Texans Can Academies’ officials announced that their schools received a “PASSED” rating under Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Charter FIRST financial accountability rating system. The PASSED rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of Texans Can Academies’ financial management and reporting system.

The primary goal of TEA’s Charter FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of a charter school’s financial resources, a goal made more significant due to the complexity of accounting associated with Texas’ school finance system. “We are very pleased with Texans Can Academies’ Charter FIRST rating,” said Richard Marquez, Texans Can Academies CEO,  “as it shows that our charter is making the most of our taxpayers’ dollars. This rating demonstrates that Texans Can Academies’ schools are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving these results cost-effectively and efficiently.”

Major changes were implemented by TEA in August 2015 that combined financial indicators with financial solvency indicators in accordance with HB 5, 83^rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session 2013.

TEA converted Charter FIRST into a two-tier rating system of either PASSED (P) or Substandard Achievement (F) for the 2014-2015 rating year. Prior to the 2014-2015 rating year, the Charter FIRST accountability rating system assigned one of four financial accountability ratings to Texas charter schools with the highest being Superior, followed by Above-Standard, Standard Achievement and Substandard Achievement. Texans Can Academies achieved the rating of Standard Achievement for the 2013-2014 rating year.

For more information, contact Texans Can Academies at www.texanscan.org or call 832-379-4226.  Texans Can Academies has two campuses in the Houston area.

It was a busy Friday morning for the children at Wee Can Academy on Ross Avenue. Located on the campus of Dallas Can Academy, the early childhood development center is open to the community for children ages six weeks to 12 years old.

This year everyone from Iron Man to Elsa from Frozen came to the party, Snow White and a football player even showed up. The preschool children got some practice for Halloween the next night by migrating from classroom to classroom collecting the coveted Halloween candy.

The Dallas Can high school teachers and administrators provided the candy and walked the wee ones down the halls with the Wee Can care providers. Students enjoyed the break from their classes to pass out candy to the costumed children and even got to hear the youngsters sing a song or two.

After an exhausting morning of collecting candy the children mustered up the energy to enjoy lunch, however some of them couldn’t make it to nap time to fall asleep.

For more information about Dallas Can Academy or Wee Can Academy, please visit TexansCanAcademy.org or call 214-944-1985.

Dallas Can Academies will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting for their newly opened Grant East Campus Wednesday, November 4 at 9:30 a.m.  The event is open to the public at 2901 Morgan Drive, Dallas, TX 75241.

The Campus’ brand new center is named after Dallas Can Academies’ founder, Grant East, and will serve up to 400 students. Grant East is a 27,744 square-foot building and sits on 4.64 acres in South Dallas. The property has been renovated to create a state-of-the-art learning environment for students in grades 9 through 12.

An Early Childhood Education Center, Wee Can Academy, open to the community for children ages 6 weeks to 13 years of age, is also located at the campus. Wee Can Academy offers full day, half-day and after-school care.

Texans Can is celebrating more than 30 years of serving academically at-risk youth and has a network of 11 public charter schools of choice.

The reception will begin at 9:30 with a presentation following at 10:00 and the ribbon cutting and tours at 10:20 a.m.

Students at the five Dallas Can Academies campuses received free eye exams and prescription glasses when the school year began from the Essilor Vision Foundation’s mobile optometry clinic. Kids Vision For Life is a program created by Essilor Vision Foundation of Dallas that partners with schools and communities to provide mobile vision services to children in need.

A bus travelling with two optometrists who provided complete vision exams and housing a lab outfitted with equipment necessary to edge and finish prescription glasses rolled onto the five Dallas Can Academies’ campuses to test students’ vision and identify those who needed glasses. The exams identified 380 students needing vision correction. While they were waiting in the mobile lab, new prescription glasses with name-brand frames were prepared for them to wear back to class. Dallas Can Academies covered the discounted $50 per student fee, freeing students of any financial responsibility.

“I love my new glasses,” said Dallas Can Academy senior Nancy Gonzalez. “I’d been having trouble reading, and it turns out I couldn’t see the words very well. I didn’t even know I needed glasses. Plus, they look pretty cool!” Gonzalez is not alone; 90% of children who need glasses do not have them.

“Good vision health is an essential component to educating the whole student, said Richard Marquez, CEO of Texans Can Academies. “We know that students with poor vision are three times more likely to fail a grade. I am very grateful to the Essilor Vision Foundation for helping us provide the best resources and support for our students’ educational success. They also walk back to class looking great and feeling proud of their new glasses.”

Texans Can Academies, a public high school system of choice with 11 campuses statewide, proudly welcomes Thom Suhy as its new development relations director. Suhy will oversee all fundraising levels, coordinate community outreach and awareness efforts, and devise and implement preferred development communication practices for the statewide Texans Can development team.

Suhy joins Texans Can Academies with an extensive background in education as a researcher and school principal. He holds a Master of Arts in educational administration from the University of Notre Dame and is currently completing his dissertation for his Ph.D. in education from Southern Methodist University. Before redirecting his career to follow his passion for education, Suhy spent over 18 years in business development within the technology and real estate industries.

“We are excited to have Thom join our team,“ said Richard Marquez, CEO of Texans Can Academies. “His expertise in education, business acumen, and, most importantly, his passion for teaching children, bring an incredible momentum to Texans Can Academies.”

 Thom and his wife Kim live in Coppell with two teenage sons.

About Texans Can Academies

Celebrating 30 years of providing the highest quality education for all students, Texans Can schools are graduating thinkers.  Texans Can Academies are a unique network of 11 charter schools located in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio. The schools are tuition-free, open enrollment, public high schools of choice serving students who have struggled in a traditional high school setting. To date, more than 130,000 youth have been given a second chance at life with the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Cars for Kids is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization benefiting Texans Can Academies and is the only car donation program in Texas that is operated by the charity it serves. For more information, visit: www.texanscan.org or www.carsforkids.org.