Hello East Harris C. and Crosby ISD families,
Let’s jump right into an update on the Crosby High School expansion. As you may know, the district is adding an academic wing and expanding the CTE (Career and Technical Education) center. The additions will increase classroom space inside CHS by 50%, adding 32 new classrooms and 8 new labs. Since I last shared an update, the new academic wing has moved several steps forward. Construction crews built the pier and beam foundation in August, poured the foundation on September 7th, and are now in the process of installing steel columns. It’s exciting to see the new spaces come to life for future learning opportunities. In the expanded CTE center, students will have more room to pursue their dreams in the fields of carpentry and welding. The overall expansion project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025, with an opening for the spring semester in the 2025-26 school year.
What a wonderful time we’ve been having inviting business partners into our schools. Three volunteers from LyondellBasell recently spent a morning at Crosby Elementary School. Noel, Art, and Tracy visited classrooms to help read and learn with students. They visited Ms. Guzman in the computer lab and spent recess with first-grade students from Ms. Berthelot’s class. They also attended Accelerated Instruction sessions with fifth graders learning from Ms. Cuellar and Ms. McPhail, while third and fourth graders studied with Ms. Ellisor and Ms. Keltz. Ms. Cuellar taught figurative language, by showing students the differences between similes and metaphors. Ms. McPhail helped reinforce context clues with dice games. In her room, Ms. Ellisor shared stories of the American Revolution to assist students in their comprehension of narrative non-fiction. We have some proud Cougar parents among the LyondellBasell crew. Noel is a proud mom of a CES second grader, and Art’s daughter graduated from Crosby High School in 2020. We appreciate Lyondell- Basell and its employees for being such a big support of the students and staff members in our district. They did a great job on lunch duty, too!
The Cougars’ Bistro at Crosby High School returned this month. We are so proud of the studentchefs who create the menus, order the ingredients, and cook the lunches. The goal is for each of the seniors enrolled in Culinary Arts classes to be ServSafe Manager certified by the end of the school year. This month, the head chefs were Noah Franco and Sean Harris. If you would like to order future meals, please visit the Crosby High School website and click on the Cougars’ Bistro button at the top of the page. The Bistro will be open most Tuesdays and Wednesdays this school year. Meal orders include dine-in or to-go options. One of our big initiatives this year is “write a little a lot.” We want our students to write short summaries of what they learn in order to better develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. We’re even seeing this initiative come to life in PE Class. Recently, Coach Whigham at Crosby Elementary School asked her 5th graders to run fast laps and then write about how they felt during the 5- minute runs. Their writings are now proudly displayed on the wall. Kadence loved the race and wrote all about it: “It is fun running all the time, because you can get more exercise during running and you can also get a little more exercise in your legs.” Well said, Kadence!
Our Technology Services team has been hosting parent engagement nights teaching important lessons. On August 29th, technicians shared best practices using our new communications platform, ParentSquare. Then, on September 12th, parents learned the basics of using Skyward Gradebook to check student grades and absences, etc. The technology team will host more parent education sessions soon. Upcoming topics include social media safety and Schoology.
Turning to athletics. Congratulations to Crosby High School senior, Kate Valt! She scored 1500 career kills in the match against Kingwood Park on September 20th. That is a huge milestone in a student-athlete’s career. Job well done, Kate! We will be celebrating National Coaches Day on October 6th, and I am so thrilled to see five Crosby High School graduates coaching on the sidelines this football season. Craig Williams (Class of 2018), Jalen Harrison (Class of 2016), Michael “MJ” Mathis (Class of 2010), Brushund Terrell (Class of 2001, and Stephen LaSalle (Class of 2001) have all returned to teach and coach the next generation. Our students have a chance to see their future selves in these alumni each day.
Lastly, our Cougars are finding meaning and purpose in serving others. Our Mobile School Market weekly grocery distribution returned this month. Student-athletes from Crosby High School boys and girls basketball teams volunteered to hand out food to families in need from Crosby / Barrett Station and beyond. We celebrate our students for seizing on opportunities to exemplify being service-minded – one of the cornerstones of our Portrait of a Graduate. Helping families facing tough times is the epitome of being service- minded.
The student-run drive through distribution at Cougar Stadium will continue most Thursdays during the school year. Anyone in need is welcome.
We are Committed to Excellence! Go Coogs!
Paula Patterson
Superintendent
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