Message from the Superintendent
I hope this finds you and your family enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation. The Texas Legislature is in session and the choices are feast or famine for Lovejoy ISD. Please read below and take the opportunity to communicate with Austin.
SB 2 provides $0.00 for Lovejoy
vs
HB 21 which sends $4.9 million to Lovejoy
Your
Opportunity to Make a Difference
As the result of a loss of state funding, Lovejoy ISD has been forced to institute new fees for next year - an extracurricular activity fee for grades 8-12 and a transportation fee for grades K-12. We have not opened the system yet to begin to pay those fees because the Texas Legislature is back in a special session, and we are hopeful that some or all of our funding will be restored. If funding is restored, we plan to revisit the fees.
During the regular session, a school finance bill was not passed due to differences between school finance bills passed in the Texas House and the Texas Senate. Here is the current status of school funding:
The Texas Senate has passed SB 2 which deals with school finance. Based on arbitrary criteria designed to keep the state's obligation to a total of $100 million, Lovejoy ISD will not receive any additional funding. The criteria penalizes districts like Lovejoy and causes our expenditures per pupil to be inflated. I would encourage you to contact our state senator, Van Taylor, and voice your concern about the criteria used for the hardship grant. Lovejoy is penalized, and our expenditures appear inflated because their expenditure data includes:
- Every dollar your child spends in our cafeteria
- Every dollar raised by our student groups/clubs
- Donations to the district from the Foundation for Lovejoy Schools
- Donations to the district from booster clubs and individuals
- Federal funds each district receives
- Teacher salaries are higher in Collin County than other areas of the state
- We are a relatively small school district and do not benefit from an economy of scale that lowers our average costs per pupil
Contact Information
Senator Van Taylor
Capitol Office: 512.463.0108
District Office: 972.398.9416
The Texas House will take up their school finance bill, HB 21, on Friday. This will restore $4.9 million of our lost funding. It would be appropriate to contact our state representative, Jodie Laubenberg to ask for her support of HB 21.
Contact Information
Representative Jodie Laubenberg
Capitol Office: 512.463.0186
District Office: 972.424.6810
Revtrak Online Payment Fee
Lovejoy ISD continues to accept online payments for the convenience of our parents and students. A service fee of 4.16% will be applied at checkout. Please note: This fee simply recovers the direct cost to the district to accept credit card transactions through Revtrak.
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A Message from the Deputy Superintendent
Continued Excellence in Student Performance
Dear Lovejoy Community:
I hope you are enjoying your summer break. Teachers and administrators in Lovejoy are busy attending Learning @ Lovejoy professional development sessions, and finalizing important work to insure the upcoming school year is the best ever for each student.
Recently, information about the STAAR test performance has been publicized, and I want to take this opportunity to share some specific information about Lovejoy student performance, which continues to provide strong indicators of educational excellence.
With overall STAAR performance, Lovejoy ISD remains one of the top three highest performing districts out of the 1,227 districts and charter schools in Texas. Beyond overall STAAR performance, there are many specific grade levels and subject areas to highlight.
Each year, when we examine student test performance, we compare our students to the highest performing districts in Texas in order to benchmark our performance and to evaluate our academic program strengths and non-strengths as they relate to the highest possible level of achievement.
STAAR Some of the Best in Texas
Algebra I STAAR End-of-Course test performance is one of the best among the highest performing districts in Texas. Seventy-two percent (72%) of our students demonstrated the highest level of mastery on the Algebra I EOC. This student data metric is extremely important given the research about Algebra I performance as a gatekeeper course, which is strongly correlated to college readiness and future academic achievement.
One grade level to highlight is 7th grade. The 7th grade STAAR mastery scores are the best in the State of Texas in math and writing, with the reading scores only 1% off the pace. We truly applaud our teachers and campus leaders for such high performance during a year of important transitions to the middle school for our students.
Although STAAR test performance is an important component of how we benchmark our academic program within Texas, there are many other important measures of an excellent education we strive to offer each day for each student. In Lovejoy, our mission is to offer an abundant array of opportunities for students, and regardless of which offerings a student pursues, he or she will find excellence around every corner of their Pre-K - 12th grade education experience so each student is prepared for the future of his or her choosing.
We hope you continue to love where you learn. If you have feedback to help us improve, please do not hesitate to contact me on my cell at 214.385.1967.
Respectfully,
Dennis Muizers
Deputy Superintendent
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This section of Email Express highlights news reports/articles in which Lovejoy has been featured over the previous week.
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Lovejoy ISD Pre-Kindergarten
Lovejoy ISD is accepting applications for tuition-based Pre-Kindergarten. This comprehensive program will be staffed by credentialed teachers and housed on the Puster Elementary School campus. This program will offer enhancements in music, fitness, art, library, science, technology, engineering, and math. We are enthusiastic to provide a Lovejoy education for community members looking for a rich learning experience which will provide a firm foundation for kindergarten and beyond.
To apply, please
click here
. To schedule a tour of the Pre-Kindergarten program, please contact
Stacey Dillon
at 469.742.8003.
Volunteer Applications
The Online Volunteer Application for the 2017-2018 school year is now available. Please click here to access the application. Upon completion of the form, please be sure to click "Submit Application" located at the bottom of the page. You will receive a confirmation email that your application has been received. The online application is a secure link.
For the safety of our students, a criminal history record is obtained annually for every person interested in volunteering at an LISD campus.
Your interest in serving as a volunteer is appreciated. Please email Gina Ellis if you have any questions.
Bus Drivers
Lovejoy ISD is currently accepting applications for full-time and part-time school bus drivers.
Click here
for additional information.
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Upcoming Events
2nd Annual Women's Football Clinic - August 10
The Leopard Football staff invites you to attend the 2nd Annual Women's Football Clinic on Thursday, August 10th in the Lovejoy Indoor Training Facility. The event promises to be a lot of fun and will include a behind the scenes tour of the Leopard Football program. Participants will enjoy food, drinks, a special t-shirt, silent auction items, and classroom and on-the-field training.
August 10, 2017
Lovejoy High School Indoor Training Facility
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
$30
Family Fun and Safety Fair - August 12
Lovejoy ISD will be joining the Family Fun and Safety Fair on Saturday, August 12th from 9:00 - noon at the Lucas City Hall. The Athletics and Fine Arts programs will be on hand to talk about school safety and provide a booth with fun outdoor games. Other participants include the City of Lucas Fire Department, Collin County Sheriff Office, and the American Red Cross. The Family Fun and Safety Fair is hosted by the Resonate Church. For additional information regarding the Family Fun and Safety Fair, contact Ismary Hart at
resonatefamily@gmail.com
.
Junior Cheer Camp: September 16
The Lovejoy High School Cheerleaders will host a Junior Leopards Mini Cheer Camp for ages 4 through 4th grade. For detailed information, and to register, please
click here
. The registration deadline is Friday, September 1st.
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If you would like to provide us with accomplishments of a Lovejoy graduate, please
click here
.
We will share this information in the "Where Are They Now?" section of Email Express. It is a pleasure to report the successes of Lovejoy graduates during their college years and beyond.
Elizabeth Schasel - Class of 2014
Elizabeth Schasel started raising money for the cure of cancer while heading up Relay for Life during her years at Lovejoy High School. Her passion to raise money to fight for the cure continues through college. She, along with 70 other devoted college students, have raised over $600,000 and are riding their bicycles from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska this summer educating the public along the way. The journey started June 3rd and will finish August 10th. Please keep these riders in your thoughts and prayers. If you would like to send any words of encouragement or read about the journey, please
click here.
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Lovejoy ISD App
The Lovejoy ISD App is available for download on both Apple and Android devices. To download the app for Apple devices, please
click here
. To download the app for Android devices, please
click here
.
Twitter and Facebook
Are
you following the district on
Twitter
? Have you liked us on
Facebook
? Join us on social media for news and announcements.
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As always, please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
With Respect,
Ted Moore
Superintendent
Lovejoy ISD
972.415.8129 (mobile)
469.742.8011 (office)
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