December 2007
EPA Honors Katy ISD for Exemplary Indoor Air Quality Program
The Katy ISD maintenance and operations department recently received the EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) National Model of Sustained Excellence award for the district's exemplary indoor air quality program at the 8th Annual IAQ TfS National Symposium in Washington D.C. The Model of Sustained Excellence award is one of the EPA's most prestigious awards recognizing exemplary indoor air quality programs and commitment to providing a healthy learning environment for students and staff.
Fourteen Katy ISD Schools Ranked Among the Best Schools in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine
Fourteen Katy ISD Schools were among an elite group of public schools across the state to be named to Texas Monthly's "Best Public Schools" list. A total of 859 elementary, junior high and high schools were published on the list in the magazine's December 2007 issue.
The magazine in partnership with the National Center for Educational Accountability composed the list of high-performing schools on the basis of TAKS test results for the past three years. The top five percent of schools are automatically included, and the additional schools are added because they performed better than statistically predicted.
New Board member appointed
Chris Crockett has been appointed by the Katy ISD Board of Trustees to complete the unexpired term of Jackie Birkel (Position 3), who resigned earlier in December. She was sworn in at the end of the Board's regular meeting on Dec. 11.
Mrs. Crockett has been an active volunteer at both the campus and district levels. An alumna of the Leadership Katy Class of 2004, she was a member of the 2006 Bond Committees and the Bond Review Committee. She has served on the Campus Advisory Team at Memorial Parkway Junior High, on PTA boards at Nottingham Country Elementary and MPJH, and on the Taylor High School Band Booster Board. She was named Memorial Parkway Junior High Volunteer of the Year for 2003-04 and has been active in Katy Parents of Gifted and Talented.
CenterPoint Energy presents district with a check for $63,826.48
Katy ISD received a check for more than $63,000 from CenterPoint Energy for conserving energy in 2007 through the Schools Conserving Resources (SCORE) Program. As part of this pilot incentive program, the district completed several enterprising construction and renovation projects with the conscious effort to improve and implement energy efficiency.
The goal of CenterPoint Energy's program is to provide incentive refunds to school districts for taking a focused approach to energy conservation. Katy ISD completed 11 projects at eight schools in 2007 with plans to increase its participation in SCORE next year.
Katy ISD administrator named Texas Music Administrator of the Year
Bob Bryant, Katy ISD’s executive director of fine arts was named Texas Music Administrator of the Year by the Texas Music Educators Association, distinguishing Bryant among 9,000 of his peers for his contribution to the advancement of fine arts education.
Seven Lakes High School Boys Cross Country Team take 4A State Title
The Seven Lakes High School Boys Cross Country team won the Texas Division 4A State Championship. The Seven Lakes team is the first in Katy ISD to ever win a state championship in cross country.
2006 Bond Authorization Update
The district recently completed several projects related to the 2006 Bond Authorization including
- Pool Pak air handling system at Katy High
- sewer/water well and new generator at Mayde Creek High
- chiller replacements at Mayde Creek High and McDonald Jr. High
- carpet replacement at Memorial Parkway Elementary, Fielder Elementary and Hayes Elementary
- generator replacement at Nottingham Country Elementary
- science lab renovations at Taylor High School