Corpus wins one of 25 Blue Ribbon School awards in Texas (Austin: school district, closing)

[CptnRn]

Congratulations Corpus!

Texas Education Agency

Sept. 9, 2010

25 Texas schools win 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools award

AUSTIN – Twenty-five Texas schools were today named 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools award winners by the U.S. Department of Education. The award honors schools that achieved academic excellence or made significant progress in closing the achievement gap.

Corpus Christi ISD – D. Scott Elliff, superintendent
Marvin Baker Middle – Darla Reid, principal

[SOM]

Cool....my youngest daughter is in the Athena program at Baker, and we're happy with it. Now we have an official green light to be happy with it!

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by SOM

Cool....my youngest daughter is in the Athena program at Baker, and we're happy with it. Now we have an official green light to be happy with it!

Hey! My daughter is there too. From what I can tell, it is a really good school. This helps to confirm it.

[ocean2026]

There are a million different awards given to districts each year. I just had to go through 1000 of the 1030 district websites. Even the worst districts can claim one or two of these awards. The Athena Program is more work than it is challenge.

The overall rating of the CCISD is Acceptable - somewhat below average for the State of Texas. There has been some improvement in many of the CCISD Campuses as there has been for the state as a whole.

CCISD is well behind GP, FB, PA and the ACISD.

[Marlow]

Baker is rated exemplary. How many children have you had go through the Athena program?

[team_evans]

I dunno. I'm not thrilled with CCISD, and my kids are at an exemplary school. I get that there are consistent improvements in test scores, and the staff and admin at our school are all positive and passionate, but I'm seeing a go-go-go push-push-push approach with little room for flexibility. I find that too much of my family's time and attention is taken up by keeping up with the program, which leaves us little space to explore and learn in other ways. Education takes place everywhere, not just in a classroom or on a homework page. Just my two cents.

[ocean2026]

Marlow I'm a board member in a nearby district and so we studied it. It more keeps the kids busy. The qualifications to get admitted are not tough- or are they?

Most large districts even if they aren't exemplary have an exemplary school at the lower grades. For every Baker at CCISD there is a Carroll. Poor example - that's like taking a prison where the average IQ is at 72 and saying Inmate #87395 finished high school, therefore the convicts are not dumb.

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Marlow I'm a board member in a nearby district and so we studied it. It more keeps the kids busy. The qualifications to get admitted are not tough- or are they?

Most large districts even if they aren't exemplary have an exemplary school at the lower grades. For every Baker at CCISD there is a Carroll. Poor example - that's like taking a prison where the average IQ is at 72 and saying Inmate #87395 finished high school, therefore the convicts are not dumb.

I don't know why it's so hard for you to say anything good about a Corpus Christi school. It doesn't take anything away from the Rockport school district for you to agree that some Corpus Christi schools are good.

The Athena program does not just keep kids busy. It provides work that is advanced for the grade levels and also provides enrichment activities. When my daughter tested in, they took the top 4 or 5 % from area schools and I think it's more like 3% or so from private schools. So yes, I think the criteria for getting in are fairly stringent.

When people are asking questions about CCISD it does not give a clear picture to say "The district is poorly rated" because there are a lot of schools and they vary in quality depending on their populations and programs. Children can receive an excellent education depending on which school they attend. How many high schools are there in Rockport? I'm guessing one. In that case, the district rating would provide a clearer example of the rating of the one high school.

[ocean2026]

Your guessing is wrong- a high school does not dominate a ratings. Yes even the worst large districts have some good schools. What you also have to take into account is that CCISD is a below average district in a state near the bottom. Rand's study had texas in the bottom 10.

A retired teacher and businessman from CCISD sits on our board with me. I'm just mildly negative about CCISD - you should talk to the teacher that spent many years in their schools- and no she wasn't fired.

Corpus Christi has some problems to overcome. Its tried to grow with refineries and now Las Brisas. This turns off many educated people. Corpus would show a population Decline if it weren't for kids having kids. Look at the in-migration numbers for CC.
Rockport has the exact OPPOSITE approach. It does not allow any polluting industry- and it stays clean. That attracts a different type of people and hence Rockport has no real gangs and much better schools.

Corpus could be a national treasure -its location is super as is its natural beauty and beaches. It should be growing in leaps and bounds.

I just call it as I see it. Flour Bluff has good schools, Calallen also,as well as Port Aransas and Gregory Portland. London ISD is good but there is no high school yet. Corpus Robstown and Taft are not good.

[SOM]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Your guessing is wrong- a high school does not dominate a ratings. Yes even the worst large districts have some good schools. What you also have to take into account is that CCISD is a below average district in a state near the bottom. Rand's study had texas in the bottom 10.

Which is why it's nice to find the exceptions and send your kids there.

Originally Posted by ocean2026

A retired teacher and businessman from CCISD sits on our board with me. I'm just mildly negative about CCISD - you should talk to the teacher that spent many years in their schools- and no she wasn't fired.

Awesome anecdote!!!

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Corpus Christi has some problems to overcome.

Duh.

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Its tried to grow with refineries and now Las Brisas. This turns off many educated people. Corpus would show a population Decline if it weren't for kids having kids. Look at the in-migration numbers for CC.
Rockport has the exact OPPOSITE approach. It does not allow any polluting industry- and it stays clean. That attracts a different type of people and hence Rockport has no real gangs and much better schools.

My guess is that many of the people moving in to Rockport wouldn't if there wasn't the nearby "big city" of Corpus Christi.

And I know for a fact that at least some of those moving in to Rockport work at the horrible refineries.

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Corpus could be a national treasure -its location is super as is its natural beauty and beaches. It should be growing in leaps and bounds.

It's location is part of the problem....it's on the way to nowhere. I agree, though, that a better managed CC would grow and progress more than it has.

Originally Posted by ocean2026

I just call it as I see it. Flour Bluff has good schools, Calallen also,as well as Port Aransas and Gregory Portland. London ISD is good but there is no high school yet. Corpus Robstown and Taft are not good.

Agreed, as a rule. There are exceptions, though, and I'm glad to have found one in the Baker Athena program.