Reflect on success and finish strong!

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The finish line to the 2020-2021 school year is within reach! We can all agree that the path here has been filled with many obstacles, but I am so proud of our staff, students and parents for staying on track to finish the year strong.

We celebrated many successes this year, and chief among them in a year marked by COVID-19 safety protocols was keeping our schools open throughout. After three months of solely virtual learning in the spring of 2020, we knew how critical it would be to find a way to provide a consistent education for our face-to-face and virtual learners alike this school year.

Next week, on April 27, we will celebrate the completion of an ambitious Learning Together Everywhere (LTE) 1-to-1 districtwide rollout. Our technology department worked relentlessly to deliver more than 115,000 devices into the hands of students following Board of Trustees approval last summer. I am so thankful for Board members who put our students’ needs first and a group of dedicated employees who brought their vision to life.

On April 14, a little more than a year after launching our curbside meals program on March 16, 2020, the nutrition services team celebrated serving 3 million meals to community members! What an incredible milestone and representation of our district’s theme of Opportunity for All. 

Our agriculture science students had a successful Livestock Show and Sale in February. The freezer sale, silent auction, gifts to students and live auction combined to reach approximately $570,000.

In a year when many athletics and fine arts programs around the country were not able to compete, our performers thrived. The Cypress Woods and Bridgeland high school marching bands placed among the top 15 in Texas. The Cypress Creek High School girls’ basketball team was state runner-up, the Cypress Woods boys’ swim team placed third in state, and the Jersey Village High School boys’ soccer team made the state semifinals—the best finish of any soccer program in CFISD history. This weekend, we will host the state wrestling tournament at the Berry Center and hope to have more CFISD students claiming top honors. 

CFISD Class of 2021 graduation ceremonies are just around the corner, and we are looking forward to celebrating 12 high school graduating classes May 27-June 4 at Cy-Fair FCU Stadium. We are increasing the number of tickets per graduate for the outdoor event this year and are looking forward to celebrating our students. 

We extended the pre-registration period for our pre-K and kindergarten programs through May 26. A student is more likely to thrive if they start with us in early childhood, so we are eager to increase our enrollment in these excellent programs. Registration is also open for CFISD summer school programs, which are available for all students at no cost. We are hopeful that more summer offerings will allow students impacted by learning challenges during the pandemic a better chance to get ahead.

It has been extremely encouraging to see the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccinations throughout the nation. I have seen so many teachers and staff posting their immunizations on social media, and I am grateful that the majority of our workforce will have vaccines as we head into the summer.

With the 2021-2022 school year approaching, we have not yet decided if there will be a virtual learning option. Based on current law, CFISD would not receive state funding for a virtual education option unless the commissioner of education extends the current waiver or legislation passes this session to provide state funding to school districts to offer a virtual education option. I will update our school community if and when there are any changes. However, since vaccines are becoming more readily available and the spread of COVID-19 is diminishing, the districtwide mask mandate will be lifted starting June 7. Although they will be optional, we will continue to encourage staff, students and visitors to wear masks while indoors. We will also continue to follow many of the safety protocols currently in place, including enhanced cleaning procedures and increased air filtration and ventilation.

It is easy to see why I am so proud to be a part of this incredible school district. We have indeed come a long way in 2020-2021, and we are not done yet. As we reflect on the achievements behind us, let’s zero in on the goal ahead of us and finish strong.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Closing a Successful Year & Decade

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As the fall semester comes to a close, and with it, the 2019 calendar year, I wanted to take some time to share some of the successes we achieved in the final year of the decade. We have a lot to cheer about in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and you have much to be proud of from your local school district.

Our fine arts students continued to impress. Forty-eight students were named All-State musicians in January. Cypress Ranch High School theatre students earned two Tommy Tune awards in April. A Cypress Woods High School art student was one of eight national art portfolio scholarship recipients this summer.

Cypress Ranch theatre student Mia Velasquez, left, was named Best Leading Actress in the Tommy Tune Awards in April; and Cypress Woods graduate Taylor Powers, right, with teacher Tina Fox, won a $10,000 Scholastic Art scholarship in June. 

We had many University Interscholastic League (UIL) achievements, highlighted by Cypress Woods winning CFISD’s first-ever UIL Academic state championship in the spring. We also had individual athletics gold medals from Cypress Creek High School swimmer Hayden Miller and wrestler Amanda McAleavey.

Cypress Woods HS students and staff celebrate making history by winning CFISD’s first-ever UIL Academic state championship in May 2019.

I was proud of our community for helping raise $110,000 for the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation at the sixth annual Superintendent’s Fun Run in March. Save the date for the seventh annual event on March 21, 2020 at the Berry Center!

Runners begin the 5K at the sixth annual Superintendent’s Fun Run & Festival. The event raised a record $110,000 for the CFEF!

