#Plano ISD coaches

[collincountymagazine]

Plano East hires Matt Wester as Panthers boys basketball coach

CollinCountyMagazine.com

@collincountydfw

[csrgood]

$7 Million in Grants From Texas Instruments Gives Disadvantaged Students a STEM Learning Boost

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) and the Texas Instruments Foundation announced today that their combined 2019 U.S. education grants total $7 million.  These funds will go toward programs that will cultivate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) competencies in students and grow the quality and quantity of STEM educators, one of the greatest influences on student academic success. More than 97% of the funding will be used for improvements in kindergarten through 12th grade STEM education, primarily STEM teacher and principal effectiveness. The majority of grant recipients include nonprofit education partners in North Texas, where making a positive, long-lasting impact in the community is part of the company’s legacy. More than 250,000 students and 7,000 educators will benefit from the grants, 93% of which target under-resourced students.

According to the most recent Nation’s Report Card released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 33 percent of eighth grade Texas students are performing at proficiency in mathematics; eighth grade math scores are a strong indicator of future academic achievements in high school and in post-secondary success. Performance gaps are more significant for under-resourced demographic student groups: The average math score for the state’s eighth grade Black students is 24 points lower than the norm, and the average math score for its Hispanic students is 17 points lower. Texas eighth grade students who are eligible for free/reduced-price school lunch, an indicator of low family income, have an average math score that is 22 points lower than that of students who were not eligible.

“For years, TI and the TI Foundation have invested heavily in education initiatives with  nonprofit partners in North Texas to improve teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes in STEM-related subjects,” said Andy Smith, executive director of the TI Foundation and TI director of corporate philanthropy. “NAEP data paints an alarming picture of why it’s so important to invest in local education, and why we can’t let students back away from math and science. We live in a world that demands STEM aptitude, yet too few students are prepared to succeed in such a world.”

TI's commitment to education, which dates to the company's inception in 1930, remains its highest philanthropic priority. Programs funded this year include:

Growing the National Math and Science Initiative College Readiness Program (CRP) to three additional independent school districts in North Texas – Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville – and supporting Advanced Placement® (AP) study sessions in Mesquite. Supported by the TI Foundation for almost two decades, the CRP helps ensure that more students have access to challenging AP coursework that will prepare them for future success, and is proven to improve results for traditionally underserved and female students. Funding from TI will be used toward professional learning and coaching to improve teacher effectiveness, one of the greatest influences on student success. 

Expanding support of Teach for America to Santa Clara County, California, and continued support in Dallas.

Additional funding for the Urban Teachers teacher preparation residency program to enlist and retain effective math and science teachers in Dallas ISD and in local KIPP and Uplift Education charter schools. The hands-on curriculum is specifically designed for urban schools, where math and science teacher shortages remain high. 

Other supported initiatives include:

The Teaching Trust Aspiring Leaders Program, a rigorous, competency-based two-year program that transforms existing educators into urban school principals. Upon completion of the program, participants earn their M.Ed. in educational leadership from Southern Methodist University with a specialization in urban schools and complete their principal certification.

Texas 2036, which is working to help policy makers from local and state government make informed decisions through data-driven resources.

The Texas Instruments Innovation in STEM Teaching Awards for the Dallas, Garland, Lancaster, Mesquite, Plano and Richardson school districts, which will enter its 14th year in 2020.

During the past five years, TI’s philanthropic commitment to education totals approximately $150 million. Additionally, TI encourages employees and retirees to give their time as mentors, tutors and other volunteer roles. For more information about TI's support of education, visit www.ti.com/education. Read about TI’s approach to giving at www.ti.com/giving or in the Corporate Citizenship Report at www.ti.com/ccr.

# # #

About Texas Instruments

From connected cars and intelligent homes to self-monitoring health devices and automated factories, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) products are at work in virtually every type of electronic system. With operations in more than 30 countries, we engineer, manufacture, test and sell analog and embedded semiconductor chips. Our more-than 30,000 employees worldwide are driven by core values of integrity, innovation and commitment, and work every day to shape the future of technology. Learn more at www.TI.com

About the Texas Instruments Foundation

The Texas Instruments Foundation, founded in 1964, is a non-profit organization solely funded by Texas Instruments providing philanthropic support for educational and charitable purposes primarily in the communities where TI operates. Committed to supporting educational excellence, the foundation works to create measurable, replicable programs and initiatives. The focus is on providing knowledge, skills and programs to improve STEM education and increase the percentage of high school graduates who are math and science capable.  More information can be found at www.ti.com/education.

Advanced Placement® is a registered trademark of the College Board.

[i] The Nation’s Report Card, National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2017 Mathematics State Snapshot: Texas, Grades 4 and 8, Public Schools. Report released April 10, 2018

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/42371--7-Million-in-Grants-From-Texas-Instruments-Gives-Disadvantaged-Students-a-STEM-Learning-Boost?tracking_source=rss

[northgeorgiasportsman]

Scandal taints legacy of 1988 Dallas Carter football team, perhaps talent-wise the best in Texas history

This Story is About…

The following appeared as Part I in a three-part series on the Dallas Carter High School 1988 football team in the Nov. 9, 2008 editions of The Dallas Morning News.

x x x

On a chilly Thursday evening 20 years ago this week, Carter High football practice was interrupted by a bombshell bulletin.

A player had been declared ineligible, disqualifying Carter from the following night’s playoff opener. As TV crews swooped in, shock and confusion boiled into anger.

"One of our guys picked up a rock and acted like he wanted to throw it at them," star linebacker Jessie Armstead recalls.

As it turned out, Nov. 10, 1988 wasn’t the end of the Cowboys’ season. It was the start of the Carter saga.

The defiant state championship run through opponents, legal challenges and "cheaters" taunts. The recruiting frenzy. The hot tub signing ceremony.

The 21 so-called "Carter robberies" by 15 teenagers, six of them Cowboys football players. National headlines. Packed courtrooms. Prison sentences. Shattered young lives. Friday Night Lights.

Two decades later, one of the most talented Texas high school teams ever assembled has prideful memories but, officially, no evidence of its dominance.

The state title was stripped in January 1991, the trophy returned, the record book revised. As Carter this week sends another unbeaten team into the playoffs, there are no plans to honor the ’88 squad.

"No, it’s all over," Freddie James, Carter’s 72-year-old former coach, says ruefully. "I don’t think they want to draw attention to it."

For many in the Carter community, on Dallas’ southwest fringe, the anniversary dredges deep-seated emotions.

Pride in the team’s success. Bitterness that the title was taken. Shame from the robberies. Lament that the actions of a relative handful stigmatized an entire team, school and largely middle-class black community.

"That’s part of our past," says Gary Edwards, Carter’s standout cornerback, running back and leading scorer that season. "I’m sure there is some hurt because people heal differently."

Edwards, 37, carries more scars than most. It was his disputed algebra grade that caused the University Interscholastic League investigation that ignited the firestorm.

And it was the June 20, 1989 arrest of Edwards and teammate Derric Evans, shortly after they robbed two video stores at gunpoint, that helped police trace the string of robberies that had begun five days after the state title game.

Sentenced to 16 years in prison, Edwards was paroled in 1993.

"Even today, I can be at the barber shop or in line at the grocery store and I hear people talking about us, most of which is incorrect," he says, adding that one fact is indisputable.

"People always ask, ‘How good was that team?’ I tell them we were the best ever."

A melting-pot school

In his 1990 best-seller, Friday Night Lights, author H.G. Bissinger chronicled Odessa Permian’s 1988 season, which culminated in a 14-9 state semifinal loss to Carter.

Carter players take little issue with the book, but some resent the 2004 movie adaptation, saying it depicts them as dirty-playing thugs.

Actually, they were middle-class, poor, honor students, truants, teetotalers, drinkers, clean-cut kids and street toughs. And exceptional athletes. Fifteen of the 36 seniors earned major-college scholarships.

Armstead, safety LeShai Maston and cornerback Clifton Abraham went on to NFL careers. James says he is convinced Evans and Edwards would have, too.

"Yeah," sighs Evans, who served six years, 11 months in prison and lost his University of Tennessee scholarship. "I screwed that up."

