The Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members Education Summit announced DEBRA TATUM a Middle School Principal at NORTH SIDE ISD was honored in Austin, Texas at the Hilton Austin Airport Saturday, March 3, 2012 during the TCBSBM Awards Luncheon.

We honor exemplary principals who set the pace and quality of the education children receive during their school years and who succeeds in providing high quality learning opportunities for all students, this  makes Mrs. Tatum the perfect candidate for the 2012 TCBSBM Administrator of the Year, said Josie Smith-Wright, Gonzales ISD trustee and President of the TCBSBM.

Dr. Lorna Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, from the Trevor Romain Company and Mr. Vic Salazar, Vice-President-Sales, from the Trevor Romain Company presented a check to the Administrator of the Year on Saturday at the 5th annual awards luncheon.  The Trevor Romain Company, an educational supplemental publisher, recognizes the hard work and dedication of administrators who work tirelessly to give the students of Texas the best education possible.  The Trevor Romain Company was honored to recognize Debra Tatum for her outstanding work as an administrator

The Scholarship Chair Wade Johnson, McKinney ISD stated “We commend Alejandra for taking  a hands-on approach through the utilization of virtual stimulations, guest speakers, field trips, and dynamic activities and labs  in creating engaging lessons for her students.  Thus stimulating her students to learn about science and how it applies to the world they live in.”

On behalf of the 2012 officers and committee member Christina Hall, Mesquite ISD:  we say Congratulations.

The 2012 TCBSBM Officers are President Josie Smith-Wright, Gonzales ISD; President-elect Ted Beard, Longview ISD; Treasurer Dr. Alton Smith, Aldine ISD; Secretary Larry (Doc) Hawthorne, Hubbard ISD; Asst. Secretary/Treasurer Wade O. Johnson, McKinney ISD

Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members

8035 Zimmerman Drive, Houston, TX 77088

www.tcbsbm.net 281-795-6419

Cyberbullying’s recent emergence in the public conversation has given way to deeper discussions about how youths interact with the Internet and each other. But according to Danah Boyd, a leading researcher on youths and social media, it’s also brought many misconceptions about what the real risks to teens are online. The Internet doesn’t increase bullying, Boyd says, but attitudes toward it increase the fear and misunderstanding about what teens are exposed to.

“The Internet has made bullying much more visible to adults, but they don’t recognize the things outside their purview, the things not in front of them,” Boyd said Saturday at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference, the massive gathering of innovative thinkers and technology enthusiasts going on in Austin, Texas, this week (I covered the SXSWedu conference earlier in the week).

Boyd is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research and holds a variety of positions in academia. Her SXSW talk, “The Power of Fear in Networked Publics,” posited that the Internet is amplifying and confusing a “culture of fear” capitalized upon by marketers, politicians, and the media.

First, data show that students are still bullied the most in school, and the Internet hasn’t increased bullying, Boyd said. But parents can’t see what happens at school the way they can see what happens online. Because it’s more visible to them, parents teach their kids to fear online culture as a way to control them, the same way media and marketers do, Boyd said.

Click here to read the entire article at Education Week.

HISD Wow–Jackson Middle School’s Anti-Bully efforts from Houston ISD

January 19- January 22, 2012

San Antonio, TX

TASA Midwinter Conference

January 29, 2012- February 1, 2012

Austin, TX

Texas School Counselor Association Conference

February 12, 2012- February, 14, 2012

Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE) Conference

February 16-February 19, 2012

Galveston, TX

Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members (TCBSBM)

March 2-march 4, 2012

San Antonio, TX

National After School Association Conference (NAA)

April 2-April 4, 2012

Grapevine, TX

National School Board Association Conference (NSBA)

April 20-23, 2012

Boston, MA

Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association

June 13-15, 2012

Austin, TX

Texas Counseling Association Directors of Guidance Conference

September 9-12, 2012

Austin, TX

TASA/TASB Annual Conference

September 28-30, 2012

Austin, TX

Texas Professional Growth Conference

November 14-17, 2012

Galveston, TX

February 6, 2012

Camp Casey Elementary School

Trevor kicked off his visits to children of American military families at the Camp Casey Elementary School on Tuesday.   Principal Joe Laurenzi introduced Trevor to the students.  Trevor entertained the children with wonderful stories and helped them understand the contribution they were making as children of military families.

February 7, 2012

Seoul American Elementary School

The With You All The Way tour continued with Trevor’s visit to Seoul American Elementary School.  Trevor received  a robust round of applause from the children who enjoyed his talk and enjoyed viewing the video montage of Trevor’s animated characters, Jack and Skye.    One third grade girl said, “I like Trevor.  He made me laugh.’’

February 8, 2012

Osan Elementary School

Camp Humphreys Elementary School

Trevor spoke to students at Osan Elementary School and Humphreys Elementary School.  The students, who are children of military families serving in Korea, were treated to Trevor’s stories and learned how to show their support to their parents who are serving in the military.   It was a fun-filled day for all of the students.  Together with Trevor, the students cheerfully shouted, “With You All The Way” at the end of Trevor’s presentation.

February 9, 2012

Daegu Elementary School

With only two days left of the Korean With You All The Way tour, Trevor visited Daegu Elementary School. Trevor was met with rousing cheers from children of military families when he spoke at the school.  Trevor taught the children that they too were serving their country by helping to give their military parents support and love.   One fifth grade student told Trevor, “You make me feel good that I’m helping my Dad and my country.  I didn’t think about that before.”

