TVCC Inducts 34 Into Phi Theta Kappa

8-18-14 PTK Summer InductionTrinity Valley Community College’s Iota Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa – the international honors society for two-year colleges, held its Summer 2014 induction last month and welcomed 34 new members. This year’s inductees were Abby L. Baker of Athens; Lauren A. Baumgartner of Scurry; Brianna R. Bishop of Larue; Sara Nicole Bryant of Palestine; Catherine I. Burson of Gun Barrel City; Alma Adriana Celiz of Athens; Mandy Marie Chitwood of Brownsboro; Amber N. Cowan of Ben Wheeler; Karen K. Crane of Grand Saline; Marsha K. Henderson of Terrell; Hannah E. Jackson of Cleveland; Meredith Allison Jaquish of Malakoff; Cali L. Johnson of Mabank; Arron R. Jones of Combine; Monica A. Juarez of Jacksonville; Colleen E. Kordzi of Forney; Cayia S. Leffel of Houston; Clancy Brooke Mathes of Kaufman; Stephanie Judith Miranda of Athens; Natalie J. Oswalt of Kaufman; Carson Riley Paroline of Athens; Tiffany A. Peterson of Chandler; Kolby W. Radford of Montalba; Mallary Alexis Rummel of Athens; Kristen A. Stambaugh of Kaufman; Emily G. Thomason of Wills Point; Jessica Leigh Yancey of Athens; Stephanie Jean Ritz of Athens; Janette Gomez of Athens; Cindy Garcia of Athens; Haley Lorraine Durden of Athens; Esteban Jose Chairez of Murchison; Daniela Gissel Cerrillo of Athens; and Emily Brianne Baldwin of Athens.

Science Labs, Ag Building Ready at Cross Roads High School

The outside of the new Ag Building at Cross Roads High School. (Photo courtesy CRISD)
The outside of the new Ag Building at Cross Roads High School. (Photo courtesy CRISD)

By Michael V. Hannigan

There will be some new learning spaces available at Cross Roads High School when students return to the classroom next Monday, Aug. 25.

New science labs and an Ag building have been completed and are ready for use.

“We’re excited about the positive learning environment we are creating on behalf of our students,” said CRISD spokesman Chris Dickson.

The district used existing fund balance money to construct the two classrooms and the Ag building.

Next up is a 29,000 square-foot gym which will double as a student event center. Voters approved a $4.5 million bond for the gym in May.

Dickson said construction on the gym should begin sometime in October 2014 and be complete close to September 2015.

Malakoff ISD to Discuss, Vote On Tax Rate

Malakoff logoBy Michael V. Hannigan

Monday night, the Malakoff ISD school board is expected to approve the district’s budget and tax rate for next year.

The MISD tax rate will remain the same – $1.18 per $100 valuation. That breaks down to .99 cents for Maintenance and Operations and .19 cents for Interest and Sinking (debt).

There will be a public hearing on the budget 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18. The regular board meeting will follow at 7 p.m., which is when the board is expected to vote on the budget and tax rate.

Mabank ISD Campuses Earn Academic Distinctions

mabank logoBy Michael V. Hannigan

The Texas Education Agency released the 2014 Accountability Ratings for school districts last week and I posted the summaries for area districts. 

Mabank ISD Met Standard as a district, but that doesn’t really tell the story. Overall, five out of six Mabank campuses earned academic distinctions.

“Earning a distinction is not easy,” said TEA Commissioner Michael Williams. “Any school earning one or more distinctions should be recognized in its community for the outstanding work taking place on that campus.”

Ratings for each campus of the district include:

  • High School – Met Standard with five academic distinctions (Reading/ELA, Mathematics, Science, Closing Performance Gaps, Postsecondary Readiness).
  • Junior High – Met Standard with six academic distinctions (Reading/ELA, Mathematics, Science, Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, Postsecondary Readiness).
  • Central Elementary – Met Standard with two distinctions (Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps).
  • Southside Elementary – Met Standard with three academic distinctions (Reading/ELA, Closing Performance Gaps, Postsecondary Readiness).
  • Lakeview Elementary – Improvement Required.
  • Mabank Intermediate – Met Standard with three academic distinctions (Science, Closing Performance Gaps, Postsecondary Readiness).

“I am pleased with the job our teachers and students did with the increased standards. The multiple distinctions district wide show the importance they placed on academic performance,” said Superintendent Dr. Russell Marshall.

Lakeview Elementary earned Improvement Required because it did not meet the target for Student Progress..

Malakoff ISD Unveils New Website

fScreenshot 2014-08-14 at 11By Michael V. Hannigan

Malakoff ISD has a new look online. The school district rolled out a new website last week.

The new website is cleaner and easier to navigate — at least it is in my opinion — and it is responsive, meaning it automatically scales to mobile devices. I wonder if they will consider implementing ecommerce customer service into their website somewhere down the line? Also while ensuring that the website is hosted by a secure and consistent web hosting service. All monitored and control thanks to the 24/7 VPS customer support from hostiserver.com, so there should never be any issues that can’t be dealt with immediately! This is a really important step for anyone planning on starting a new website. Without a good web hosting provider, you might find that you site lacks in certain areas. If you are interested in using a web hosting company then you can check out this best web hosting canada reviews here to give you a better idea of what to look for. Having a clear idea of what you want your web site to accomplish is important in finding the right Web design agency. These goals will allow you to better focus on the characteristics and individual qualities that each web design agency is capable of. Basically, there are four objectives that designing a web site can accomplish in basic business. The right web design agency will help you accomplish all these objectives by introducing your products to new markets and increasing the awareness of the product. A design agency should also reduce the amount of paperwork and help you gain new customers while retaining the old ones. Take the time to outline your philosophy and goals with the agency. This will ensure that the site reflects your business in the quickest amount of time. You can check this informative post for the #1 Rated Web Design Agency in Ottawa. It is probable that the web design agency will achieve all of the goals but planning your web site with clear objectives will show you which goal should be of most importance. As this may change, so will your web design. After determining the main objective of your web site, your goal should be finding the right web design agency that will help you obtain this goal. As time goes on you may or may not choose the same web design agency. Goals will change, as will the design needs of your web sites. It may be beneficial to utilize the web design agencies with the most experience with the certain part of web design that you are trying to obtain. Whichever web design agency you choose, having clear objective and goals will make the web design process go a lot more smooth. The exact details of the web design might not be known but that is why your are hiring a design agency to aid you with the task. The web design company’s qualifications, designations and experience – a long standing company has earned its reputation by longevity which is a fairly good indicator of skill and the stability of the enterprise. It also translates into sound design work and reputation for excellent customer service. This is very important because several start-ups die out leaving an organization flustered when looking for upgrades and maintenance. Any agency with fair amount of experience, client interaction and sound qualifications is worth a try. Some companies just forget the importance of customer service and that’s exactly where they fail. We always recommend using services like the ones Salesforce offers, in order to keep up with your customers.

“We just felt like it needed to be updated with a fresh look,” said Superintendent Randy Perry. Continue reading “Malakoff ISD Unveils New Website”