Email Author Margaret Downing

Awards

• 2012 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published December 22, 2011

  "Mistaken Identities"

• 2011 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published December 23, 2010

  "Children of God"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published December 23, 2010

  "Children of God"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published December 30, 2010

  "The Whipping Boy"

• 2011 - Lone Star Awards, published June 3, 2010

  "Homeless High"

• 2010 - Lone Star Awards, published June 4, 2009

  "Let the Record Reflect"

• 2009 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published April 10, 2008

  "Exit Exams"

• 2009 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 8, 2008

  "Mental Anguish"

• 2009 - Lone Star Awards, published November 13, 2008

  "Bad Faith"

• 2008 - Maggies: The Magazine Awards of Western Publishing, published May 31, 2007

  "Killing Fences"

• 2008 - First Amendment Awards/The Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, published October 25, 2007

  "Death in a Box"

• 2008 - Lone Star Awards, published October 25, 2007

  "Death in a Box"

• 2008 - Lone Star Awards, published August 23, 2007

  "Judging Books and Their Covers"

• 2007 - Education Reporting Awards/National Education Writers Association, published October 5, 2006

  "Opt In, Opt Out'

• 2007 - Lone Star Awards, published October 5, 2006

  "Opt In, Opt Out"

• 2007 - Lone Star Awards, published May 11, 2006

  "Diary of a Mad Man"

• 2006 - Lone Star Awards, published February 17, 2005

  "Mind Reading"

• 2006 - Lone Star Awards, published August 11, 2005

  "Who Cares?"

More

2010 Stories by Margaret Downing

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Head Butt, Theater Style: God of Carnage vs. West Side Story

  published Dec 28, 2010

  Talk about opening night jitters. January 12 will be opening night for both God of Carnage at the Alley Theatre and (a few blocks over) for the revitilized English-Spanish national tour of West Side S... More >>

• The Whipping Boy

  published December 30, 2010

  Former Texas governor Mark White wants to know, if class size in public schools isn't important, "then why does every private school in America... More >>

• Teach For America: TEA Undertakes Audit

  published Dec 27, 2010

  The Texas Education Agency has until January 31 to submit a report to the Texas Legislature that asks whether the much lauded Teach for America is doing much good for the low-income students in Texas.... More >>

• Children of God

  published December 23, 2010

  The older kids led the way, younger siblings trailing in their wake, as they broke into a school. It wasn't a random act of vandalism. No... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Mark Ballas Dances With His Dad Corky in Burn the Floor

  published Dec 16, 2010

  Throughout the Houston run, Corky Ballas, the father of Mark Ballas and an internationally known master of international Latin dancing in his own right, is making a cameo appearance in Burn the Floor.... More >>

• Updated:Terry Grier's Rightsizing May Mean Adios For Some Teachers and HISD Schools

  published Dec 14, 2010

  Update:HISD Spokesman Jason Spencer says there are 66 not 69 underpopulated schools and that designation has nothing to do with "capacity." See below. Superintendent Terry Grier, while "trying no... More >>

• Burn the Floor

  published December 9, 2010

  It’s a Broadway show on tour with no lines — as in, no lines spoken onstage. Two percussionists and two vocalists add a bit here and... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Mark Ballas Burns For You (In Song) UPDATED

  published Dec 10, 2010

  Updated: Mark Ballas is singing for sure and more than once, see update below. Chances are good that multi-talented heartthrob Mark Ballas of Dancing With the Stars fame won't just be dancing in Burn... More >>

• Lawrence Marshall Accused of Rigging HISD Bid Process, HISD Also Sued Under Federal RICO Statute

  published Dec 07, 2010

  Update: HISD responds; see end of article. No stranger to controversy, Houston ISD school trustee Lawrence Marshall was sued in federal court today accused of replacing contractors who'd been selecte... More >>

• HISD's Magnet Schools: Independent Reviewers Weigh In

  published Dec 06, 2010

  Magnet school principals resent unequal resources, are a little unsure of the independently contracted magnet school review process now going on and best practices aren't shared across the Houston ISD... More >>

