Features
CHA Meets Commissoner of Education Michael L. Williams
Chapel Hill Academy Administration and Staff had the opportunity to speak with Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams at the Texas Charter School Association Conference (TCSAC) in Austin, Texas recently. Commissioner Williams was the 1st African-American in the state’s history to hold statewide elected executive office, and the 4th to hold a statewide office overall. As commissioner of education, Williams heads the Texas Education Agency which is responsible for Texas public education. The T.E.A. oversees public pre-kindergarten through high school education as well as all charter schools in the state of Texas.
CHA would like to extend a warm welcome to Commissioner Williams to visit our campus and witness first-hand the Chapel Hill Academy way of learning!
For more information on Commissioner Williams, please visit his official T.E.A. page HERE.
We’re excited! And you’re invited!
We’re kicking off the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) on Monday 11/26 at 6:30 pm at our PTA meeting.
The OBPP is the leading research-based program that has been shown to reduce bullying and make schools safer, happier places for students to learn and grow. We hope to see all of you at the event. PTA will be providing pizza for parents and students, as well as child care. Students are invited to join CHA staff in the gym during the meeting, for pizza and fun activities.
We are University Bound!
CHA students are learning about the importance of college at a young age. Staff want to ensure that there is no mistake--college can be an attainable goal and all students should be well prepared to be critical thinkers at an early age. Studies have shown that college readiness and stamina is largely based on how well students can utilize their critical thinking skills!
Welcome to Chapel Hill Academy, a T.E.A. Recognized Campus!
This year, I am excited to announce that we now offer classes to Pre-Kindergarten – 5th grade students. Our doors opened 5 years ago with 120 students in Pre-Kindergarten – 1st grade. With your continued support and belief in our school, we are proud and excited to serve 500 students this year. I am also pleased to inform you that we met and surpassed the Federal requirements for AYP – Annual Yearly Progress after our students took STAAR – State of Texas Assessment for Academic Readiness, the required state assessment, last spring. Each of you has played and will continue to be a significant part in making Chapel Hill Academy a thriving public charter school.
Chapel Hill Academy is an open enrollment charter school. As a school of choice, we are honored that you have chosen our school to provide your child’s education during his or her most crucial formative years. Our staff is committed to making certain that our students are equipped with knowledge and inspired to be inquisitive about the world around them. In addition to offering rigorous core academics, fine arts, such as music and art, Spanish and physical education, we also have a library, science lab and computer lab in an effort to prepare each student for success beyond school, as they are each instilled with the belief that “All CHA Students are University Bound!”
I look forward to working with each of you in reinforcing our school’s expectations, so that our students will experience another successful and memorable year at Chapel Hill Academy.
Reading Friends
CHA has been so fortunate to have an abundance of Reading Friends come to share their own love of the written word. Our special guests often share a favorite childhood book of their own and some guests read books they have written themselves.
Robin Bumstead was a recent author taking time to read her book, Goodnight Cowtown to a delighted first grade class. The students enjoyed reliving their own adventures to the Fort Worth landmarks as she read her colorful pages. She encouraged the young writers with her own story of co-authoring with her good friends, Jennifer Drez and Lisa Voight.
We appreciate all of our Reading Friend volunteers!
Technology and Beyond!
Imagine going to an electronic store with numerous TVs on different channels. It is very difficult to focus your attention and gather information from one TV. This is what it used to sound like to the children while trying to learn in the computer lab! Thanks to www.donorschoose.org and some very generous donors, we now have amazing headphones for our computer lab! We have access to several educational computer programs that the students are now able to properly utilize with the help of these sturdy headphones. The use of the headphones allows the students to receive individualized enrichment in both reading and math, which are both highly important for their educational success.
We were so excited when we received the email notifying us that our project was fully funded! Thank you so much for you generous gifts!!! The headphones purchased for our school will be utilized by the entire student body.