Spring Branch ISD new principal & district appointments

Spring Branch ISD has announced the following new principal and administrative appointments for the school year beginning on Monday, Aug. 25.

Principal/School Director Appointments

Lisa Weir will be the Principal at Memorial High School. Lisa has served for 17 years inside SBISD as a teacher, assistant principal and principal at Memorial Middle School. She replaces William Lakin who has retired.

Dave Parker will be the Principal at Memorial Middle School, replacing Lisa Weir who is now principal at Memorial High. Dave has served 15 years inside SBISD as a teacher and Assistant Principal at two district high schools. He has served in several key roles with the district’s summer secondary programs.

Patricia Thomas has been named to the new role of Executive Principal at both Landrum Middle School and Ridgecrest Elementary School. Patricia has served 15 years in SBISD as a special education teacher, school improvement specialist, assistant principal and principal. Since January, she has served as Interim Principal at Landrum Middle, site of the district SKY Partnership with the KIPP Courage charter program.

Jeremy Jones has been named the new Director for the YES Prep at Northbrook Middle charter student program. Jeremy has 11 years in education, including instructional positions with Teach for America and YES Prep, and principal/ administrative positions also with YES Prep and the Achievement School District in Tennessee. He replaces Cendie Stanford who has retired.

Pamela Pennington has been named the new Principal at Woodview Elementary School. Pamela begins principal duties after 17 years in SBISD as a teacher, a diagnostician, and an instructional specialist. She served the past four years as assistant principal at Bunker Hill Elementary School. She replaces Neda Scanlan who has retired.

Administrative/Other Announcements

Sherri Lawson is moving from Manager to SBISD Director of Transportation. She has worked inside the SBISD Transportation Dept. for 14 years as an administrative manager, and has 28 years total in Texas public education.

Cathie Robinson has been named Executive Director of To and Through, which will include oversight of secondary counselors, registrars, academic advisors and all initiatives focused on increasing numbers of students going to and through higher education.

Lance Stallworth is moving from Director of Curriculum and Instruction to Executive Director of Curriculum and Teacher Development. He will work with Lead I-Coaches and Campus I-Coaches, as well as in areas ranging from Program of Studies and Grading to Summer School.

Elliott Witney will serve as Executive Director of Strategic Leadership and Innovation. His change of title reflects a new role in oversight of all leadership development in the district. He will continue to oversee strategic initiatives and innovation, in addition to added duties.

Steve Shorter has been selected as the Executive Director of Student Instructional Services. Steve has more than 20 years experience with Spring Branch ISD. He served the last four years as Director of Recruiting and Staff Placement in the Human Resources Department.

Allison Tennyson has been named Benefits Manager in the Human Resources Department. Allison was the Director of Human Resources with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Atlanta. A former student and graduate of Spring Branch ISD schools, she attended Terrace Elementary, Spring Oaks Middle School and Spring Woods High School. She replaces Amanda Kirshman who has resigned.

Rachel Martinez returns to SBISD this fall as Principal in Residence at Spring Shadows Elementary School. Rachel previously served as Assistant Principal at Treasure Forest, and was serving as the Principal at Port Houston Elementary School in HISD.

Kristi Avalos has been selected as the Assistant Principal at Spring Branch Elementary School. Kristi has 13 years experience with Spring Branch ISD where she served as a Teacher, Intervention Specialist and ESOL Consultant at Spring Branch Elementary. Kristi replaces Millie Alvarez who resigned to accept a position in another school district.

Dawn Cole has rejoined SBISD as the Associate Principal at Memorial High School. Dawn is currently the Instructional Coach at KIPP Houston High School. She is replacing Mindy Munoz, who has resigned.

Doris Gates has been named Assistant Principal at Spring Oaks Middle School. Doris has more than 15 years experience in education. She moves to Spring Oaks Middle after serving as the Instructional and Campus Improvement Specialist with the District. Doris replaces Tai Shan Jackson, who has resigned.

Robert Gonzalez has been named the Assistant Principal at Spring Oaks Middle School. Robert has more than 15 years experience in education. Robert moves to this position from Head Band Director at Northbrook High School. He replaces Michael Schwartz who has resigned.

Hillary Hiler has been named Assistant Principal at Memorial Middle School. Hillary was a teacher at Memorial High School for the past nine years. She replaces Michael Stokebrand who is new Assistant Principal at Memorial High School.

