In June 2011, George began his internship at ConocoPhillips Corporate Aviation Services. As an intern, his duties included the following:

• Completed numerous business management projects.
• Composed business deals and transactions totalling over $8,000.
• Assisted in aircraft parts inventory.
• Provided outstanding customer care for shuttle/executive passengers.
• Assisted in an IT file cleanup project for the entire department.
• Aided in smooth and efficient shuttle and on-demand executive aircraft operations.
• Created documented procedures and processes for a multitude of events.
• Provided general office assistance for the business management team.

As a result of George’s passion, hard work and dependability, he was able to extend his internship with ConocoPhillips throughout the school year as a part-time shuttle operations member.

Along with all the experience George received by performing a wide range of tasks, he was also exposed to a great team of highly professional individuals in the aviation field who gave advice, guidance and encouragement. As he learned what it takes to work in a corporate flight department, he made it a priority to take full advantage of the opportunity and grasp as much knowledge as he could about management, operations, planes and life skills. George Smith was also able to travel to Bartlesville, Oklahoma on the company shuttle aircraft to observe how airport operations work on a smaller scale.

Because of his success, and the spirit of excellence with which he operates, his internship experience has helped to establishment a partnership and special bond between Sterling High School’s Aviation Magnet Program and ConocoPhillips, creating internship opportunities for other students in the Aviation Sciences Magnet Program.

Doug Schwartz, ConocoPhillips Aviation Manager, states that, “George exemplifies the best qualities of a student who is motivated to learn and attain a successful career in the aviation industry. As a result of our experience with George, ConocoPhillips has committed to grow our support and partnership with the HISD Aviation Magnet Program by continuing to hire and mentor high potential students. This is a real win-win situation for ConocoPhillips and the HISD program.”

Cesar Diaz, 2nd Place Web Site Design Team
Tiffany Say, 2nd Place Web Site Design Team
Brandi Reis, 2nd Place Web Site Design Team
Emily Montanez, 2nd Place Web Site Design Team
Emily Montanez, 7th Place Spreadsheet Applications
Desiree Reis, 10th Place Spreadsheet Applications
Brandi Reis, 11th Place Spreadsheet Applications
Desiree Reis, 5th Place Keyboarding Production
Tiffany Say, 8th Place Keyboarding Production
Cesar Diaz, 7th Place Business Communication Skills
Emily Montanez, 7th Place Business Communication Skills
Cesar Diaz, 3rd Place Extemporaneous Speech

Reagan High School, Vesta Pears

Juan Martin, 1st Place - Graphic Design Promotion
Joshua Anderson, 1st Place - PC Troubleshooting
Juan Almaguer, Fundamental Accounting
Elizabeth Fuentes, Keyboarding Production

Sharpstown High School, Rosetta Calhoun

Sendy Henriquez, 1st place Accounting
Irvin Collazo, 3rd Place Accounting
Sendy Henriquez, Irvin Collazo, and Pamela Montemayor, 2nd Place Accounting Team Award
Sendy Henriquez, 1st Place Computer Applications
Denise O’Guinn, 2nd Place Computer Applications
Crystal Garcia, Finalist Computer Applications

Austin High School, Mary Williams
9th Grade Principles of Business, Finance and Marketing students. These students are to be commended as they have completed the Everfi Financial Literacy program and obtained their certifications. This program has taught students the basics of banking: savings and earning interest, credit card management, options for paying for college, what a credit score and much more.

Sharpstown High Shcool, Jason Slanina
Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance Classes at Sharpstown High School have been working diligently to complete the on-line financial literacy certification, EverFi. Kudos to both students and teacher!!!!

Students enrolled in Business Information Management for dual credit under Catherine Smith were recently showcased at Houston Community College’s (HCC) Mobile Learning Symposium. Smith and her group have continued to pioneer new ways of integrating technology into the classroom that drives learning and retention.

Ms. Smith introduced mobile learning through the Apple iPad to her students last year and has built a set of customized instructional podcasts around mastering Microsoft Office. This year their iPads have access to a full version of the latest Microsoft Office software suite via HCC’s cloud computing environment.

