News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday, 12/15  3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.

Tuesday, 12/16  3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 12/17  Community Exhibition, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 12/18  
Friday, 12/19  Classroom Winter Holiday Parties

Tuesday, 1/6  Students Return to School

Magnet Application Deadline:  Friday, 12/19

If you have moved out of the Roberts attendance zone, or expect to move during the Spring semester, and wish to stay at Roberts next school year, you may wish to apply for a magnet transfer.  Students are not guaranteed a spot, but can be considered if space is available.  Students who move out of the attendance zone will only be allowed to continue at Roberts with a Magnet transfer.

Spotlight on IB:
Roles in the Exhibition
Role of Parent/Guardian and Community Members

Parents/Guardians and Community members will:

• have an understanding of the purpose and requirements of the exhibition
• support and encourage students and teachers throughout the process of inquiry
• help students to access resources--people, places, media and information
• provide expert subject knowledge where applicable
• encourage independent inquiry and respect ownership of the process
• support students' action efforts
• have an opportunity to reflect on and give feedback on the exhibition
• celebrate with the students by attending the staging of the exhibition

You are cordially invited to join us Wednesday evening, 6:30-7:30 to learn more about the global issues our 5th graders have been learning about and working to effect change locally. We will begin with a short video and discussion in the Cafe, then all projects will be on display throughout the building.  You may not be able to see every project but will have the opportunity to see all projects on the Exhibition Website.

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday, 12/8  Iowa Testing, Kinder
Tuesday, 12/9  Iowa testing, Kinder
Wednesday, 12/10  Iowa Testing, Kinder
Thursday, 12/11  Iowa Testing, Kinder; Spelling Pre-Bee, 7:15 a.m.
Friday, 12/12  Iowa Testing, Kinder; NTB Book Talk, 11:30-12:30;  Faculty Caroling, 6:00 p.m.

Monday, 12/15  3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, 12/16  3rd gr Holiday Market, 8:15 a.m.
Wednesday, 12/17  Community Exhibition, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, 12/18  
Friday, 12/19  Classroom Winter Holiday Parties


School Funding, Part 1
Where Does the Money Come From?
In the State of Texas, schools are funded through a combination of local tax revenue and state dollars based on a per unit allocation.  Approximately 80% of school funding in HISD is generated by local tax revenue, with approximately 20% coming from the state.  The amount of money provided by the state varies depending on local tax revenue.  Districts can increase school funding by raising taxes, but often have to share that increased revenue with the state for redistribution to other poorer districts, referred to as a"Robinhood" funding system.  

Districts receive money for each student enrolled.  For the 2013-14 school year, HISD received approximately $6,000 for each "unit".  Most school districts centralize funds and make decisions for all campuses.  In HISD, we recognize that our district is very diverse and the needs of one campus are not necessarily the same as the needs of another campus.  We operate under a decentralized budget.

Within a decentralized budget system, some services are centralized, such as maintenance, utilities, accounting, purchasing, human resources, assessment and textbooks.  Other funding decisions are made at the campus level, such as whether or not the campus needs a reading specialist or a librarian or a school nurse.  The decentralized budget allows us to choose and fund programs like IB and more rigorous curriculum like Everyday Math.  The decentralized campus budget is based on a per unit allocation of $3470 in the general fund.  

So what is a unit?  Each year in January we project the number of students we expect to have enrolled at the campus in the upcoming school year.  That number is multiplied by our average daily attendance to create the number of units in our base allocation for which we will be funded. For instance, if we project 100 students, and our average daily attendance during the prior year was 97.3%, then we will be funded for 97.3 units with our preliminary budget.

Schools also receive weighted units for students who have special learning needs, such as limited English proficiency, special education or those identified as gifted and talented.  For instance, this year we have 292 students who qualify as gifted and talented, creating Special Populations Refined Units (292 x .12) of 35.04.  Special Population Refined Units are then added to the Base Allocation, and multiplied by the "per unit allocation".  

For those interested in learning more about this topic, take a few minutes to view a video at http://vimeo.com/60502113.  

Next week learn more about how we use our decentralized funds to create a budget that best meets the needs of children at Roberts.

  

What is Spelling Pre-Bee?

All students in grades 3-5 who are interested in competing in this year's spelling bee must qualify through the Pre-Bee.  This will be a written qualifier test using words from the Scripts National Spelling Bee list.  Teachers have copies of the student list.  The Pre-Bee will begin promptly at 7:15 am. on Thursday, December 11th.  There will be no late admittance.