Voters approved a bond referendum in May that will address many critical district needs for the future. Among the bond’s components are a new visual and performing arts center and many safety and security upgrades that are already underway at numerous campuses.

The 2019 bond package includes a new visual and performing arts center that will be located near Cy-Fair High School.

A year that perfectly encapsulated Opportunity for All included 17 National Merit semifinalists and finalists. More than $670,000 was given to Livestock Show and Sale projects. Our New Arrival Center language immersion program won a prestigious national award. More than 8,200 Class of 2019 graduates earned diplomas.

We kicked off the 2019-2020 school year by launching a STEM Academy for Automation, Robotics and Computer Science (ARC) at Cypress Springs High School, and we piloted Spanish Language Action Based Learning Labs at Andre’ and Sampson elementary schools. The Leonard Brautigam Center opened with a district career and technical education (CTE) trade building, supporting programs and certifications in welding, HVAC and electrical trades.

 

New additions for 2019-2020 – the STEM Academy for ARC at Cypress Springs High School and Spanish Language Action Based Learning Labs at Andre’ and Sampson elementary schools.

The new year will bring more positive change for the district, as we expand our full-day pre-kindergarten program throughout our elementary schools. Our human resources team has been hiring qualified pre-K teachers to accommodate the transition. If you know of an interested educator, it’s not too late to apply!

2019 was a special year, and I look forward to 2020 as we usher in another promising decade of outstanding educational opportunities for all children in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Enjoy a safe and restful holiday break, and I will see you back in January!

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Reflecting on 2018-2019

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It’s hard to believe, but today we wrapped up the 79^th school year of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Each year that passes, I grow prouder to lead our school district and live in our wonderful community, and 2018-2019 did not disappoint.

We began planning this school year last summer by instituting some major safety initiatives including the purchase of three K-9s and a Mental Health Intervention Team. We know our schools’ bolstered safety and security measures were effective threat deterrents.

As the year kicked off, we celebrated our own Jeanna Peña of Lamkin Elementary School winning Region 4 Teacher of the Year. I was also humbled to accept the region’s nomination for Superintendent of the Year, representing the best district in Texas!

Students and staff at Moore Elementary were delighted to return to their freshly renovated campus on the first day of school, Aug. 27. Moore was flooded by Hurricane Harvey a year before, but the Armadillos stayed strong and had a great year in their “new” old home.

CFISD is the home of Opportunity for All, where students thrive through fine arts. Marching bands from Cy-Fair and Jersey Village high schools placed among the top 33 in the state, and 46 students earned TMEA All-State recognition. Cypress Ranch High School theatre students won two Tommy Tune awards this spring for their amazing production of The Little Mermaid.

Every year, students enter our doors as athletes and leave as champions. Two Cypress Creek High School students, swimmer Hayden Miller and wrestler Amanda McAleavey, captured individual state championships in their respective sports in February. Today, the Cypress Ranch baseball team is competing for a chance to return to the state tournament for the fourth time in eight years.

Our students continued to achieve at the highest possible levels academically. Eight students were accepted into MIT, including four from Langham Creek High School—the most from a single comprehensive school in the entire nation! We celebrated 17 National Merit semifinalists at the Berry Center in March. 

Community members supported a $1.762 billion bond referendum in May that will address district needs through the year 2025 with a telling 70-percent approval rate. 

We could not have achieved all we did this year without a supportive and involved school board. One of our trustees, Christine Hartley, announced her resignation earlier this month after eight years and will be dearly missed.

It’s easy to see why I’m so proud of this district and community. For eight decades we have worked together to produce successful citizens, and there is no better portrait of that than the 8,000-plus graduates walking our stage at the Berry Center from Wednesday through Saturday.

As the final set of caps are tossed on Saturday evening and we start to set our sights on 2019-2020, we’ll take pride in a year that gave us so many incredible things to cheer about.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Board approves bond election for May 4

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Last night, Feb. 11, during their regularly scheduled monthly meeting, our Board of Trustees unanimously voted to call a bond election for May 4, 2019. Community members living within Cypress-Fairbanks ISD will vote on the $1,762,000,000 referendum this spring.

The election was called after a community long-range planning committee (LRPC) presented a recommendation to the Board during a Feb. 4 special-called meeting. The 50-member LRPC met regularly throughout November-January and formulated a plan that will meet the following needs for the school district through 2025:

·       instructional and support facilities;

·       safety and security;

·       transportation;

·       technology; and

·       facilities renovations and additions.

Community members collaborate during a January long-range planning committee meeting.

More information on what is included in the referendum, as well as the detailed recommendation given to the Board, can be found on the LRPC webpage. I encourage you to review the information to help prepare you for an informed vote in May.

