Great things are happening in Texas Public Schools -- Friends of Texas Public Schools
This month...
  • Public schools keep pace with private ones

  • Need a speaker?

  • Study Casts Doubt On the 'Boy Crisis'

  • Friends Letter to Editor printed in Washington Post

  • Three new Friends sponsors
  • Commissioner of Ed honored by governor

  • Suggested summer reading


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    This month's featured sponsors

    Stay Involved...Stay Active August 2006
    The Courage to Teach

    Mike Boone named 2006 Texas Public Schools Friend of the Year!

    Friends will honor Mike Boone with its Second Annual Texas Public Schools Friend of the Year Award for his unwavering support of public education.

    Please join us for a reception honoring Mike where last year’s recipient Charles Butt, Chairman & CEO of H-E-B, Friends cofounders Scott and Leslie Milder, and the evening’s keynote speaker Mike Moses will present the award. The reception is Tuesday, October 17th, 5:30-7:30pm at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Avenue near Love Field, sponsored by Central Market, Coca-Cola, SHW Group, and Southwest Airlines. Doors open at 4:30pm for anyone interested in viewing the museum. Suggested minimum $25 contribution to Friends will be accepted at the door. Please email your RSVP to smilder@shwgroup.com.

    Mike Boone is a private sector advocate for public education. He found the courage to resist popular opinion in the business community and fought to close business loopholes in the tax structure to help find an equitable solution to school funding.

    Mike Boone has been named 2006 Texas Public Schools Friend of the Year because he clearly sees beyond the surface issues featured daily in news and politics and has demonstrated an understanding that the success of public education in Texas is everyone’s business. Mike has sustained a long-term commitment to Texas Public Schools through public expression of his support, volunteer work, employee involvement, and contribution of financial and other resources.

    In addition to being a leader in the fight for public school equity and excellence, Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of Haynes and Boone and one of the co-founders of the firm. He has more than 30 years experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities transactions, and board of director representations. Michael has been selected as the "Go-To-Lawyer" in Texas in the field of corporate/business law by the Texas Lawyer Magazine, one of the top corporate finance/mergers and acquisitions lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine, and one of the Top 10 Super Lawyers by Texas Monthly and Law and Politics Magazine.

    Thank you, Mike, for your dedication to education and to the children of Texas.


     
    Public schools keep pace with private ones

     

    The Education Department reported that children in public schools generally performed as well or better in reading and mathematics than comparable children in private schools. The exception was in eighth-grade reading, where the private school counterparts fared better.

    The report, which compared fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores in 2003 from nearly 7,000 public schools and more than 530 private schools, found that fourth graders attending public school did significantly better in math than comparable fourth graders in private schools. Additionally, it found that students in conservative Christian schools lagged significantly behind their counterparts in public schools on eighth-grade math.

    Read more...
    Need a speaker?

     

    Friends of Texas Public Schools Cofounders Leslie and Scott Milder deliver an inspiring, uplifting and optimistic message about Texas Public Schools.

    Click here to complete a speaker request form
    Study Casts Doubt On the 'Boy Crisis'

     

    Improving Test Scores Cut Into Girls' Lead By Jay Mathews Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, June 26, 2006; A01 A study to be released today looking at long-term trends in test scores and academic success argues that widespread reports of U.S. boys being in crisis are greatly overstated and that young males in school are in many ways doing better than ever.

    Using data compiled from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federally funded accounting of student achievement since 1971, the Washington- based think tank Education Sector found that, over the past three decades, boys' test scores are mostly up, more boys are going to college and more are getting bachelor's degrees.

    Read more...
    Friends Letter to Editor printed in Washington Post

     
    By Charlene "Charlie" Fern, VP FOTPS

    Finally, Good News About Education

    When I read Jay Mathews's June 26 front-page article, "Study Casts Doubt on the 'Boy Crisis,' " I nearly fell out of my chair. It's accurate. It's balanced. And it catches some of the establishment naysayers admitting that perhaps there isn't a "crisis" in education after all.

     Read entire letter...
    Three new Friends sponsors

    We'd like to welcome three new Friends sponsors:

    Pegasus Texas Construction is a highly successful, Dallas- based construction and project management firm with more than 70 years collective management experience and over $1 billion in construction projects.

    NEST Family Entertainment is a leading distributor and creator of family entertainment products. NEST’s award- winning products help build positive character traits, spiritual strength and healthy relationships.

    CityBank Texas (Lubbock) is committed to providing the best banking solutions for its customers. They offer banking, insurance, investment, trust and mortgage services for its customers in Lubbock -- and around the world through their "virtual bank" on the world wide web.
    Commissioner of Ed honored by governor

     

    Gov. Rick Perry named Education Commissioner Dr. Shirley Neeley as a 2006 inductee into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. This biennial awards event was created by the Governor's Commission for Women in 1984 to honor Texas women who have made significant contributions in such areas as the arts, athletics, business, education, health and leadership. The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was permanently established in 2003 at the Texas Woman's University campus in Denton. The exhibit, located in Hubbard Hall, contains 122 inductees which include first ladies, teachers, astronauts and athletes, and features biographies and photographs of the recipients.

     Read more...
    Suggested summer reading

     

    Since its initial publication and multiple reprints in hardcover in 2005, Teachers Have It Easy has attracted the attention of teachers nationwide, appearing on the New York Times extended bestseller list, C-SPAN, and NPR’s Marketplace, in addition to receiving strong reviews nationwide.

    Interweaving teachers’ voices from across the country with hard-hitting facts and figures, this book is a clear-eyed view of the harsh realities of public school teaching, without chicken-soup-for-the- soul success stories.

    Teachers Have It Easy looks at the problems of recruitment and retention, the myths of short workdays and endless summer vacations, the realities of the work week, and shocking examples of how society views America’s teachers.
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    Friends of Texas Public Schools
    Scott Milder, President & Chief Executive
    4000 McEwen Road North
    Dallas, Texas 75244-5083

    Phone: 972-701-0700