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Stay Involved...Stay Active
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December 2006
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With 2006 drawing quickly to a close, now is the time
to look at your charitable giving budget and make one
final tax-deductible donation to Friends.
Make sure your company is one of the more than 30
sponsors of Friends. Join the other 600 private
individuals who have made Friends a priority in their
giving budget.
This year Friends has attended 28 events around the
state spreading the word that our public schools are
not the failure they are so often made out to
be. “Great things are happening in our public
schools,” says Leslie Milder, Friends cofounder. “We
want to make sure people start to hear about the
successes and progress for a change.”
The Friends Rapid Response Team has written and
had published nine letters to the editors of several
Texas newspapers congratulating them for fair and
accurate coverage. “We wrote several critical letters
and none of them were published,” says Scott Milder,
Friends cofounder and President. “But all of the
complimentary letters were published. Turns out the
media likes a little pat on the back as well.”
Billboards continue to be a major communications
strategy for the organization as well, with 15 boards
up around Texas featuring quick, positive messages.
See top of this newsletter for sample.
Friends is doing many good things and with your
continued support, we can make a positive impact on
people's opinions about public schools in Texas.
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Dr. Moses joins Friends Advisory Board
Friends of Texas Public Schools is proud to announce
that Dr. Mike Moses has accepted an invitation to
join its Advisory Board. "Dr. Moses has been
tremendously supportive and complimentary of our
efforts and it is an honor to have him on board," said
Scott Milder, Friends President. "His good name will
lend immeasurable credibility to our organization as
we work to involve more educators, more Texans,
and more of the Texas business community in our
campaign to balance the overwhelmingly negative
public school debate with optimistic, factual accounts
of success in our schools."
Read more...
“The spirit of a people is disclosed by
the
education of its youth.”
-- translated from Diogenes Laertius, 3rd century
biographer of Greek philosophers
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Tandus joins Friends as a sponsor
A leading global commercial floorcoverings company,
Tandus brings together the industry's leading
specialized commercial flooring brands - C&A,
Crossley and Monterey. Drawing upon the individual
strengths of each brand, Tandus offers innovative
product design and technology, comprehensive
services, and environmental leadership.
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Need a speaker?
Friends of Texas Public Schools Cofounders Leslie and
Scott Milder deliver an inspiring, uplifting and
optimistic message about Texas Public Schools.
Leslie was recently the featured speaker at the Katy
Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon that honored 47
teachers in the Katy Independent School District.
Read more about Leslie's inspiring speech on
the Friends website.
Click here to complete a speaker request form
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Order our "Congratulations Texas Educators" posters
Our new posters are 22x28 inches and look great in
teachers' lounges and school offices, not to mention
in the hallways of businesses and in the waiting
rooms of doctors' offices.
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Graduation rates soar
TEA releases 2006 Comprehensive Report
The 2006 Comprehensive Annual Report on Texas
Public Schools describes the status of Texas public
education and is presented by the commissioner of
education to the governor and legislature as an
update on the state of public schools.
From 1996 to 2005, the statewide graduation rate
rose from 74.5% to 84.0%!
- African-American student graduation rate
improved from 69.3% to 81.7%!
- Asian students graduation rate improved from
85.9% to 92.7%!
- Hispanic student graduation rate jumped from
64.1% to 77.4%!
- Native American student graduation rate rose
from 71.1% to 84.3%!
- White student graduation rate rose from 83% to
89.5%
- Economically disadvantaged student graduation
rate jumped from 64.1% to 77.4%!
Read more...
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Friends honors SWA's Linda Rutherford
Rutherford receives first Little Red Wagon award
Southwest Airlines President Colleen
Barrett, left,
and
Friends of Texas Public Schools President Scott Milder
present the Little Red Wagon Award to Linda
Rutherford, Southwest Airlines Vice President for
Public Relations and Community Affairs. Linda
received this award for her dedication as a Friends
Board member and her commitment to public
education in Texas.
See more photos...
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Myths about public schools
The Texas Association of School Boards has compiled
a "myth busters" document dispelling many of the
myths about public schools in Texas. We'll feature
some of these in the next few newsletters.
Texas is a high-tax state and spends too much
on government services.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Total taxes
in Texas are among the lowest in the nation.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas ranks
49th among the states in total tax revenues per
capita. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan education
organization that has followed state and local tax
issues for over 75 years, ranks the Texas state and
local tax burden ‘among the nation’s lowest.’
Compared to other states, the Texas sales tax
(combined state and local) is 15th highest in the
nation. Texas ranks 13th among the states in
property tax burden. How, then, is Texas a low-tax
state when the sales and property tax burden is
high? The answer is that Texas lacks an income tax.
Total tax comparisons among the states consider
business and personal income taxes as well as sales,
property, and other taxes. The reality for Texans is
that even though they pay relatively higher sales and
property taxes, their overall state and local tax
burden per capita is much lower than other states.
When per capita tax revenues are low, spending on
government services is also low. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of Local
Government Finances in 2003-04, Texas total current
spending on education ranks 35th among the states
and is $1,000 per student lower than the national
average.
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More than 590 schools cleared of testing irregularity allegations
AUSTIN – Investigations into possible testing
irregularities at 592 Texas schools were closed today
when no evidence of wrongdoing was found, the
Texas Education Agency announced.
A statistical analysis conducted by Caveon Test
Security earlier this year flagged 700 schools as
having data anomalies during the 2005 testing period.
The Commissioner’s Task Force on Test Integrity
concluded that security audits and, in some cases,
on-site investigations found no evidence of action
that violated the state’s extensive test security
system at 592 schools. The task force recommended
that Commissioner of Education Shirley J. Neeley
close the investigations and clear these schools,
which she did.
Read more...
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