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Sustaining Partners
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Congratulations to our Texas
educators for working so diligently
to protect our children from the
recent outbreak of Swine Flu. We
hope the public school successes
noted in this edition will lift your
spirits as you continue to lead our
communities through this crisis.
With deep admiration and
respect,
Scott and Leslie Milder,
Founders
Friends of Texas Public
Schools
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"The mediocre teacher tells. The
good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great
teacher inspires."
- William Arthur Ward
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Nine of every 10
third-graders
pass reading
TAKS. Scores for
third, fifth and
eighth grade
reading are
released.
 Eighty-nine
percent of Texas
students who
took either the
Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and
Skills (TAKS) or
TAKS
(Accommodated)
reading test
passed, which
means they have
cleared a key
promotion
requirement.
Texas students
must pass the
state's
third-grade
reading TAKS,
fifth-grade
reading and math
TAKS and
eighth-grade
reading and math
exams in order
to be promoted
to the next
grade under the
Texas School
Success
Initiative
requirement.
Forty-six
percent of the
315,727 students
who took the
third-grade exam
in English
received a
Commended
Performance
designation
because they
earned a scale
score of 2400 or
higher. A
passing score on
TAKS is 2100.
TEA news release
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Texas
Education Survey Results
89.8% of respondents to the
March 2009 edition of the
Texas Education survey give
Texas public school teachers
a passing grade. Only 61.6%
of respondents give them an
A or B.
Similar marks are given to
local public school district
performance with 80.2% of
respondents giving local
districts a passing grade.
Only 50.5% of respondents
give their local district an
A or B.
Though confidence is fairly
high for local districts,
the overall performance of
the state in preparing
students for
college/workforce is lower,
with 38.2% giving grades of
A or B. A comparable 39.5%
give above average grades to
districts in managing tax
dollars.
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Take the May
"Thank-a-Teacher Month
Challenge"
Teacher Appreciation
Week is May 3 -9
FOTPS is giving away a Campus
Set of our popular "Texas Public
Schools Rock" t-shirts to one
lucky winner.
Friends will share the stories
with our readers on the web
site, newsletters, or other
publications to enhance this
special month of honoring
educators. Plus, one participant
will win a set of 40 T-shirts
for their school's faculty.
Submissions will be accepted
from
Friday, April the 24th - Sunday,
May 31st.
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GREATNESS IN
OUR SCHOOL'S
212 Ways to Change the World
Click
here to view the video produced by
the students and faculty at McAuliffe
Elementary in the Lewisville Independent
School District.
Once you have
viewed the video, be sure to visit
the schools online
forum and leave them a message.
The password is McAuliffe and the
password is 212.
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Looking for a
great public speaker for your
upcoming event?
 Leslie
Milder is a great presenter with
valuable information about
achievements in Texas public schools
and what we can do to help students,
teachers, and parents.
"Leslie was the keynote speaker
at Katy ISD's annual joint
luncheon with the Katy Chamber
of Commerce honoring our
Teachers of the Year. Governor
Perry, Comptroller Strayhorn and
a number of other very high
profile guests have headlined
this event in the past, but we
have never had a speaker who has
won the hearts of both teachers
and community like Leslie. While
inspiring our teachers, her
message of commitment, hope and
dedication sent an important
message to our community members
about the challenges educators
face daily and the critical role
they play in shaping the future
of our world." - Kris Taylor,
Katy ISD
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Test your TAKS readiness
The following question is taken from the
11th grade TAKS test.
Which of these devices uses the
sun's energy directly?
A. Windmill
B. Hydroelectric dam
C. Nuclear power plant
D. Photovoltaic cell
answer: D. Photovoltaic cell
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Our Mission
The mission of Friends of Texas Public
Schools, the leading voice of optimism
and hope for our public school family,
is to ensure positive and constructive
conversation about public schools by
educating Texans through honest
communication, productive dialogue, and
relentless encouragement.
Please share our
optimism for public education, pass us
along to others.
Friends of Texas Public Schools
Scott Milder, President & Chief Executive
P.O. Box 3526
Harker Heights, Texas 76548
Phone:
214-497-6411
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Visit
www.facebook.com and search Friends of
Texas Public Schools to join the Group
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