TRINITY – School officials and parents received some encouraging reports Monday night on the 2009 TAKS reading and math tests.
With some retesting of students set for this week, campus principals indicated that the elementary, intermediate and middle schools results are either above or near the state’s minimum standards.
During the meeting of the Trinity School Board Monday night, Lansberry Elementary School Principal Stacy Collard reported that 73 percent of the third graders passed the reading exam.
“We feel we will end up with a much higher number,” she said. “We have 17 of the third grade kiddos who will be retested on Wednesday (April 29) and the ones who pass that test will be added to the number who passed the first go around.”
She noted that 34 third graders earned a commended performance rating from the state based on their high scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) reading exam.
Intermediate school Principal Vanessa Franklin also reported strong scores on the reading exam. She noted that 81 percent of the 72 fifth graders who took the TAKS exam passed and 19 earned the commended performance rating.
In the fifth grade math exam, Franklin said 52 of the 72 students tested – or 71 percent – passed with 28 earning commended performance honors.
At the middle school, Principal Jim Underwood reported that almost 81 percent of the eighth graders passed the reading exam and over 67 percent passed the TAKS math test.
Additional TAKS exams are being administered at all grade levels this week and a complete breakdown of those scores will be presented to the board sometime this summer.

Second Vision 20/20
grant sought
During the meeting, the school board also approved the application for a second Vision 20/20 grant to be submitted to the Texas Education Agency.
The first grant received last year was used to purchase laptop computers for all students in the sixth, seventh and eight grade.
The $500,000 grant being sought this year would continue that program and allow the district to purchase about 330 additional laptops for use by all high school students.
Technology Director Brian Furbee said that the first grant had six statutory requirements that districts had to meet in order to win the money.
“TEA has expanded that to during cycle two to include 27 statutory requirements,” he said. “The process is a lot more complicated but I feel we have a good chance.”
Furbee said they hope to know by July 1 if they will receive the funding. If they are approved, he hoped to begin issuing the computers around Thanksgiving during the 2009-2010 school years.
He told the board that there were a few problems encountered when the sixth, seventh and eighth graders were issued laptops earlier this year but school officials have been learning how to solve them.
A “help desk” was set up at the middle school to work with both students and teachers who encounter problems and a similar set up is being planned at the high school.

Other business
During the meeting, the school board also:
• Awarded a contract to Robert’s Painting for improvements to the intermediate school’s cafeteria, gym, band hall complex. The winning proposal was for $82,091 but the school board authorized Superintendent Dr. Bobby Rice to spend up to $98,000 if additional repair work is needed.
• Voted to allow eighth grade students at Trinity Middle School to take Algebra I for a high school credit.
• Deleted the weighed status of the Spanish I, Spanish II, Chemistry, Pre-Calculus and Algebra II classes, beginning with the 2009-2010 freshman class. Rice explained additional weight was given these classes several years ago to encourage students to take them. They are now required courses for graduation and the weighed status is no longer needed.
• Extended the depository contract with the First National Bank of Trinity for two additional years.
• Moved their next meeting from May 25 to May 18 due to a conflict with the Memorial Day holiday.
• Received discipline reports from the assistance principals and counseling reports from the school counselors