Tag Archives: high school

The ongoing referee shortage

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This news is not new, though the cause being cited is different than the last time I read this kind of story. The official shortage seen in the Houston area is part of a nationwide issue, according to the National Federation … Continue reading →

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High school sports pushed back a bit

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a guess, but I’d bet this winds up being redone at least once more before any actual sports get played. The University Interscholastic League is delaying the start of high school football’s regular season to Sept. 24 for Class … Continue reading →

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Here comes high school football

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Surely you didn’t think that Texas’ favorite sport would stay on the sidelines for long? More focus will be on instruction, caution and care than nailing the perfect squat rep when University Interscholastic League athletic programs return to in-person strength … Continue reading →

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Hey lady, wanna referee a high school football game?

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Texas could really use you. The Houston chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials is somewhere between 50 and 200 officials short for the 2017 football season. TASO Executive Director Michael Fitch has referred to the statewide shortfall of … Continue reading →

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Texas needs more refs

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe you have what it takes to be one. The Texas Association of Sports Officials has been around since the late 1970s. The organization has seen a decrease in its numbers in recent years. At the same time, more and … Continue reading →

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More on Mack Beggs

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I like this kid. In the wake of winning a controversial Texas state girls’ wrestling title over the weekend, Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender wrestler, spoke to the need to “stay strong” while also calling on state policymakers to “change … Continue reading →

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Mack Beggs

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I guarantee, we have never paid as much attention to the Texas high school wrestling championships as we did this past weekend. If the fervor over Euless Trinity transgender wrestler Mack Beggs during the last week could be swelled into … Continue reading →

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UT will not push UIL on transgender athletes

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Despite objections from LGBT advocates, UIL’s longstanding informal policy is set to become official August 1 — when it takes effect as an amendment to the league’s constitution. The amendment, initially approved by UIL’s Legislative Council last year, wasoverwhelmingly ratified … Continue reading →

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UIL punts again on transgender athletes

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I say again, please reconsider this. The debate over the University Interscholastic League’s policy for transgender athletes continues after the organization’s legislative council took no action during Tuesday’s meeting in Round Rock. The UIL rule stating a student’s gender is … Continue reading →

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On big money high school stadiums

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly is against ’em. As a part of a $220 million bond package, McKinney ISD is adding an opulent events center and 12,000-seat high school football stadium that will cost a total of $62.8 million. According to the Dallas … Continue reading →

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More on the UIL ban of transgender athletes

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress: Transgender rights in Texas took another step backward last month, when public school superintendents voted 586-32 in favor of a rule that requires schools to use birth certificates to determine the gender of student-athletes. This law is seen … Continue reading →

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School districts vote to approve new UIL policy restricting transgender athletes

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Despite strong opposition from LGBT advocates, representatives from Texas school districts have overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal aimed at barring transgender boys and girls from participating in athletics alongside their cisgender peers. District superintendents and athletic directors voted 409-25 in … Continue reading →

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Please rethink this, UIL

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bad idea. The governing body for Texas high school sports decided Monday to ask superintendents to determine whether to formalize a policy that uses student-athletes’ birth certificates to determine their gender. Such a policy already is informally used by the … Continue reading →

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The debate over changing Confederate-named schools in HISD

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Predictably, not everybody likes the idea of rechristening HISD schools that were named for Confederate generals. Houston ISD board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones has said she wants her fellow trustees to consider renaming six campuses, following the June shooting deaths of … Continue reading →

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HISD Student Congress

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Kids today, with their “getting involved” and their “having their voices heard”, I tell you. The high school students gave up their Saturday afternoon, meeting at the downtown library with laptops and legal pads to brainstorm ideas for improving the … Continue reading →

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HSPVA groundbreaking

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. A slab of cracked cement painted over with yellow parking lines sits at the corner of Rusk and Austin – with downtown skyscrapers looming overhead. Come Tuesday, the cement will be ripped … Continue reading →

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Digital textbooks are on their way

