Teen Culture Topic Of April 17 Seminar

Adults who care for and work with teenagers, but sometimes have difficulty understanding their world, are invited to a free, public seminar on Teen Culture Saturday, April 17 at Carroll Senior High School. The event, sponsored by Carroll ISD and S.P.A.R.K. (Students and Parents Against Risks to Kids), will be held from 8 a.m. to noon in the auditorium of CSHS, 1501 W. Southlake Boulevard. Light refreshments will be available for participants.

CISD employees can receive four hours of continuing education/professional development credit for attending the seminar.

The ParenTeen Seminar is designed to answer common questions and offer advice on connecting with today's teenage population. In three sessions throughout the morning, Dr. David Fraze will explore the changing landscape of adolescent culture, the adult response to the change and then uncover how that change has affected today's teenage population. The seminar will end with practical suggestions for parents, teachers, coaches and all adults wanting to better understand and make a positive difference in the life of a teenager.

Dr. Fraze works with teens in Northeast Tarrant County and is a popular speaker at youth events, public/private school events and training seminars. He has been the host of a local television segment, The Teenage Tightrope, which provided parents with thoughtful insight into the world of teenagers. David is a writer who has contributed articles for youthspecialties.com and ENGAGE, the quarterly journal of The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, Youth Worker Journal, Journal of Student Ministries, and the Fuller Youth Institute. He serves on the executive board of Teen Lifeline (www.lifelivedbetter.org), an organization dedicated to reaching out to hurting teenagers. He also works with a unique program that brings together several North Texas school districts in a cooperative effort to prepare parents for the adolescent experience.

"Dr. Fraze is one of the foremost experts on the topic of teen culture," said Becci Rollins, CISD's Coordinator of Counseling. "He has great insight, perspective and experience in the world of teenagers. He was describing and talking about the issue of sexting long before anyone else around our area knew what the kids were doing. As soon as I heard him speak on the topic of teen culture, I knew we had to bring him to Southlake to present to our staff, our counselors and our parents."

The Saturday ParenTeen seminar is being provided by a Carroll ISD True To The Core grant, which provides funding for programs, events and initiatives that support the district's core values of excellence, relationships, character & integrity, innovation and open & honest communication.

This week

Dragon License Plates Get Approval

The Carroll Independent School District will soon become the first school district in the state with its own personalized license plates.

During Monday’s School Board meeting, CISD Trustees approved a five-year agreement with My Plates to produce state-issued Carroll Dragon plates. The plate design expects to get state approval in May.

The plates will feature the Carroll green and black colors with the trademark Dragons logo on the left. Dragon fans will also have the option to personalize their plates. The district receives 10 percent commission on each plate sold, revenue which will go into the general operating fund.

A one-year agreement for Dragons plates costs $55 and a five-year plate purchases costs $195. The 10-year plate is $295.

Creating new plates typically takes 4-6 months and the Dragon plates will be available for purchase online in August.

Public Meeting - Relay For Life

In an effort to ensure open and honest communication, Carroll ISD will host a public Question & Answer session about the May 21 Relay For Life all-night fundraiser at Carroll High School.

Officials from Carroll ISD, the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the event volunteer planning committee will be present at the public meeting, scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, April 12 in the library of Carroll Middle School. Relay For Life is the official fundraiser for ACS. Already 122 teams and nearly 1,000 participants have signed up to participate in the Southlake event.

Event Chair Tracey Flores and Team Chair Kristie Millican say they are getting a lot of logistical questions from parents, teachers and individuals interested in learning more about the May event. School officials say they are seeking sound and lighting variances from the City of Southlake. A Planning & Zoning meeting on this event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, (April 8) at City Hall, Town Square. At this meeting school and ACS officials will walk P&Z representatives through the site plan, event schedule and other event-related plans. The City Council is slated to address the light and sound variances at their April 20 meeting.

Carroll ISD officials say they will kick off the May 21 evening with a 5 p.m. rally to celebrate Rachel's Challenge - the K-12 kindness and compassion program implemented at all CISD schools last year. This rally will feature guest speaker Dana Scott, sister of Rachel Scott, the first teenager killed at Columbine High School a decade ago. Families will be invited to come celebrate Rachel's Rally with food, fun and games. Immediately following at 7 p.m. opening ceremonies for Relay For Life will begin.

About 3,000-4,000 people are expected at this community event during peak times. CISD plans to run shuttle buses for remote parking and have on-site security and emergency personnel. Entertainment and game booths are scheduled throughout the evening with two stages and plenty of fundraising opportunities. Proceeds from the events go to benefit the American Cancer Society. At 7:15 p.m. Cancer Survivors will take a victory lap around the track and then they will be treated to a dinner, compliments of Cotton Patch. After that lap, teams of 8-15 people will have walkers/runners take turns making laps until 7 a.m. the next morning. Teams are fundraising now and will continue to fundraiser on-site.

