Principal:  Mr.  Todd Higginbotham

Greetings to all,

Our school year is off to fantastic start.  The enrollment has grown from 154 (2005- 2006) 167 (2006- 2007) to 190 (2007- 2008).  We are grateful for all your support. 

The 2007- 2008 school is in its second phase of the literacy program.  The second phase includes a reading specialist, Mrs. Pam Schulte who is working with our teachers and students three days a week.  In addition, we have submitted grants for $100, 000.00 for new computers and library books as well as a math program.

The Home and School association has purchased new playground equipment priced at $24,000  and  a P.A. system.  They were able to build a 10ft. by 20 ft. storage building.  Finally, they spent $6, 000.00 on painting the interior of the school.  It is the first time the H.S.A. has raised such a large sum of money, and was able to apply that money the school and the student needs.  Our last project is to finish the soccer field and we need your support.  Therefore, I will give you more information as we move to finish the project.  Thank you H.S.A. Keep up the great work.

Our goal for this school year is to sustain the progress in reading and accelerate 80% of the population to above level status.  I ask that each parent insure that your child reads at least two books a month outside of classroom reading.

If you have any questions, please call me.

Yours truly,

Mr.  H.

Ephesians 1:17- 21

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe, that power in the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him form the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but in the one to come.

May you continue in your walk with God.

In Christ,

Mr. Higginbotham

We are proud to announce that Santa Clara was awarded $85,000 from the Catholic foundation. The grant was written to upgrade our computer lab with new hardware and software. In addition, the monies will provide “the Reading Counts” program and additional books for our library as well as teacher stipends for tutorial programs.

The Stanford 10 Achievement testing results have come in and when we finish desegregating the data, then we will present the results to you.

Thank you for your support

Mr. H.

The word ‘Advent’ is Latin for ‘a coming or arrival’.  The idea behind it is that God came to earthly life and lived among us.  It’s something to celebrate, rejoice, because just by being in it, God was giving the supreme blessing to the created world.  But this birth led to an execution of the same God, by us on behalf of us. 

     Advent is a season of preparation.  In Advent, we thank God for Christ’s first coming, prepare for his final coming, and celebrate Christ’s presence among us today through the spirit.  God loved and wanted to share that love. 

     There is a time to get ready by focusing on your own personal transformation and following Christ to the cross.  There is a time to get ready by rejoicing that our God is not far away and unfamiliar with the struggles of human life, that Christ is here right now among His followers.  

May God bless you and your family and have a blessed Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Yours in Christ,

Mr.  Todd Higginbotham

Santa Clara Catholic Academy receives $85, 000.00 from the Catholic Foundation to continue the school’s Literacy Program.

The program initiated in 2006- 2007, was widely successful.  Based on testing conducted at the end of the school year 87% of students were reading at the grade level.  Sixty-eight percent of students in K through 3 were classified as “Developed” based on their reading comprehension scores.  Of students in grades 4 through8, 98% showed improvement in at least one of three literacy areas tested.  Specifically, 80% improved on the Test of Silent Word reading Fluency, 62% improved on the reading comprehension test and 63% improved on the spelling test.  We want to THANK the Catholic Foundation for supporting and making a difference for Santa Clara Catholic Academy and School.

                                                  - Todd Higginbotham, Principal 

From the Principals Desk:

As educators, we have to balance overwhelming new information, new demands, low socio economic area, and new technology with the ways we know how to teach young people. We cannot do it all. However, being unaware of innovations in child Literacy and in educating culturally and linguistically Hispanic students is like ignoring an epidemic. It is time to take the most crucial aspect of our professional mission, leadership in educating the children in inner-city schools and communities - who are more culturally and educationally challenged than ever - and to renew and advance our attention to their achievement.

Hispanic culture requires not only a change in curriculum, but also a change in school climate and pedagogy. In addition to implementing a higher-order, but effective curriculum, schools need to address affective issues. Schools and the people in them need to evaluate student performance, enhance self-esteem, encourage all members of the community to have a voice, and demand educational achievement. The central practice in schools is communication, where there is equal emphasis on spoken, written, and nonverbal forms. The focus on literacy in the classrooms is critical, given the centrality of language and the variety of linguistic expression in homes and schools.

While staff collaboration is being emphasized, strong leadership remains crucial to the change process. As a culturally and linguistically inner-city school work collaboratively to refine a shared vision of excellent schooling and an educational program that reflects it, the principal must continually advocate for the ongoing evaluation of students performance and abilities in meeting their benchmarks. By explicitly keeping Literacy on the reform agenda and insisting that every teacher participate in the school's continuous improvement process, the principal can ensure sustained attention to these students.

Reforming a school usually requires that the whole staff or significant groups within it take stock of their practices and devise new directions. This may mean modifying traditional beliefs and practices to respond more accurately to students' learning needs. One useful mechanism for change is inquiry groups, in which teachers raise questions about students' success in their school, gather and analyze data, and plan responses.

In addition, it is important to reform, strengthen, and transforming school relationships with parents and the community to make them more collaborative. Regardless of income or level of education, parents can support children's education.

We have some very exciting news to share with you, a grant from the Kenedy Foundation a gift from Bishop Farrell, and our accreditation visit. We are being awarded $ 15.000.00 for our library from the Kenedy Foundation. Bishop Farrell has sent to us $10,000.00 for the continued efforts of all the hard work that teachers and parents have invested in for our school. Santa Clara has received a total of $ 110,000.00 this year in grants. I want to thank the entire school community for your efforts to support your children and Santa Clara’s mission.

Every ten years Texas Catholic Conference Education Department (T.C.C.E.D.) requires a site visit made up of principals and teachers to evaluate the schools performance. They examine i.e. curriculum, personnel, governance, mission, finance etc in seven areas. The evaluation instrument has five indicators, which determine if the school is to receive state approval for school operations. The five indicators are exemplary, outstanding, effective, needs improvement, and not seen. We are happy to say that we received an 85% rating in both exemplary and outstanding in all seven areas. Again, I want to thank everyone for your sacrifices, work ethic and continued vision of a successful school.

May the Peace of Christ Be With you,

Mr. H.