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Sustaining Partners
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Did
you know that in 1913
....More than 75 percent of
Texas schools were one-teacher
schools, and more than 2,000 ran
less than three months during
the year. In addition, more than
46 percent of the students were
absent every day, and more than
50,000 white students did not
enroll in any school
(Centennial
Handbook - Texas Public Schools
1854-1954, p. 51, Texas
Education Agency).
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Percentage
of Texas 5th
and 8th
graders
passing TAKS
math rises
 Eighty-four
percent of
fifth-grade
students and
79 percent
of eighth
graders
passed the
math Texas
Assessment
of Knowledge
and Skills
(TAKS) test
on the first
administration
this spring,
compared to
84 percent
and 75
percent,
respectively,
in 2008. The
percentage
of 5th
graders
earning
Commended
Performance
this spring
was 44
percent, up
five
percentage
points over
2008
results.
Percentage
of 8th
graders
earning
Commended
Performance
was up 4
points from
21 in 2008
to 24
percent in
2009.
TEA news
release
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Don't Forget!
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.
Hurry!
Submissions will be only be
accepted until
Friday, June 5.
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Friends on the Move
Friends of Texas Public
Schools will participate
in several upcoming
summer conferences!
Throughout the year,
Friends board members
and staff travel across
the state to exhibit at
educational association
conferences and
conventions. The summer
is an exciting time as
we will engage with the
Texas Elementary
Principals and
Supervisors Association,
Texas Association for
Secondary School
Principals, Texas
Council of Women School
Executives, and Texas
State PTA to name a
few. It is our
relationship with these
organizations that
sustains the grassroots
efforts of Friends to
spread the good news.
We want to thank all of
our association Friends
for your continued
support.
"Getting the Friends
message out to the
educational community is
powerful. Educating
educators about the
strengths and
achievements of Texas
pubic schools is one of
our main goals. Giving
them the tools to be
advocates for their
profession is also
empowering", explains
Brandie Cleaver,
Director of
Administration and
Development.
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Annual
Strategic Planning Retreat
 Just
like school district administrators
across the state, Friends board
members meet each summer to review
Friends programs and efforts. "It
is an important time for us as a
board. We review the year's
successes and select statewide
achievements from 2008-09 to
feature throughout 2009-10. We
publish these achievements in poster
form and flier form and mail them to
every school campus in Texas.
Uncovering these successes from the
shadows is a rewarding exercise. It
reminds us why we do what we do with
Friends of Texas Public Schools,"
says Scott Milder, Friends of Texas
Public Schools Cofounder, President
and CEO. "Great things are happening
in Texas Public Schools."
Last year, the board completed a
two-day strategic planning session
with Cambridge Strategic Services,
who donated their service to
Friends. The board now has three
strategic planning action items
addressing resource development,
building capacity to strengthen
organization initiatives, and
educating educators about serving as
ambassadors for the profession. The
retreat this summer will provide
board members with an opportunity to
revisit the strategic plan and
report on action team efforts.
meet the board of directors
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Tracking the
educational dollar
Source: Moak, Casey &
Associates
Sponsored by
TASBO, TASA, TASB, Equity Center, and
Texas School Alliance
$.03 of every
dollar is spent transporting a student
to and from school.
Texas public schools spent $46.1 billion
from all fund sources in 2006-07 to
educate 4.5 million students. Of this,
$6.2 billion was spent on capital
outlay, $4 billion was related to paying
the principal and interest on debt, and
$35.2 billion was spent on 'basic
educational costs. The remaining
expenditures include other operating
costs such as payments into a shared
service arrangement, payments into a Tax
Increment Financing arrangement, and
administrative costs associated with
chapter 41 status.
On the spending side, a large quantity
of data exists regarding how school
districts allocate resources. Each year,
all districts are required to account
for expenditures using codes indicating
the object, function, and fund of
expenditure allowing the analysis of
what was purchased, its purpose, and the
source of revenue.
To provide a more complete picture of
the inputs comprising public education
in Texas, Moak, Casey and Associates,
has broken down the educational dollar
from the perspective of a Texas public
school student. All figures are
presented in terms of pennies on the
total educational dollar using basic
educational costs from 2006-07 PEIMS
actual financial data.
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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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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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