Farouk Shami, left, founder and chairman of the board of Farouk Systems Inc., cuts the hair of volunteer Alina Longoria, 30, of Atascocita, who works in the Lone Star College-Kingwood financial department, during a ceremony celebrating the opening of the CHI School of Cosmetology on the campus of Lone Star College-North Harris. Longoria's hair, along with the hair of volunteer Emily Patella, 20, right, cut by Dr. Richard Carpenter, chancellor of the Lone Star College System, is to be donated to the Locks of Love program. Photo by Jerry Baker
Kim Klepcyk, Quest Early College High School principal. Photo by Jerry Baker,
This month will start the first school year for Quest Early College High School, a project intended to make higher education more accessible by allowing students to earn college credits and their diplomas simultaneously. Incoming freshmen, the class of 2014, will be able to earn an Associate’s degree or up to 60 hours of credit toward a Bachelor’s degree free of charge through a partnership between Humble Independent School District and Lone Star College-Kingwood.
There is growing chatter about another school finance lawsuit. Some of the superintendents and their attorneys say the suit probably will get filed before the session starts. Texas lawmakers will have a difficult choice: Fix the system, which will cost money they say they don't have; or surrender and make the courts order them to fix it. That's been the course of action in recent decades. It's taken five Texas Supreme Court rulings to nudge lawmakers into coming up with a more equitable system.
But educators say it's broken again.
The Lone Star College System is proposing a tax increase and tuition hike in 2011 as part of a multi-faceted plan to address state budget cuts and increased enrollment.
Recent high school graduates who need a boost in math or English before they enter college this fall are encouraged to enroll soon in the Summer Bridge program at Lone Star College-Kingwood. The next session begins July 26.
Students from the Kingwood Park and Kingwood band programs recently gathered for a rare summer practice. Members of the two bands will join together to march in an Independence Day parade. Some of the participating students, from left, are Zaynah Neely, Shelly Savell, Christina Israel, Ben Kelly, Ashley Kibble, Jessica Eisterhold, Andrew Salazar, Clayton Hill and Erin Poulin.
Current and prospective business students at Lone Star College-Kingwood can use their Applied Arts and Sciences degree to earn a four-year degree at the University of Houston-Downtown.
The Lone Star College System may lose up to $19.2 million in state aid over the next three years, which could lead to budget cuts or tuition and tax increases.
