Prior to the start of the school year, I challenged
our staff members to give “a little extra, on purpose,” or lagniappe, to their students, parents and colleagues in 2019-2020.
I had no idea at the time how much “extra” would be shown after COVID-19 forced
us to be apart this spring!
- Our curriculum and instruction team worked around the clock to provide structured Learning at Home curriculum following the unexpected cancellation of in-person classes.
- Nutrition Services employees modified their procedures to provide more than 800,000 curbside meals at 19 campuses over 2 ½ months.
- Bus drivers delivered more than 5,500 Learning at Home packets to homes each week.
- Technology Services staff provided devices for students to help facilitate home instruction.
- Operations staff provided extra hand sanitizing stations throughout the district and implemented additional disinfecting procedures.
- Berry Center staff and the CFISD police department facilitated Mega Food Distributions for the Houston Food Bank and blood drives for the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center.
- Teachers and administrators remained in contact with students and families and supported them through Zoom, Flipgrid and other resources.
And the list goes on and on. I am so proud of our
school district for the way we finished the year despite such immense
challenges. It is important that we celebrate these successes, as well as the
many other achievements throughout 2019-2020.
We opened the Leonard Brautigam Center, a dawn-to-dusk program that meets the needs of today’s students, featuring a new district CTE trade building where certifications in plumbing, welding and culinary arts are all accessible.
We launched Spanish Action Based Learning Lab pilot programs at two elementary schools, with hopes to expand throughout the district, as a STEM Academy for Automation, Robotics and Computer Science (ARC) at Cypress Springs High School. We also expanded our College Academy partnership with Lone Star College-CyFair to 11 high schools where students can earn an associate’s degree along with their high school diploma.
For the third straight year, we earned a Best Communities for Music Education national designation from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation. A total of 49 high school musicians were named to Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State ensembles.
Cypress Creek High School senior wrestler Amanda McAleavey captured her second straight state championship at the Berry Center in February. The Cypress Creek girls’ basketball team finished as state runner-up in March, continuing our district’s proud athletics tradition.
We learned that five CFISD students earned perfect ACT scores this spring—an incredible accomplishment earned by fewer than half of 1 percent of students who take the exam! Congratulations to Gabriel Bolanos of Cypress Ranch High School, Ananya Kaalva and Rohit Jha of Bridgeland High School and Toby Yi and Alexander Huang of Cypress Woods High School.
Next week, we will celebrate more than 8,000 graduates, including the inaugural graduating classes of Bridgeland and Cypress Park high schools. It will look a little different from past ceremonies as we accommodate new health and social distancing guidelines, but we look forward to celebrating with our Class of 2020—a group of graduates that will always have a special place in my heart.
I
know that there have been many updates shared with you these last couple
months, and I have been appreciative of your flexibility as we have all worked
together to navigate a fluid situation amid COVID-19. I will continue to
provide you with updates throughout the summer as soon as we have any news to
share.
Thank
you for being a part of this special CFISD community that continues to give a
little extra for one another each day.
~ Mark
Henry, Ed.D.
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