The projected impact of the bond on our debt service tax rate (also called the Interest and Sinking tax rate), would amount to an incremental change of up to 3 cents over a seven-year period. A home valued at $200,000 would have a maximum annual I&S tax increase of $40.50 by the year 2025. Remember that this is only a projection. Prior to the 2014 bond election, we forecasted a maximum tax increase of 4.5 cents and it actually decreased by one penny.

Please note that there would be no tax increase for those 65 years of age or older or who are disabled and who qualify for an over-65 homestead exemption, according to Texas Property Tax Code Section 11.26.

We will continue to post more information on the district website (www.cfisd.net) and our social media channels (search #CFISDBond) in the coming weeks to answer potential questions and supply voting information to our community members. We will also deliver a series of presentations at upcoming events to help inform the voting public.

Thank you in advance for committing to making an informed vote in the 2019 bond election.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Closing out 2018

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As we close the book on another calendar year, I am proud to look back on the many successes of 2018 and the way we demonstrated Opportunity for All throughout Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.

That #CFISDspirit was evident starting in January, when we partnered with the Houston Health Department to bring free eye exams and eyewear to thousands of students through the See to Succeed program. Our health services department is already expecting more than 1,000 students to utilize this life-changing program in January 2019!

We celebrated many fine arts successes, like the 38 TMEA All-State musicians who performed in San Antonio in February. The Cy-Fair and Jersey Village high school marching bands both qualified for the state championship in November, finishing among the top 33 groups in Texas.

Athletics achievements were all around us. We celebrated the Cypress Ranch High School girls’ wrestling team as they won their first-ever UIL state championship last February. Cypress Woods High School basketball standout Cate Reese was named a McDonald’s All-American. We even cheered on an Olympian, as Cy-Fair High School alum Sam McGuffie competed in bobsled in South Korea.

Our educators continued to set themselves apart in 2018. Cypress Falls High School New Arrival Center instructor Pamela Broussard was named an H-E-B Excellence in Education award finalist. Lamkin Elementary School visual arts specialist Jeanna Peña was recognized as Region 4 Teacher of the Year.

I was overwhelmed by the way the community came together for the fifth annual Superintendent’s Fun Run in March, raising a record $100,000 for the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation. Save the date for the sixth annual event on March 2, 2019 at the Berry Center!

It was truly a year of outstanding highlights. There were 27 National Merit honorees. More than $700,000 was given to Livestock Show and Sale projects. Our voters had great turnouts at the polls. Our Camp Summit summer literacy program won a prestigious national award. We handed out a record number of diplomas to Class of 2018 graduates.

CFISD was once again the largest district in the state to have all our campuses meet the state’s academic standards. But as you can see, we are defined by much more than our test scores. We are a district that gives students with the most challenges and the most potential the same first-class education. We are a place where every student can succeed no matter what their gifts or challenges may be. We provide opportunities to become a great athlete or artist, to be involved in robotics, to transition into an Ivy League school or the workforce. 

We had an incredible year, but we look forward to 2019 and the promise it brings for our entire community. On behalf of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, I wish you a safe and restful holiday break. See you in January!

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Fine Arts for All!

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It’s no secret that our community is passionate about fine arts, and our universal public education system reflects this value. I was proud to report during my annual State of the District address to the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce that nearly 87,000 of our students participate in fine arts.

That number—representing nearly 75 percent of our enrollment—includes award-winning choir, orchestra, band, dance, theatre arts and visual arts participants from elementary through high school. Today, however, I wanted to specifically highlight the 2,675 students throughout our 12 high schools taking part in marching band.

The Langham Creek HS marching band in action!

The Cypress Ridge HS marching band performing at halftime!

Many of these students began learning to play their instruments as early as the sixth grade. In the years since, they have honed their marching abilities to match their refined musical skills. Marching band incorporates not only music, but dance, movement and theatrical and thematic materials to make an on-field ensemble that is beyond impressive.

We know that fine arts like marching band help students perform better academically, but I have also observed the added benefits of teamwork, discipline, leadership and time management that are crucial to a young person’s total education. 

The Cypress Lakes HS percussion section making spectacular sounds!

Bridgeland HS tuba players participating in their first-ever varsity football halftime!

It’s the fall, which means it’s marching band season! I have enjoyed seeing all the schools’ routines during halftime of our football games at Cy-Fair FCU and Pridgeon stadiums, and look forward to the upcoming competition season. As we are in an even-numbered year, Class 6A bands have the opportunity to advance to UIL regional, area and state competitions. CFISD bands routinely qualify for state, where they march against the top ensembles in Texas.

Here is a look at some of the upcoming local and UIL events that comprise marching competition season:

Sept. 29 – Pridgeon Processional (Pridgeon Stadium)

Oct. 13 – Battle at the Berry (Cy-Fair FCU Stadium)

Oct. 20 – UIL Region 27 Marching Contest (Cy-Fair FCU Stadium)

Oct. 27 – UIL Area I Marching Contest (Legacy Stadium, Katy)

Nov. 5-7 – UIL State Marching Contest (Alamodome, San Antonio)

More detailed contest information will be posted on the CFISD website during the week leading up to each event. I invite you to come watch these talented students in action during the 2018 marching season and witness Opportunity for All in action.