Katie Kavanagh has been named Assistant Principal at Spring Woods High School. Katie has 10 years experience with SBISD. She served the last 2 years as a Teacher Recruiter in the Human Resources Department. She replaces Candice Ayala who has accepted another position in the District.

Kendra O’Keefe has been selected as Assistant Principal at Northbrook High School. She has been a teacher in Katy ISD since 2006 and was serving at James E. Taylor High School.

Erika Rodriguez will be the new Assistant Principal at Bunker Hill Elementary School. Erika previously worked as the Interdisciplinary Instructional Coach at Thornwood Elementary School. She is replacing Pamela Pennington who is the new Principal at Woodview Elementary School.

Michael Stokebrand has been selected as Assistant Principal at Memorial High School. He was serving as an Assistant Principal at Memorial Middle School.

Gregory Tammen has been named Assistant Principal at Spring Woods Middle School. Gregory has 18 years experience in Education and has also worked at Lamar CISD where he served as a teacher for the past three years. He replaces Eric Mullens who resigned to accept a position in Hempstead ISD.

Natalia Fernandez has been selected as Administrative Intern for the System of Care in the SBISD Administration and Operations Department. Natalia has 6 years of experience in education. She previously worked at Teach for America as the Manager for Teacher Leadership Development.

Rusty Graham has joined SBISD as Senior Writer in the Community Relations and Communications Departments. Rusty served as editor of the Memorial Examiner newspaper for many years, and he knows SBISD’s schools, programs and people very well.

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SBISD Back to School -- Bond Program Update

When Spring Branch voters approved a $597.1 million bond program in November 2007, few could have predicted the good fortune about to befall the district. The national recession that caught hold in 2008 and 2009 was a stroke of luck for Spring Branch ISD. Lower construction costs met up with low interest rates on bond sales and by the spring of 2010, with a contingency fund of more than $50 million, trustees added a 13th school, Rummel Creek Elementary, to the list of schools to be rebuilt.
The district accelerated the building program that same spring, breaking ground on five elementary schools in May 2010 to take advantage of the lower costs.

Along the way, the district also upgraded its bus fleet, its technology, made improvements to mechanical and other systems at each district facility, and made drainage improvements at a number of campuses and facilities. “We’ve been very fortunate in this program,” Karen Wilson, associate superintendent for finance, told the Bond Oversight Committee at its August meeting.

The entrance and media center at the new Valley Oaks Elementary School get exterior touches.

Fast forward to the 2014-15 school year, and Spring Branch ISD has only a handful of projects active under the 2007 bond program. A rebuilt Valley Oaks Elementary is nearing completion and will open in January 2015, while Rummel Creek Elementary begins the school year at the South Transition Campus while its new building is constructed.

Ground will break next spring on new Cornerstone Academy and Academy of Choice buildings, on the site of the former Spring Branch High School. The work at the Spring Branch Education Center site on Westview will be the last major project of the 2007 bond program. About $16 million was budgeted for maintenance work at the facility, but the district found another $12 or so million for the $28 million to upgrade the facility.

Masons finish a wall near the Pech Road entrance to the new Valley Oaks Elementary School.

Vines Science Center will get a new roof as well as HVAC upgrades and a fresh coat of paint. Tully Stadium will get a new scoreboard this fall, rounding out the work done at the district’s main athletic facility. Previous work under the 2007 bond program included paving the parking lot, replacing the border fence, revamping the entry facing Dairy Ashford and redoing the press boxes. With about $563 million sold of the $597 million authorized, the district has about $34 million in bonds left to sell, said Wilson.

The bonds have earned $7.4 million in interest, and along with insurance settlements extend the total funds available in the 2007 bond program to about $608 million. All the bonds have been sold at interest rates of less than 5 percent, using a combination of tax-exempt, Build America Bonds (which are taxable), and variable rate, Wilson said.

The gym and a single classroom wing remain of the former Rummel Creek Elementary School.

The original assumption for the bond program was a 5 percent interest rate, said Terrell Palmer of First Southwest, the district’s bond advisor, earlier this year. “But there was not one issue over 5 percent,” Palmer said. The first issue was at 4.9 percent, he said, and the rest were below 4 percent. During the most recent issue, the district sold some bonds at a variable rate of 1.09 percent. Palmer said at that time the district has a future bond capacity of more than $350 million at the current debt service tax rate of $.3045 “If interest rates stay low and assessed value stays high, that’s a good combination for Spring Branch,” he said. With the program winding down, Bond Oversight Committee members at the August meeting praised the district’s work, particularly the decision to accelerate the program.

