By Alexandra Dalton
Staff Writer
@alex_dalton04
Successful Coppell ISD programs and their students were recognized at last night’s Board of Trustees meeting. The first of many honored was the Academic Decathlon team, that recently went to state for placing fourth in a competition focusing on renewable energy. Eight students went to state individually and were all rewarded with top six positions for their varying subjects.
All team members rejoiced in the victory with the support of the board by sharing their fondest memories of the challenging year as they claimed the highest performance the program has ever had at Coppell High School.
Art students were recognized with differing ages from middle school to high school. Students had applied to be accepted into the National Youth Art Month exhibit in Austin that shows from April 5-11, and four from the district were ultimately chosen. One middle school student won the flag title for the state out of hundreds of wishful applicants, while another’s piece was selected for the governor’s office out of the 100 ambitiously ranked artworks to choose from.
Four advanced placement art students at the high school level were chosen for a Young Masters exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art that teamed up multiple schools in the tri-state area.
“It is so humbling to be recognized for my artwork,” junior Brady Warren said. “The school district has really been so warm in helping me achieve the pinnacle of my art success so far.”
American Directors Chorale Choir was acknowledged with six students from Coppell Middle School West and two CHS students making the National Honor choir. Texas all-state mix choir had three CHS students that were fortunate enough to travel to Austin to perform their challenging music with famous composers and directors alike.
Members of the CHS varsity wrestling team, both boys and girls, were recognized for competing at the state level with nine athletes. They were congratulated for their success of a regional title for the girls varsity team with six of the 10 members being freshmen.
The Living Well in Coppell program that supports physical and personal wellness with challenges such as the one being held on the week of April 6, “Healthy Texas Week”, promotes a healthier Texan lifestyle, and it has recently achieved success by winning 424, 850 points in the third annual H-E-B community challenge competition, coming close to the community goal of 500,000. Coppell is competing to demonstrate the commitment to healthy living.
Coppell individuals, schools, businesses/organizations and faith-based groups all are involved in the common goal of improving health wellness in Coppell. Each activity has a specific number of points associated with it, so the more involvement, the more points gained toward the goal of winning Coppell’s small city category. This plan was congratulated for the change that has proven to be successful in other communities implementation in Coppell.
Statistics show that the EOC that was administered December 2014 rendered majorily successful as every Algebra I learner placed advanced, a high standard set by the district. Seventy-eight percent of English II retesters scored satisfactory and 100 percent of first time U.S. history testers scored satisfactory. Improvements recognized included plans of small group tutoring, learner success meetings to chart progress and the restructuring of the co-teach classroom.
The proposal for the learning upgrades were addressed as the original budget of $7.2 million for furniture changes ended up only costing the district $5.9 million. The bidding of the used student appliances such as desks and chairs will attempt to break even this bond package and be put into the general fund for projects such as more cafeteria seating as proposed at the meeting.
