The Fort Worth Chamberletter

Parents of students attended a June job fair.

Morningside Middle School’s gym saw more than basketball action this summer.

The school hosted a job fair that included resume reviews and employers on site to help students’  family members in Southeast Fort Worth find jobs.

The school, in partnership with the Fort Worth Housing Authority, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Southeast Kingdom Neighborhood Association, hosted a job fair on May 17 at the school located at 2751 Mississippi Ave. Twenty vendors participated and with 130 job-seekers.

The job fair’s goal was to “improve education by empowering parents with employment,” said Glenn Spoons, Go Center Coordinator for the Chamber’s Workforce & Education Department.

Carlos Walker, principal at Morningside Middle, and his staff provided a service and resource to help parents be better parents, said Spoons.

“Career fairs for students are common, but specifically for parents on a school campus may be a first for the FWISD,” she said. “It’s a great example of how schools can be involved in their communities and involve the community.”

Walker grew up in Morningside and became the school’s principal this year moving from vice principal at O. D. Wyatt High School. He’s now principal at Dunbar High School.

See additional feature in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog.

Ensuring local quality of life for future generations means deep support for public education — a cornerstone priority for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and its members.

Vital Link students from Daggett Middle School and Daggett Montessori interned at the Fort Worth Chamber in June and assisted with various projects. (L to R) Doris Becker, Chamber; students Abraham Martinez, Sandra Carranza, Rod Simmons, Katelyn Aguilar, Lydia Vidales, Kendra Young, Charlie Nesser; and teacher Tracey Mince.

Chamber involvement in the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) ranges from fundraising and assistance with school events to sponsoring an annual Math & Science Camp, scholarship programs and GO Centers in schools and elsewhere to help students plan for careers and college.

“We’re very proud of our longstanding partnership with FWISD,” said Chamber President and CEO Bill Thornton. “We want to help make sure that students have every possible opportunity to succeed and strengthen Fort Worth.”

The partnership has launched many initiatives such as Project C3 (Classrooms, Corporations, Community) in the ’90s that spawned the Vital Link program. This annual weeklong summer initiative provides half-day internships at participating local companies, many of which are Chamber members, for sixth graders entering the seventh grade.

The aim is to help students connect what is learned in the classroom with what is needed to succeed in the workplace.

Examples, Thornton said, include high-impact initiatives such as involvement by the Chamber’s five area councils, each of which has adopted a school, and employment programs such as Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens (DEFWT) in which participating companies provide employment for students and encouragement to succeed at school.

More than 60 businesses, ranging from restaurants to retailers and entertainment venues, participate in DEFWT as a resource for the more than 25 percent of FWISD teen students who work in either part-time or summer jobs.

The businesses agree to adopt practices and incentives that not only require school attendance as a condition of employment but also maintain an active interest in a student employee’s classroom performance.

Among the Chamber’s South Area Council (SAC) education initiatives is a partnership with First Command Educational Foundation (FCEF) that annually presents a $1,000 college scholarship to a college-bound senior at South Hills High School, SAC’s adopted school. The recipient is a participant in South Hills’ Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. Twenty-eight Fort Worth ISD high schools are AVID sites.

“Our goal is to grow the program and support for these graduating seniors, encouraging recipients to further their education,” said SAC Chair Clint Sanders, business relationship specialist for Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital. “We hope to continue the program for many years to come.”

Go to www.fortworthchamber.com / Education to learn about all the Chamber’s long-standing education initiatives and area schools. 

List of Mentoring / Youth Services

Education Directory and ISD/SAT scores — 2011

Applying lessons learned as a lifelong educator, Superintendent Walter Dansby has built a team and a game plan – “A Singleness of Purpose” – to put into play when the Fort Worth Independent School District kicks off the school year on Aug. 27.

FWISD Supt. Walter Dansby

The goal, Dansby said, focuses on reorganized commitment to exceptional education for the district’s 80,000 students and 142 schools. “FWISD always prided itself in being among the top-performing school districts in the state,” he said. “We need to return to that level and show people that children can get an excellent, life-serving education in the Fort Worth ISD.”