In combination with the Microsoft Mobile Instructional Apps, the enhancement to classroom instruction has been a great success. The students are engaged, grades have improved, and many have been successful at becoming Microsoft Certified Associates.
At the Mobile Learning Symposium, Ms. Smith gave a presentation on the implementation of her initiatives at Austin which included CTE Curriculum integration of mobile learning and core content for differentiated instruction.

Video of the presentation was produced by Carlos Aguilar, Austin HS Video Technology Instructor and his student film crew and may be accessed below.

Video: http://vimeo.com/36964865

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Take to the skies with the Flying Tigers. They're students at Sterling High School.

This year's program has put out the largest number of high school solo pilots ever. It's the only program of its kind in the state, and for these students, it's life changing.

At 17 years old, high schoolers George Smith, James Bunch and Christian Moreno are flying high and living a dream.

They are among 40 other students who are apart of Sterling High School's Aviation Sciences magnet program, which trains future pilots and others in the aviation industry. But those three students, and another two, are -- let's just say -- flying above the rest, as they have now taken to the skies, solo.

"Everything was racing through my head, everything. My parents were crying, my instructor was proud," Bunch said.

"It was just like a dream come true, it was a very exhilarating moment," Smith said.

"I felt like I am capable of doing everything," Moreno said.

Not to worry, because by the time they reach the cockpit of the Grumman Cheetah single-engine plane, they've had hours upon hours of classroom training, intense math and science from instructors at Flying Tigers Flight School.

"A great deal of science involved with aerodynamics and with the systems on the plane," flight instructor Warren Benson said.

The training usually costs thousands.

"Generally to get a private pilot license is going to cost between $6,000 and $8,000," Benson said.

For Sterling students, it is free of charge.

For these students it's about much more than flying solo; it's about an opportunity that has already changed their lives.

"No matter what obstacle that lies ahead of you, between getting from point A to point B in aviation, just stick with it and push hard for it," Smith said.

Many of the students begin their training in the ninth grade. For many of the students, like Smith, by the time they finish the program, they will likely have their private pilot's license.

Download Flyer

Academic Awards

As part of Energy Day’s year-long initiative to engage students in energy education, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the Consumer Energy Education Foundation (CEEF) and our Energy Day partners are excited to host the 2nd Annual Energy Day Academic Program.

The Energy Day Academic Program helps to amplify existing academic competitions and events through a series of six unique, citywide, energy-related competitions aimed to motivate, challenge and inspire young minds to seek careers in science and technology. Winners from each competition receive an award and recognition at Energy Day.

Ms. Ahmad was difficult to spot when I first walked into her classroom, as she was seated among the students for the upcoming presentations and was prepared to engage them in discussion. On this visit, students were presenting their Disease Research Project. The students had been asked to research a specific disease, submit a written report of their findings to describe its history, causality, epidemiology, pathology, response and treatment, along with its socio-politico-economic impact. They were also expected to stand before their peers and the teacher to present their work and to defend their body of research and conclusions.

This was an effective technique to engage all types of learners, particularly visual learners. Ms. Ahmad used peer-to-peer feedback and offered support during and after the presentations. She also used the process as a way to instruct soft skills, presentation skills, course vocabulary, and to promote literacy. She was very encouraging to the students, but every misstep and every poorly remembered fact was used as a teaching opportunity to help them improve.
Every career in the health care industry starts with a solid foundation of knowledge. The Anatomy and Physiology course provides part of that foundation at Waltrip. Anatomy is the study of the structures associated with the human body. Physiology is the study of the function of each of these structures. The understanding of anatomy and physiology are fundamental to the understanding of diseases and how to diagnose and combat them. Organ systems are so interconnected that a disease in one system may result in a symptom in another system. All of the students seem to have grasped an understanding of the complexities to overcome in the course work.

Many of the students indicated that they have aspirations for future careers in the health science industry and seemed genuinely excited about their research efforts. I observed two classes and both well-behaved groups of youngsters put forth varying degrees of effort, but I believe that all of them took away an improved skill set.

