Texas Legislature Hears Positive Endorsements for Charter Schools

On Friday, February 17, the Texas House of Representatives Committee on Public Education met to discuss the overall charter school system in Texas. The hearing was designed to review the operation of charter schools, in general, and provide an opportunity to learn more about the system that now serves approximately 130,000 students across 206 open-enrollment campuses, with an additional 56,000 on the waiting list. Harmony Public Schools is the largest charter school operating system in the state with 36 campuses and 20,000 students.

Harmony had a strong attendance at the hearing, with several witnesses testifying, and numerous additional parents of Harmony students in the audience prepared to provide testimony if necessary.

Among those invited by the committee to testify was David Dunn, executive director of the Texas Charter School Association.

“Clearly there’s a great demand from parents and students,” Dunn testified, “and there’s also a lot of interest in additional folks coming in to meet the educational needs of those students.”

Dunn also noted that one-fourth of the schools recognized for their efficiency by the state comptroller were charter schools, despite currently educating only three percent of students in the state.

Two audience members criticized charter schools, and Harmony in particular, but they were met with strong support from several of the legislators on the Committee, who noted that the critics had never visited a Harmony school and seemed to base their opinions on unsupported information and speculation. Harmony parents then provided testimony on their personal experience with charter schools, generally praising Harmony for providing a high-quality education and expecting a standard of excellence from faculty, teachers, students and parents.

Many charter and Harmony supporters were on hand to testify at the hearing. Among those testifying was Dr. John Harper, former mayor of Rowlett, Texas, CFO of The Cooper Institute and member of the Harmony Public Schools Advisory Board. Dr. Harper has visited twelve of the Harmony campuses. He shared with the Committee what he has seen in these schools:

“I came away from that experience extremely impressed by the extraordinary results that Harmony Public Schools have consistently achieved all across Texas for more than ten years now! Those academic achievements, especially with previous under-achievers, have been recognized many times by very prestigious groups nationally.”

Harmony officials plan to be a resource to the Committee as they continue to learn about the positive impact that charter schools such as Harmony are having on public education in Texas.

2012: Off to a Great Start!

Our Spring semester is in full swing and students from across our campuses are shining like stars.

In El Paso…

Harmony Science Academy El Paso participated in the 2nd Annual Invitational Science Olympiad competition. The event was held at Harmony Science Innovation and included schools as far away as Odessa, Texas. Our teams took home top prizes in “Storm the Castle,” “Towers,” “Anatomy,” “Disease Detectives,” and “Mouse Trap Car.” All students received medals from almost all events. These 6th through 9th graders gained much experience working in teams, building working models, and building positive relationships with mentors. These competitions have been especially important in preparing our future engineers and future scientists of the world. We wish all of these students continued success as they apply what they have learned in these competitions to their work in class and to their character as people.

In Houston…

The HSA High School Robotics Team took first place in the 2012 FIRST Technology Challenge Regional Competition at San Jacinto College in Houston. The team, Iron Panda Robotics, has a website were those interested can go and learn more: http://www.ironpanda.org/

In Laredo…

Laredo Morning Times recognized HSA Laredo’s swim team’s achievements. The school’s first-ever swim team competed at the District 32-4A championships last Friday. The article spotlighted HAS’s two swimmers, Daniel Rodriguez and Alejandra Carrillo. Click the link for the full article.

 

Thank You Mayor Lee Leffingwell

We’re so thrilled to be celebrating Harmony Public Schools Week in Austin! Being recognize by Mayor Leffingwell is such an honor!

Here is a picture of some Harmony students receiving the official proclamation and an article from Community Impact!

Austin mayor recognizes Harmony Public Schools for excellence
Amy Deis
Community Impact
January 18, 2012

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has proclaimed Jan. 13–20 Harmony Public Schools Week in honor of the charter system’s high-performing student body.

“Harmony has been a bright spot in a sometimes dismal picture in our education picture across the entire United States,” Leffingwell said. “They specialize in the STEM studies, science, technology, engineering and math. We know that’s what we desperately need in this country and we appreciate what you do.”

Debby McClure, Harmony’s Austin area outreach director, said the children were excited to be a part of the proclamation, which took place during the Jan. 12 Austin City Council meeting at City Hall. Harmony Public Schools operates five campuses in Austin.

“Harmony is a shining light in the state of Texas, and [students] are getting a lot out of their education,” she said.

She hopes the proclamation will help start a dialogue with parents who are not familiar with Harmony Public Schools. She said a lot of people do not realize they are public schools.

“It’s a private school setting but it is a public school,” McClure said.

Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school system in Texas, was founded about a decade ago and now has 36 campuses with more than 20,000 students across the state. It opened its newest Austin campus in August at 13415 RM 620.

The mayor also touted Harmony’s 100 percent college acceptance rate and zero percent dropout rate.

“Harmony believes in parental involvement as a core value and its dedicated teachers work with students and their families to help all students achieve to their highest potential,” said Gina Gregory, principal of Harmony Science Academy at 930 E. Rundberg Lane, during the proclamation.

Students presented the mayor with a piece of artwork for their thanks. The artwork depicts “Keep Austin Weird + educated.”

For more information on Harmony Public Schools, visit http://www.harmonytx.org/schools/austin.

“Win-Win” Partnerships

Read the below op-ed on the prospect of Austin Independent School District establishing partnerships with high-performing public charter schools like Harmony!

Deals with charters would help Austin kids
John Fitzpatrick and Mary Ellen Pietruzynski Local Contributors
Austin American-Statesman
December 10, 2011

As Central Texas philanthropic foundations focused on improving student achievement and college readiness across Texas, we are excited about the prospect of the Austin Independent School District establishing “win-win” partnerships with high-performing public charter schools like KIPP Academy, IDEA Public Schools and Responsive Solutions.

Central Texas students and parents would benefit from collaborations like in-district charters, joint efforts to improve training and recruitment of teachers and principals, and sharing best practices on increasing college enrollment. As background, our two foundations — the Texas High School Project and Sooch Foundation — are proud investors in both traditional public school districts and high-performing public charter schools.

We believe there are three good reasons for Austin school district leaders to establish partnerships with high-performing charter schools.

1. It’s an opportunity for experts to work with experts. The high-performing public charter schools in which we have invested (like KIPP Austin, IDEA Public Schools and Harmony Math & Science) are led by educators with proven track records of student achievement, increased graduation rates and greater college enrollment. Within the Austin school distrct, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen has built a diverse and experienced team of leaders open to innovation and new ideas to improve all our schools. Charters bring new ideas in teaching and learning, college-going cultureand principal recruitment/training. Our community would benefit from having “experts working with experts” to create stronger ideas and help make Austin a city of innovation in preparing students for college and careers.

2. There is already an established track record of successful innovative partnerships in our city. Several of Austin’s noteworthy schools were created with external partners. Successful examples include the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders (which is a partnership with the Dallas-based Foundation for the Education of Young Women); Akins High School (which has worked with the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board/High Schools That Work); and the Academy for Global Studies at Austin High School (which is associated with the New York-based Asia Society).

3. There is national and state context for this type of successful education partnership. Across the country, major urban districts in Denver, Nashville, Hartford (Conn.), Baltimore, Boston and Los Angeles are working in partnership with high-performing charter schools. Mayors like Dallas’ Mike Rawlings and Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel are working with school boards, superintendents and charter leaders to improve options for parents and students in their cities.

National models such as the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City include major partnerships with charter schools. Nationally, President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are supporting expansion of charter schools in federal initiatives like Race to the Top, and the Investing in Innovation Fund. Texas school districts are already working closely with charter schools — and achieving positive results.

Our foundations have years of direct experience working with Austin district educators and with high-performing charters. We are excited about the opportunity for greater collaboration and the sharing of ideas between successful public school leaders, while incorporating the voices of parent and neighborhood leaders. We are confident the result will create more high quality public school campuses for students and parents in Austin.

Fitzpatrick, a former Austin school board member, is executive director of the Texas High School Project. Pietruzynski is executive director of the Sooch Foundation.

See How They “Faired”

Check out the article below to read about Harmony Science Academy Bryan’s Science Fair this past weekend.

Harmony students showcase their experiments at science fair
The Bryan College Station Eagle
December 4, 2011
Rosalee Getterman

More than 200 students participated in Harmony Science Academy’s 5th annual Science Fair on Saturday, presenting projects that ranged from whether baking soda affects the height of a cake to the effect of temperature on non-Newtonian fluids.

The science fair is one example of the state charter school’s philosophy of emphasizing math, science, engineering and technology. Beginning in fourth grade, all students through 12th grade are required to participate in the competition.

Eighth-grader Jennifer Baldwin won second place for her grade level with her project on hydroelectric power.

To perform the experiment, she connected three different turbines to a compact generator, which was hooked up to an LED light. As water from a hose spun the turbines, they produced enough electricity to illuminate the LED light — simulating what would happen if turbines were placed in the ocean and spun by its current.

“I chose it because I was interested in underwater currents. Since the ocean is always moving because of the moon, I think that it would be more efficient than a wind generator or solar power generator,” Baldwin said.

There were about 45 professors and graduate students from Texas A&M University, along with other science experts, who volunteered to judge the students’ projects for originality, clarity of presentation, and the students’ knowledge of the areas covered in their projects.

Sixth-grader Wyatt Nunn has won first place two years in a row. His project this year tested hair samples for mercury levels to see what caused the highest levels of mercury in people. In his study, the person with the highest levels of mercury went fishing regularly and had three amalgam fillings.

For Nunn, the science fair gives him the opportunity to fulfill his goals. “I always wanted to work in a lab and now I can,” he said.

In eighth-grader Bryce Stammler’s project titled “Biodegradable Medicine,” he took common biodegradable items that you could find at a store and tested them to see if they could be recycled and then used as medical supplies. He said that he chose the project because after doing some research, he found that hospitals had been wasting about 600,000 to 1,000,000 tons of medical equipment each year.

Though he who won first place in his grade, Stammler described the experience as “very nerve-wracking, but at the same time fun.”

List of Harmony Academy Science Fair Winners

Fourth Grade

1st – Kathryn Sutton

2nd – Miguel Bernal

3rd – Yusuf Khan

Best Design – Kathryn Sutton

Fifth Grade

1st – Jessica Perez

2nd – Alysia Gonzales

3rd – Gabriela Arita

Best Design – Jessica Perez

Sixth Grade

1st – Wyatt Nunn

2nd – Orion Konechy

3rd – Nayeli Guerrero

Best Design – Wyatt Nunn

Seventh Grade

1st – Layla Hale

2nd – Nathan Garcia

3rd – Daniel Carrasco

Best Design – Daniel Carrasco

Eighth Grade

1st – Bryce Stammler

2nd – Jennifer Baldwin

3rd – Darian Lee & Tiffany Reeves

Best Design – Jennifer Baldwin

Ninth Grade

1st – Damarius Garcia

2nd – Cedaisia Newsome

3rd – Ladairian Goodin

Best Design – Luisa Sanchez-Martinez

Tenth through Twelfth Grade

1st – Amar Gawande

2nd – Druck Green

3rd – Elisha Duka

Best Design – Samantha Branderhorst

Recent Harmony Visits

At Harmony, we’re lucky to have so many of our state’s leaders take an interest in what’s happening in the classroom. We always love a school visit. Here are some highlights from a few recent visits!

Senator Van de Putte

On November 11, 2011 Harmony School of Innovation San Antonio honored Veterans who have fought for our freedom and remembered those who are still fighting. The schools had a special movie for the Veterans as well as a presentation by the keynote speakers to commemorate the occasion. Senator Van De Putte honored the Veterans in her speech, Mr. San Miguel read one of his poems, and two veterans shared their memories with the audience.

Representative Zerwas

Representative John Zerwas, House District 28 in the Texas House of Representatives, visited Harmony Science Academy West Houston on November 18. He was given a school tour by the school principal along with Cluster Superintendent Mr. Karan. Representative Zerwas did not hide his admiration to the school facility and the jobs well done by the students.

Click here for the pictures of the event.

Representative Reynolds

The second Education in a Global Society Luncheon Series took place on October 20, 2011 at Harmony School of Science – High. District 21 House of Representatives member Ron Reynolds, acting as the keynote speaker, both entertained and engaged the audience with stories about his upbringing, current politics, and future goals.

More is here.

 

Recent Harmony Successes!

A lot is going on at the Harmony campuses across Texas! We’re shinning a light on a few recent victories and success!

Harmony Dominates MathCounts

Harmony School of Excellence MATHCOUNTS Team, on November 5, participated in “San Antonio Mathletes in Action” Competition which was attended by a total 224 students from all around the state. Harmony School of Excellence was represented with 12 students (three teams). Harmony students dominated the competition by placing 1st through 6th and 10th.

Team A and Team C were placed 1st and 2nd respectively. Stephen P., 8th grader, was the highest ranked individual with a perfect score. Anthony N. became the top 6th grader by placing 6th overall.

Two Qualifications for the Primary Math World Contest

On Wednesday, November 23, Texas Mathworks announced the top four students who will represent Texas at the Primary Math World Contest (PMWC) in Hong Kong in July 2012. PMWC is an international math competition for middle school students.

Two of Harmony School of Excellence Math Team members (Stephen P. and Vivian L.) have earned places on the 2012 Mathworks team.

Click here to visit the competition website.

Ro-Beaumost Captures 2nd Place

Harmony Science Academy Beaumont Robotics Team, Ro-Beaumont, got second place in BEST Robotics Competition on November 5, 2011 in Galveston – Houston. Congratulations to all Harmony Tigers.

Click here for the pictures.