LETTER FROM DIRECTOR: PERFORMANCE DATA IS THE KEY

C TE SHOWCASE

One of the major ini-tiatives that was first proposed in 2005 at the National Educa-tion Summit on High Schools and now supported by House Bill 3485, is the edict to redesign the nation’s high schools. This mandate will assist us so that schools are more relevant and directed at preparing students for life. Currently with changing demographics which include not only a larger Hispanic popula-tion, but also one that is younger, we need to insure that education is relevant and that we turn back the tide of high school dropouts. According to Department of Education data, 70% of students who drop out of high school say they would have finished if their classes had given them more interesting, real-world learning opportunities.

At Laredo ISD, we know that Career and Technical Education has the power to en-gage and motivate all students by giving them chances to learn in applied settings. The reach of CTE is well documented and current district data can attest to the fact that CTE students have better academic scores as well as better attendance rates and lower dropout rates. For that reason, the CTE program at LISD has taken the initiative to use student performance data and support

core area subjects in preparing students. CTE recog-nizes that by assisting stu-dents with assessments in core areas that we allow students to partake in electives and CTE courses. I am truly grateful and appreciative of the fact that CTE staff is using data. This past month’s DDA training along with your continued ef-forts will insure our students our successful in life.

Volume 1, Issue 3 April 2009

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Cigarroa Middle School Memorial Middle School Christen Middle School

2

Nixon High School Cigarroa High School

3

Martin High School 4-7

Early College Lamar MS MCAS Certifications

8

Elias Alonzo

CTE Director

Miss Laredo Crime Stoppers Queen K. Cardenas

Career and Technical Education Page 2

DR. JOAQUIN G. CIGARROA MIDDLE SCHOOL

It’s that time of the year to start planning for the next school year. With that in mind, students in the Advertising Design class with Mr. Rodolfo Long worked on some school props and new bull-dog logos for the year 2009-2010. Students took advantage of the computer software in class to come up with different designs and logos for our mascot, the bulldog. They combined their creativity with technology And designed new versions of the Cigarroa bull-dog. Some even designed logos specifically for their clubs, such as band or yearbook. Students were enthused with the ownership their taking for the next school year.

nology showcase sponsored by Instructional Technology. Stu-dents present their projects to other students on how they’ve use technology. The 8th grade students chosen for this year are Diego Cardenas Sydney, Australia Mauricio Aguilera Las Vegas, Nevada Karla Rodriguez London, England

Gerardo Gaytan & Adolfo Gallegos Disney World They will be attending the SMART for kids on Saturday, May 16, 2009. They have worked ex-tremely hard on their projects. I am very proud of them and hope they continue learning new technology tools. Ana Laura Garcia Keyboarding Teacher

8th Grade students

have been working on projects using powerpoint. Their objec-tive is to try to persuade any-body to visit any place in the world. Students are required to use animation, transitions, ef-fects, music, and their imagina-tion to make their projects com-petitive. They are also respon-sible to present the project to their classmates. At the end of the project, I choose the top five and award them by partici-pating in the SMART for Kids Showcase. It is an annual tech-

LOUIS J. CHRISTEN MIDDLE SCHOOL

As part of the project, students had to research their own career of interest. They had to evalu-ate the job description, working conditions, earnings, educational, and high school career pathway for chosen career. When students finish their presentation they presented their research to the class. Throughout the presenta-tions the students were able to learn about the different career clusters and ask each other questions.

Students in Ms. E. Rodriguez Career In-vestigations class recently presented a Career Fair Project. The students were responsible to research one of the sixteen career clusters and created an informative power point. While grouped in pairs, students had to log on to www.careercruising.com to research the career clusters, educational information, salaries, other resources, and career path-ways.

MEMORIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL

J. W. NIXON HIGH SCHOOL

DR. LEO G. CIGARROA HIGH SCHOOL “THE PRIDE OF SOUTH LAREDO”

Sergio Benitez has certainly made Cigarroa High School proud by being selected “Border Patrol Stu-dent of the Month “ for the month of April. Sergio has been a CTE student throughout his four years in high school and it has certainly prepared him for his undertakings at MIT. Sergio will be attending MIT in the Fall. Our principal, Oscar Perez, and Career Academies Dean, John E. Salinas, are certainly proud of Sergio. The ceremony was held at our li-brary on April 21, 2009 and our Food Production

Big kudos to Mrs. Treviño’s 6th period class for excelling in speed and accuracy. 1st Place—Eduardo G., 2nd—Angelica S., 3rd—Rolando M. these students can keyboard over 40 words a minute with no errors. Congratulation to our students.

Family and Consumer Sciences

The program has been active since Cigar-roa High School opened in 1983. Mrs. Meva Saenz has been heading the pro-gram since then and has made it a big success for our students. Our students really enjoy working in “La Cocinita,” our Food Productions program and every year Mrs. Saenz has to turn students away as the program enrollment in-creases. Our students are always willing to cater special events held at our school and are very proud of our program. Mr. Perez, our principal, is ready to showcase our students and their hard work to the public.

(1st row) Ashley Tristan, Esmeralda Ramoh, Shrone Munoz, Karen Sanchez, Natali Portillo, Claudia Ruelas, Ana Adame (2nd row) Jesus Prado, Samuel Ballesteros, Oziel Flores, Alejandro Villar-real, Eric Quevedo, Jose Rodriguez (3rd row) Mr. Ramon (sponsor), Clarice Amador, Azahy Ayala, Gabriela Baca, Valeria Brizuela, Mrs. Arredondo (sponsor).

