Good morning!  I know all of you are looking forward to the completion of this week and then having our Thanksgiving Break.  I can't believe the time since the beginning of school has passed so fast and we are to Thanksgiving.  We have had a great school year, yet it has been a very busy one and I know all of you have worked hard to help our schools and our students be successful.  I hear so many compliments of our teachers, and all our staff, and it is because of what you do, and the proper attitude of helping students and parents that make people so appreciative of Northside.

Last week was a very special week in that our schools took time to honor and recognize the military.  So many wonderful things took place on our campuses to recognize the service and sacrifice that our veterans have made to this country.  I was able to attend the Veterans Day ceremony at Oak Hills Terrace Elementary School and I enjoyed it so much.  Lance Corporal Charlie Lira, U.S. Marine Corp, who is the son of attendance secretary Alma Lira at Oak Hills Terrace, was the speaker.  To see the pride that Alma had in her son as he serves our country and has served in Iraq was special.  Great recognition of our Veterans!

Also, I have to share with you what took place at Colby Glass Elementary School during their Veterans Day Ceremony.  The husband of Monica Verastegui, a kindergarten teacher at Colby Glass, is a soldier stationed in Iraq.  For Veterans Day the school, with the help of Mark Cavazos and Steven Diaz of Technology Services, did a live video conference with Sgt. Verastegui, using a webcam, microphone, and Skype.  The staff and students at Colby Glass were so excited and impressed with the video conference, and I know it was a very special and emotional time for Mrs. Verastegui.  When I read about this and saw pictures of the event, it made me so proud of Northside and all that people do to make things special.  Also thanks to Nancy Smothers, CIT at Colby Glass, for all she did in making this possible.

A special thanks to Brandeis High School for including all veterans who work at Central Office facilities in their special celebration.  I heard many of them say how much they appreciated it.

Also, this past week the Texas Business Education Coalition held their 2008 Honor Roll Banquet.  At this banquet campuses from all over the state were recognized, and the campuses that were recognized from Northside were John Jay High School and Health Careers High School.  TBEC identifies Honor Roll schools by analyzing three years of performance data for every public school in Texas.  A campus must have a high percentage of students meeting state standards on every TAKS test for three consecutive years, and must also perform at a commended level.  The selection criteria also considers the schools' demographics.  Congratulations to John Jay High School and Health Careers High School on achieving this recognition.  We are proud of you!

Last week I was in Austin on Wednesday at the Texas School Alliance meeting.  Most of the discussion centered on what the Alliance schools (32 of the largest school districts in Texas) wanted the Legislature to address as they begin to develop a new accountability system.  We are all looking for changes to be made in the system that will make it more fair and equitable to the larger and more diverse school districts.  We certainly hope that the new system, if one is adopted, will be a proportional model that determines accountability based on all the areas of performance, and not just by one area or cell.  Right now, if any subgroup in any subject area does not meet the standard set for achievement of a rating, then the campus or district is given the lower rating.  All other areas may have met the standard so the accountability system as it stands does not reflect the true performance of a campus or district.  Also, it is much more difficult for a large, diverse district like Northside to meet the standard for a rating in every single cell.  A proportional model will better provide a true picture of performance and certainly indicate a more meaningful rating.  Also, the new system should account for student academic growth, and not be a system that just relies on a single test given on a particular day.  Certainly a value-added model and one that also measures growth against a particular standard would better account for how a campus and school district are doing in terms of student achievement.  No doubt there will be much discussion as this issue progresses in the legislative session, and, as I stated, I can only hope we will have a system that is more equitable, fair, and representative of how a campus and district are performing.

On Saturday I attended the Los Leones Student Arts Festival held at the Leon Valley Community Center.  This was the 13^th Los Leones Students Arts Festival which is a partnership among Northside ISD, the City of Leon Valley, and the Northside Education Foundation.  Art work from our elementary, middle, and high schools was displayed throughout the Community Center area and prizes were awarded to students based on the decisions of various individuals who serve as judges.  What a great job all the art teachers do in Northside!  The art work by our students is truly outstanding, and I am amazed at the talent and ability that is displayed through the art.  Our teachers bring out this tremendous talent in their students as evidenced by the art work.  There is no doubt that many pieces of art work would be considered as being on a professional level.  Thanks to Dr. Sharon Chumley, Visual Arts Supervisor for Northside, for her great leadership and all the hard work she puts forth to make all our visual arts endeavors a success.  Thanks to all the art teachers in the district, because I know it is the work you do with your students that truly makes their art work so outstanding.

During the week of November 24, SchoolNet will upgrade the NISD Curriculum Management  System (CMS).  The upgrade does not change the look or feel of the system.  The upgrade includes enhancements to existing features and streamlines the teacher work flow.  One of the new enhancements is a benchmark dashboard that will give a quick snapshot of student performance on a benchmark at the district, campus and classroom level without having to create a report.  When you get back from the Thanksgiving Break, the upgraded system will be fully operational.  Existing reports will still be in the system.  Campus level training on the upgraded system will begin in February.

As I close this Monday Message, I want to say thank you to Ron Gerth who was Director of Purchasing for the school district.  Ron retired as of Friday last week and he has given 38 years of service to Northside.  Ron has seen this district grow and has been so instrumental in ensuring the smooth opening of many new facilities in Northside, as well as ensuring our purchasing and warehousing operations run smoothly and effectively.  He is a man of honesty and integrity and I will certainly miss him.  Thanks Ron for all you have to make Northside such a great district!

I hope you have a great week and I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you enjoy the week we will have as our Thanksgiving Break.  I appreciate all of you so much and thanks for all you do!  Have a great break and remember "We Believe!"