Regional History Fair Results

Congratulations to the following students who received recognition at this year's Regional History Fair at Baylor University on February 24th!

High School:



Isaac Romer (1st Place Individual Documentary)

Madelyn Treat (1st Place Individual Website) 

Casey Towner (3rd Place Research Paper)

Kimberly Kolls (Special Award - Waco Chapter of the Links)
Alder Fulton (Honorable Mention Research Paper, Dr. Pepper Museum Free Enterprise Award) Easton Cox (1st Place Individual Exhibit, Special Award - Waco Chapter of the Links)

Lorene Keeland (1st Place Group Exhibit)

Sierra Sullwold (1st Place Individual Exhibit)
Emma Harris (Honorable Mention Individual Website)

Middle School: 

Payton Cox (1st Place Individual Exhibit)

Fiona Fulton (Honorable Mention Individual Website)

Isaac, Madelyn, Easton, Lorene, Sierra and Payton have all advanced to the Texas State History Fair in Austin on April 29, 2017.

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LHS Student & Teacher Selected for Prestigious Program

Isaac Romer & Dr. Greg Borchardt

Congratulations to LHS student Isaac Romer! He along with LHS history teacher Dr. Greg Borchardt have been selected as one of only 15 student/teacher pairs in the country to participate in the Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute. After participating in the year long program, Isaac and Dr. Borchardt are traveling to France to the Normandy American Cemetery to honor a fallen American hero. For more information about this prestigious honor, please read the full press release here.

Isaac and Dr. Borchardt are blogging about their trip. Click here to read about their experience.

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State History Fair Qualifiers

Braden Robinson (left)  Easton Cox (right)

Congratulations to Braden Robinson and Easton Cox.  These two 8th graders will be advancing to the state level for History Fair competition.  Braden Robinson placed 1st in the Historical Paper category. Easton Cox placed 2nd in the Individual Exhibit category.  

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Parent Tech Academy & Kid Discovery Kamp

Lorena ISD will host a Parent Tech Academy & Kid Discovery Kamp for Elementary & Primary parents and students. The event will take place on October 21st from 6 to 8 pm at Lorena High School.  Click here to register your family for this free evening of fun and learning.

For Kids -

• Science Experiments
• Math Games
• Storybook Character Read-alouds

For Parents -

• Information sessions on District Tech Resources such as:
• Powerschool Parent Portal
• Media Center Resources & Website
• Digital Citizenship
• Social Media & Digital Communication
• Virtual Textbook Access
• Web Tools

Childcare will be provided for 2-3 year olds. Register online today!

AYP Plans and Information

Dear Parents and Guardians of Students at Lorena ISD,

Lorena ISD is committed to providing every child with the best education possible, and we work hard to that end each and every day.  While Lorena ISD has been a recognized school district for the past several years, this year the state suspended ratings because of the new STAAR tests.  The state is still in the process of setting the standard for the grades 3-8 assessments.  However, there are different requirements for the Federal government under the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Act.

Under the NCLB Act of 2001, a Title I, Part A-funded LEA (local education agency/LISD), or school district, that has not met AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) for two or more consecutive years in the same indicator (reading, mathematics, attendance rate, or graduation rate) is subject to LEA-level Title I School Improvement Requirements.  Based on the 2012 LEA AYP Status released August 8, 2012, Lorena ISD is subject to the LEA-level SIP (School Improvement Program) requirements for Stage 1 during the 2012-2013 school year. For additional information about the AYP definition please visit TEA’s website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ayp/.

 Lorena ISD missed AYP in math for the past two years.  In 2010-11 we had more students pass the math assessment in Special Education than were allowed by the state imposed cap.  There is a 2% cap of special education students that are allowed to take a modified test; therefore, any student who passes over the cap counts as a failure.  This caused Lorena ISD to miss AYP in 2010-11.  In 2011-12 the standards were raised as the goal of 100% of all students passing was quickly approaching in 2014.  Requirements for math in 2011-2012 were 83% of all students and subgroups passing; next year the goal for all students will be 95%, and finally in 2014 the standard will be 100% passing for all students and subgroups. 

New PowerSchool Accounts

Alert: If you used PowerSchool Parent Access in previous years, you will need to create a personal account this year!

New This Year! PowerSchool Parent Portal with Single Sign-On

In previous versions of the PowerSchool Parent Portal there was a separate username and password for each student requiring a parent to login multiple times if they had more than one student attending any LISD campus. This year we  have introduced the Parent Single Sign-On feature.

Single Sign-On offers a number of benefits, including:

• access to multiple students with one login
• a personalized account for each parent and guardian
• the ability for parents/guardians to retrieve their own login information

As always, you will still be able to securely view your child's up to the minute student attendance, grades, detailed assignment descriptions, school bulletins, and even personal messages from the teacher.

 

Parents:

 

Start by clicking on the LISD PowerSchool icon, then click on "Create an Account" the first time you login for the 2012-2013 school year.

Lorena School Board Approves 2012-2013 District Calendar

The Lorena ISD Board of Trustees approved the 2012-2013 school district calendar at the February 27th Regular Board Meeting.

2012-2013 Calendar Important Dates and Holidays:

• August 28 - Students Begin Classes
• September 3 - Labor Day Holiday
• October 8 - Parent/Teacher Conference Day/ Student Holiday
• October 31 - Early Release Students/ Staff Development
• November 21-23 - Thanksgiving Break
• December 21 - Early Release, End of First Semester
• December 22 - January 7, 2013 - Christmas Break
• January 8 - School Resumes, Second Semester Begins
• January 21 - Staff Comp Day/ Student Holiday
• February 6 - Early Release Students/ Staff Development
• February 18 - Bad Weather Day #1 or School Holiday
• March 11-15 - Spring Break
• March 29 - Good Friday Holiday
• May 1 - Early Release Students/ Staff Development
• May 27 - Memorial Day Holiday
• June 5 - End of Semester
• June 6 - Bad Weather Day #2 or School Holiday

Student Testing - STAAR and EOC

This spring, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).  The STAAR program at grades 3-8 will assess the same subjects and grades that are currently assessed on TAKS.  At high school, however, grade-specific assessments will be replaced with 12 end-of-course (EOC) assessments:  Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English I, English II, English III, World Geography, World History, and U.S. History.  STAAR will include additional test formats to accommodate special education students and English Language Learners.

The STAAR test will have three levels of proficiency.  Level 1 is for unsatisfactory academic performance, level 2 for satisfactory performance and level 3 for advanced academic performance.  State accountability ratings, which will be based largely on STAAR results, have been suspended for the 2011-12 school year

As all Texas schools prepare to launch the new STAAR testing program, here are quick links to some of the most popular test information items:
Testing Schedule
Testing Calendars
Frequently Asked Questions
TAKS vs STAAR comparison

Informational Brochures:
STAAR: The Next Generation - A Parent's Guide to the Student Testing Program
STAAR - End of Course

Are you wondering what the STAAR and End of Course test will look like?  Well, wonder no more.  The STAAR released test questions are now available online.

Source: Texas Education Agency