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Miss Information by Kristen Escovedo
My husband attended private school.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I thought you should know.
Both of his parents were public school educators. In fact, his mother completes her 37th year teaching kindergarten and first-grade in the Fort Worth Independent School District this year. She is the kind of teacher that high school seniors invite to their graduations and the kind of teacher that goes to the graduation when she is invited. She is the kind of teacher named when kids are asked, "Who made a difference in your life?" When administrators want to highlight a classroom for out of state visitors or when the media wants to see the pinnacle of what elementary education should look like, they make a B-line for Ms. Gracie's classroom.
(Miss Information is a new feature column you'll see in each edition of our electronic newsletter contributed by school PR pro Kristen Escovedo.) |
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Sustaining Partners
Help us tell your story!
Don't forget we depend on your generosity to continue to share our positive messages about our public schools with people across the state in an effective manner, through our billboard campaign, posters, monthly newsletter, presentations, and staff development trainings, to highlight a few.
Please consider giving generously a tax-deductible contribution to our non-profit organization. Donations are accepted by credit card through our website, or by check made payable to Friends of Texas Public Schools and mailed to 5717 Legacy Drive, Suite 250, in Plano, TX 75024.
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Texas schools recognized for strong performance on AP exams
 Texas is recognized by the College Board as one of 20 states with the greatest percentage of students earning scores of three or higher on Advanced Placement (AP) exams.
Tests are scored on a range of one to five. Colleges and universities typically give college course credit to those who earn scores of three, four or five.
Among students in Texas' high school graduating Class of 2009, 76,875 or 28.7 percent took at least one AP exam during high school, compared to 26.5 percent for the nation. That represents a substantial increase from five years ago when 53,339 or 21.8 percent of the state's graduating seniors took an AP test sometime during their high school career.
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Firefighters don't have an image problem
Congratulations to the Birdville ISD (northeast suburb of Fort Worth) for being the first school district in Texas to certify a class of educators as official Ambassadors of Texas Public Schools. Friends of Texas Public Schools teamed up with Birdville ISD to pilot Ambassador Training, a new and fresh approach to staff development it developed to help change the conversation about Texas public schools from the inside out.
The Ambassador Training Academy addresses attitudes and mindsets, preparing participants to step up as ambassadors (champions) for themselves, their classrooms, their campuses, district, and their profession.A group of 50 educators, representing each campus and department in Birdville ISD, came together four times during the school year for a two-hour evening session that challenged them to think differently about their roles as educators. "We discussed the forces that weaken public trust and confidence in public education," said Leslie Milder, founder of Friends of Texas Public Schools, public school teacher, and lead facilitator of the Birdville ISD Ambassador Training Academy. "We also discussed at great length strategies for restoring public pride and confidence in the public schools, and why it is critical that educators unite as champions for the profession." One of the program's lessons includes drawing an analogy between firefighters and educators. "Both professions are public servants, yet the image of a firefighter is much different than today's image of an educator," Leslie said. "Everyone loves a fireman. They put out fires and save lives." "Educators are putting out plenty of fires and saving plenty of lives also, but everyone doesn't love an educator," Leslie says. "Why? Firefighters are united as a brotherhood. They watch each other's backs. And, most importantly, they tell people they have a cool job, that they love what they do. Our actions as educators are often just the opposite. We are not united as a brotherhood, we don't always watch each other's backs, and we don't always speak well of our profession." Friends of Texas Public Schools, through Ambassador Training and other programs, aims to change that mindset in educators. "I didn't learn anything about image or public relations while studying to become a teacher," Leslie said. "But what I've learned recently through our work with Friends of Texas Public Schools is that image affects everything and that our poor image is crippling our ability as educators to do the job that most of us love to do." It's also what causes asinine propaganda like The War on Kids, a recently released documentary (more like a docudrama) exploiting every stereotypical myth ever written about public education." (Scroll down to the next headline and click on the links to view the trailer.) Following are a few comments from Birdville ISD participants: "The Ambassador Training was an experience every teacher should have. We are fortunate to be teachers in Texas public schools."
"I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity. Thanks!"
"I loved the opportunity to look at my job from a new perspective and to have learned how to take ownership of our image."
"I have hope. Teaching chose me and I sometimes get distracted by talk and the news and pessimism about our future in education. You are providing a great service. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to Texas public schools!"
For more information regarding ambassador training, contact Leslie Milder at lmilder@fotps.org. |
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Filmmakers declare war on public education Texas alone at the top
 A new trend in bashing public education has taken form. Independent filmmakers have found the subject fitting for the big screen. Two recent documentaries, The War on Kids and Waiting for Superman focus their lenses on the "failings of public education." These documentaries are the result of a poor image and low public confidence. We have got to unite as educators and begin producing our own documentaries that tell the real story of public education.
View movie trailers:
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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 1568
Rockwall, TX 75087
Phone: 214-497-6411
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