May 18, 2023

Alamo Heights ISD is committed to keeping the community informed about the work of the Board of Trustees. This board summary highlights the action and recognitions from the latest Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Organization of Trustees

Newly elected Trustees took the Oath of Office at the beginning of the Board Meeting. Ty Edwards was sworn in to represent Place 3 and Stacy Sharp was sworn in for her second term representing Place 4.

Outgoing Trustee Ryan Anderson was recognized for his years of service to AHISD and the Board of Trustees. He was first elected in 2017.

Trustees selected new officers: David Hornberger, President; Stacy Sharp, Vice President; Clay Page, Secretary; and Carey Hildebrand, Assistant Secretary. 

Recognitions

Spotlight on Excellence 

Andrew Hendley and Emily Fricke, music teachers at Woodridge, were honored as the May Spotlight on Excellence recipients.

Powering the Profile

Kim Stanage, chemistry teacher at Alamo Heights HS, was recognized for Powering the Profile for embodying the AHISD Profile of a Learner. Visit the AHISD YouTube channel for a video showing how she empowers students to “seek knowledge and understanding.”

National Merit Finalists 

Victoria Baker, Aidan Myles, Garrett Scott, and Ellis Wren were recognized as 2023 National Merit Finalists. 

H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards State Winner

Lisa Barry, a 5th grade teacher at Woodridge Elementary, was recently named a state winner at the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. She was recognized in the Lifetime Achievement Elementary category, and earned $25,000 for her school and $25,000 for herself.

State VASE

Senior Nathaniel Garza was recognized for earning a perfect score for his painting “Willow City Spring” at the state Visual Arts Scholastic Event or VASE.

UIL Award of Merit- Yearbook

The Yearbook received the UIL Award of Distinguished Merit for the 15th straight year. It is the state's highest honor and the gold medal in publishing. Recognized were Georgia Beamer, Lindley Sandidge, McKenzie Pheiffer, Landry Dozier, Madeline Northington, and Bergen Alvheim.  

UIL Award of Achievement - Hoof Print 

The Hoof Print received the UIL's Award of Achievement which is the state's second highest honor and the silver medal in publishing. Recognized were Carter Chaney, Stepan Kuzmin, Mason Gutierrez, Fisher Frost, Thomas Labatt, Charlotte Stevens, Miles Wright, Rett Andersen, Jackson Duffin, Chico Strash, Wyatt Thistle, and Gage Wright

UIL State Academic Qualifier - Headline Writing

Sophomore Mason Gutierrez was a UIL State Academic Qualifier in Journalism. He competed May 17 in Austin.

UIL State Track and Field Qualifiers 

Two athletes represented AHISD at the UIL State Track and Field Meet in Austin. Leo Bowen earned a silver medal in Pole Vault and Joe White placed fifth in the 1600 meter run. 

Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Assistant Coach of the Year 

Herb More was recognized as Assistant Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. 

Texas High School Coaches Association Assistant Football Coach of the Year 

Jordan Ricker was recognized as Assistant Football Coach of the Year by the Texas High School Coaches Association. 

State Science Olympiad Qualifying Teams

AHISD was represented at the State Science Olympiad by teams from both the High School and the Junior School.

AHHS- Ellis Wren, Campbell Dixson, Bennett Hall, Stepan Kuzmin, Wyatt Umlauf, WIll Toman, Juliette Motamedian, Agustin Esteva, John Krause, Ana Maria Donahue, Carlos Ojeda de Silva, Caleb Rice, Francesco Caffrey, Anastazia Becvar, and Eli Yun.

AHJS- Lucas Bowling, Maya Corey, Stuart Flexner-Bury, John Fravell, Elaina Kindt, Ben Klopfenstein, William Montalvo, Cael Norris, Veronica Payne, Lucas Rodriguez, Jay Salinas, Ezra Shokrian, Panashe Sykes, Audrey Walk and Aubrey Wang

Texas Science and Engineering Fair State Qualifiers

Two students, Aidan Myles and Ellis Wren, placed at the Alamo Regional Science and Engineering Fair and were eligible to go on to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair as State Finalists at Texas A&M University. Aidan had a first place chemistry award as well as awards from The American Chemical Society, Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the NOAA's Planet Award. Ellis had a third grand prize award as well as the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, National Geographic Earth Award, and the Ricoh Sustainability Award.

National Qualifier- U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad

Ellis Wren competed in the American Chemical Society regional Chemistry Olympiad in March and placed first among all of the competitors.This qualified him for the National Chemistry Olympiad, and he competed on April 15. His national results will be available later this month.

American Dance and Drill Nationals - Spurs Dance Team

The Spurs dance team competed at the American Dance and Drill Nationals and brought home numerous awards including XS Medium Ensemble National - 1st place Winners; National Champion 1st runner up in Open (Clog); National Champion 1st runner up in Hip Hop; National Champion 2nd runner up in Pom; National Academic Championship - 4th place; and Overall National Champions in the XS Division 3rd Place.

Recognized were Hannah Carpio-Walker, Frances Decherd, Avelina Escudero, Gianna Garcia, Mariah Garner, Alexandra Kendrick, Andra Lowe, Kaitlyn Mafrige, Skarlett Muniz, Lyn Cynthai Perryman, Madison Ritchie, Sadine Sanchez, and Adrianna Ybarra-Hill.  

UIL State Solo and Ensemble Qualifiers - Band, Orchestra, and Choir 

The following students qualified for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest for Band: Celeste Arteaga, Evan Bienek, Dastan Biglari, Christopher Carpio-Walker, Caroline Cordts,Michael Dahm, Eleanor Dibrell, Charlie Durrett, Abigail Fernandez, Andres Gonzales, Jaden Gentles, Melody Hinds, Kiera Iruegas, Kha Le, Andrew Lozano, Charmichael Mauricio, Julian Mendoza, Cole Quint, Marcos Ramirez, Ava Rocha, Sophia Sifuentes, Lauren Smith, Piper Smith, Miles Soto, Luciana Triana, Raul Villarreal, and Ellis Wren

The following students qualified for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest for Orchestra: Michal Harnisch, Jack Krause, Aidan Myles, Miriam Nakagama, Roman Rodriguez, Issay Shields, Jaziel Varela, and Savva Wagner

The following students qualified for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest for Choir: Gwynny Moore, Yariel Valdes, Sophia Sifuentes, Elia Contreras, Sidney Davies, Ava Henning, Elbie Ethridge, Max Hinojosa, Ava Vargas, Annette Guajardo, Julia Newton, Blakely Wogstad and Jaycee Spivey

State Color Guard

The Alamo Height HS colorguard earned 3rd place at the Texas Educational Colorguard Association (TECA) state competition. This is their highest placement in recent years. 

Recognized were Mia Allen, Joaquin Armendariz, Alexandra Arzabala, Gabriela Buzenas, Chloe Corcran, Livianna De La Pena, Bianca Garcia, AJ Gonzalez, Melody Hinds, Kiera Iruegas, Warren Kramer, Mya Leon, Justice Medrano, Kiya Ray, Charlotte Yauger, and Isabella Villanueva

Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council

The Superintendent's Student Advisory Council is comprised of Alamo Heights High School Juniors, Alamo Heights Junior School 8th graders, and 5th graders from Cambridge and Woodridge Elementary.

Alamo Heights High School: Faye Bettis, Natalie Markette, Reed McLallen, Yoji Phillips, Kiya Ray, Sophia Sifuentes, Maithy Smith, Ana Soberanes, Luciana Triana, and Alexander West.

Alamo Heights Junior School: Aden Cuchran, Jamison Cummings, Stuart Flexner-Bury, Brady Gissell, Ace Harrell, Maci Maroney, Mariah Mayon, Porter McCloskey, Hailey Reno, and Renzo Zeballos.

Cambridge Elementary: Olive Contreras, Drayce Echard, Betsy Himoff, Mahalia Hudson, and Jagger Hughes

Woodridge Elementary: Michael Harrell II, Zoe Ivlev, Mason Lockhard, Jasmine Nostray-Mieczkowski, and Sloane Velasquez

Senior Ambassadors 

Senior ambassadors Victoria Baker, Carson DeLeon, Ian Donahue, Nicholas Gonzales, Kieran Norris, Lauren Smith, and Watson Ash-Schwab have shared their senior story multiple times this year at events for our community Senior and Grand Mules.

Student Council

Dylan Corso, Co-President of the Alamo Heights High School Student Council, shared a final update with Trustees after three years of leading the Student Council. He also introduced 2023-24 Student Council President Grace McCormick.

Other Board Action and Presentations  

Dr. Frank Alfaro, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, presented members of Cohort 9 of the Teacher Leadership Academy.

Trustees approved a resolution presented by Mike Hager, Assistant Superintendent of Business & Finance, establishing the District's Intention to Reimburse Itself for the Prior Lawful Expenditure of Funds Relating to Constructing Various School District Improvements from the Proceeds of Obligations to be Issued by the District for Authorized Purposes; Authorizing Other Matters Incident and Related Thereto; and Providing an Effective Date.

Trustees approved the 2023 Senior Class Gift to the High School, a brass imprint of feet that would symbolize ‘walking in someone else’s shoes.’ The presentation was made by Senior Class President Kieran Norris

Trustees heard about a request that was previously approved by the Superintendent for a high school student trip to the Dominican Republic in March 2024. 

Trustees approved the naming of an English classroom at Alamo Heights HS as the Mary Lee Durham Memorial Classroom in recognition of a gift to the Alamo Heights School Foundation Endowment by Betty and Mike Venson. 

Trustees approved the Allotment and TEKS Certification for the 2023-24 school year. In accordance with Texas Education Code, school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are required to certify annually to the State Board of Education and the commissioner that, for each subject in the required curriculum other than physical education, students have access to instructional materials that cover all the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for the coming school year.

Donations were accepted from: Alamo Heights Mule Team, Alamo Heights Junior School PTO, Alamo Heights School Foundation, Friends of Special Friends to the Alamo Heights HS Special Education Department, and HDL Promos. The accepted donations totaled $99,527.51.

Trustees accepted reports from the Assessment and Long Range Planning and Goals and Priorities committees; District Design Team; Communications Committee; and Alamo Heights School Foundation.

Superintendent’s Communication

Dr. Bashara highlighted the overwhelming support for Bond 2023 and each proposition. She highlighted the 14 student athletes who signed letters of intent on Signing Day, the record number of students participating in signing day for Fine Arts students, the transonic rocket launch in Stonewall for Rocketry students, the students who participated in the Business INcubator Pitch Night; the state championship for Girls Golf team, Lisa Barry’s HEB State Award, and the recognition of Ben Keenan at the Trinity Prize ceremony. 

She also encouraged the community to continue to advocate for public education and an increase in the basic allotment as the Texas Legislature session winds down. 

Next Regular Meeting: 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 21, Board Room 

Regular meetings are typically scheduled on the third Thursday of the month and held in the AHISD Board Room, 7101 Broadway, 78209. 

Meeting Information is also posted on the Board website.  

Regular meetings are broadcast live and recordings are available within 24 hours. 

If you would like to communicate with the Board of Trustees, email them at [email protected]


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