School officials say they will have a "tent city" camp-out area on the football practice field for those team(s) wishing to rest throughout the night. You do not have to spend the night to participate, but after midnight, only those signed up to walk for a team will be permitted in the track area. Bracelets will help identify participants. Co-ed and teen teams will be in a special canopy area between the tennis courts and the football field. This area will involve rock climbing walls and games geared toward older students. A special toddler area with games will be available from 5 to 9 p.m. in the CHS fenced-in tennis court area.

At 10 p.m. the area will grow hushed as the luminaria candle-lighting ceremony honors survivors and remembers those who have lost a loved one to cancer.

Anyone wishing to learn more about Relay For Life, Southlake, should attend the April 12 meeting or visit our website at http://www.relayforlife.org/southlaketx

More to come on this exciting community-wide event. Go online and sign up for a team, join the Survivors' Celebration or donate today!

Demographer's Report

The district's demographer will be updating Trustees tonight on the latest enrollment projections for the 2010-2011 school year. As the Carroll community ages, growth has actually tapered off and less students are expected to be enrolled in August than the previous year. The news doesn't come as much of a surprise to school officials who have known for some time that the struggling economy and fewer home starts in Southlake would eventually have a significant impact on the district's student population.
Already this year, CISD is experiencing a 100-student shortfall in the number of K-12 students projected to be enrolled for the current school year. Officials say that not only affects staffing levels, but also state funding. CISD receives about $6,000 per student in state revenues. Having 100 less students than expected means a budget shortfall of more than $600,000. That deficit must be added to the $3.4 million Trustees are already expecting to take from the Fund Balance to cover this year's operating expenses.
Demographer Rocky Gardiner form Templeton Demographics, LLC will be at tonight's Carroll School Board meeting to not only share the pending forecast, but also a 10-year projection. Gardiner will explain to Trustees that Durham Intermediate and Carroll Senior High School may be the only campuses with enrollment gains during the 2010-2011 school year. Most campuses are expected to decline as larger classes exit and move through the system.
A total of 7,831 students were enrolled in 2007-2008. That grew by only eight students in 2008-2009, with a 112-student drop so far during the current year. Templeton officials are predicting another 90-student drop before October, bringing the 2010-2011 projection to 7,637 students. The largest drops are expected at Carroll High School (-62), Carroll Elementary (-28), Johnson Elementary (-23) and Dawson Middle School (-23) as those campuses have larger existing classes than those new classes entering.
The pending enrollment projections are no cause for panic according to school officials. The news of the slower growth rate was expected to some extent. Still, officials say they will watch trends carefully before making final decisions on all the 2009 bond projects. Most of the projects, according to school staff, provide amenities and space for the existing student population, not future students. In fact, both new campuses are replacement schools, designed to modernize buildings and technology, while freeing up overcrowding at Durham Elementary and Johnson Elementary schools.
New construction at Carroll Senior High will go on as planned, including construction of art facilities, an auxiliary gym, student parking and locker/dressing room space.
Planned security entrances at each of the CISD campuses will also move forward, as will a 1,600-seat expansion at Dragon Stadium that provides a technology disaster recovery site for the district.
School officials say the projects that have not yet started - classroom expansions at Old Union Elementary, Eubanks Intermediate, Dawson Middle School and Carroll High School, will be reviewed carefully in light of the new enrollment data. It may be too soon to tell, however, just how much of that additional space will be necessary.
Very soon, CISD will publish a 2009 Bond Project Update, giving local taxpayers and parents a look at work to date, as well as the enrollment projections and how they affect ongoing construction.
Stay tuned to the CISD website for more complete information on the 2010 Demographer's Report. A complete Board Meeting Summary will be available for Dragon families after tonight's School Board meeting.

Dragon Fun Alert!

Carroll Independent School District will be closed for Spring Break March 15-19. We hope all of our Dragons have a fun, safe and relaxing time off! Be ready to hit the books again March 22!!!!!

Dragons Go Green

Carroll students and staff will celebrate Texas Public Schools Week March 22-26 with a Get Your Green On theme. Open houses will be held at the elementary and intermediate school campuses on Tuesday, March 23 and/or Thursday, March 25. Check the district website for exact times and dates at each campus.

Students in Kindergarten through sixth grades are encouraged to go on our website to print out the Dragons R Green Pledge. Once the student and his/her family have reviewed the pledge, it should be signed and brought to Southlake Town Square Saturday, March 27 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. for Southlake Green Day. The signed pledge will make the student eligible for drawings for seven different bicycles throughout the day. Southlake Green Day will feature guest speakers, booths with information about green strategies, etc.

Students in grades 7-12 are encouraged to participate in an essay contest for scholarship money. Middle school students will compete against one another. Contest rules are on the district's website. The deadline to postmark your essay of 750 words is March 12. First place wins a $1,000 savings bond. Second place wins a $500 savings bond.

In the 9-12 grade competition, students must submit a 1,000-word essay for a $1,000 first place prize and a $500 second place prize. The essay theme is "My Part In Protecting The Environment." Sponsored by Natex Architects, Inc., Carroll ISD and Southlake GreenFellows, Inc. the contest is in its first year.

To learn more about Carroll ISD's green strategies, visit our Dragons Go Green website!