LEAKEY ISD NEWS - May 13 2009

Seven Leakey ISD Sophomores Receive Texas Student Achievement Award

Seven Leakey High School students received the “Texas Student Achievement Award” from the Texas ACT Council for their performance on the PLAN (the Pre-ACT) Assessment. These students are on target to meet or exceed ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks by graduation. ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks are empirically-based and identify the level of achievement necessary in English, mathematics, reading and science to have a successful college freshman experience. Only 16.5% of the Texas students who took the PLAN test reached the level of proficiency of these Leakey students!

The students receiving this recognition from the Texas ACT Council are: Michael Breshears, son of C.A. and Caroline Breshears; Eric Henderson, son of Brooks and Cyndee Henderson; Kevin Vasquez, son of Troy and Leigh Ann Wright; Meagan Clark, daughter of Dusty and Barbara Clark; Kendra Bingham, daughter of Harold and Tracy Bingham, Chante Gass, daughter of Don and Carrie Gass; and Sarah Rubio, daughter of Beatsie and Bella Rubio. An additional three LISD sophomores narrowly missed being selected for this recognition as they successfully attained three of the four academic areas measured. These students are: Leah Carrillo, daughter of Sonny and Gloria Carrillo; Alyssa Cave, daughter of Todd and Blythe Cave; and Taylor Hatch, daughter of Mary Jones. With two more years of high school preparation these three students, along with the seven recognized/honored students will definitely be ready for college when they graduate from Leakey High School in 2011.

The Texas ACT Council is made up of secondary and postsecondary educators who advise ACT, Inc. on the utilization of ACT programs and services in Texas schools and colleges. ACT, Inc. is the not-for-profit organization that provides assessment, research, information and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development and the publisher of the ACT Assessment. The ACT Assessment is the college admissions test that is accepted by all colleges nationwide.

According to Karen Pennell, ACT Vice President and Southwest Regional Manager, “The Texas ACT Council recognizes those students who are making significant strides to prepare themselves for college by taking rigorous courses and meeting the PLAN (Pre-ACT) College Readiness Benchmarks. We also want to recognize that student PLAN (Pre-ACT) achievement is the result of a strong commitment by Leakey High School teachers, staff, administrators, and parents to increase college readiness for all students.”

The PLAN program helps tenth graders build a solid foundation for future academic and career success and provides information needed to address school district’s high-priority issues. It is a comprehensive guidance resource that helps students measure their academic development, explore career/training options, and make plans for the remaining years of high school and post-graduation years. The PLAN can help all students –those who are definitely college-bound as well as those who are likely to enter the workforce directly after graduating from high school. As a “pre-ACT’ test, PLAN is a powerful predictor of success on the ACT test. At the same time, many schools recognize the importance of PLAN testing for all students as it focuses attention on both career preparation and improving academic achievement.

This is the first year that Leakey ISD has participated in this critical testing program and the school administration wishes to recognize and publicly thank counselor Shirley Sliter for taking the initiative to have our students participate in this testing program. The recognized students are shown in the photo above. They are: (front row,left to right)Michael Breshears, Eric Henderson, Kevin Vasquez, (back row, left to right) Sarah Rubio, Chante Gass, Kendra Bingham, and Meagan Clark.