About Us

We are a bit of a different type of organization… one that doesn’t invest energy in education reform but rather in celebrating what’s right with our schools. Contrary to popular opinion and the day’s headlines, our public schools are performing remarkably well. The widespread failures so often debated are nothing more than myths.  Sure, there are isolated cases of failures across the country, but our schools are achieving more today than ever before and America’s schools are superior to any other nation in the world. All of those international comparisons are based on suspect data and, in our opinion, are grossly flawed.

 

Vision

 

We at Friends of Texas Public Schools believe the people of Texas have a right to know that our public schools are achieving more today than ever in their history in spite of the many challenges they face. The popular myth of widespread failure in our Texas public schools is just that – a myth. We believe that much can be accomplished when people believe in and promote the immense promise and possibility that exists within the classroom. We proudly embrace our schools as they strive to reach higher standards. Optimism breeds success. Children and teachers thrive in environments that are full of hope and encouragement. Our goal is to raise morale and bring a sense of optimism back to Texas public schools. We will draw attention to the many untold success stories and zero in on the accomplishments of our outstanding students, teachers, and administrators. By doing so, we hope to restore pride in our schools and pride in the teaching profession, leading current teachers to remain in the profession and others to consider teaching as a career. We also believe that more parents and communities will get involved when they feel good about their public schools. And, in the end, we hope that our positive voice will inspire schools to continue to achieve and continue to improve.

 

Meet our Board of Directors

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the purpose of Friends of Texas Public Schools?

The purpose is to bring more good news to light. Our public schools do a remarkable job of educating Texas children. Sadly, "fixing" public schools is a favorite platform, and more often than not, it's the need to improve rather than the reasons to celebrate that politicians, policy makers, and papers choose to talk about. The negative nature of news leaves out millions of success stories. We aim to share a few of them and turn the slant in a positive direction.

 

What will friends of Texas Public Schools do?

Friends will launch a sustained statewide public relations campaign on behalf of Texas public schools. Friends will build bipartisan support by recruiting representatives and supporters from all walks of the business community, as well as from individuals, celebrities, politicians and educators.

 

Is this an effort to defeat vouchers?

No. You might be thinking of an unrelated organization called the Coalition for Public Schools.

 

Who is behind this organization?

We know it is hard to believe, but no one in particular. There are no teacher or educator associations driving this grassroots campaign. While there are many educators and educational organizations supportive of Friends of Texas Public Schools, the organization’s leadership is composed solely of private sector professionals. The Commissioner of Education is the sole exception, and her role is simply to facilitate access to raw data.

This grassroots campaign was started by a couple of Texans who were fed up with the incessant attacks on the character of our educators and decided to roll up their sleeves and do something about it.

 

What are the hidden agendas?

There are none.

 

How can I get involved?

We hope you'll sign on as a Friend of Texas Public Schools, review the hard facts about Texas public schools, and share the good news! As a 501c(3) organization, Friends of Texas Public Schools relies solely on tax-deductible contributions from individuals and businesses. Friends also hosts periodic fund-raising efforts. Friends will not accept funds from any special interest groups and will not engage in lobbying or political action.

 

Editorial Note from Scott Milder, President and CEO, Friends of Texas Public Schools.  
 
The fuss over top heavy administration, excessive spending on football and other extracurricular activities, and the general inefficiencies of our public schools are nothing more than falsehoods fueled by those who would like the public to believe our schools are top heavy and inefficient. The facts of the matter lead anyone who conducts just a tiny bit of research on the subject to find that our public schools are arguably the most efficient human enterprise in our state and nation.

Little known factoid... only 3 pennies of every education dollar are spent on central administration in this state. On the flipside, 49 cents of every education dollar is spent on teacher salaries. What about extracurricular? Surely we could save some serious dollars if we cut football and other activities. Turns out only 3 pennies of every education dollar are spent on extracurricular activities.  Huh...This document, Tracking the Education Dollar (PDF1.79MB), sorts things out for us and is a fantastic tool that every educator and school board member should keep in their hip pocket. Thanks to Moak Casey & Associates, a private sector financial firm specializing in the most complex math problem on the planet -- school funding -- for preparing this report.

Arm yourself with the facts! Share them with your staffs first, then your supporters/advocates, then with your critics. And ignore those malcontents. They wouldn't believe a fact if it jumped off the page and slapped them in the face.

--Milder