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Sustaining Partners
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Here is the good news
for March 2009.
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"Education is the most
powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world."
- Nelson Mandela
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Student
achievement rising
in urban Texas
schools
Source: Linda
Stewart Ball,
Associated Press
 Achievement
test scores at
big-city school
districts in
Texas still lag
far behind their
suburban and
rural
counterparts but
they're making
great strides
and narrowing
the gap,
according to a
report by an
education think
tank released
Wednesday.
A study of 37 of
the nation's
largest urban
school systems
by The Brown
Center on
Education Policy
at the Brookings
Institution in
Washington,
D.C., found that
city schools are
improving more
than other
school districts
in their
respective
states.
In Texas,
six urban
school
districts were
included in
the study:
Austin,
Dallas, El
Paso, Fort
Worth,
Houston and
San
Antonio.
Dallas ISD
made the
second-largest
academic
gains among
the 37
big-city
school districts
between 2000
and 2007.
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Almost 1,200
Texas districts and
charters receive full
accreditation status
Source: Texas Education
Agency
Almost 1,200
Texas schools districts and
charter schools earned full
accreditation status from the
Texas Education Agency. This is
the second year the agency has
assigned an accreditation status
to school districts and the
first year that charter schools
have been reviewed in the
accreditation system.
The classification system
examines both the financial and
academic health of districts and
charter schools. It also
examines performance in other
areas such as data reporting,
special program effectiveness,
and compliance with statutory
and regulatory requirements. In
2008-2009, the newly adopted
indicators for financial
performance of charter operators
were reported for informational
purposes only but did not factor
into the assignment of charter
accreditation status.
Commissioner of Education Robert
Scott said 1,195 out of 1,228
districts and charters earned an
Accredited status from TEA.
press release
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In another "Freakonomics"-style
study that turns conventional
wisdom about public- versus
private-school education on its
head, a team of University of
Illinois education professors
has found that public-school
students outperform their
private-school classmates on
standardized math tests, thanks
to two key factors: certified
math teachers, and a modern,
reform-oriented math curriculum.
Sarah Lubienski, a professor of
curriculum and instruction in
the U. of I. College of
Education, says teacher
certification and
reform-oriented teaching
practices correlated positively
with higher achievement on the
National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) exam
for public-school students.
"According to our results,
schools that hired more
certified teachers and had a
curriculum that de-emphasized
learning by rote tended to do
better on standardized math
tests," Lubienski said. "And
public schools had more of
both."
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At the start of the year,
Eduflack made a couple of
promises. I would seek to throw
the spotlight on positive
stories that were not getting
the attention they deserved. I
would look to education policy
stories outside of Washington,
DC. And I would continue my Don
Quixote-like obsession with
continuing to push the notion
that evidence-based reading
instruction works, and that it
can be proven in state after
state.
A few weeks ago, we talked about
the exemplary results out in
California, where student
reading scores have
significantly risen after the
adoption of scientifically based
reading instruction under
Reading First. This follows
similar data from states from
Idaho to Ohio, where we've seen
tangible, significant impact of
SBRR on student achievement.
Now we set our sights on the
Lone Star State, where reading
scores on the state's TAKS exam
again show that evidence-based
reading works if our goal is to
boost student reading
proficiency and achievement.
read more
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Dining with
Friends Tesimonial
Dearest
Supporters and
Mentors of
educators,
I cannot
begin to put
into words how
much your
support and
mentoring has
meant to me.
It has forced me
to look more
deeply at myself
and my
responsibilities
to my profession
as well as my
place in the
world in which
we live. It has
truly been a
life altering
experience to be
a part of Dining
with Friends.
It has forced me
to raise my
expectations of
myself and my
profession to a
higher level;
and with your
guidance and
encouragement
raised me to a
level of
professionalism
that I was not
aware that I
could achieve.
Should there be
a continuation
of this cutting
edge training, I
would be eager
to participate.
Brenda Jean
Patrick, Leslie
& Scott Milder
are to be
commended for
their dedication
of time, money,
and energy they
have put forth
to provide a
successful
professional
development.
FOTPS has been
gracious with
providing
evening meals so
that we could
continue
in-depth
conversations
about education,
the elements
that impact
education, and
our place in the
continued
success of
students in
public
schools. The
time and work
put into this
type of
professional
development is
priceless and
long overdue.
Thank you for
being the "wind
beneath my
wings."
Martie James
1st Grade
Birmingham
Elementary
School
Wylie ISD
more
testimonials
Interested
in bringing
Dining with
Friends
ambassador
training to
your school
district?
Contact
Scott Milder
at
smilder@fotps.org.
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FOTPS Welcomes New Advisory
Board Member
 Anette
Carlisle serves in her 13th
year on the Amarillo ISD
Board of Trustees, and is a
passionate and outspoken
advocate for public
education in Amarillo, the
Panhandle and the state of
Texas. Her background in
science helps her focus on
systemic change and long
term impact to help solve
problems. Annet is a
founding member of Panhandle
Twenty/20, whose mission is
to be a catalyst for
positive change in the
community. The past two
years her efforts and those
of P2020 have been focused
on bringing the community
together to increase the
levels of educational
attainment across the
Panhandle. Most recently, Anette
cofounded
Trustees for Texas, an
organization with a mission
to create a unified and
powerful voice to transform
public education in Texas. Anette
and her husband Taylor are
the parents of three
wonderful boys, all products
of public schools in
Amarillo.
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Test your TAKS readiness
The following question is taken from
the 11th grade TAKS test.
When the air is released from a
balloon, the air moves in one
direction, and the balloon moves in
another direction. Which statement
does this situation best illustrate?
F. What goes up must come down.
G. For every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction.
H. The shape and size of an object
affect air resistance.
J. The acceleration due to Earth's
gravity is 9.8 m/s 2.
answer: G. For
every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
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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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