Southwest Region AP Award Winner

Denise Loftin, an Advanced Placement (AP) calculus teacher at Spring Woods High School, has received the 2015 Southwestern Region AP Award from College Board officials.

Loftin, who has taught in Spring Branch ISD for 26 years, earned the AP honor from the College Board for her significant and positive impacts at Spring Woods High in the Advanced Placement program.

The College Board recognized her during the Southwestern Regional Forum, held in Dallas several months ago. Loftin is a Spring Woods High graduate herself and says that she is “thrilled” to return to her former high school.

She began teaching AP calculus at Stratford High School and says she learned that in classrooms with several National Merit Semifinalists, class instruction had to be totally accurate or she would be quickly challenged as an instructor.

She attended every AP conference possible to be the best instructor possible, first at Stratford High and then again more recently at Spring Woods High.

“I realized quickly that teaching students to get the answer was never going to be enough. If the students didn’t understand the material backwards, forwards, and upside down, then they were not going to do well,” Loftin states.

“I know today that I became a better teacher because of this experience. AP and the College Board reinforced my passion to teach math for understanding,” she adds.

After teaching district elementary Gifted and Talented students for several years, she returned to AP math workshops and training when she joined Spring Woods.  

“I feel like this is an award that is shared by the high school,” she said. “I had the support of the administration while working to improve the AP program here, and I have the students who will work with me. My Advanced Placement colleagues keep me going on days that are tough, and they are part of this award, too.”

AP Award Nomination excerpts for Denise Loftin:

“When I took this job at Spring Woods High School, I was told that I would find many diamonds in the rough, students who would shine if expectations were high and the teaching consistent, and I have.

“I love the students here, and once I let go of my desire to focus mainly on AP scores, I found gold in the students who were willing to work every day at their schoolwork while holding down at least one job. I found gold in the students of limited English proficiency who never give up when they rarely if ever rise above the passing level. I find satisfaction when I hear that a student who barely passed my class became an honors student in college after realizing, finally, that education requires hard work.

“This is, I think, one of the strengths of the AP program. It is uncompromising in its curriculum, and so students learn how to meet an unwavering standard. Or, they learn that if they don’t work, they will miss this opportunity.”

“I need both the challenge of working with the urban and diverse students of Spring Woods High School and the joy of watching these students realize their own capabilities. My students deserve a teacher who believes in them and their ability because they often do not believe in themselves.

“I look around my room at the students I teach and think about the endurance they show by continuing to work in the hardest class offered here, in spite of grades that are hard to make and outside pressure and demands on their time, and I know that I am lucky to be here, to be the teacher that shows them what they are capable of, and to be the transition that helps them to be successful in college.”

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She’s a Google Summer Intern!

It’s shaping up to be a dream summer for one graduate at Westchester Academy for International Studies (WAIS), the kind of internship any tech-minded young adult would love to put on a professional resume. 

On Monday, June 1, Cassandra Ung graduated magna cum laude with her 2015 WAIS class at Don Coleman Coliseum. Next month, she heads to Boston for a prized appointment to the Google Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI), which will be held July 12-August 1.

CSSI is a three-week introduction to the field of computer science for students historically underrepresented in the heavily male dominated field. The institute isn’t your average summer camp either. Here is what Google states about it: “It’s an intensive, interactive, hands-on and fun program that seeks to inspire the tech leaders and innovators of tomorrow by supporting the study of computer science, software engineering and other closely related subjects.”

Cassandra’s travel and board is fully paid to Cambridge, Mass., the location of top schools like Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Google students attend learning sessions that include several computer languages, as well as programming fundamentals. Students may even design or develop their own applications.

No previous computer language or computer coding skills are required, but for Cassandra her winning Google application fits like a glove into her college and career plans.

An International Baccalaureate student at WAIS, she will study this fall at the University of Texas at Austin where she hopes to major in either electrical or computer engineering, or both. She is also interested in film animation and in software applications that support film and video.