The eternal question – why? – echoes as the Carter kids enter their late 30s, some with teenagers of their own.

When parents, educators and court-ordered psychologists initially combed for answers, they noted that the robbery participants came from both sides of the tracks – or in this case, Camp Wisdom Road.

To the north was Oak Cliff. After the early ’70s integration of Dallas public schools, the former suburb attracted black professionals, politicians and pro athletes. All white when it opened in 1965, Carter was 95 percent black by 1988.

"When I got to Carter as a freshman, a lot of the pictures on the wall were of white football players," quarterback Robert Hall says. "When we were there, Oak Cliff had hard-working people, two-parent homes."

Students living north of Camp Wisdom fed through Atwell Middle School. Those to the south went through Hulcy, including kids from The Woods – 10 parallel streets, each name ending in "wood."

"We were rougher," Maston says. "If ‘it’ was going to happen, it was going to happen over there. You’ve got apartments, dope houses. We grew up fighting and stuff."

Carter started the ’80s with football seasons of 5-6 and 3-7. James arrived in 1982, melded clashing Atwell-Hulcy personalities and made that season’s state semifinals.

No Dallas ISD team had won a UIL state football title since Sunset in 1950. With college coaches flocking to recruit Carter athletes, the Cowboys seemed destined to end DISD’s drought, but from 1983-87 they failed to advance past the second round.

In 1988, though, Carter flourished behind its acclaimed "11-Man Posse" defense, entering the playoffs with the No. 5 state ranking.

"That was a smart, well-disciplined team on the football field," James says. "Now, they did some crazy stuff. Sometimes I had to get on their behinds and put a board on them. They knew they couldn’t mess with me."

But on the eve of the playoff opener against Plano East, TV trucks mobilized on Indian Ridge Trail, bordering Carter’s practice field. The news was all over the radio.

"At first, they weren’t saying my name," Edwards says. "Everybody was like, ‘Dang, who is it?’"

‘An amazing chapter’

His name came out that night when incensed players and parents packed the Carter cafeteria, seeking answers.

They were told that a day earlier, the UIL had received an anonymous tip from someone it believed to be a Carter parent. The caller suggested that the UIL investigate Edwards’ first-six-weeks algebra grade of 72.

A joint investigation by the UIL and Texas Education Agency found that Edwards’ grade should have been 68, below the eligibility standard of 70 set by Texas’ no-pass, no-play law.

So while the Cowboys practiced, unaware, the District 11-5A executive committee ordered Carter to forfeit three games in which Edwards played while ineligible and gave Carter’s playoff spot to South Grand Prairie.

But while that school celebrated, Carter and DISD officials galvanized in the cafeteria. The 36-year-old attorney hired to represent Carter parents could not have fathomed the fight’s eventual scope.

Or that seven months later he would serve as Edwards’ criminal defense lawyer. Or that today he would be in his 15th year as Dallas County’s state senator.

"It was an amazing chapter," Royce West says. "There was no one in the state of Texas who followed football who didn’t know about the Carter Cowboys.

"It wasn’t just about Carter or DISD. It was the total Dallas community. You had the issues of no-pass, no-play. You had the black-white issue. You had the issue of students being involved in criminal activity. All those subplots played out."

A backdrop of chaos

On the morning of Nov. 11, DISD officials announced they had found evidence that Edwards was, in fact, eligible.

They reinstated Carter for that night’s playoff game. At lunch, Carter principal C.C. Russeau stood on a table to announce the news, sparking "We’re going!" chants.

At South Grand Prairie, students marched out of the lunchroom and onto the football field in protest. A UIL hearing was set for the following week, too late to stop Carter from meeting Plano East in the second game of a Texas Stadium doubleheader.

It was after midnight when Edwards, wearing a towel with the words "Beware of Me," scored twice and intercepted a pass during the final 3:23 of a 21-7 victory.

"Once I got on the football field, it was actually pretty easy," Edwards says. "Games were when I could just be me."

Off the field, the chaos was just starting.

The next Wednesday, the UIL ruled Carter eligible. But hours before Friday night’s playoff game against Samuell, Plano and Grand Prairie district lawyers convinced education commissioner William Kirby that Carter had violated no-pass, no-play.