(Back) Stephanie Penaloza, Sellina Santos, Jackie Martinez, Evelyn De Leon, David Rodriguez, (front) Maria Vallejo, Maria Carreon, Jennifer Rodriguez, Leslie Quintanilla, Romy Soto

Business Professionals of America

DECA (1st row) Andria Palacios, Amber Morin, Cristy Riojas, Monica Salazar, Valerie Lerma, Patricia Sanchez, Krystal Santa Cruz, (middle row) Rachel Rodriguez, Cristina Arredondo, Ruby Gar-cia, Jessica Ramos, Vanessa Velasquez, Valerie Soto, Kassandra Tijerina, Martha Parker, (2nd mid-dle row) Oscar Castillo, Jacklyn Martinez-President, Roxie Ortiz, Aida Herrera, Elizabeth Villanueva, Erika Delgado, (Back row) Christian Duff, Jose Arce, Jose de Leon, Andy Garcia, Mr. Raul Garcia (advisor), Jose Vargas, Jonathan Carmona.

W- Bar Club

Career and Technical Education Page 4

RAYMOND & TIRZA MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL

CTE Week Proclamation MHS—Students

CTE Student— Jose Pescador

Pictured on the left: “Champions at

Work” SKILLS USA

Pictured on the right:

Skills USA State Competition— Corpus Christi

Jorge Alba, Hugo Me-dina, Abraham Marfil,

Mario Lorenzo, and Jose Pescador

1st Place— Joe Pescador

ABC—Arena Corpus Christi, Texas

RAYMOND & TIRZA MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL

Laura Hovel’s Virtual Finance Class

— MHS

MHS Students support Yesenia Rojas, 2008 JDRF Youth Ambassador

JDRF’s Walk For A Cure at TAMIU.

Personal Financial Planning

Students engage in critical thinking activities involving assorted scenarios to help prepare them for making sound business and financial decisions in the future.

Career and Technical Education Page 6

Future Farmers of America: Mr. Anthony Mayers, Instructor/Sponsor

Plasma Cutting Skills

Woodworking Skills

RIGHT: Family & Consumer Science student at Bruni Elementary School. Part of the Ready, Set, Teach Course - Assisting as a teacher aide to gain experience what it takes to be a class-room teacher.

RIGHT: Family & Consumer Science student wearing em-pathy belly. This is used by the students to demonstrate what it feels to be pregnant. Students wear this for a day or so to get to know what a fe-male goes through on a daily basis. These stuents are en-rolled with Ms. Adriana Luna in a Parenting Course.

LEFT: Family & Consumer Science students have the robotic babies that are assigned to them for a period of at least two days. They carries these babies from class to class and also take it home for the evening. This gives the students a realization of what it takes to care for a baby and make sure the student meets the babies needs. They are also enrolled with Ms. Adriana Luna Parenting course.

Family & Consumer Science: Ms. Adriana L:una

RAYMOND & TIRZA MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL

Preparing Planters for Square Gardening

Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 7

RAYMOND & TIRZA MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL

Valvoline Motor Oil Basics Training Certificate. Removal of a Chevrolet 350 CID Engine.

Jose Lara turning a front brake rotor on the Brake Saul Santos sand blasting a Chevrolet Engine.

Our Auto Tech Department is lead by Mr. Jose Luis Lopez. His students are constantly working on different automobiles to help expose our students to different tasks as expected in the real world of work.

Students in Mr. Balli’s BCIS I class have been busy preparing for the upcoming Microsoft Business Certification Exam. Students who pass the certification exam will receive a certification from Microsoft and will receive a dis-tinguished credential when applying for jobs or applying to college. According to Mr. Balli, “Our students are excited about taking the exam as they understand the significance of passing such a rigorous test. Our school has also been fortunate to have support from our director Mr. Cerda as well as the CTE staff in getting the our school computer labs ready with the necessary training material.” Students at Early College High School are scheduled to take their examinations in mid-May.

Good luck to all the test takers.

EARLY COLLEGE TAMIU CAMPUS

Laura Hovel, Martin HS — WORD 07, PPT 07 Triana Volpe, NHS — WORD 07 Ida Rocha, NHS — WORD 07 Juan Mascorro, NHS —WORD 07 John Balli, EC — WORD 07 Elsa Gonzales, CHS — WORD 07, EXCEL 07 Denise Munoz, CHS — WORD 07 David Blumberg, VMT — WORD 07 Diana Cantu, CHS — WORD 07 Rocio Moore MHS — Photoshop John Roycroft MHS — WORD 07

The f ollowing teachers have been MCAS Certified!!!

Page 8 Career and Technical Education

♦ Career Investigation and Career Connections for our 7th and 8th Graders.

⇒ The main objective of this course is to introduce stu-dents to achieve profi-ciency in decision making and problem solving as an essential skill for career planning and lifelong learn-ing. It is an elective course that will earn between .5 and 1 credit.

♦ Keyboarding and Word Processing for our 8th Graders.

⇒ This class helps students develop awareness and understanding of the im-pact of the skill may have on productivity in school, personal and future work environments. It is an elective course that will earn 1 credit

♦ Building Trades for our 7th and 8th Grades.

⇒ Building Trades is de-signed to provide basic understanding of career opportunities, training requirements, job out-look, and minimal job skills.

MIRABEAU B. LAMAR MIDDLE SCHOOL

At Mirabeau B. Lamar Middle School we offer the following classes: