Greetings, La Porte ISD Family. Today is a great day to be a Bulldog!
It seems like our school year began just weeks ago. Yet, here we are approaching the Winter Break. Time certainly flies!
I am really excited about the wonderful teaching and learning in La Porte ISD over the past year. Our students have grown academically in almost every area. We will share more details when we complete a thorough, formal interpretation of the data we have received from the Texas Education Agency. Still, we are very pleased with what we have seen so far as we continue to drill deeply into the latest STAAR results.
While we are optimistic about our STAAR results, we also know that there are many things these scores don't take into account, including our student-athletes who attain honors for their efforts in the classroom and on the courts and fields, the young performing artists who earn All-Region, Sweepstakes or the honor of having their art displayed in a high-traffic venue, or the countless service hours that our young leaders accumulate in their efforts to make La Porte a better place to live and go to school.
Superintendent Shout-outs
- I want to give a huge shout-out to our elementary and sixth-grade scholars who participated in Saturday's Academic UIL Meet, to the hundreds of family members who showed up to support their loved ones, and to the La Porte ISD staff members who organized the event. It was wonderful seeing so many proud parents and students!
- Many of those same students showcased their brilliant work on Friday at the Project Launch Showcase. I am in awe of our young students who are part of this collaboration with the University of Houston-Clear Lake, which provides them an opportunity to take courses from college professors and graduate students such as video game design, environmental science and graphic novel writing.
- Congratulations to La Porte High School's chapter of the Texas Association of Future Educators for your success at the recent Area Meet, which includes a state-qualifier!
- Kudos and thank you to the members of the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council who let their voices be heard this past week. The honest feedback is extremely valuable and we will use it to help make La Porte High School the best it can be. I'm already looking forward to our next meeting in the spring!
- Congratulations to Coach Elisha Thompson and the Lady Dawgs Basketball Team, who were featured in VYPE this past week as the 18th ranked team in Greater Houston. We are all very proud of you!
The James H. Baker Orchestra officially kicked off the holiday concert season this past week, and there are plenty more performances and school-based activities ahead. I encourage you to come enjoy some spirited holiday performances and see why our music education program is nationally recognized. (See the full schedule below.) If you want to see many performances in one place, you will want to be at Christmas on Main event this Thursday.
Finally, I want to encourage you to let your voice be heard in our 2024-25 Academic Calendar Survey, which ends today. It is a single question survey, and we value your input. Review the two proposed district calendar options and choose your preference here.
I hope you have a great week!
Walter Jackson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