Our fine arts programs give us a lot to cheer about in CFISD! I plan on sharing more program-specific posts throughout the school year so you can join me in cheering on the outstanding accomplishments of these students.

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

Back to School 2018-2019

I hope that you have enjoyed a restful summer and spent some quality time with loved ones during the break. In less than two weeks, we are expecting more than 117,000 students to walk through our doors as the 2018-2019 school year kicks off on Aug. 27.

When they enter those doors, the students will be greeted by a professional staff of educators committed to developing positive relationships while enhancing their educational and extracurricular experience. Opportunity awaits your children through top-tier athletic and fine arts programs, unique CTE and robotics advancements and an early college program that move them years ahead of peers. From the most gifted students to those who need the most support—there is a place for everyone in CFISD.

We have a lot to cheer about and celebrate as we approach 2018-2019. One of our success stories will be the “new and improved” Moore Elementary School, which will open for students and staff following a year at the former Matzke campus after sustaining damage from Hurricane Harvey. Many other campuses received building, athletic and parking renovations as part of the 2014 Bond Program. In CFISD we stand by our commitment to Opportunity for All, and we believe that translates into access to high-quality facilities in every corner of the school district.

Opportunity abounds for UIL participants, as Bridgeland and Cypress Park high schools will compete in Class 6A competition this year. Our tradition-rich athletics program will spread its wings into Region II and III, as we compete in both District 14-6A and District 17-6A. Imagine how exciting it would be to have up to eight playoff football or volleyball teams, or two baseball or softball teams meeting in the state tournament!

We have spent a large part of the summer refining our school safety plan and have unveiled some enhancements that can be found on our district website. We have received much input in preparing the plan, which will be fluid as we continually evaluate and research new security methods. We understand that no single measure is the answer, but that a layered approach will help in the prevention, identification/intervention and response to potential school threats.

Opportunity is here in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Thank you for partnering with us as we provide the best possible protection, education and enrichment for our children in 2018-2019. It’s going to be a great year!

~ Mark Henry, Ed.D.

2017 in Review

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The year 2017 is nearly in the books, and boy was it one to remember. Opportunity for All was on display as many student groups excelled in a variety of the areas that public education has to offer.

We celebrated our winter and spring state champions like the Cypress Falls High School boys’ basketball team, Langham Creek High School hurdler Eric Edwards and the Cypress Ranch High School mixed doubles team of Varun Thachil and Melissa LaMette. We also cherished the runs by our state runners-up, like the Cypress Ranch Lady Mustang basketball team last March and the Cypress Ranch team tennis squad this fall.

Langham Creek’s Eric Edwards taking gold in the 110-meter hurdles at the state track meet.

Here’s hoping we celebrate another state champion soon, as our Cy-Fair Bobcat football team plays for the 6A trophy this Saturday in Arlington!

We relished our fine arts successes, like the 42 all-state musicians who performed in the TMEA honor concerts last February. We were proud to be the largest district where all campuses Met Standard. Computer science students from Cypress Woods High School won state championships at the UIL Academic State Meet in April, the same month that our Jersey Voltage and Cy-Borgs robotics teams represented the district at the FIRST World Robotics Championships.

We walked a record 8,000 graduates across our stage in May. And on a broader scale, we cheered together as the Houston Astros won their first-ever World Series title.

 

Cy-Fair HS graduates pave the way for the next generation at Danish ES last spring.

Indeed, it was a year of ups and downs. We will never forget the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey upon our community, city and region. However, we can look back with pride on how we all came together and gave or received a helping hand that ultimately made us all stronger.

Volunteers pass out towels at the Berry Center shelter following Hurricane Harvey.

There have been many more ups than downs in our “littlest big district” we call home. You can trace nearly every success story in our community back to Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. I appreciate everyone’s efforts to make sure we fulfill our mission of improving the lives of our students and families.

This time of year I am thankful for my wife of 35 years, Cindy. She been the anchor that has kept our family stable and moving forward. Similarly, I feel that CFISD has been an anchor for this community. In 2017, there was a lot of evidence for how this school district held this community together.

My wife, Cindy, and three of our four grandchildren.

As we move into 2018 with the promise of a new year and primary election season, it is my hope that our community and our educators’ voices will be heard across this state and nation.

Before you know it, we will have 8,000 more students receiving their high school diplomas and entering into colleges, careers or the military. Ultimately, just like in 2017, CFISD will be the rock that this community can stand upon for a better tomorrow.

I hope that all of you have a happy and safe holiday season. I’ll see you in 2018!