• Mexicans Determined to Shop in U.S. Charter a Plane

  published Dec 03, 2010

  Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a group of Mexican nationals trying to fly over the drug cartel violence in the northern part of their country to get to stores in McAllen, Texas. ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Child Actors Over the Hill at 14 in A Christmas Carol at the Alley

  published Nov 30, 2010

  It's a part-time, once-a-year job that you age out of on your 14th birthday. The youngest kids, ages 4 and 5, aren't even reading when they start so they have to be drilled daily. They can't talk out ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Mark Ballas Says Burn the Floor Is "Bad Ass"

  published Nov 30, 2010

  Mark Ballas, the Dancing With the Stars professional dancer who just finished up his seventh season by coming in third with partner Bristol Palin is joining up with the national tour of Burn the Floor... More >>

• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical

  published November 25, 2010

  The classic story of redemption, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, is coming to the Hobby Center just in time... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Stefan Karl: What a Son of a Grinch

  published Nov 23, 2010

  Staying in character throughout his interview with Art Attack, Stefan Karl, the actor playing the lead in Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, cleared his throat with a belch, popped... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Smokey Joe's Cafe First Offering By New 'Baby on the Block'

  published Nov 23, 2010

  He was a singing tap dancer. He did the Great Caruso dinner theater (before it burned down). Switching gears, he went silent for a while as a mime at Sea World in San Antonio. He took on duties as a c... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Lamar High's Library Ousts Books, Re-Opens as Coffee Shop

  published Nov 23, 2010

  Just adding a coffee shop to a neighborhood library so people can feel like they're in Starbucks and ultra hip was apparently too passe a trend for Principal James McSwain of Lamar High School. Finis... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Todd Waite Returns As Crumpet the Elf at the Alley

  published Nov 19, 2010

  "There's people who talk back or say things. When I'm changing into my elf costume there's a lot of boys from Montrose and actually also some wives from The Woodlands too; they definitely hoot and ho... More >>

• HISD Prepares For Biggest Battle Since WWII

  published Nov 18, 2010

  For the first time since World War II - the big one - the state of Texas is looking at actual reductions in public education funding, Houston ISD board attorney David Thompson told trustees today. "... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Dog in Grinch Learns How to Move His Tush

  published Nov 18, 2010

  After 30 years in show business, Bob Lauder had to learn how to play a dog, specifically how to play Old Max the Dog in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. And most specifically of... More >>

• CEP Doubles Down on Critic Robert Kimball, Sues For $9 Million

  published Nov 17, 2010

  Civic activist and former Sharpstown High vice principal Robert Kimball is responsible for Houston ISD reducing the amount it pays Community Education Partners, the private company that operates two a... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Strictly Dancing: Janette Manrara in Burn the Floor at the Hobby Center

  published Nov 17, 2010

  It's the stuff of Hollywood legend. Janette Manrara was working at a bank when her dance teacher pushed her to try out for So You Think You Can Dance. Manrara had grown up salsa dancing with relatives... More >>

• Updated:HISD Parents Group Says No to More Bennies in Apollo 20

  published Nov 10, 2010

  It seems that a proposal to put even more money into the Apollo 20 reclamation project in the Houston ISD was the final straw for a group of parent leaders in the school district. At the same time as... More >>

• The Strip House: Steak and Glenlivet Scotch

  published Nov 09, 2010

  Our invitation to sit in on a special Scotch & Steak dinner at the Strip House in downtown Houston the other night was memorable for the food, our table companions and the dedication of the diners to ... More >>

• Chuck Morris Falls on His Sword While Carol Mims Galloway Continues Slicing Away

  published Nov 09, 2010

  Houston ISD trustee Carol Mims Galloway Monday made it clear once again and in even stronger terms that she thinks the current district administration headed by Superintendent Terry Grier is dumping ... More >>