Good morning!  Welcome back and I hope you had a great Break.  Wyvonna and I certainly enjoyed the time as we traveled to Oklahoma to visit our two sons and their families.  We were able to be all together on Christmas and what a time we had with our grandchildren.  They are all between the ages of two and eleven so it was a really neat Christmas for them.  It was very cold, but at least we didn't have any snow or ice to contend with while traveling.  The rest of the Break was spent playing golf and watching football with a little work interspersed throughout.  The breaks we have are the times that I really try to take off, and I certainly enjoy them.  Again, I hope you had a wonderful time and Happy New Year to all!

The week before our break was very busy.  I did meet with Congressman Ciro Rodriguez and discussed many of the issues and problems I have with NCLB.  I know there are many issues the upcoming Congress and new President will have to deal with such as the economy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and others, but I hope that they will put the reauthorization of NCLB as an important issue to be dealt with quickly.  I have written in Monday Message and also posted on our website under Straight Talk the issues I have with NCLB and how the TEA has implemented the provisions related to the testing of special education students.  I have used the term "educational malpractice," and I truly believe that is what we are being required to do by testing students at a grade level not appropriate for their learning level.  NCLB is a failed law or at least the way it has been implemented is a failure, and Congress needs to act quickly to put a law in place that focuses on educating students and not testing them in such a way to be punitive to school districts and campuses.  Hopefully, the new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, will address NCLB soon after taking his Cabinet post.  He is an educational reformist, but at least he has practical experience in education having served as the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools.  Let's hope he doesn't lose his perspective of the real world as he moves to Washington, D.C.

Congressman Rodriguez was very receptive to our concerns and again I am hopeful that he will take our concerns seriously.  We do plan on meeting with Congressman Charles Gonzalez and Congressman Lamar Smith to voice our concerns.

We are also gearing up for the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature.  We are already tracking bills as they are introduced.  As of December 16 about 185 of the 809 bills filled related to education.  Of primary concern for us will be the bills relating to public school finance.  Increasing the funding for all school districts for inflationary costs, addressing the issue of target revenue, and increasing the funding for school facilities are essential.  Other issues that relate to funding are teacher salary increases, accessing additional pennies beyond the four cents, and a technology allotment increase.  Other issues very important to us will be the issues related to re-writing or re-formulating the state accountability system, and the removal of several unfunded mandates.  I especially want to express my appreciation to George Torres, Deputy Superintendent, for all he does in working with legislators and the Texas School Alliance.  This will be a very important legislative session for Northside and certainly what happens this session will have huge implications for the next few years as we address budget concerns and salary issues.

I want to congratulate Communications Arts High School, Health Careers High School, Clark High School, and Jay High School for being listed in the top ten public high schools in San Antonio.  Based on Texas schools included in Newsweek's annual ranking of the top 1300 public high schools in the U.S., these schools in Northside made the top ten list in San Antonio.  Congratulations to the students, faculty, and administrators of these schools on receiving this recognition.

Also, I want to congratulate Adriano Gonzalez from Holmes/Business Careers High School for being selected as one of the 2009 honorees of the Texas Exes Awards for Outstanding Teachers, sponsored by the University of Texas Alumni Association and the College of Education at UT.  He is one of ten high school and two elementary school teachers selected from nominees from across the entire state.  Congratulations, Adriano!  We are proud of you and thanks for all you do!

Recently the State Board of Education honored 14 Texas businesses, organizations, and governmental entities for encouraging employees to volunteer in the public schools across the state.  The Employers for Education Excellence Award was given in three categories:  Gold, Silver, and Bronze.  Winners in the Gold Award category have implemented policies that encourage and support employees who attend parent-teacher conferences, who implement policies to encourage employees to volunteer in schools, and who support employees who participate in student mentoring programs.  Congratulations to Capital Group Companies/ American Funds for receiving the Gold Award.  A total of 1600 employees have volunteered more than 40,000 hours over 11 years at Sul Ross Middle School.  Mary Parish and Cathy Rea of American Funds accepted the award on behalf of American Funds, and Deanna Dean, Principal, and Irene Alvarez, School-Community Coordinator, of Sul Ross were present for the presentation of the award.  This has been a great partnership for Sul Ross Middle School, and I want to thank our Partnerships Office and especially Irene Alvarez of Sul Ross for all her hard work in coordinating this program.  Great work and congratulations!

Thanks to the Northside Education Foundation for awarding $65,864.45 in grants prior to the Break.  Congratulations to all the grant recipients and thanks for your creativity and innovation with the grants.

In closing, I again welcome you back from the Winter Break.  We have had a great school year so far with a lot of success by our students, faculty, and schools.  Keep up the hard work as we press toward TAKS testing, and focus on all students being successful.  Thanks for all you do, and have a great week!  We Believe!