discussions about changes in compensation formulas, such was not the case for demise of the step schedule.

“At a workshop meeting, the Texas Association or School Boards presented this recommendation to the board and we were there when they presented it and we had a lot of questions then, but we could not ask questions about it,” Hickman said. “We didn’t think they would approve it, but at the next board meeting a week later, the brought it up for approval and they went ahead and approved it.”

Board of Trustees Vice President Elva Gladney cast the lone vote in dissent of the plan’s approval, noting that without proper communication of the changes teachers wouldn’t understand the changes to their compensation and the board would have difficulty explaining it after the fact.

Fletcher said the board should have better communicated with educators the ramifications of the plan so it wouldn’t have taken teachers by surprise. Nevertheless, with the state of funding in the district she said the board did not want to clear the wreckage wreaked from future legislative mandates.

“I will certainly agree that we did not do a good job communicating ahead of time why we would want to do this… We hadn’t really done what we needed to do to make it really transparent. So, I would agree with their position that we haven’t done a good job there,” Fletcher said. “But while we were giving some people fairly large raises we were eliminating 62 positions in the district which we could no longer afford to have and not giving other people any raise at all. We think that those inconsistencies were far more damaging to morale than the idea that instead of having a step schedule, we’ll have another mechanism for trying to distribute raises evenly.”

Still, Hickman said without the step schedule, teacher’s raises may become the easy target for cuts when balancing the budget.

“The teachers in the classroom are the people doing the job that we’re here to do. We’re the ones that are directly affecting the students,” Hickman said. “So if this is the most important job in the district, why do they always look at this one first to cut?”

Fletcher said some of those positions eliminated last year were valuable to day to day campus life.

“We cut a third middle school counselor, science specialist, computer integration technologist – and I don’t think anybody thought that was a good thing to do, but we just didn’t have any choice,” Fletcher said.

Dupre said fear that the plan will reprioritize teacher compensation is unfounded based on the districts record of competitive payment.

“We’ve always done everything we could do to give the largest raise possible. But now that we’re kind of moving in the direction of, there may be some kind of differentiated pay at some point in time – absolutely we’re going to bring people to the table to discuss that,” Dupre said.

jrincon@pflugervillepflag.com