Two hours later, a state district judge ruled that Kirby did not have authority to decide eligibility. The legal wrangling pushed the Samuell game to Saturday, with Carter again winning.

"Maybe it wasn’t us against everybody, but it sure seemed like it," says Armstead, who returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown in the 28-0 victory.

Each playoff win brought more hearings and legal challenges. It became routine for James to spend weekdays traveling to Austin to testify while his team practiced.

As they advanced, the Cowboys took on a mystical aura, especially after the quarterfinal victory over Marshall, when Armstead was inserted to catch the game-winning pass with seven seconds left.

The day before the semifinal against Permian, the UIL announced there would be no more legal challenges during the playoffs – but promised to renew the fight after the season.

After five weeks of overcoming all challenges, the Cowboys had just one left. Players recall feeling invincible as they practiced for the title game against Judson.

"Seventeen- and 18-year-old kids, in the paper every day," Maston says. "Girls come up to you like you’re a rock star. All the dopers wanted to hang out with us."

On Dec. 17 at Texas Stadium, the starters ate cake on the sideline as subs finished the 31-14 rout.

As UIL athletic director Bill Farney joined James on the victory podium, James eased the awkwardness by joking that the winners’ certificates were probably printed in disappearing ink.

But as the players hoisted the championship trophy, the prospect of having it taken was far from their minds. On the field, where it mattered, they were unbeaten.

What next?

"That emotional high and that adrenaline rush of stardom that we got every day, it came to a crescendo and all of a sudden it stopped," Maston says. "These days, they would try to have counseling, someone to mentor these kids.

"We were just let loose on the city."

Twitter: @Townbrad

Timeline

Carter’s state title journey

1988

NOV. 9: The UIL receives a tip that Gary Edwards’ first-six-weeks algebra grade was changed from failing to passing.

NOV. 10: The District 11-5A executive committee rules Carter must forfeit three games and its playoff spot. NOV. 11: The Dallas ISD reinstates Carter, which defeats Plano East in the playoffs that night.

NOV. 18: Texas Education Agency commissioner William Kirby decides Carter violated no-pass, no-play. The UIL reinstates Plano East into the playoffs. State District Judge Paul Davis issues a temporary injunction restraining Kirby from determining eligibility and directs the UIL to restore Carter to the playoffs.

NOV. 19: In a second-round playoff game delayed a day because of the legal wrangling, Carter defeats Samuell, 28-0.

NOV. 26: Carter defeats Lufkin in a regional semifinal, 31-7.

DEC. 1: After several hours of testimony, Davis says DISD’s lawsuit seeking to make his restraining order permanent will drag into the following week. The delay clears Carter to play Marshall in two days.

DEC. 3: Carter scores with three seconds left to defeat Marshall, 22-18.

DEC. 6: Davis rules that Kirby does not have authority to determine player eligibility, clearing Carter to play Odessa Permian in the state semifinals. Kirby and other state officials vow to appeal.

DEC. 8: The TEA and UIL lodge appeals of Davis’ injunction to the 3rd Court of Appeals. The filing automatically earns the TEA a stay of Davis’ injunction, restoring Kirby’s ruling. The UIL, however, remains under the injunction and powerless to stop Carter from playing.

DEC. 10: Carter defeats Permian, 14-9.

DEC. 17: Carter beats Judson, 31-14, for the Class 5A state championship.

1989

JULY 18: In a final order, Davis reaffirms his ruling that Kirby abused his power in citing Carter for violating no-pass, no-play. Although this preserves Carter’s state title, Kirby vows to appeal.

1990

JUNE: The Legislature passes, and Gov. Bill Clements signs, a school reform law that restricts future lawsuits against no-pass, no play. The new provision also makes the TEA commissioner’s decision final in no-pass, no-play cases unless a school district can prove the decision is arbitrary and capricious.

OCT. 3: The UIL says it will strip Carter of its 1988 football title after the 3rd Court of Appeals dismisses DISD’s 1988 suit against Kirby and the TEA. The court’s action has the effect of reinstating Kirby’s original ruling that Carter violated no-pass, no-play.

