More honors for Malakoff and Tool elementary schools

Press release

Malakoff ISD announced last week that Malakoff Elementary and Tool Elementary have been selected by Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and the Institute for Productivity in Education (IPE) as two of 727 public schools in Texas to receive the title of 2016 Honor Roll school.

“We are so proud to be recognized by education and business leaders in Texas as an Honor Roll School District,” said Malakoff ISD Superintendent Randy Perry. “Our teachers and administrators at both Malakoff Elementary and Tool Elementary work tirelessly to keep the focus on high expectations and student academic achievement and to continuously improve our practices. This hard work and dedication is paying off for all of our students, no matter their background.”

The Honor Roll is part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and highlight successful practices that improve outcomes for students. Schools receiving this distinction from leaders in the California academic and business communities have demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time and reduction in achievement gaps among student populations. For High Schools, the Honor Roll recognition also includes measures of college readiness. The Honor Roll is comprised of two different awards, the “Star Schools” Award and “Scholar Schools” Award.

Star Schools are those with significant populations of socio-economically disadvantaged students that have shown a significant increase in grade-level proficiency over time. Scholar Schools are schools that are showing significant levels of academic achievement, but do not have a significant socio-economically disadvantaged student population.

“These Honor Roll schools are clearly improving outcomes for their students, as the academic data show,” said Charles Miller, chairman of IPE. “The next step is to understand how their educational productivity then translates to economic productivity. To do this, we must link academic and financial data to measure educational funding vs. student outcomes. Our economy will thrive when we are boosting student achievement without spending more – that is to say, when we are getting the biggest bang for our education buck.”

“Many schools across the country are doing well, even those with high numbers of historically disadvantaged students,” said Jim Lanich, ERP President and CEO. “The Honor Roll proves that all schools, no matter what zip code they are in, can achieve this kind of success. School and school district leaders have a great opportunity to find out what’s working at these Honor Roll schools and replicate it.”

The Texas Honor Roll program is made possible by generous support from numerous businesses and organizations including the Texas Business Leadership Council, American Automobile Association (AAA) Texas, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, and several private foundations. Chevron Corporation provides support for the STEM Honor Roll.

Around the Town: Learning more about staying healthy

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

You do understand, don’t you, that even though I’m writing this column about staying healthy and keeping sharp, I don’t know any more about it than you do, maybe not as much. It is just that I wanted to learn more about it myself, and I thought sharing it might keep me on the path and possibly do some good for a at least a couple of you.

Now I keep finding interesting things to share, and some of them don’t agree with other interesting things I’ve found. But so far they have all agreed with one thing: SUGAR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. And ever since I’ve been reading this stuff, and have become convinced that sugar messes up your brain and just about every other part of your body, I’ve been cutting way down on sweet stuff. And I haven’t missed it. If you are trying to lose some extra weight take a look of the latest BioHarmony reviews at sparkhealthmd. Most people describe memory care as a specific type of long-term care setting geared toward the unique needs of people who are living with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia. Memory care communities are usually secured environments to prevent wandering and may include fenced outdoor spaces, activity programs geared toward people with dementia, increased staffing, and other supportive features. Although the kind of communities described above have played an important role in the care continuum, we believe they basically offer a comfortable setting in which to manage the decline of people whose bodies are being ravaged by Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. The programs and calm, specially designed environments some of these communities offer are very therapeutic, but our understanding of dementia has progressed dramatically in the last five years and much more can be done. We are on a mission to protect as many people as possible from the devastating effects of dementia. That is why we created the world’s first memory care program for assisted living, skilled nursing, independent living, and outpatient settings that is designed to help people dramatically lower their risk of developing dementia and provide effective treatments to those who already have a diagnosis. We call the program The Enhance Protocol®. You can click this link now for HEALTHY BRAIN HQ.

Continue reading “Around the Town: Learning more about staying healthy”

Henderson County Black History Committee holds Children’s Pageant

2017 HCBHC Children’s Pageant winners (from left) Mr. Tiny Tot Ross Joel Alexander, Miss Tiny Tot Kace’lyn Walker, Little Miss henderson County Nayeli Faith Jackson, and Miss Petite Hanna Renea Alexander. (Courtesy photo)

By Delanda S. Johnson/HCBHC

The Henderson County Black History Committee held its annual Children’s Pageant Saturday, April 15, at Malakoff High School.

The Children’s Pageant had 12 entries and all proceeds go to the HCBHC Scholarship Fund.

The Children’s Pageant is held each year during Easter weekend and the parents go out of their way to make sure that their children make a good impression on the judges. The judges for the event were: Carol Tower, Berta Davis and Carlos Padron.

Continue reading “Henderson County Black History Committee holds Children’s Pageant”

Man arrested for arson in connection with Malakoff fire

Press release

On April 17, the Henderson County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to a structure fire located at Lot 18 Spring Creek Parkway in Malakoff. Fire Marshal Shane Renberg and Assistant Fire Marshal Sherry Powers investigated the fire and determined the fire to be intentionally set.

Troy Lynn Tucker, 29, was arrested on the scene for Arson of a Habitation a first-degree felony.

Continue reading “Man arrested for arson in connection with Malakoff fire”

Around the Town: Fighting off an army of caterpillars

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

I don’t have any healthy hints for you this week. I just want to tell you how tent caterpillars turned me into a cold and heartless killer. And then I want a little sympathy, please. Of course, the Andings across the road deserve more.

Two weeks ago, I looked up from gardening and saw something black all over this small tree nearby. It was alive. It was a swarm of wiggly fuzzy caterpillars.

I ran to the Internet and posted a picture. While a lot of folks responded “Yuk,” several told me I was dealing with Forest Tent caterpillars. I found an article by a naturalist who sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He said every six to 16 years there is a bumper crop of these suckers, and their preferred food is oak leaves and unless your trees were sickly, they wouldn’t really damage them. He said he personally was just going to ignore them until they turn into cocoons in two or three weeks.

Continue reading “Around the Town: Fighting off an army of caterpillars”