Trustees honor accomplishments of students, staff and volunteers

Nurses have endured significant challenges during the last year. Yes, every staff member has had to adjust during the pandemic— principals, teachers, and so many others—but HPISD school nurses have gone above and beyond. Their extra work included the risks of working in a clinic during a pandemic and continuing to assess the health of students, including those showing symptoms of the virus. Trustees and district leaders recognized the efforts of each school nurse and thanked the team for putting in the extra hours to minimize the spread of the virus at our schools.

 

School nurses are Crystal Hunt, Armstrong; Whitney Hornberger, Boone; Kimberly Hartis, Bradfield; Kelley Rather, Hyer; Amy Huey, UP; Katie Romo, MIS; Rachel Stienke, HPMS; Angie Glass, Kristen Ottinger and Anabel Atkinson, HPHS.

 

Highland Park High School student Mary Elise Krasovec was presented with a certificate of achievement and a framed copy of her photograph "Fireflies" that was selected for the cover of the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR) during the April school board meeting. View the CAFR report and see the cover photo here.

 

The HPHS math and science teams took first place in Science, second place in Mathematics, fourth place in Calculator and sixth place in Number Sense in the 5A division at the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) State Championship Meet March 20. Team members Luke Ting, Evan Huang, Joyce Jiang, Weitao Shi, Michelle Xing, Justin Li, Alyssa Wang, Evan Wang, Parth Nandekar, Geoffrey Son were each presented with a certificate of achievement at the April school board meeting. Read the full story here.

 

Trustees recognized 23 HPISD teachers, six of whom were in attendance at the school board meeting, for their participation in the first cohort of the Reading Academies training. By the year 2023 all staff will need to complete this TEA-required training in early reading skills. The training reinforces the HPISD Early Literacy Framework that was put in place a few years ago.

 

Teacher participants include Haley Aiken, Leslie Anderson, Liz Arras, Katie Barrow, Jessica Bishop, Cara Busker, Julie Campbell, Natalie Cornelius, Laura Cornett, Kendra Hagen, Melissa Fuqua, Courtney Hoek, Jennifer Knagg, Courtney Kemendo, Yvonne Lewis, Nancy (Bailey) McGraw, Lindsay Paris, Katherine Pownell, Sara Meeks, Laura Rollins, Joy Rumsey and Carolyn Taylor.

 

Trustees formally honored longtime community volunteer Cindy Kerr (’71) for her leadership, creativity and hard work in bringing the HPISD two-story Memorabilia Wall in the Multi-Use Building to fruition. Cindy spent nearly three years and hundreds of hours curating, collecting and storing keepsakes from HP alums. The Board also acknowledged her past service as the chair of HPISD’s Centennial in 2014, former president of the PTA at both Hyer and HPHS, and the instrumental role she played in starting Mad for Plaid.

 

PTA presidents were presented with certificates of appreciation at the conclusion of the April meeting in honor of the countless hours they serve in their volunteer leadership roles. The recognition was part of the district's effort to observe Public School Volunteer Week.

 

Thank you to our PTA, PTO, Dads Clubs and other HPISD volunteers who share their talents and skills by serving on formal decision-making committees, overseeing campus activities, conducting fundraising events, assisting classroom teachers, overseeing cafeteria food service and school supply rooms, coordinating special projects and supporting student activities. These volunteers work tirelessly to ensure educational support is offered to every student across the district in a variety of activities that inspire learning and participation.