Fort Bend Independent School District: Scoop From The Supe! (2/18/2022)

Press release from Fort Bend Independent School District:

2/18/2022

Happy Friday, Fort Bend ISD Community,

We are marking another milestone in the historic Sugar Land 95 Memorialization Project. Yesterday we unveiled a museum exhibit that educates our students and our community about the convict leasing system and the remains of 95 individuals who were victims of it. Their remains were discovered at the site of the James Reese Career and Technical Center during construction. The discovery of the Sugar Land 95 four years ago continues to provide our District with a unique opportunity to shed light on the dark history of the past and to lead our community toward a brighter future.  The exhibit opens to the public on March 5, 2022 at the Reese Center.

Stephen F. Austin Financial Offer for Elkins Students

Yesterday, I also had the honor of taking part in the Distinguished High School Program presentation at Elkins where the President of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) announced a generous financial aid opportunity. The university will provide $3,000 annually to Elkins students who elect to attend SFA and are in the top 25 percent of their class. The university will provide $5,000 annually to students in the top 10 percent. Additionally, students in the top 30 percent are guaranteed admission and no Elkins students will pay college application fees. We are grateful to SFA for these generous awards that will ease the financial obligation for our students and their families. Congratulations Elkins HS for receiving this distinction.

University of Houston Math Contest Winners

Clements’ and Dulles’ high school math teams earned first and second place respectively in the 2022 University of Houston Math Contest. This is Clements’ fourth win in a row! I am consistently blown away by the multifaceted talents and outstanding achievements of our students. They always make me feel like a Proud Supt! The contest featured nine different categories that included calculus and statistics. It was an international competition with secondary students from several countries, which makes our students’ wins even more impressive. Congratulations to them and their amazing math teachers!

Fine Arts Sets FBISD Record

This year, 52 FBISD high school students were selected for the Texas All-State Band, Choir, and Orchestra after completing competitive auditions sponsored by the Texas Music Educators Association. Over 70,000 students competed and only 1,875 students earned a seat in one of 18 All-State ensembles. Here is the full list of the students and their directors. Click here to see photos of them, plus the Kempner High School Jazz Band members who played the National Anthem beautifully at Monday night’s Board meeting.

BAND

Clements High School: Dewey Palmer, Andres Nassar, Maximus Young; Directors: Jeff Johnson, Bryan Waites, Leslie Flynn, Kate ThaneDulles High School: Jesse McIntyre Jr., Katherine Hwang; Directors: Joe Pruitt, Arnel Dayrit, Spencer ClaytonElkins High School: C.J. Butera III, Kavi Shah, Justin Wei; Directors: Chad Collins, Joseph Chen, John GrantRidge Point High School: Alex Hory, Aaron Price, Tyler Kersey, James Wallace; Directors: Luis Saldaña, William Burson, Christopher Baños

CHOIR

Clements High School: Christina Pendleton, Sofie Marino; Directors: Janet Menzie, Ryan BognerElkins High School: Pari Dhawan, Alessandro Gucciardi; Director: John RichardsonBush High School: Hobed Saravia; Director: Arianna SandovalRidge Point High School: Kaylyn Davis, Zachary Mok, Isabela Elizondo-Collado; Directors: Chelsea Berner, Stewart Gaitan-GarciaTravis High School: Domale Baabel, Michael Hall, Nicholas Pappas; Director: Debra Siebert

ORCHESTRA

Austin High School: Christopher Fu, Eric Jia, Andy Jiang, Christine Li, Eric Liang, Natalie Su, Nathan Su, Chi-Yun Chien; Directors: Ann Victor, Zoran JasmakClements High School: Alexander Nguyen, Sage Wang, Guanfa (Felix) Shen, Andy Zhou, Alice Zhong, Emma Wang, Alex Song, Albon Wu, Aryan Bora, Iyan Sonesra, Ayi Ekhaese; Directors: Neal Springer, Emory DanielDulles High School: Claire Draney, Timothy Feng, Jeffery Li, Lillian Liao, Kendall Wu, Tommy Yu, Will Horiszny; Directors: Michael Isadore, Angela YipKempner High School: Nafee Karim; Director: Marea FranklinTravis High School: Ryder Jensen, Luis Urdaneta; Director: Sabrina Behrens

Staff Recognitions

I also want to recognize some of our outstanding staff members and their achievements this week. The FBISD Purchasing & Materials Management Department has received the Texas Association of School Board Officials Award of Merit in recognition of its commitment to following professional standards in the acquisition of goods and services.

FBISD Executive Director of Elementary Schools Rhonda Mason has been selected as the first recipient of the Dr. Patricia Ackerman Leadership Award from the Houston Area Alliance of Black School Educators. This award comes with a $10,000 scholarship for this aspiring superintendent.

District of Innovation Renewal

At Monday’s Board meeting, Trustees approved the District of Innovation Renewal Plan. Fort Bend ISD has held the state designation for five years. Under it, our District has greater local control and flexibility in the areas of setting school start dates, hiring teachers in hard-to-fill areas such as Career and Technical Education and World Languages, and allowing options in how we instruct students – including virtual learning. These allowances facilitate innovative solutions that better serve our students and staff.

The District will be closed on Monday, February 21, 2022, in observance of Presidents’ Day. As always, I hope our hardworking staff, all our students, and their families will have a safe, enjoyable time off. You deserve it!

Sincerely,

Dr. Christie Whitbeck

Fort Bend ISD Superintendent

This press release was produced by Fort Bend Independent School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.