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Despite the worst job market in decades, Senniti had three job offers right out of high school.

CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reports Senniti graduated in 2009 as a certified welder from a Career and Technical Education high school -- or what used to be called vocational education. He now works for Air Products in Allentown, Pa.

John McGlade, president and CEO of Air Products, says 4,000 of his 7,500 U.S. employees are skilled workers. His global company designs and builds high-tech hydrogen equipment and devices.

McGlade is "worried" he won't be able to find skilled workers in the future. He hires about 550 U.S. workers a year. Three-hundred-and-sixty are technically skilled positions that require two years of college or advanced certification. These positions can often go unfilled for 12 months.

"You need people who are electronics experts, instrument technicians, mechanics," McGlade said.

This year funding for vocational education was cut by $140 million and President Obama is proposing a 20 percent cut next year.

"Without support and continued development of a skilled workforce, we're not going to be able to fill the jobs," McGlade warned.

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute would be impacted, as well -- 5 percent of its budget comes from federal grants. The school trains about 3,000 students from across the Lehigh Valley. According to the National Association of Career and Technical Schools, these students can earn $26 an hour more than workers with only a high school diploma.

"There is going to be more and more of those skilled jobs that are available, that are going to be paying and provide a sustaining career for years and years to come," McGlade said.

It's a career path that McGlade estimates will need 10 million more skilled workers over the next decade.

Mariel, along with the rest of the class worked hard all semester to master the certification exams. This is a first in the Burbank Middle School history to offer and recognize a high school credit class with industry certification opportunities!

Now a freshman at North Houston Early College High School, Mariel will continue the process of learning and obtaining additional Microsoft Office 2007 industry certifications under the mentorship of Kenneth Ta.

Allstate and Houston ISD teamed up to teach teens about the dangers of driving while distracted. The event was designed to help raise awareness of the problem. Students enrolled in CTE Automotive Technology were asked to go through an obstacle course while texting, reaching for the IPod, talking on the phone, or having loud friends in the backseat and boy was it scary!

The professional driving instructors tested students on their reactive skills by asking them to shuffle through quarters and dimes with one hand, pull out change while driving, scan manually to their favorite radio stations and remain focused despite an obnoxiously loud passenger.

It was all part of the Allstate Driver Challenge, which turned the parking lot of Reliant Park into a special road obstacle course.

"Driving in distraction like talking on the cell phone, text messaging, using twitter, eating... it doesn't mix with driving," said Kristen Beaman, an Allstate Spokesperson.

The young participants say it was an eye opening experience."Before they take the course, the teens think I can text message and drive all the time," said Beaman. "When they go through the course and start mowing over the cones. The driving instructor says that could have been a dog, that could have been a person and then they realize they are not so good at driving and texting at the same time."

Studies show nearly 5,000 teens die in car crashes every year, and the primary cause was not alcohol, but driver error.
"Car crashes are the number one killer of teens," said Beaman. "We're trying to drive home the message that distractions can be deadly. We're out here trying to save lives today."

Allstate also wants parents and teens to be aware of the Graduated Driver Licensing Laws, which prohibits drivers under the age of 18 to talk on a cell phone while driving. It also limits the number of teen passengers onboard.

Lisa Williams Stillwell has moved from her Career and Technical Education (CTE) teaching position to Campus Magnet Coordinator and she was able to share with me some of her goals for the coming year. The Aviation Program was established in the late 70s, and students have received first-hand experience of what it means to become a pilot since then.

In addition to the new appraisal system, the principal discussed the changing demographics of the campus and surrounding neighborhood and the importance and strength of diversity.

