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Messages from FOTPS Supporters
"Thanks to you and Leslie for all you have done to help elevate the real story about public schools in Texas. As you well know, we are doing
magnificent things in not so magnificent times. A single voice can be the catalyst for change, and you and Leslie are a testament to that. Thank you for making a difference!"
Kimberly A. Quirk
President
Richardson ISD
Board of Trustees
Send us a message
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Save the Date
Friend of the Year Event
Honoring Chuck and Gena Norris 
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Frontiers of Flight Museum
in Dallas
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Interested in sponsoring and/or attending the dinner celebration on November 30th? Email Amber Fulton, Director of Programs and Development at Friends of Texas Public Schools, at afulton@fotps.org. Event details available at www.fotps.org. 
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Friends of Texas Public Schools Scott Milder P.O. Box 1568
Rockwall, TX 75087
smilder@fotps.org214-497-6411 |
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Texas slashes public school budget: Cutting through the rhetoric and confusion
By Scott Niven, CPA, and Superintendent of Red Oak ISD since 2007 (Written in partnership with Friends of Texas Public Schools)
The 82nd Legislative Session ended over 3 months ago, yet many are still attempting to understand what happened. On one side, school groups are planning lawsuits to challenge the funding system, which includes a $5.4 billion cut to state funding of our public schools, while on the other side there are those saying the state actually increased public education funding. So, which is the truth?
The reality is that the 82nd Texas Legislature will long be remembered as the first Texas Legislature to lower funding for public education in more than 60 years. To understand what happened we must compare both the legislative appropriations and the school finance funding formula in the 81st and 82nd legislative sessions. The source of the financial information used in this article is from the Legislative Budget Board - Summary of Conference Committee Report on House Bill 1, as well as discussions with Joe Wysnoski at Moak, Casey, and Associates.
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Advanced Placement Program Growing
Texas experienced an almost 11 percent increase in the number of public school students taking an Advanced Placement (AP) test in 2011, and participation gains for the state's Asian, African-American, American Indian, Hispanic and white students outpaced the growth rate for their peer groups nationally.
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The Global Report Card Farce
 The Global Report Card (GRC) provided by the Bush Institute measures district versus international achievement. The GRC score indicates the level of math or reading achievement by the average student in a district when compared to the achievement in a set of 25 developed countries.
The score is presented as a percentile, which is the percentage of students in the comparison group who would have a lower level of achievement. For example, a percentile of 60 would mean that the average student in a district would be performing better than 60% of the students in the comparison group.
As you can imagine, the GRC has many people sharing their opinions about its fairness and relevance.
We share a few of those opinions with you now.
Thoughtfully articulated assessment of the Global Report Card by Dr. Michael Marder, Co-Director of UTeach & Professor of Physics at UT-Austin
The sources of data appear to be state exams that are linked to NAEP and then linked to PISA. What feature of the state exams you may ask? How weighted between elementary and middle schools? These are mysteries.
The whole point seems to be to keep outrage bubbling about the awful state of our schools. It is supposed to be self-evident that as a result of these data one should demand more charter schools, teacher merit pay, etc. But why accept that conclusion? No, let's be sensible and face facts.
The website says that the best district in all of Texas is Highland Park. So what I propose is that we send all students in Texas to Highland Park Independent School District. Four great elementary schools, one intermediate, one middle, and the legendary Highland Park High School. Now some might protest this would lead to an increase in class size. However research has shown that class size does not matter. What matters is great teaching, and Highland Park evidently has a powerful lot of it. So I call on all of you to join me. No excuses. No delay. Nothing but the best. Nothing but Highland Park. For all our children. Visit Dr. Marder's link to learn more.
Additional analysis of the Global Report Card courtesy of Moak Casey & Associates The data are considered the basis for additional calls for education reform, as the researchers conclude that even students in traditionally high performing, high wealth suburban parts of the country do not appear to be outperforming their peers internationally. The methodology for the study is based on a composite z-score that compares district performance to statewide performance on state assessments, state performance to national performance on NAEP, and US performance to that of other countries on PISA. The researchers, Jay P. Greene and Josh B. McGee, identify several major limitations to their work -- tests are not constructed to measure the same things, students are not tested at the same ages, statistical assumptions may be violated, and no adjustments are made for student/school characteristics -- but seem quick to dismiss them by claiming that the resulting information is better than having an information void. Interestingly, the researchers state that "we are not attempting to make any claims about school contributions to achievement".
FOTPS's opinion...
Grotesquely flawed yet masterful piece of propaganda designed to undermine confidence in America's schools.
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Huge Growth in SAT Participation
Data released today by the College Board shows that over the past five years, Texas has experienced a huge increase in the number of college-bound minority students who take the SAT college admissions test.
The number of Hispanic students in Texas public schools who took the SAT between the 2006-2007 school year and the 2010-2011 school year increased by 57.7 percent.
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Ambassador Training
"Our people are our single greatest strength and most enduring long-term competitive advantage." -Gary Kelly, President and CEO, Southwest Airlines
The ambassador training academy is a professional development program designed to change the conversation about Texas public schools from the inside out. It addresses attitudes and mindsets, helping each member of the profession step up as ambassadors for themselves, their classrooms, campuses, district, and their profession. It is designed to unite campus and district staff around the organization's purpose and strengthen the culture of brotherhood among those who work in the schools.
The academy prepares participants to act and communicate professionally and with heart and purpose... helping them avoid common issues rooted in ineffective communication practices that inadvertently undermine parent and public confidence in their work.
Participants learn how the power of professional unity profoundly impacts the profession and why this culture of brotherhood is an essential element of any successful organization. The forces that weaken public trust and confidence in public education are discussed, as well as strategies for restoring public pride, hope, optimism, and confidence in the profession.
Contact Leslie Milder at 214-498-7680, or lmilder@fotps.org for more information.
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