2012 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) refers to the federally mandated accountability system required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

All public school districts, campuses and the state are evaluated annually for AYP. A Texas AYP Workbook is approved annually by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and meets the requirement to evaluate all districts and campuses for AYP. Please refer to the AYP website for more in-depth information.

Source: TEA.

2012 AYP scores are out. Half of the state's schools did not meet the federal AYP requirement. The Dallas Morning News says that the Plano ISD (PISD) was "hit hard."

After the jump, Richardson ISD's scores.

Review: Life of Super-Earths

Amazon

From The Life of Super-Earths, by Dimitry Sasselov

Today, two efforts have placed us on the verge of completing the Copernican revolution. One is the discovery of a new Earth. The other is the era of synthetic biology. These two milestones are going to teach us about our place in the universe in ways we could never have imagined."

After the jump, my review.

In Southwest Richardson, It's Always Friday

Source: Hermansen Land Development, Inc.

Yesterday, I reported how I became owner of a hotel, namely, the aging Continental Inn in southwest Richardson, which the city bought (for $2.2 million) and has commenced tearing down.

After the jump, what the city plans to do with the property.

I Now Own a Hotel

Perhaps you heard the news: "Richardson Purchases Property On Central Expressway". That property is home to the Continental Inn. That makes you, Richardson resident, a hotel owner. But not for long. The hotel is a drag on redevelopment and is being demolished.

We can hope that the city council has a plan that's unfolding here, maybe a developer waiting in the wings to step forward and buy that property from the city (and maybe others nearby) and announce plans to build a new hotel/shopping/restaurant/residential complex that will spur a renaissance for all of southwest Richardson. We can hope that, because otherwise, Richardson just spent $2.2 million for a vacant lot and a dream.

After the jump, a few questions about the deal.

Summer in the Steger Garden (2012)

From Flowers

She loves me. She loves me not.