Coppell Chronicle Vol. 3, No. 30
Coppell High Boasts Most Merit Semifinalists • Coppell ISD Joins Accountability Lawsuit • Unusual Home Will be Built on Denton Tap • Arts Center Operates at $2 Million Deficit
I drove over to MacArthur Boulevard and Belt Line Road this morning, so I could patronize a business affected by DART’s closure of that intersection. I found out the hard way that Ecclesia Bakery & Brunch is closed on Sundays, but the staff at Donut Palace was more than happy to take my money.
On my way there, I noticed for the first time a yellow sign warning eastbound drivers of the Northlake Road intersection, which was the subject of a recent article. (See “Isolated Neighborhood Stuck in Fast Lane” in Vol. 3, No. 27.) When I texted Prasad Choppa, my primary source for that article, to ask how long the sign has been up, I interrupted his process of texting a picture of it to me. So I guess it hasn’t been there very long.
That’s not the deceleration lane Choppa wants, but it is evidence of this newsletter’s power and influence, he typed without an ounce of humility.
Coppell High Boasts Most Merit Semifinalists
Coppell ISD announced last week that 49 of its students — all but one of whom attend Coppell High School — have been named National Merit semifinalists. That’s a record total for the district, breaking last year’s mark of 40 semifinalists, which also included one New Tech High student.
“This achievement is a reflection of these students’ hard work, dedication, and the exceptional education they receive from our outstanding teachers starting in elementary school, then middle and high school, as well the support of their incredible parents and families, and the entire Coppell ISD community,” Superintendent Brad Hunt said in a press release that includes all of the semifinalists’ names. “We are immensely proud of our 49 National Merit semifinalists and look forward to celebrating their success as they continue along their academic journey.”
No Texas school has more semifinalists this year than Coppell High’s 48. After poring over the complete list of semifinalists from Texas, I believe Coppell is one of only six campuses in the state with 40 or more:
Coppell: 48
Katy Seven Lakes: 46
Austin Westwood: 45
Allen: 43
Plano West: 43
Southlake Carroll: 40
I had to do my own arithmetic because the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s press release attached to that statewide list starts with this: “Caution: Using numbers of semifinalists to compare high schools, educational systems, or states will result in erroneous conclusions. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state.”
Throwing that caution to the wind, here’s how Coppell’s number of semifinalists stacks up against the totals for its athletic competitors in District 6-6A:
Coppell: 48
Plano West: 43
Flower Mound: 36
Plano East: 22
Hebron: 20
Plano: 9
Flower Mound Marcus: 8
Lewisville: 0
And here’s how Coppell ISD compares to the adjacent school districts:
Lewisville ISD: 65 (36 at Flower Mound + 20 at Hebron + 8 at Flower Mound Marcus + 1 at The Colony)
Coppell ISD: 49 (48 at Coppell + 1 at New Tech)
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD: 14 (10 at Grapevine + 4 at Colleyville Heritage)
Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD: 5 (4 at Newman Smith + 1 at R.L. Turner)
Irving ISD: 1 at Singley Academy
Semifinalist status is based solely on how well a student did on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. To become a finalist, a semifinalist has to submit a detailed application, write an essay, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s performance on the qualifying test. About 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.
Coppell ISD Joins Accountability Lawsuit
On the one hand, Coppell ISD is trumpeting its students’ scores on a standardized test, the PSAT/NMSQT. But on the other hand, the district is suing the Texas Education Agency to prevent it from issuing ratings that are primarily based on students’ scores on a different standardized test, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).