1991

JAN. 10: Carter’s football title is officially stripped with a unanimous vote by the UIL’s executive committee. Carter is ordered to return the championship trophy and attempt to collect and return individual player medals.

Source Article

The post Scandal taints legacy of 1988 Dallas Carter football team, perhaps talent-wise the best in Texas history appeared first on How To Find The Best Apartments 75052.

Learn More: http://www.northgeorgiasportsman.com/scandal-taints-legacy-of-1988-dallas-carter-football-team-perhaps-talent-wise-the-best-in-texas-history/

[olympicgames-en]

Rowlett Special Olympics basketball coach new to the sport

#OlympicGames [Plano Star Courier]The Rowlett High School Special Olympics basketball has a first-year team, but through hard work and coaching by Charity Griffin they won gold at the Colonial Athletic Association Division. Griffin has been with Garland ISD nine years, beginning her career ...

[buddypriest-blog]

When I first started teaching and coaching, people continually asked me why I chose that profession. I always responded that when you work with students that no two days are the same and that I loved the variety and freshness each day brought! Sadly, I will be stepping away from that season of life and moving on to a new opportunity and another passion of mine. I have an opportunity to work with a great friend of mine from college, Ryan Kirkpatrick, both in real estate and property investments. I have had my real estate license for a few years now and have been involved in house flips since I was 8 yrs old with my dad. The opportunity to serve my friends in the purchase or sell of their home has sparked a new passion in me and the brokerage Olive Tree Real Estate Group has opened their arms to me like family. Part of the next stage for me is to build my network of contacts, which basically means taking people out to lunch & coffee and catching up on life. That is something I will greatly enjoy and will gladly foot the bill for, so know that I will stay in touch and feel honored to serve you or any referrals you send my way. Leaving the classroom and the football field will be very difficult for me, but with prayer and wise counsel, my confidence in this decision has continued to grow. I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the amazing students, players, teachers, coaches and administrators who made my career such a joy. The University of Oklahoma, Plano ISD (both Vines HS and Clark HS) and Frisco ISD, specifically Heritage High School, have been amazing places to work and have a positive impact on students. Honestly, more than any game I ever won, the most lasting joy came from being able to play a part in sending an athlete off to play college football under a full scholarship, that without they may never have had the ability to afford. That is lasting impact, being able to help change the destiny of a family in a positive way. To me, that is more valuable than any ring I could ever win. Go Forth & Be Bold! Thank You & God Bless, Buddy Priest buddy@olivetreerealestategroup.com (405) 474-7729 (at Olive Tree Real Estate Group)

[collincountymagazine]

Plano baseball coach retiring

Longtime Plano baseball coach Rick Robertson is leaving the diamond behind. The Wildcats coach has produced more than 50 college players at Plano Senior High and won close to 600 games in 13 seasons on Independence Parkway. He has been a coach for 35 seasons.

[collincountymagazine]

Plano girls win Regional Semifinal over Frenship, 64-49

Fort Worth, Texas: The Plano Wildcats, led by 24 points from sophomore Jordyn Merritt, won the Class 6A Region Semifinal with a 64-49, win over Frenship at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center on Friday night.

Plano, which employed man-to-man coverage to stop Frenship, takes on top-ranked Duncanville in the Region Final at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth. Duncanville beat No. 9 Arlington Bowie, 65-44,…

[csrgood]

Texas Instruments Grants $8.1 Million to Provide Access to Education in Under-resourced Areas Throughout North Texas

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) announced today that its corporate and foundation education grants total $8.1 million in 2018, of which $6.9 million (85%) aims to improve kindergarten through 12th grade science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. More than 155,000 area students and nearly 7,000 local educators are impacted by the grants, 97% of which target under-resourced students in the Dallas area. Grant recipients include a variety of nonprofit partners in North Texas, where giving back and supporting the community is part of the company’s legacy.

Less than half of U.S. high school graduates are ready for college-level math, and less than one-third are ready for college-level science.[i] Magnifying the challenge for Texas, the state’s eighth grade student scores in mathematics have fallen since they peaked in 2011, with only 33 percent of Texas students performing at or above proficiency levels.[ii] STEM skills are a requisite of the 21st century workforce, making the issue of insufficient STEM education high stakes, especially for unprepared students.