Getting there requires Singleness of Purpose – “everyone working together to succeed,” he said, with student achievement as the top priority.

“The Chamber applauds Superintendent Dansby and the entire school district for such extensive, inventive commitment to students’ success,” said Chamber CEO and President Bill Thornton.

Three Learning Networks comprise a cornerstone of FWISD’s plan.

Each network has been assigned to specific schools and is made up of school leadership directors, liaisons from nearly every district department and content specialists – degreed professionals in specific academic areas such as math, English, social studies and science.

“Learning network teams will be on campuses each and every day, working with and backing up teachers who may be challenged or even struggling,” Dansby said. “These teams are equipped with the latest technology to move the District forward. They will refocus on instructional technology and enhance the online and distance learning for our students.”

Team members are not volunteers, he said. “This is their only job, and they had to apply for it and be selected as being the right fit.”

Network members polished their skills in June at the Learning Network Academy for Educators

(LNAE) and at the Fort Worth Professional Development Center.

Training aimed at exploring new ways to work with principals and teachers, Associate Superintendent Sherry Breed said in a district online report. Breed will lead one of the networks.

“Everything is focused on student achievement and student success,” she said.

The academy underscored Singleness of Purpose, Dansby said. “It is important for all of us – teachers, staff and students – to be on the same page, to have the same focus. The Learning Networks provide a clear understanding of where we are and where we are headed. It helps place us all squarely in the middle of the same methodology.”

A number of measures will gauge the degree of progress, he said.

“There are nationally recognized standards,” he said, such as SAT, ACT and PSAT scores. “Additionally, our graduation rates and dropout rates are important measurements. We must close the achievement gap, and we have ways of measuring that performance.

“Finally, we will enter our second year of the new STAAR/End of Course testing program from the state, and that will provide us with valuable information.”

Another bottom line already reflects value in the Learning Networks and other initiatives, Dansby noted.

With a combined $725 million budget for the 2012-13 school year, FWISD’s Singleness of Purpose mission meets a need for prudent spending, officials note.

“We’ve found a way to do this without additional cost to the budget,” Dansby said in a recent memo to staff, “And, in fact, streamlining our resources in a way that mirrors best practices in high-performing urban districts.”

Thornton added, “The Chamber shares FWISD’s commitment and for the same reason: Our students are Fort Worth’s future. The business community’s investment in Fort Worth students’ education is an essential investment in Fort Worth’s future vitality and quality of life.”

The Fort Worth Chamber has partnered with the Fort Worth Independent School District to present Hiring Fair 2012, where area businesses may recruit graduates for entry-level positions.   Employers may sign up now (FREE registration and booth) for this 19^th annual event.

This event targets job opportunities for recent graduates of Fort Worth ISD ages 17 to 21.  More than 800 job seekers seeking entry-level jobs in a variety of industries for full-time, part-time, permanent and temporary positions are anticipated.

Booths go quickly and space is limited. To register for a free booth or obtain additional information, employers may contact Lila Boydston at 817-871-3116 or Lila@esc11.net before May 18.

• What:  Hiring Fair 2012
• When:  Thursday, June 7 (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Where:  Will Rogers Memorial Center, Exhibits Hall, 3401 West Lancaster Ave, 76107
• Cost:  No cost for registration or booth

Event partners for Hiring Fair 2012 are the Fort Worth Chamber, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber, Volunteer Center of North Texas, and Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.

Data provided by Strategic Insight Group, Intelligence Research Partner of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce

The cable network (ESPN), which will anchor its Super Bowl XLV sportscasts from Sundance Square in February, has booked 4,000 room nights at a half-dozen hotels in the Fort Worth central business district. Star-Telegram, September 9, 2010

Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, a Fort Worth-area defense contractor, has been honored as a top small business supplier with the DLA Vendor Excellence Award from the Defense Logistics Agency. The company was selected from over 22,000 suppliers. Star-Telegram, September 13, 2010

Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Holdings, owner of Carter Burgess Plaza in downtown Fort Worth, was named an Energy Star 2009 Top Performer by the Environmental Protection Agency. Star-Telegram, September 16, 2010

The Israeli government has officially approved planes to buy Lockheed Martin –built F-35 joint strike fighters; following lengthy negotiations with the U.S. government…Israel plans to buy 20 warplanes for neatly $3 billion and will begin receiving them by 2015. Star-Telegram, September 17, 2010

Fort Worth school district officials learned that they will receive a $43 million grant to help struggling schools, and new initiatives to bring quality educators to Fort Worth were announced the same day. Star-Telegram, September 24, 2010

To see a full listing of  updates, click here.

This school year’s opening bell rang in a new era at the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD).

Beginning now and by the fall of 2011, Gold Seal Programs of Choice will be changing students’ focus from just getting a high school diploma to graduating with certified strengths for post-secondary career paths. Those paths may lead to either higher education or immediate entry into the workforce with marketable credentials for jobs in many industries.

“We are preparing for a world we can’t even imagine, because it’s changing so quickly,” said FWISD Superintendent Melody Johnson. “This is just the beginning.”

Tailored to students’ interests, plans call for each high school to offer Gold Seal programs next year for careers in high-demand areas in North Texas such as health science technology, architecture/construction, aerospace engineering, information technology, arts and audiovisual technology, culinary arts and advanced media.

“Goodbye, old mass-production model of education,” the district’s annual report states. “Hello, new Gold Seal Programs of Choice. These highly specialized courses of study target areas that strongly interest students and provide hands-on, real-world experiences to prepare them for the job market of the future.”

“A workforce pipeline can’t be built by classroom education alone. Students must see a purpose in classroom instruction to remain motivated,” said Cynthia Miller, the Chamber’s senior director of Workforce/Education. “Gold Seal will help employers easily identify high school programs that correlate with their business endeavors.”

Budgets and program lineups should be ready for school board consideration by October, administrators say.

The programs eventually will extend into middle schools where students will select and begin studies for career paths. “We know kids might change their mind, but we want them going into high school with a (career) vision in mind,” Mike Sorum, FWISD chief academic officer, told the school board in a March presentation.

Two Gold Seal programs launched this month:

– Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA) at 1066 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth’s first single-gender public school, provides 75 sixth-grade students and 75 seventh-grade students with advanced academics and a focus on Science, Math, Engineering and Technology (STEM) courses. Students were selected according to a number of criteria, including academic performance, attendance, student leadership and behavior, teacher assessment and an essay.

A Young Men’s Leadership Academy will open next year. Both single-gender academies will relieve students of social and cultural pressures found in coeducational settings, administrators say, and will help them to concentrate on studies and development of personal strengths. Both academies eventually will extend through the 12th grade.

Led by Principal Mia Hall, YWLA partners with the Addison-based Foundation for the Education of Young Women; Girls, Inc. of Tarrant County, and Motorola, which has provided a $25,000 grant.

– Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences (TABS) at W.C. Stripling Middle School opened with a $720,000 grant from the Sid Richardson Foundation.

The “school within a school” partners with the University of North Texas Health Science Center in preparing 74 eighth graders gifted in math and science for degree programs and careers in biotechnology, biomedical science research and medical fields.

Administrators expect TABS enrollment to grow to more than 400 students in grades 9-12 by 2013.

A third Gold Seal program, Southwest High School’s Southwest Academy of Petroleum Engineering and Technology, began its second year this month. The academy partners with the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). Students will graduate fully prepared for college or the energy-related workplace where they can begin careers in areas such as chemical, graphic or computer engineering, geology and computer science.

Industry experts provide extra training for teachers. The IPAA brings engineers into the classroom to mentor students and share special insights. Field trips include visits to production sites where students see how their lessons apply in the professional world.

Such private-sector involvement and mentoring are vital to Gold Seal students’ success, Johnson said.

Gold Seal programs “will require time and resources, human and financial,” Johnson said. “But we owe this to our children, to their future and our own.”

###

• Young Women’s Leadership Academy
• Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences
• Southwest High School’s Southwest Academy of Petroleum Engineering and Technology