Included as a part of the week's agenda were two recent graduates of the Magnet School of Aviation Science at Sterling. Sterling is one of a few high schools that offer students the opportunity to graduate with an F.A.A. Certification as a Private Airplane Pilot. The flight instruction is provided as a part of their curriculum at no cost to the students. Obtaining the level of certification in the private sector would normally range in cost from $6000 - $10000.
Jeremy Jenkins, a 2008 graduate from Sterling, was the guest speaker on the first day. He obtained his air plane pilot license through the Magnet Program after two years of study that included ground school, flight training, and passing a number of exams in order to meet federal licensing requirements. He was legally able to fly all single engine airplanes before his senior year of high school. He received an Honorable Mention at the 2007-2008 Annual Board of Education Student Awards. He was nominated for the US Naval Academy at Annapolis by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Jeremy grew up near Hobby Airport and from an early age dreamed of becoming a pilot. He watched as the airplanes flew overhead and wondered if it could be possible. Entering Sterling as a freshman, he started taking flying lessons and began working at the airport in various capacities through the Career Preparation courses offered through the campus CTE Department.

Jeremy has chosen history as a major at the Academy. He is a very articulate and focused young man. He says that this was not always the case and credits his teachers for being able to pull it out of him. He also credits his Career Preparation courses and internships at Shell, TX DOTS, and others with providing invaluable work experience and people skills. Jeremy says that the CTE Programs "brought focus and concentration" to his time at Sterling and a healthy head-start when he arrived at the Naval Academy.

Jeremy has taken on the role as Sterling advocate with his superior officers at the Naval Academy (some of who did not believe that they would find fertile ground for recruiting at such a campus).

One of four boys, Jeremy's family has always been a supportive and positive influence. His mom works at the City of Houston Library and volunteers at Sterling. His father is a barber and always supportive of his son's goals. Jeremy says that the constant support from teachers, parents, and preachers was a source of inspiration.

The guest speaker on the second day was Alejandro Martinez. Alejandro was also a 2008 graduate of the Sterling High School Aviation Science Magnet Program. Unlike Jeremy, Alejandro was unaware of the Aviation Program when he first started at Sterling. Alejandro said that it took his entire freshman year at Sterling to get focused. He credited the aviation teacher with sparking his interest in flying and aviation; by simply taking the time with him and making him aware of all the options available at Sterling through CTE. He started flying in 2005, did his first solo flight in 2006, and obtained his private airplane pilot certification license in 2007.

Alejandro is currently studying at Houston Community College (HCC) and majoring in business and accounting. In addition to being a part of the Aviation Magnet Program, Alejandro was also enrolled in a coherent sequence of courses in Business Marketing while at Sterling. And like Jeremy, he was also enrolled in Career Preparation courses with Lisa Williams Stillwell. Through the Career Prep courses, he worked at Circuit City, AT&T, and US Terminals. He said that the experience enabled him to easily find work with his current employer, Chase Bank. He does cash audits for Chase's ATM and this allows him to pay for his college tuition.

Alejandro said that it's important for students to understand that there are many options available at the school. Even though he was enrolled in the aviation program and was able to obtain his pilot license, he found greater interest in his marketing and business course work. While at Sterling, he was president of the student leadership organization DECA, while working on his F.A.A. Instruments License. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. After a turbulent first year, Alejandro began taking AP courses, Career Preparation courses, and Dual-Credits courses. The credits from his high school courses have also been applied as college credits at HCC.

Alejandro is confident and articulate; traits that he attributes to soft skills learned from his teachers and marketing classes. The first in his family to go onto college with three older sisters and a younger brother, Alejandro says that his parents support has also been critical. His father worked in the custodial department at Sterling and was always available to help re-focus his energies during his freshman year.
Both young men say that they benefitted greatly from the business partnership between Sterling and the TSU Aviation Program. TSU offered after school pilot coaches and support from the Black Pilots of America and the Organization of Black Airline Pilots. The coaches assisted the students with additional instruction and tutoring for the F.A.A. Exams. The Sterling Aviation Magnet Program has been able to recruit their former tutor as instructor for the aviation course. Marvin Smith III is one of the new teachers at Sterling, but he is certainly not new to the program or the campus. In addition to his new teaching duties at Sterling, Mr. Smith is currently, Vice President of Black Pilots of America.

Jeremy and Alejandro are just two such success stories from Sterling High School. Both are eager to come back as alumni and offer support to the current students.

Seated--Left to Right
Yvonne Tovar, She'neal Sheppard, Danesha Griffin, Veronica Camarillo, Carla Cruz, and Jessica Coleman.

April 9, 2011
Sylvan Beach
La Porte, Texas
10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

A career path day dedicated to the future of our youth
The purpose of this event is to provide students from area high schools with maritime programs, Sea Scout Ship 1926, Sea Scout Ship 77–S.S.S. Raggety, Sea Scout Ship 17–S.S.S. Gilded Lady, Sea Scout Ship 31–S.S.S. Perla Negra and Sea Scout Ship 306 (Houston Gateway Academy) an opportunity to receive a variety of demonstrations, exhibits and career path information associated with the maritime industry and military service to our country.

Booths and Demonstrations

• U.S. Coast Guard Helo operations – hoist rescue and landing on site
  
• U.S. Coast Guard RB-S patrol boat display
  
• Man overboard demonstration
  
• Safety on the beach exhibits – CPR/911
  
• Line heaving training
  
• Beer goggle experience
  
• Boat/vessel examinations and training
  
• Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
  
• U.S. Coast Guard recruiter booth
  
• U.S. Coast Guard damage control tank
  
• Port of Houston Authority
  
• Real-time firefighting demonstrations
  
• Texas Southern University

Lunch will be provided for participants

Presented by
U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Sponsored by
Harris County Pct. 2 Commissioner Jack Morman, Houston Pilots Association, Port of Houston Authority, Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, San Jacinto College, Texas Parks & Wildlife and West Gulf Maritime Association

You are invited to get involved!
If your company or organization is interested in participating in this event, please call: 281-487-2914 or RSVP at the following link: MARITIME YOUTH EXPO **

**If you are unable to use the hyperlink above, please copy or type the following address into your browser address bar to access the RSVP link: http://www.aec4web.com/pohopportunities/

Gabriela has chosen Graphic Arts as her career path at Jordan High School. Her creative abilities in Print Media have awarded her the title of national winner of not just one competition but two. The first being Rochester Institute of Technology Digital Arts, Film & Animation Competition in Rochester, NY, in which she has won an all expense paid trip for her and a parent or teacher to attend along with a cash prize of $250. While in New York, she will also receive free passes to the Deaf Rochester Film Festival and a plaque commemorating her success!

The second competition she entered and won was the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Barbara Jordan Media Awards, where she is the youngest recipient this year amongst national authors and reporters from Texas. She will travel to Austin, TX in April for the crowning ceremony.

“We are all so very proud of her skills, abilities and motivation to send a message to the world that there‘s nothing wrong with being deaf” says Tim Thorn, her classroom support teacher.
Kudos goes out to Marvin Howard, Graphic Arts Instructor, who continues to bring great inspiration to his students and whose coaching has helped to ignite a spark of creativity in Gabriela that allows her to compete at a national and nternational level.

Gabriela thanks her parents for always being supportive, and her teachers; Marvin Howard, Graphic Arts Instructor, who is coaching her in the area of digital and graphic arts media, and Tim Thorn her classroom support teacher.

"I feel proud of myself. Nothing can stop me," says Gabriela Hanrahan, a hearing impaired student from Jordan High School. "We're just like everyone else."

Hearing Impaired Houston Student Wins National Contest

The Apple iPad is poised to revolutionize the way we “do Education [sic]” in not just the technology classroom, but in every academic classroom covering every subject. The Apple iPad is the perfect learning companion; it’s portable and powerful enough to take anywhere.
In August of 2010, Catherine Smith was asked to present a proposal to Houston Community College for the expansion of mLearning at the high school level. Ms. Smith is Austin High and Houston Community College Dual Credit Information Technology Instructor, and the 2010 Houston ISD East Region Teacher of the Year. In 2009, the leadership at HCC provided Ms. Smith with a classroom set of iPod Touch devices. She was then commissioned to create a podcast of Microsoft Office instructional videos that could be accessed by the students via the iTouch or their own mobile device. It was a huge success! Students were more engaged in the learning process through this new medium of instruction delivery and the grades dramatically improved. As a result of its success, the program with iTouch and mobile devices was adopted and implemented as a pilot for other Career & Technical Education courses across the district.

