Inside Northside - Dec. 05

PAGE 12

Middle school math
in elementary school classes?

What a concept!

If you asked a typical elementary school student if they liked math, most of them would wriggle up their nose and say things like, “not really,” or “it’s okay I guess,” or “it’s boring.”

But to Powell ES fifth grade student
Miguel Morales and his fellow
afterschool classmates, “it’s a blast!”
“There’s not many kids my age that get an opportunity to study 6th, 7th or 8th grade algebra,” Morales stated. “Math
used to be really boring, but our
teachers make it fun. I really like it.”

Thanks to an NEF grant for $1,000, fourth grade teachers Cinthia Rodriguez and Angelo Vargas purchased “Hands-on Equation” tools to teach students how to process and solve algebraic equations.

“The program is completely hands-on and covers 6th-8th grade level work,” Rodriguez said.

“This afterschool program meets the needs of children who demonstrate high levels of mathematical thinking, although some may be considered high risk,” she said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Prior to coming to NISD two years ago, Rodriguez student-taught middle school mathematics in El Paso. She brought her expertise to her fourth grade classroom, and the rest as they say, will go into the history books.

The program just completed its third session and the teachers are now recruiting students for the fourth session for the spring. “Many of the students in the third session started with us when they were fourth graders,” Rodriguez explained. “Their progress is amazing.” School test scores confirm that statement.

While finishing what looked like a complicated equation and knowing it was correct, Morales looked up and said with a huge smile, “My Mom is really proud of me.”

NISD earns state's highest fiscal accountability rating

Proving superior stewardship of
taxpayer money

NISD received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system for the third year in a row. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Northside ISD’s financial management and reporting system.

This is the third year of Schools FIRST (Financial Accountability Rating System of Texas), a financial accountability system for Texas school districts. The primary goal of Schools FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system.

“We are very pleased with NISD’s Schools FIRST rating,” says NISD Superintendent Dr. John Folks, “as it shows our district is making the most of our taxpayers’ dollars. This rating shows that NISD’s schools are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently.”

The Schools FIRST accountability rating system assigns one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas school districts, with the highest being “Superior Achievement.”

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