“There is a pressing need to help students deepen their understanding of math and science and to encourage and equip teachers with tools and resources that address that need,” said Andy Smith, executive director of the TI Foundation and TI director of corporate philanthropy. “We’re on a mission to increase the number of students who receive a quality education, which includes expanding STEM education opportunities to under-resourced communities and under-represented minority students and girls in North Texas. This includes working with like-minded partners to develop effective math and science teachers, one of the greatest influences on student success. Simply put, all children deserve a quality education, no matter their background and circumstance, and we are doing what we can to help provide that.”

Funded programs include:

A STEM feeder pattern within the Lloyd V. Berkner High School attendance zone in the Richardson Independent School District (RISD) in north Texas. The three-year program will be managed through Educate Texas, the public-private initiative of Communities Foundation of Texas, which is working with RISD to implement a “STEM for All” concept to reshape the teaching and learning of STEM subjects across all grade levels, from pre-K through 12th grade within the Berkner feeder schools.

Expanding the National Math and Science Initiative College Readiness Program (CRP) to two high schools in the Irving Independent School District –Nimitz and Irving. Through intensive professional development and coaching, the program will train math, science and English Advanced Placement® (AP) teachers to more effectively teach those courses. Success in rigorous coursework, such as AP classes during high school, is a key indicator of post-secondary success. In effect since 2000, the CRP is a proven methodology to increase qualifying AP scores and to improve teacher effectiveness.

The Urban Teachers certification program to recruit and retain effective math and science teachers. The hands-on curriculum is specifically designed for urban schools. The TI Foundation grant will support training math and science teachers in Dallas ISD, and in local KIPP and Urban Teachers charter schools.

A new, advanced STEM education program for public school principals through the University of North Texas at Dallas Emerging Teacher Institute. The program is implementing an innovative approach to preparing the next generation of school leaders to nurture school campuses to achieve uncommon STEM and Career and Technical Education outcomes for students. The program will train 30 principal candidates, providing them with graduate degrees and principal certifications.

Other supported initiatives include: KIPP Texas Public Schools in the DFW area, a public charter school network that is currently educating nearly 3,000 kindergarten through ninth-grade students in southern Dallas; middle school and high school robotics competitions -- a proven way to increase STEM engagement among participating students; and the Texas Instruments Innovation in STEM Teaching Awards for the Dallas, Garland, Lancaster, Mesquite, Plano and Richardson school districts.

TI's commitment to education, which dates to the company's inception in 1930, remains its highest philanthropic priority. During the past five years, TI’s philanthropic commitment to education totals nearly $150 million and joins giving with volunteering to grow more STEM-capable students. In addition to grants, TI encourages employees to give their time as mentors, tutors and other volunteer roles. For more information about TI's support of education please see www.ti.com/education. Read about TI’s approach to giving at www.ti.com/giving or in the Corporate Citizenship Report at www.ti.com/ccr.

# # #

About Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog ICs and embedded processors. By employing the world's brightest minds, TI creates innovations that shape the future of technology. TI is helping approximately 100,000 customers transform the future, today. Learn more at www.ti.com.

About the Texas Instruments Foundation The Texas Instruments Foundation, founded in 1964, is a non-profit organization solely funded by Texas Instruments providing philanthropic support for educational and charitable purposes primarily in the communities where TI operates. Committed to supporting educational excellence, the foundation works to create measurable, replicable programs and initiatives. The focus is on providing knowledge, skills and programs to improve STEM education and increase the percentage of high school graduates who are math and science capable. More information can be found at www.ti.com/education.

Advanced Placement® is a registered trademark of the College Board.

[i] ACT: The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2016

[ii] The Nation’s Report Card, National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2017 Mathematics State Snapshot Report: Texas, Grade 8, Public Schools. Report released April 10, 2018

source: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/41310-Texas-Instruments-Grants-8-1-Million-to-Provide-Access-to-Education-in-Under-resourced-Areas-Throughout-North-Texas?tracking_source=rss