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

HISD is on the leading edge. HISD is the first of Texas’ large districts – and among the first large districts in the nation – to radically rethink the way it buys new high school instructional materials, shifting from printed … Continue reading →

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HISD unveils new mascots

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are. The cafeteria at Hamilton Middle School showcases a painting of a Native American in a feathered headdress. Students wear collared shirts with a similar symbol. They were, until Tuesday, the Hamilton Indians. Now, with a new school … Continue reading →

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Let them sleep

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Jilly Dos Santos is a hero to teenagers everywhere. Jilly Dos Santos really did try to get to school on time. She set three successive alarms on her phone. Skipped breakfast. Hastily applied makeup while her fuming father drove. But … Continue reading →

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HISD on HB5

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good information on the changes made to school curricula and graduation requirements. With most details of the state’s new reform of public education – known as House Bill 5 – settled only last week, HISD is ready with a multimedia … Continue reading →

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HISD proposes closing five schools

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Houston ISD officials are proposing to close five small schools at the end of this academic year, a move likely to set off protests from parents and alumni. Some on the school board – which ultimately … Continue reading →

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HISD schools searching for new nicknames

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck to them. The process of determining new school nicknames – a task that elicits passion from generations and has triggered countless “Are you serious” suggestions and even more heartfelt recommendations – is underway at four Houston ISD campuses. … Continue reading →

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SBOE backs down on Algebra 2

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. Only high school students who pursue an honors plan or a diploma specializing in math and science will have to take algebra II under recommendations that the Texas State Board of Education preliminarily approved Thursday. Despite … Continue reading →

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Are we going to require Algebra 2 or not?

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, despite what happened in the last Legislature, it’s still an open question. The State Board of Education has proposed toughening high school graduation requirements despite the Legislature’s clear intent last spring to provide more flexibility. The board’s draft plan … Continue reading →

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We shouldn’t have any teams called the “Redskins”

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

What Steve Harvey says. It is time for the Lamar High School Redskins to change their nickname. It actually is past time. A good time would have been 15 years ago. According to a 1999 article in the Houston Press, … Continue reading →

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Perry signs HB5, adds transportation to the special session

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There had been some buzz about a possible veto, but in the end this was to be expected. When Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 5 on Monday, he ended weeks of speculation that he might veto the high-profile education … Continue reading →

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Testing and charter bills pass

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of stuff gets done at the last possible minute in the Legislature. The two big education bills were examples of this. The session’s two biggest school reform bills, one from each chamber, have danced the House and Senate … Continue reading →

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Laptops for fewer, at least for now

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

HISD’s proposed laptops for all proposal has been scaled back from an 18 school pilot to a ten school pilot in response to concerns that they weren’t quite ready yet for anything bigger than that. Lenny Schad, chief technology officer … Continue reading →

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Senate passes amended HB5

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate has passed its version of House Bill 5, which makes sweeping changes to standardized testing and curriculum requirements for high school students. Texas high school students would have new curriculum requirements under legislation unanimously passed by the Senate … Continue reading →

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UIL moves to limit high school football practice time

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They are doing it to limit the risk of concussion. Established in 2001, the University Interscholastic League’s Medical Advisory Committee has done its best to be proactive and stay ahead on issues. That’s been the case in requiring schools to … Continue reading →

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School stuff

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just a basic roundup of education-related stories, since there’s so much going on. From the Trib, action in the House on testing in grade school. Elementary and middle school students currently take a total of 17 state exams before high … Continue reading →

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House passes major changes to testing and graduation requirements

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal. Texas public high school students would face far fewer high-stakes exams and gain more freedom in choosing courses under a major education bill approved by the state House on Tuesday. Hours of debate among lawmakers … Continue reading →

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How much testing is too much?

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s not a consensus on the right number of mandatory high school standardized exams, but a lot of people are saying that what we’re doing right now is too much. The number of high-stakes exams in Texas is the most … Continue reading →

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TAPPS changes its playoff policy

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, which faced controversy last spring in a basketball tournament scheduling issue with a local Orthodox Jewish school, has amended its bylaws to ensure that its statewide high school competitions … Continue reading →

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