With the success of mobile learning through the iTouch, Houston Community College Southeast awarded Smith and each of her dual credit students an iPad to view the Learning Microsoft Podcast, as well as expand their overall mobile learning capabilities. Using the iPads, students have been able to train for the Microsoft Certification Exams, use Google Docs and Office Docs to create and edit web based documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. In addition, the students have made use of the standard apps on the iPad such as Calendar, Notes, and Maps to map various locations around Houston. They can even utilize the web-based Blackboard or their standard email to retrieve classroom assignments. Finally, the iPad can truly be used to teach “across the curriculum”; because students in Ms. Smith’s class can find various apps that cover any core subject area. This is particularly helpful when studying for exams and preparing for the TAKS test. Austin High School students love the portability and functionality of the iPad as it truly is a compliment to the learning process. Future endeavors include accessing Microsoft Office 2010 through HCC’s “Cloud Computing” platform.

Smith and her students are grateful to the strong support from Dr. Johnella Bradford and Roger Boston at Houston Community College Southeast, as well as the leadership and support from Rosena Garcia, CTE Director and Linda Llorente, principal at Houston ISD.

Apple Ipads: Taking Mobile Learning to the Next Level

Austin and Chavez High Schools

Thursday, March 24, 2011

• 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Ag Adventures
• 5:00 pm Rabbit Show

Friday, March 25, 2011

• 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Ag Adventures
• 2:00 pm Horticulture,
  
• 5:00 pm Poultry, Lambs, Goats, Swine, Heifers and Steers
• 3:30-6 pm BBQ

Saturday, March 26, 2011

• 9:00 am- 12:00 pm Silent Auction
  
• 10:30 am Buyers Check-In
  
• 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Luncheon (Complimentary to registered buyers)
  
• 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm Awards Presentation
  
• 1:00 pm Live auction Begins

For Information, Contact:
Cecario Guerrero: 281-468-6792
Laura Calhoun: 903-399-5083

The study is inspired by European systems of education, and its authors say too many students are graduating high school without middle-level skills that could help them land well-paying jobs as electricians, for example. About a third of jobs in the next decade won't require a four-year college education, the study says, and this program would help American kids prepare for them.

The study may raise the specter of "tracking"--the process by which minority and poor kids are pushed into vocational programs at their schools and held to lower expectations. EdWeek's Catherine Gewertznotes that the authors seem to anticipate that concern, writing that students should be able to change their minds about whether they want to go to college or try a different career at any time. But the report also argues that "the coursetaking requirements for entry into the most demanding four-year colleges should not be imposed on students seeking careers with fewer academic requirements."

Gewertz writes that one of the study's co-authors, Robert Schwartz, previously championed a "college for all" approach to K-12 education.

Higher ed policy analyst Sandy Baum told the AP the idea is to enhance opportunities for everyone. "What we'd like is a system where people of all backgrounds could choose to be plumbers or to be philosophers," Baum added. "Those options are not open. But we certainly need plumbers so it's wrong to think we should be nervous about directing people in that route."

President Obama has said he wants the United States to lead the world in college graduation rates again.

Eastwood Academy Charter High School Moodle eLearning

At Eastwood Academy Charter High School, Gene Platt started using Moodle this year initially to help reduce the failure rate of some of his students. He found that many students simply failed to turn in homework assignments, or were absent for long periods of time in which major assignments were given during class. With Moodle being available anytime from anywhere, this removed the excuse for incomplete assignments. Technology terms and innovative gadgets have been integrated into the class curriculum. On the day that I visited; the students were getting used to, but still complaining of the pen tool that has replaced their familiar mouse used to interact with their computer. The student assignments and activities that were planned for the day were available online in Moodle and ready for downloading along with Office 2007 PowerPoint templates. Moodle comes equipped with a handy tool for creating glossaries online, so the day’s definitions and course glossary was also available for them.