February 10, 2012

CT Joy Elementary School

Trevor delivered two presentations to students at CT Joy Elementary School and elated both groups of children with his understanding of the needs of military families.  The students told Trevor they learned a lot from him and had fun at the same time.

January 23 and 24, 2012

Trevor visited students at Anderson Elementary and McCool Elementary.  The students giggled and laughed at Trevor’s stories and learned how to express their love and appreciation to their deployed parents.   “Trevor taught me a lot today”, said one 4th grader.  The student added, “and he made it fun too!”

Trevor in Hawaii

January 19, 2012

The tour of elementary schools wrapped up with Trevor’s visit to the Fort Shafter Youth Center where he spoke to 50 students.  Trevor’s final stop was at Iroquois Point Elementary.  These students also learned how to let their deployed parents know how much they loved their parents and were proud of their parents military service.  The students of military families had their pictures taken with Trevor to remember his special visits.

January 17, and 18, 2012

The Hawaii school tour continued with visits to Nimitz Elementary, Hickman Elementary, and Mokulele Elementary.   The students ranging from grades 2 through grades 6 were greatly impacted with Trevor’s message of caring and compassion.  One 6th grade student said, “ I know my dad loves me even when he is away on a tour of duty.  Trevor helped me remember that with his stories.   I do miss him, but when I remember what Trevor says about caring, I feel better.”

January 12 and 13, 2012

Trevor kicked-off his tour of elementary schools in Hawaii with a visit to Aikahi
Elementary and Mokapu Elementary.  Trevor spoke to children of military families at both elementary schools.  The students were just thrilled to hear Trevor’s stories.  The students ranging from grades 2 through grades 6 were greatly impacted with Trevor’s message of caring and compassion.   Many of the children said they felt better about their parents’ deployment after hearing Trevor speak.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va., Oct. 18, 2011 – Trevor Romain was in his element as he stood among a group of giggling 2nd and 3rd graders at W.W. Ashurst Elementary School here last week.

Gesturing wildly and jumping for emphasis, the renowned children’s book author and illustrator told one of his signature “duh” jokes – this one involving his grandmother and a ceiling fan — as the students laughed and cheered.

Romain is willing to pull out every trick in his hat – whether it’s cartoons or jokes, gestures or grimaces — to capture children’s attention. He has learned over the years that kids absorb his message better when it’s accompanied by humor.

And his message this day was simple: people are with military children “all the way.”

“You didn’t choose to be military kids; somebody else chose for you,” he told the kids as they hung on his every word. “But you are serving, too. You are special; you are very important.”

Read the whole article at www.Defense.gov

Military kids laugh and cry and learn they share the same frustrations as military kids worldwide

Ft. Belvoir, VA. (October 13th, 2011) – Award winning author and illustrator Trevor Romain brought the “With You All the Way” program to hundreds of military kids at Ft. Belvoir Elementary School Wednesday, to offer them advice on how to deal with some of the struggles that go along with having a loved one in the military.

Romain, who put on two performances for students in grades two through six made kids laugh when he shared with them jokes, childhood stories and an animated video that stresses the importance of things like kids doing their homework and exercising and eating healthy. Some students were brought to tears, when Romain talked about some of the common emotions military kids often experience when a loved one is deployed. Just about every kid in the morning performance raised their hand when Romain asked if any of them had a parent that has ever been deployed. When asked by Romain how they felt by the deployment, one kid said they were upset. A young boy said he had to help his mom around the house more, when his father went away. Romain told students it is okay to be frustrated and the best way to deal with their feelings is to share them with a family member or friend and write them down in a journal. All of the students will get their own personal journal, when they receive a “With You All the Way” Empowerment Pack next week, compliments of the USO. In addition to a journal, the kit includes 6 DVD’s in both English and Spanish that deal with issues such as facing fears and bullies. Trevor’s new book “The Art of Caring” is also included in the kit for parents.

Romain, who leads the USO sponsored “With You All the Way” program, travels around the world, using humor to help children cope with serious issues such as deployment, reintegration and when a parent returns home from war with invisible and/or visible wounds. The With You All the Way Fall 2011 tour kicked off at Fort Bragg, North Carolina last month with a new element to the program, to help children of wounded warriors cope when their parent’s injuries.

After wrapping up three performances at MCB Quantico Base elementary schools in Virginia today, the next stop for Romain is Ft. Carson, Colorado, where he’ll have performances October 25-28. The With You All the Way program has touched more than 90,000 children since the program began in 2009.

Read more at USO.org. Click Here.

Trevor Romain on Thursday told East Texas students they can be leaders in their home, school and the world by making a difference with simple acts of caring.

“I want you never to underestimate the power of one whisper, the power of one handshake,” author and illustrator Trevor Romain told hundreds of students from Longview and New Diana schools.

Romain was the keynote speaker at the third annual Youth Leadership Conference at LeTourneau University. The conference theme this year was “Caring: the Power of One.”

The conference started three years ago as a joint project between Longview ISD’s International Baccalaureate program and LeTourneau University as a way to help young leaders understand how they can make a difference in the world, said Marty Lane, director of special programs at LeTourneau. The conference was a one of a kind initiative among Texas IB schools, according to Karen Phillips, the executive director of the state’s IB program.

Read the entire story here.