By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

A local mom says she can no longer remain silent about the struggle she and her husband have faced to bring their adoptive son home from Africa.

Steiner Ranch residents Andy and Sherri Smetana are taking their frustrations to the United States government, calling congressmen and senators one by one and urging them to put pressure on the Republic of Congo government, which is refusing to issue an exit letter for their son Henry, who they legally adopted. They have joined forces with hundreds of families across the United States urging Congress to take action.

“We are done being quiet,” said Sherri Smetana. “We are ready to get our kids home.”

Recently, Steiner Ranch residents Andy and Sherri Smetana visited their adopted son Henry in Africa. Henry was born a year ago April 2 and found abandoned by a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country is not issuing an exit letter for Henry to come to the U.S.

Andy Smetana holds adoptive son Henry, then 11 months, during a visit to Africa.

Becoming a family

In November 2012, Andy and Sherri, who are also parents to 4-year-old twin girls, knew they wanted to adopt and began looking into the adoption process.

“I knew Africa was on my heart,” Sherri said. “I knew I wanted to adopt from Africa.”

A friend of hers had just adopted a child from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a war-torn country in central Africa. The Smetanas started the process and completed their paperwork in December 2012. On April 5, 2013, they received a photo of the little 5-day-old boy with whom they had been matched. The newborn baby had been found abandoned by a river. They named him Henry. Continue reading →

By KRISTI LEE NORDIN, Four Points Contributor

In the face of a compelling need to prepare our students for a global workforce, I believe we need classrooms where teachers are energized and empowered to teach. The Leander ISD February Conference enables this to occur.

In a recent Site Base Committee meeting at Steiner Ranch Elementary, I gained a new appreciation for LISD’s February Conference. The faculty and staff conveyed an excitement and enthusiasm that was simultaneously captivating and contagious.

For those unfamiliar, this annual event is three days at the beginning of February that the district has set aside for training. In practice, the first two days are comprised of seminars and sessions with speakers and subject matter experts while the third day is spent back on the home campus.

Many families traditionally use this time to travel or do things locally taking advantage of favorable pricing and reduced crowds as this time off is unique to LISD.

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Nearly 100 young sailors were part of the 2014 Roadrunner Regatta at Lake Travis hosted by the Austin Yacht Club.

The two-day sailing competition is one of the largest youth regattas in the state. This year’s event on April 5 and 6 had a record-number of local racers, with 23 Austin Yacht Club sailors, many of which are from the Four Points area.

Wendi Froelich from Four Points.
Bill Records photos

“This is probably the most competitors we’ve had from Austin Yacht Club,” said AYC sailing coach Kate Noble.

The event is part of the Texas Sailing Youth Association’s youth regatta series that take place throughout the state all year.  

“This is our home event,” Noble said. “It’s usually one of the most attended ones. We get people in from Louisiana and the surrounding states. It’s a really big event and it’s really fun to see all the kids out there.”

By the event’s end, each sailor, ranging in age from 7 to 18, had raced between eight and 13 races in their designated fleet.

For Fleet Captain and Regatta Chair Stefan Froelich and his wife, Stephanie, sailing is a family sport. Five of their seven children competed in the weekend competition.

“The coolest thing we like about it is just the camaraderie between the families,” Stephanie said.

Vandegrift High School sophomore Jules Bettler competed in the Laser 4.7 fleet. He’s in the middle of this Laser start.
Bill Records photos

Continue reading →

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Student absences in the days surrounding Winter Break cost the Leander ISD $196,844. Absences in the Four Points schools alone made up $56,257 of the district’s total.

Winter Break ran Monday, Feb. 3 through Wednesday, Feb. 5. During that time, LISD teachers have a professional development conference, while students are off. Some LISD families refer to this break as “ski week,” and for others, it is a popular time to take big trips.

Like in years past, the trend continued this year with a high number of student absences surrounding Winter Break.

“The high absences are a concern to all of the board members. We have spoke about it in open session several times,” said Pam Waggoner, LISD board president.

Pam Waggoner, Leander ISD School Board President

“We want our families to enjoy their time-off, but we want our parents to set an example for their children that school is important and vacation can wait,” Waggoner said.

Thursday night at the school board meeting, the 2014-2015 calendar was changed from a three-day Winter Break to a two-day Winter Break. Next year, the LISD staff development time will be condensed to two staff development days and students will be off two days.

“We’ve looked at the calendar and made adjustments based on community feedback to maximize student instruction time,” said LISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher.

“We have eliminated one day from February conference in hopes that those who take the week off in February will think twice about missing three consecutive days of school,” Waggoner said.

“If parents don’t prioritize education, we cannot expect our students to,” Waggoner added.

                                  Absences around 2014 Winter Break

Leander ISD students  35,281  

Absences:  Average 1,286   Friday Jan. 31  1,729    Thursday, Feb. 6   3,509

Four Points area students   7,453

Absences:  Average 239   Friday Jan. 31  504    Thursday, Feb. 6    993

All data reported as of March 24, 2014 by Leander ISD.

Four Points absences add up

This school year, the average number of absences on a given day is 239 out of the 7,453 students who attend Steiner Ranch, Laura W. Bush, River Ridge, River Place and Grandview Hills elementary schools, Canyon Ridge and Four Points middle schools and Vandegrift High School.

Unexcused absences surrounding Winter Break are significantly higher.

Twice as many Four Points area LISD students, or 504, were absent than average on the Friday before Winter Break, more than four times as many, or 993, were absent on the Thursday following Winter Break. School was cancelled this year on the Friday following Winter Break due to bad weather.

Continue reading →