Crews work inside what will be the media center at the New Valley Oaks Elementary School.

While the 2007 bond program was always a 10-year program, and the new Cornerstone Academy and Academy of Choice should come online in December 2016, the district saved significant money by taking advantage of the economic downturn and its effect on construction costs and interest rates.

Committee member Gregory Krieder was particularly impressed with the acceleration and that “Spring Branch (ISD) had the heart to do it,” and said that he uses the program as an example in other work he does. The committee also praised the data-driven decisions that guided the program, the district’s adherence to the work that voters approved and the program’s management.

Elementary schools rebuilt as part of the 2007 bond program are Westwood, Hollibrook, Ridgecrest, Shadow Oaks, Wilchester, Edgewood, Spring Branch, Meadow Wood, Pine Shadows, Housman, Frostwood, Valley Oaks and Rummel Creek.

-- This story was written by Spring Branch ISD Senior Writer Rusty Graham

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Family dogs inspire young artists at Memorial secondary campuses

More than 50 Memorial-area secondary art students won recognition in a youth art exhibit held during the recent Houston World Series of Dog Shows. Memorial High School’s Anna Cho won both Best of Show and Best in Grade among 11th-grade student entries.

Anna, who is a Memorial High senior this year, was awarded $600 total, including $500 for Best in Show and $100 for Best in Grade. The awards were presented during the annual dog show held July 16-20 at NRG Park. Teen artists competed for prizes under the art theme, “The Dog, Man’s Best Friend,” which drew 929 separate entries from students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Student talent from 17 school districts was displayed at the show’s 24th annual Dr. Mari Jon Filla Student Art Exhibit & Contest. The Houston World Series of Dog Shows is the city’s premier event for dog enthusiasts of all ages.

The annual show was formerly known as the Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows. Student awards include:

Memorial High School

Best in Show/Best in Grade Awards
Anna Cho, 11th Grade, Best in Show and Best in Grade awards -- $600 total award Leslie Clark, Ninth Grade, Best in Grade Award -- $100 award

Committee Choice Awards
Mia Alfonso, 11th Grade -- $50 award Katherine Anderson, 10th Grade -- $50 award Erica Kim, 10th Grade -- $50 award Joy Lu, Ninth Grade -- $50 award

Excellence Awards
Carla Bay, 11th Grade Hope Brunner, 10th Grade Maris Calledare, 12th Grade Kayla Cecil, 10th Grade Ryan Cowell, 12th Grade Julia Delaney, Ninth Grade Lacey Dusek, 12th Grade Audrey Finck, Ninth Grade Sydney Good, 10th Grade William Herrera, 12th Grade David Hickerson, Ninth Grade Christina Hong, 10th Grade Isabel Jack, 10th Grade Caroline Jones, 10th Grade Jessica Kim, 12th Grade Alex Ramirez, Grade Not Listed Meghan Reily, 12th Grade Ashley Reynolds, 10th Grade Shermineh Roudi, 10th Grade David Salas, 11th Grade Ashley Womack, 10th Grade Zhaorong Zhan, 11th Grade Minkyung Yun, 11th Grade

Merit Awards
Christopher An, Ninth Grade Luis Antillon, 10th Grade Jennifer Demkler, 12th Grade Madeline Freeman, 11th Grade Maria Don Juan, 10th Grade Savannah Herrington, 10th Grade Israa Ibrahim, 11th Grade Anamika Kaewloyma, 11th Grade Emma Keller, 10th Grade Katherine Klaff, Ninth Grade Naoto Kobayashi, 10th Grade Nayce Kwon, 12th Grade Michelle Moore, 10th Grade Sarni Palermo, 11th Grade Kirby Rathjen, 10th Grade Biancarla Reyes, 11th Grade Noreen Saget, 10th Grade Courtney Slattery, 10th Grade Vaughn Solcher, 10th Grade Devon Stratton, 11th Grade Sydney Wallace, Ninth Grade Memorial Middle School Hannah Kim, Seventh Grade, Committee Choice Award -- $50 award

Click here to view the official Houston World Series of Dog Shows website: http://www.houstondogshows.com

Click here to view winning student artwork: http://houstondogshows.com/dr-mila-jon-filla-student-art-exhibit-and-contest-winners/

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