— The BAABSE (Beaumont Area Alliance of Black School Educators) round-ball scholarship basketball game held on Saturday, January 21st in the Memorial High School gym was a big success.

The crowd of over 1,500 eager parents, students and community members came out for a night of fun, family, and entertainment put on by employees of PAISD, BISD as well as some celebrity guests. This was the first year in five years that the event was held in Port Arthur and it was also the first year the BAABSE basketball team won the game, with a score of 70-69. Every PAISD campus was responsible for selling tickets and the District’s contribution was over $4600! Those funds, coupled with the proceeds from Beaumont’s campuses, will go into a scholarship fund for area high school students.

The scholarships will be spread among the high school campuses in PAISD and BISD. On behalf of the PAISD Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Johnny E. Brown, we would like to thank the public for their support of this event. We are eternally grateful for everyone that helped to make this event such a success and we look forward to collaborating with BISD again in the future.

In PAISD, we believe that learning can occur both inside and outside of the classroom. The students of today are totally different than students from 10 years ago and thus, teachers and administrators have begun to think outside of the box, to ensure that the students not only receive the best education possible, but in a way that they can understand it.

That is why the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council is so important. The council, consisting of students in grades 6-12th, meet quarterly to listen to speakers and to exchange dialogue regarding concerns about the District. This month’s speaker was the Honorable Judge Donald Floyd. Judge Floyd, a native of Port Arthur, spoke to the students on his many achievements, including his election as the judge of the 172nd District Court and becoming the first black to be elected a District Judge in Jefferson County.

He credited his success to the upbringing he received from his grandparents, as well as the guidance he received from his high school counselor and teachers. Judge Floyd was the perfect speaker for this month’s meeting, as it focused on the achievements of African-Americans. The intent of recognizing individuals and positions held after the Civil Rights Movement is to ensure that students are in touch with and understand the history of prominent African-Americans on a national, state and local level. It is our belief that students also need to be able to see tangible results of the movement, which hopefully will inspire them to achieve all that they are capable and destined with hard work to become.

Parental involvement is extremely important to PAISD. Parents are considered a child’s first teacher and we take every opportunity to encourage parents to become more involved. Dick Dowling Elementary hosted a “Heart of the Matter” parent night on Jan. 24.

The event was for 3-5th grade students and consisted of parents, students and Dowling stakeholders coming together to discuss the importance of student success. Parents received information on the importance of their role in student success and discussed ways they could work together to ensure that every child at Dowling is “world ready.”

Parents were asked to enter into a contract with the school to ensure that every child has a relationship with a caring adult and will receive a quality education at the school. By the end of the event, parents and students were able to put together a list of goals for the students’ future. A similar type meeting will be held for the primary grades next month.

The support for the Memorial High School Titans football team did not end last year. The Port Arthur City Council recognized the outstanding football team on January 25th during a special meeting. The team had an impressive 14-1 season; the best in the history of the school. We thank the City of Port Arthur for their unwavering support of our District and our students.

Dr. Johnny E. Brown is the Superintendent of Schools for the Port Arthur Independent School District.