| 12 Sha'ban 1433 (July 2, 2012)
Dear Parents and Community Supporters,
AssalamuAlikumWarahmatoh Allah Wabarakatoh
I would like to share with you some of the major achievements that Houston Quran Academy (HQA) made this last academic year that just ended in May. HQA was born three years ago out of the Quran Memorization program that was initiated by the Muslim American Society (MAS) of Houston. The program started with 40 students in a small space in a shopping center with a maximum capacity of 40 students. HQA moved then to the MAS Katy spacious facilities. We just finished our second year in this location. In these two years, Allah blessed us with many achievements, the most important of which is that we got our daycare fully licensed by the State of Texas and our school fully accredited by a prestigious accrediting organization (AdvancED).
Through a process of careful planning and hard work from all stakeholders of HQA (students, teachers, parents, Board, administrators, and community members), and with the grace of Allah, HQA got fully accredited in May of 2012 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). SACS is part of AdvancED, which is a national organization that does accreditation for major schools, colleges, and universities. It is the same organization that accredits big universities such as the University of Houston and Rice University. Their accreditation is fully acknowledged by the Department of Education of the United States. This was a major achievement alhamdulillah. By the grace of Allah, we managed to do it in a record time in the city of Houston. Normally, schools take several years before they manage to get accredited.
We have also made significant improvements in our academic achievements in the areas of math, science, Language arts, social studies, and other academic areas. Three indicators are used to measure academic achievement: school self-evaluation, State tests (STAAR), and national standardized tests (IOWA test). The State of Texas has not yet released a key to interpret the results of this year's test. However, the results of last year indicated that the percentage of those who passed the State test (TAKS) at HQA was 100% compared to 87.5%, the average for the State of Texas; the percentage of those who passed the reading with commended performance at HQA was 70% as compared to 33.8% for the State of Texas. The percentage of those who passed math at HQA was 100% as compared to 81% for the State of Texas. The percentage of those who passed math with commended performance at HQA was 87.8% as compared to 28.6% for the State of Texas.
The average IOWA test score for the school for grades first through eighth was the 83rd percentile in May, 2011, and by the grace of Allah, it was raised to the 87th percentile in May of 2012. This score measures the average for the students' scores. The IOWA test also ranks schools based on their students' achievements. With an average student rank of 87th percentiles, HQA average school rank is in the 98th percentile, alhamdulillah. This means HQA is in the top 2 percentiles in the nation among schools that took the IOWA test. Only schools in the top 2 percentiles are able to make such a high achievement!
In the area of Quran memorization and understanding, HQA graduated 5 Hafizs so far. It is worth noting that HQA graduates of the Hifz program do understand what they memorize and have been trained to derive lessons from each Surah memorized. They are also trained to understand the Arabic grammar that governs the vowels in each word. In addition, a lot of emphasis is done to prepare them as leaders for their communities. Memorizing the Quran did not stop HQA students from making the highest academic achievements. For example, UsayedSiddiqi(8th grade) finished memorizing the whole Quran in 3 years and his rank in the IOWA test in is in the 98th percentile, KhizerBaji (10th grade) finished 26 parts of the Quran in 3 year and his rank in the IOWA test is in the 99th percentile, Ashar Khalid (9th grade) finished 25 parts of the Quran in two years and his rank is in the 91st percentile. These are only few examples of several high achievements our students made.
Among the high achievements that HQA was able to make this year is that all its first-grade students were able to read from any place in the Quran. Some of course were able to do it better than others, but at the end of the year, they all were able to read with varying speed from any place in the Quran, alhamdulillah.
At HQA, we try to do good things that are the right things. They are not only good but they are also the right thing to do. HQA follows an approach that is collaboratively developed, data driven, research based, students focused, and results oriented. We keep the end result as our focus. We do not follow a "one-size-fits-all" approach; but rather, an approach that considers the individual differences between students, and empower them to make the highest achievements. Alhamdulillah, we have a wonderful community of supporters. Your help has been a driving force for our high achievements.
WassalamuAlikumWarahmatoh AllahWabarakatoh.
Yours Truly,
Hamed Ghazali, Ph.D.
Principal, HQA
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