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Congratulations to our own Javier Hernandez, one of this year's 15 State Board of Education Heroes for Children award winners. He is pictured with Dr. Martha Dominguez, the Region I SBOE representative. Mr. Hernandez and the other honorees were introduced at the SBOE meeting Friday morning in Austin.

Mr. Hernandez is one of our VIPS - Volunteer in Public Schools - who offered 400 hours of his time during the 2013-14 school year. He serves our students as a Bilingual math tutor at Hays, as well as San Jacinto, and New Tech Odessa.

He and the others received a certificate of honor, a copy of the resolution approved by the SBOE, photos commemorating the ceremony, and now have their names engraved on a plaque that is permanently displayed at the Texas Education Agency.

The Heroes for Children program annually recognizes outstanding volunteers state-wide. The picture on the right is of all 15 recipients at this morning's celebration.

On September 12 Superintendent Tom Crowe kicked off his Student Leadership Advisory Council. Over pizza and sodas Mr. Crowe met with eight student representatives - four juniors and four seniors - from each high school; Odessa High School, Permian High School, and New Tech Odessa.

Mr. Crowe asked the students to tell him one thing they'd like to change about school, and one thing they'd like to keep at their school. He also asked them for their opinions on closing high school campuses during lunch. He told them, "I might not like the answers I hear, but I hear things I need to know."

Quite a thrill for JoeDavid, an Ector JH 8th grader. He's sporting the playoff jersey and FOUR championship rings of Keith Davis (blue) and Dominque Miller (red). Davis played for the New York Giants and Miller for the Houston Texans. They were this month's featured speakers in the Student Leadership Series. The series is headed by former Harlem Globetrotter Melvin Adams, and several times each year he visits our schools and brings athletes or entertainers who help deliver positive messages to our students. The football players talked about what it feels like to pursue your dreams and make them happen.

One of the cornerstones of the AVID program is the presence of college tutors who work with our AVID students each week throughout the school year. Those tutors serve as guides and role models for the younger kids and can earn $13/hour for their work.

If you know any college students who would be interested in tutoring have them contact the ECISD AVID Department at 456-8549 to find out about the requirements.

At a special tax rate hearing on September 16 ECISD Trustees voted unanimously the tax rate for the coming year. The tax rate of $1.161 is the same as last year.