Mr. Platt moved easily from his online lecture notes back to the Office applications for demonstration and students remained actively engaged in both the lecture and demonstrations throughout. In addition to activities and assignments, class quizzes are also online and used to provide direct and immediate feedback to the students and their parents. The grades are then exported for entry into GradeSpeed. During the last portion of the class period, the students were asked to put down their pen tools and turn off their computers. Everyone was then asked to take out reading material and read for approximately fifteen minutes weaving literacy into the daily standard.

Sharpstown High School Moodle eLearning
At Sharpstown High School, Keith Richards also started using Moodle this year. On the day that I visited the class, Mr. Richards’ students entered the classroom and went immediately to the Moodle installation in order to access their Blog. Students enter their notes and detail what they plan to do for the day in terms of developmental activities to improve their individual performance, behavior and knowledge.

The daily agenda is online; students receive extra credit for completing glossary entries, and for submitting discussion ideas to the forum. Additionally, stretch or enrichment activities are detailed that must be completed as a part of the warm-up.
All assignments are completed during class, but students do have the option to continue their work after school or from home.

Mr. Richards has designed his online quizzes to link back to study resources if the student selects an incorrect answer to a question, so immediate feedback and the opportunity to brush-up on any areas of weakness.
Both teachers are looking to improve and enhance the ways of disseminating information to their students. Moodle is open-source software that can be installed independently, or teachers may use the CTE site
www.houstoncte.org/moodle or the district site at http://learnonline.hisdacp.org/

As a course management system, Moodle can provide a solution that can be used to maximize the impact of new literacies. As a collaboration tool, Moodle accelerates the learning of new topics through the use of discussion boards and interactive tools. Additionally, students can be placed in groups on the system and within the class that allows for student-led instruction of certain topics.

Madison High School teacher Kenneth Parker recalls the days where there was a high interest in farming. He said he was stunned to see there was not a high interest in at the school. Parker, who transferred from Westside High School, said he was used to students who were excited about being part of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. FFA is a youth organization that is a part of agricultural education programs at middle and high schools. Today, student members are engaged in a wide range of curriculum and FFA activities, leading to more than 300 career opportunities in agriculture.

“I think a lot of people take us for granted as far as what our program has to offer,” said Parker. “A lot of the rewards are not just noticeable - even in high school. It definitely benefits down the line.“I think city and suburban students are too city-like or urban for FFA labor work,” he said with a laugh.

Despite Parker’s emotions about the program slowly fading away, he worked diligently preparing his FFA students for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo     “I had several kids that have projects for the FFA rodeo - two steers, goats, two sets of chickens, lambs and a heifer,” Parker said. “What we are trying to do is make them competitive by supervising and taking care of the project. It’s supposed to be a learning experience.”

Call for diversity
The students also exercised hogs and raised chickens, he said.
Parker reminisced about the time he was in high school and how diverse the FFA organization was. He said he wishes that more minorities, like himself, would volunteer for the Rodeo or join FFA.

According to the FFA website, only 19 percent of its members are non-Caucasian.

“I think that’s a big extensive problem with us,” said Parker. “I feel personally that during the time when I took FFA back in my hometown, we had a diversity group of teachers. With this scenario of teachers, they encouraged all of us - regardless of our color – about what we wanted to do in terms of being involved in this program. It was so exciting to me as a ninth grader, that I chose this as my profession.

“What I would say to the kids of 2010 is that FFA has a variety of opportunities but I don’t think they take it serious enough. I think they laugh at the FFA jacket. They don’t think FFA is an important factor, but all those factors will contribute to them being successful as they go through high school and in college,” Parker said. 

Parker said the program even offers scholarship opportunities.“They’re disgruntled. FFA is not a glamorous life but it is a rewarding life,” Parker said with a smile. “Students just don’t take advantage of it. That’s what wrong with the kids of 2010. I think a lot kids don’t see the advantages of this before it’s too late."

“This is a great program,” Parker said. “But, they only see the animal side.”

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