ActionLIne 11-06 - Aldine Independent School

A c tionLine...Your Board Mee ting Upda t e
No v ember 1 5, 2 0 0 6
Hills, Marc ellas honored b y Boa rd
b y ha ving s chools named a f t er th em
During the Nov. 14 Board of Education meeting, Aldine ISD Trustees honored former
board members Emmett W. Hill and Leonard Marcella, along with their wives, by
naming schools in their honor.
Northwest Intermediate School was renamed in honor of Emmett and Sarah Hill, while
the district’s newest intermediate school, which will open in August of 2007, will be
named in honor of Leonard and Glenda Marcella.
Mr. Hill is a lifelong resident and servant of the Aldine community and graduated from
Carver High School. He devoted 31 years of his heart and his life to the students and
employees of the Acres Homes area and to Aldine ISD as a teacher, coach and assistant
principal. After he retired from the district, he answered the call to serve on the Board of
Education when he was appointed to the Position 2 seat in 1991 and elected the following
January. He served on the board for 14 years until he resigned from the board in October
of 2005 due to health concerns. During his tenure on the board, Mr. Hill held every board
office and served on numerous committees. Mr. Hill’s devoted wife Sarah also served the
students of Aldine ISD devoting 32 years of service to the district. She retired as an
Education Service Manager at Eisenhower Senior High School. The Hills four children,
who attended the board meeting along with several family members and friends, are
graduates of Eisenhower , Carver and Lane School.
Mr. Marcella was elected to the Position 3 seat in January of 1994 and served 10 years
before resigning in Feb. of 2004 when he and his wife Glenda announced they were
moving out of the district. During his tenure on the board, Mr. Marcella helped craft the
policies that have guided AISD to becoming one of the Nation’s Best. He is a native
Houstonian and a 21-year resident of Aldine. The Marcellas have three children who are
graduates of Nimitz High School. They too attended, along with several other family
members, the board meeting to share in their parents’ joy. Like Mr. Hill, Mr. Marcella
held every board office and served on numerous committees. Prior to becoming a board
member, Mr. Marcella was active in the community. And, like Sarah Hill, Mrs. Marcella
has been a dependable partner who not only supported him during his years of service
and sacrifice on the board, but devoted 20 of her 27 in public education to the students,
staff and parents of Aldine ISD, retiring as a technology specialist from Nimitz Senior
High School.
Dr. Viola M. Garcia, chairperson of the board’s School Names Committee, made the
recommendation to have the schools named in honor of the Hills and the Marcellas.
Fellow trustees A.W. Jones and Dr. Alton Smith also served on the committee.
S t a ff assignmen ts appro v ed
During the Nov. 14 board meeting, trustees approved three staff assignments.
Maria Valdez was named principal of Sammons Elementary School after serving as an
assistant principal at that same school. Valdez received her bachelor’s degree in academic
studies in 1996 from Sam Houston State University and her master’s degree in education
administration in 2001 from the same university. She is certified as a principal. She began
her teaching career with Aldine ISD in 1996 and was assigned to teach second and third
grade at Johnson Elementary School. In 1998, she transferred to Carter Academy and
taught second grade. In 2000, she transferred to Sammons Elementary School as a thirdgrade bilingual teacher and she moved into her present position as an assistant principal
at Sammons in 2002. Valdez has spent all 10 of her years in education with Aldine ISD.
Stacy Conley was named assistant principal at Parker Intermediate School after serving
as a counselor at that same school. Conley received her bachelor’s degree in
communications from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1990 and her master’s
degree in education from Sam Houston State University in 1997. She meets district
requirements for this position. Conley began her teaching career in Aldine ISD in 1992
and was assigned to teach language arts at Teague Middle School. In 1995, she
transferred to Parker Intermediate School and taught sixth grade. In 1997, she joined
Conroe ISD and served as a counselor and in 1999, she returned to Aldine ISD as a sixthgrade teacher at Parker Intermediate School. In 2005, she moved into her present position
as a counselor at that same school. Conley has 14 years of experience in the field of
education and she has spent 12 of those years in Aldine ISD.
Robert Cantu was named assistant principal at Vines EC/Pre-K Center after serving as a
special education teacher at Eckert Intermediate School. Cantu received his bachelor’s
degree in psychology from the University of Texas-Pan American in 1998 and is
currently enrolled in the master’s program at Sam Houston State University. He meets
district requirements for this position. He began his teaching career in Weslaco ISD in
1999 and was assigned to teach special education and coach. He began his career in
Aldine ISD in 2002 at Eckert Intermediate and was assigned to teach special education.
Cantu has seven years of experience in the field of education and he has spent four of
those years in Aldine ISD.
A S F r ec ei v es dona tions
During the Nov. 14 board meeting, the Aldine
Scholarship Foundation received
approximately $6,300 in donations from the
district thanks to Superintendent Nadine
Kujawa and a group of students at MacArthur
Senior High School. Mrs. Kujawa won a $500
scholarship from the Gulf Coast Area
Association of School Boards at a recent
meeting, which she in turn donated to ASF.
