The Texas Education Agency is naming Highland Park ISD as a member of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, a statewide collaborative designed to reshape the future of education in Texas. A total of 23 school districts were selected to participate in the Consortium, which was created by Senate Bill 1557. Its mission is to inform the governor, legislature, and commissioner of education concerning methods for transforming Texas public schools through the development of innovative, next-generation learning standards, assessment, and accountability systems. 

Selection was based on districts' performance ratings, national, statewide or regional recognition for excellence in academic performance, and an extensive application process.

"We are honored to be part of a team of districts that will have the opportunity to design world-class learning standards that will allow our students to compete and cooperate in a rapidly changing world," HPISD Superintendent Dr. Dawson Orr said. "We look forward to working with our partner districts and state leaders to explore new ways to design the very best educational system for the children of Texas. In particular, this will mean encouraging innovation, local control and authentic assessment and accountability measures.

"This important first step has been six years in the making, beginning with the work of the Public Education Visioning Institute, in which 35 Texas superintendents representing 1.2 million students came together to create a new vision for public education. These leaders produced a white paper entitled "Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas" articulating both the vision for the future and the challenges associated with transforming a complex system.

"Our state leaders took these ideas to heart, and we would especially like to thank State Sen. John Carona for making this consortium possible by authoring Senate Bill 1557."

• Digital learning: Engagement of students in digital learning, including the use of electronic textbooks and instructional materials and courses offered through the Texas Virtual School Network
• Learning standards: Standards that a student must master to be successful in a competitive postsecondary environment
• Multiple assessments: Various methods of measuring student progress to keep students, parents and schools informed, and the actions consortium participants are taking to improve learning
• Local control: Ways in which reliance on local input and decision-making enable communities and parents to be involved in the important decisions regarding the education of their children

Here is a list of the districts that were selected by the TEA:

• Anderson-Shiro Consolidated ISD
• Clear Creek ISD
• College Station ISD
• Coppell ISD
• Duncanville ISD
• Eanes ISD
• Glen Rose ISD
• Guthrie Common
• Harlingen CISD
• Highland Park ISD
• Irving ISD
• Klein ISD
• Lake Travis ISD
• Lancaster ISD
• Lewisville ISD
• McAllen ISD
• McKinney ISD
• Northwest ISD
• Prosper ISD
• Richardson ISD
• Roscoe ISD
• Round Rock ISD
• White Oak ISD  

The Dallas Morning News covered the story in today's edition.