One of her WAIS instructors, Math Department chair and campus technology representative Anthony Carandong spotted the Google summer internship. He encouraged her to apply.

“I was completely shocked when I received the email [notification],” Cassandra says. “It came right after I had received some rejections from universities, and I was feeling down so that really changed my day!”

She credits the IB program at WAIS and the district charter high school’s small size and close student-teacher interaction with her own success as a top student.

Her interests include volunteer work in schools in Cambodia, where her parents grew up. She has traveled to the Southeast Asian nation and volunteered at Don Bosco High School in Phnom Penh, the capital city.

She helped several students there remain in school rather than dropping out and working to support their families. “Two or three girls that I knew when I was in Cambodia graduate this summer. I’m so proud of them,” Cassandra says.

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First in Class & Full-Day PreK Program

Maribel Paredes (in gown on left) and Heybi Torres (in gown on right) with Lion Lane Director Sharee Cantrell (middle) and The Lion Lane School employees

Northbrook High’s valedictorian, Heybi Torres, and salutatorian, Maribel Paredes, made district history for more than their stellar academic grades as they graduated May 30 in Don Coleman Coliseum alongside the high school’s Class of 2015.

In 2001, Heybi and Maribel were 4-year-olds enrolled at the Lion Lane School for Early Learning as that self-contained educational facility at 2210 Ridgecrest began its first year of operation. The two future top students were enrolled in Lion Lane’s first class of 300 students of which 90 graduated with the Class of 2015.

On May 30, these two proved in a deeply human way on the stage at Don Coleman Coliseum just how powerful full-day PreK education can be. Their dreams are big!

Heybi is focused on a medical career. She will attend Texas A&M University this fall. “I remember coming over to Lion Lane to be enrolled and taking a language test. I thought everything was cool. I think prekindergarten prepared me well and that by kindergarten I was already reading,” she said. “That was a big deal for me.”

Maribel recalls a bashful 4-year-old who loved naptime and the first Water Day at Lion Lane, a fun-filled celebration. “Being able to go to Lion Lane, and then to be prepared for kindergarten, helps you in the future,” she said.

The first in her family to attend college, Maribel will head to Texas A&M, too. She plans to major in environmental design. Her dream is a career in architecture where she designs homes for others.

Both Lion Lane students attended Ridgecrest Elementary, Cornerstone Academy and Northbrook High. At Ridgecrest, they were in the same classroom.

Top row, third student from left:  Heybi Torres in The Lion Lane School
2001-2002 class photo

Lion Lane Director Sharee Cantrell isn’t surprised by the success of the two girls. She has been following Lion Lane and other preK students since district program options began 20 years ago, as well as since the five, full-day district Schools for Early Learning opened 14 years ago.

Spring Branch ISD has five, full-day prekindergarten programs headquartered in stand-alone buildings with secure playground courtyards. The program is free to those who meet eligibility guidelines; tuition of $595 per month is charged to all others for nine months when the schools are in session. Scholarships are available.

All prekindergarten teachers at The Lion Lane School are degreed teachers, with state certifications and unique training in child development and early education.

Top row, second student from left:  Maribel Paredes in The Lion Lane School
2001-2002 class photo

“I’m just really proud of them,” Cantrell said of the two grads before turning her remarks to the overall performance of Spring Branch ISD prekindergarten grads.

Cantrell said that data shows that prekindergarten students score higher than the district and state averages on assessments throughout their elementary, middle and high school years.“We know from the data that prekindergarten makes a difference," she said.

Heybi and Maribel have simple advice for those coming up after them. “Don’t let your Zip Code define your future,” Heybi said. “Everything is possible as long as you have a goal and you stick to that goal no matter the obstacles.”

“Work hard, and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Maribel said. Lion Lane’s rules live on in their first graduates, their former teachers and Director Cantrell report. 

For more information on SBISD prekindergarten, please visit the Early Childhood page.

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