A community service project at MacArthur
Senior High, under the direction of assistant
principal Cindy Rogers, raised more than
$5,800 this fall. The top three fundraisers
were seniors Daniel Gomez, Hallston
Higgins and Julio Palacios. Eight other
MacArthur High boys were also involved in
the fundraiser.
Emplo yees, s chools, s tuden t s recognized
During the Nov. 14 board meeting, a number of employees, students and schools received
recognition for having won awards and for the contributions they make to the district on a
daily basis.
Dr. Margaret Byrd, area superintendent of
magnet schools, announced that 12 Aldine
ISD magnet schools received Merit Awards at
the Magnet Schools of Texas’ annual
conference, held recently in Corpus Christi.
The Merit Awards were won by Carver High
School, Drew Academy, Grantham Academy,
Houston Academy, Reed Academy, Harris
Academy, Bethune Academy, Smith Academy, Stovall Academy, Raymond Academy,
Carter Academy and Anderson Academy. On hand to accept the awards were principals
Willie Pickens (Carver), Dr. Fred Walker (Drew), Ruby Allen (Houston), Gina
Rigsby (Reed), Pat Wade (Harris), Theresa Craft (Bethune), Magnet Coordinator
Joyce Lewis (Smith), Magnet Coordinator Barbara Childs (Stovall), Dr. Linda Miller
(Raymond), Robert Graham (Carter), and Stephanie Rhodes (Anderson). Additionally,
AISD won all 30 of the Maggie Awards given for media, web site and brochures, Dr.
Byrd announced. Also on hand for the presentations were Melinda Stapley, director of
magnet schools, and Donna Enloe, district magnet coordinator.
Emitte Roque, executive director of buildings
and properties, named Hinojosa EC/Pre-K
Center as his department’s Building of the
Month. On hand to accept the award was head
custodian Maria Estrada and principal
Sandra Arredondo.
Thompson Elementary was named the Yard of
the Month. On hand to accept the award were
yard man Raymond Buckner and principal
Sara McClain. Rosa Vidaurri is the head
custodian.
Jim Pinkerton, director of transportation,
named Lazett Adams as his department’s
Employee of the Month. Adams is the nursery
director for the department and has been with
the district for 19 years.
Dani Sheffield, executive director of child
nutrition service, named the Aldine Middle
School cafeteria staff as her department’s
Team of the Month. The team consists of
manager Betty Stanley, Nancy Baba, Phyllis
LeBlanc, Glenese McDaniel, Perla Moreno,
Renae Murphy, Tanis Satcher, Maria
Segovia, Martha Sullivan, Linda Villarreal,
Nina Washington and Yolanda Wilson. The child nutrition supervisor is Michael Horn
and Todd Davis serves as principal.
Ken Knippel, assistant superintendent of
administration, singled out two Reed
Academy students who helped take a child
predator off the streets. Students Diana Lopez
and Jasmin Michelle Bujano were
approached by a man near school and the girls
reported it to administrators at the school.
They in turn contacted Aldine ISD police. The
students provided detailed information to
police who were able to arrest the predator
and take a dangerous person off the streets.
Knippel presented both students with certificates of appreication for their quick action
and for their assistance in helping police make the arrest.
Linda Ford, special education counselor at Aldine Senior High School, honored two
business partners who have made jobs available to special needs students at her school, as
well at Eisenhower Senior and Nimitz Senior high schools. Ford presented plaques of
appreciation to Keisha Lewis of Starbuck’s and Janeen Morrison, a transition counselor
for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.
Gran ts announc ed
During the Nov. 14 board meeting, Judy Hoya, program director of resource
development, announced a number of grants.
Pat Adams, principal of Ermel Elementary
and CASE coordinators Sandy Faler and
Tweaka Dilek secured a $20,000 grant from
Houston Endowment to fund after school
programs.
Raymond Stubblefield, principal of Stephens
Elementary, along with Susan Hwang Po and
Theresa Lucher submitted a Houston
Rockets/VERB application for a court
refurbishment project at the school. The
contest was open to schools throughout the
Houston area. Schools were asked to develop
a creative presentation that combines new and
existing physical activity using the VERB
Yellowball and the Houston Rockets ball. Stephens won and received a court
refurbishments, including resurfacing, painting, detailing, backboards and new
equipment. Fourth-grade students were treated to a celebration on Oct. 20 that included a
performance by the Houston Rockets Power Dancers. The award totaled $40,000.
Shirley Seals, assistant principal of Wilson
Intermediate, and coach Andrew Frieson
took part in the same contest as Stephens and
while they did not win, they were one of 15
runners up and received $1,500.
The grants announced at the Nov. 14 board
meeting totaled $61,500 bringing the total for
the school year to $3,179,806.75.
Program pres en t ed
Ken Knippel, assistant superintendent of administration, presented the program during
the Nov. 14 board meeting. His program centered on the district’s framework for
discipline. Knippel explained that each campus has an approach for improving the
management of student behavior and he explained how the process has worked thus far
during the 2006-07 school year.