This month's featured sponsor
Boeing is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems.
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Sustaining Sponsors
Sponsors
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Visit www.facebook.com and search Friends of Texas Public Schools to join the Group
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Here is the good news for November 2008.
Happy Thanksgiving! |
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"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Sir Winston Churchill
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2008 Friend of the Year
Gary Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, & CEO of Southwest Airlines, exemplifies a corporate leader who personally and professionally supports public education in Texas. For this, Friends of Texas Public Schools recently honored him as its 4th Annual Texas Public Schools Friend of the Year at a dinner reception November 13, 2008. The title sponsor of the evening was The Boeing Company.
"We are proud to recognize Mr. Kelly's legacy of commitment to, and support of, public education in Texas. His efforts and those of the people at Southwest Airlines represent the positive energy we believe is desperately needed in our public schools," said Scott Milder, President and CEO of Friends of Texas Public Schools.
"As a product of Texas public schools, I am honored to be recognized by an organization devoted to celebrating the good things that are happening in public education," Mr. Kelly said. "This is also a tribute to the people of Southwest Airlines who volunteer their time and energy to making a positive difference in children's lives."
Special thanks to our title sponsor
and our presenting sponsor
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Dining with Friends
In October 2008, Friends of Texas Public Schools launched Dining With Friends - a dialogue session where area teachers and administrators can reflect on the positive aspects of their jobs.The first session was held at Garland ISD. A teacher participating in that session shared her experience with us.
"I just wanted you to know that my husband and I (both of us are educators) have made a commitment to come home every day and tell each other something positive that happened at school instead of discussing the negative. I really think this has made an impact on not only how I look at my job and going to work every day, but also our profession as a whole. I have also told my teammates in my grade level about this assignment and my decision to only focus on the positive things. I have actually had teachers from my school come to my room at various times during the day and ask me to tell them something positive that had happened to me that day. It is really interesting to see that people are wanting to see and experience the positives in our job. Thank you so much for assigning this task!"
Donesa Rodriguez
Garland ISD
What does it take to be a Friend?
 Brenda Jean Patrick, Friends of Texas Public Schools board member and Region 10 ESC master consultant, asks the question to the 35 teachers in the room participating in the Friends of Texas Public Schools Dining with Friends staff development program, "what do I need to do in order to be considered a friend of Texas public schools"? This was the second of four dinner discussions scheduled over the school year. For more information on the Dining with Friends program, including the possibility of bringing this program to your district, email Brenda Jean at bjp@brendajeanpatrick.com. |
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Secret Successes lurk behind school's closed doors
source: Dallas Morning News
November 13, 2008
Several news stories last week talked about Election Day security at polling places in public schools - how barriers would prevent voters from venturing farther into the schools.
What a shame.
If a few more citizens actually visited our schools, there would be higher regard for public education - and for Dallas schools in particular.
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New Partnership Benefits Friends!
 Friends of Texas Public Schools is happy to announce a new partnership with ATS Partners and its founders Anthony McClure and Shannon Barnett. They have an online shopping web site www.atexasstyle.com that features products made and manufactured in our great Lone Star State. Their mission is to support the arts and music education efforts in Texas public schools.
They have pledged to make FOTPS the beneficiary of their Holiday Sales Season from ATexasStyle.com. Thank you for shopping with a purpose on ATexasStyle.com to benefit Friends of Texas Public Schools this holiday season. |
"Be Proud" fact #3 - Texas schools among Top 10 in nutrition program
SOURCE: http://www.frac.org/pdf/SBP_2007.pdf
Ninety-nine percent of Texas schools participate in the National School Breakfast Program, making Texas seventh best in the nation, according to a report by the National Food Research and Action Center. The School Breakfast Scorecard 2007 also finds that more than a million low-income Texas children are eating breakfast at school.
Visit our eStore online to order your free posters today! www.fotps.org/store (small shipping charges apply)
Jane Braddock, Friends board member and first grade teacher at Hays Elementary in Rockwall ISD, poses with daughters Kendall and Caroline in front of the Friends of Texas Public Schools 'Be Proud' posters featuring a few of the many Texas public school successes.
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The perfect gift for a special teacher
It's not too early to start your holiday shopping. This Texas Public Schools ROCK T-shirt is a perfect gift for teachers and school adminstrators.
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Test your TAKS readiness The following question is taken from the 11th grade TAKS test.
What is the net force exerted on a 90.0 kg race-car driver while the race car is accelerating from 0 to 44.7 m/s in 4.50 s?
A. 9.8 N
B. 20 N
C. 201 N
D. 894 N
answer: D. 894 N
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Common myths about public education
Source: Debunking Seven Myths About Public Education
By Molly A. Hunter and Matthew Samberg
MYTH: Private and Charter Schools are Educating Kids Better
Private and charter schools do, on average, no better a job of educating children than public schools, and they sometimes do a worse job. NAEP scores of private school students are no better than those of public school students, after correcting for socio-economic background. The "benefits" of private schools may be nothing more than the benefits of attending schools with students from predominantly affluent backgrounds.
Stories of high-performing charter schools are frequently provided without context. At some charter schools, such as the KIPP academies, there is a high rate of student attrition; the students who have the most difficulty frequently leave (and return to their regular public schools). In addition, in KIPP schools and similar schools, students have 60 percent more learning time, through a longer school day, weekend classes, and summer school. Comparing these schools to regular public schools is comparing apples to oranges. Bringing this model to scale would require a major influx of funds.
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Remember to forward to coworkers, friends and family!
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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