Center for the Performing Arts receives official names

At the Tuesday, November 17 regular board meeting, school trustees approved measures that decided a location for and puts an official name on the recently approved auditorium and professional development facility.

The new name is Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts. The two venues inside the Center will bear the names of two former district officials: Claude Cunningham Performance Hall and the John Washington Professional Development Center.

Claude Cunningham Performance Hall - Cunningham retired in May 2009 as associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, after 14 years in MISD and 39 years in Texas education. In 1995, Dr. Cunningham was hired to serve as Executive Director of Student Services and Secondary Instruction in the Mansfield Independent School District. He was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction in 1998 and to Associate Superintendent in 2006. During his tenure in Mansfield he has been responsible for the leadership and direction of all student instructional and support programs, campus operations and District planning.
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The performance hall will will accommodate 5500 people with an additional 500 on the stage. This would allow for a seating capacity of 6000 to accommodate our high school graduations. Other uses for the performance hall will include:

• A location for high school performing arts departments' musicals and other large stage productions;
• 5th-12th grade band and choir performances;
• Host UIL band competitions and competitive cheer events; and
  
• Outside group and performance/production use for a rental fee.

John Washington Professional Development Center - Washington, who worked for 36 years in the Port Arthur school district, retired in 1990 and moved to Mansfield. Mr. Washington joined the MISD School Board in 1996, becoming the first African-American elected to the Mansfield ISD School Board. His focus was always on the children, his background in education and his eloquent way have endeared him to not only the students, but parents, staff and community members.
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The main feature of the professional development center's design is one large room that can accommodate up to 500, but can also be divided into six separate rooms for training. This large professional development room could host other events that are currently being housed outside the district.

Proposed MISD Orchestra Program

Mansfield ISD Trustees will hear a proposal to launch an orchestra program at their regular meeting Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The program would launch in the fifth grade by the following schedule:

2010-2011: A fifth grade pre-orchestra rotation is added

2011-2012: A sixth grade beginning orchestra is formed at each intermediate school

2012-2013: Middle school orchestras are established

2014-2015: High school orchestras are introduced at each high school

2017-2018: Fifth - Twelfth grade orchestra classes and programs are in full implementation

Initially, this program would require the district to hire three string teachers for the 2010-2011 school year. By the 2014-2015 school year, approximately 12 additional string teachers will need to be hired to staff the programs. In some cases, string teachers will be used as itinerate teachers, which means they are shared between different campuses. Other initial costs being considered are the costs of any instruments and instrument storage.

Please let us know your opinion on the proposed orchestra program in the comments below.

(Photo: November 5-6, 2009, the Arlington Symphony performed for the Mansfield ISD fourth grade students.)

2009 Bikes for Angels campaign

The Automotive Technology Department at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy kicked off their school fundraiser, Bikes for Angels Fund for Christmas 2009.

Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe the effort by the the students at BBCTA Auto Tech. Last year, the Auto Tech students raised over $21,000 to buy 425 bicycles for Angel tree students at our Intermediate and Elementary schools in the Mansfield area. They were also able to donate 75 bikes to the Meredith Hatch Foundation in Mansfield as well as gave bikes to the YMCA of Arlington, Cleburne Family Crisis Center who assists battered women and children, Operation Blessing and Frazier Elementary School in Burleson.

It meant so much for the instructors and students delivering the bikes to see counselors, principals, teachers and some of the recipients with tears of joy in their eyes.

This year's goal
The group started the new school year with a main goal of trying to raise $25,000 and buy at least 600 bicycles for needy children who would otherwise not get bikes for Christmas.

"I have been teaching for over 20 years and have never seen a group of students get so excited about a project as they do for our Bikes for Angel’s fund," said Rick Curlee, BBCTA Auto Tech Facilitator.

"We had students bringing everything in from Ziploc bags full of change to a student turning over his weekly paycheck to help some of these children. We had many students who had actually been on Angel Trees when they were younger themselves. Our goal last year was $10,000 and we reached that goal in only three days. We would sincerely like to ask you to help us beat last year’s total by making a donation of any kind to our fund. We can use almost any type of donation."

He's not kidding! Some examples of donations the group can accept are:

• Cars, running or not, and in any shape. Cars must have title and will either be resold or scrapped
  
• Auction items (They held an Auction at their Car Show on Saturday, October 31 and raised approximately $3,000.)
  
• Scrap metal
  
• Checks, cash, even your spare change is accepted. It all adds up to bicycles.
  
• Salon Packages
• Assorted Gift Certificates
  

Students will visit classrooms, businesses, and their immediate communities trying to raise funds. Students collecting will have a color copy of this form with them. They also welcome almost any type of sponsorship for the cause.

If you have any questions about this campaign or would like to support, contact Mr. Rick Curlee at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy via e-mail curlri[at]mansfieldisd.org or by phone at 817-299-1939. If you help the campaign via a check, please make it out to: MISD Auto Tech and put "Bikes for Angels" in the memo of the check. All monies raised during this campaign go to bicycles.

2008 Bikes for Angels Photo Gallery: