Friends of Texas Public Schools  
 
Friends to Friends 
 
Scott and Leslie,
 
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! The message shared was perfect for our teachers! Your work is so important, and Texas educators are truly blessed to have the two of you leading the charge to share the great things happening in public schools. Please let me know what I can do to support you, to share your message, and to get the word out about what you do!!! You are an amazing team!!

Sandra Talbert, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Lorena ISD

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Dickinson ISD
 
Dickinson ISD Ambassador Training Academy Class of 2013 does its mascot 'Gator chomp' at the end of its Academy graduation.

Interested in Ambassador Training Academy for your district? Email Leslie Milder at [email protected].

 

 

NEW Videos Posted

Guest Speakers from the North Texas Forum on Public Education
Be Proud of Texas Graduation Rates

Speakers: 

Brock Gregg
Dr. David Anthony 

Scott Milder 

Bill Barnes 

 

Visit the FOTPS YouTube page

 

 

A Must Read for All Educators!

 

Book Cover large

Leslie and Jane,

 

Just wanted you to know that I had an opportunity to read your book - Hello! My Name is Public School and I Have an Image Problem!  Great job!  Great tips! Well done!  I recognized a few things as some ideas that I have subscribed to for many years.  You did a wonderful job of pulling some terrific thoughts together. I enjoyed and will recommend as a "must read" to others.

 

Thanks,

Mike Moses

 

Check out our rock star founder of Friends of Texas Public Schools, Leslie Milder! Her new book, "Hello! My Name is Public School and I Have an Image Problem", just released last week and is available on Amazon.

Co-authored with colleague Jane Braddock, this book is a must read for all educators... the best teacher book since The First Days of School.

 

order the book...  

 



 

 

Friends of Texas Public Schools
Scott Milder
830 Shores Blvd.
Rockwall, TX 75087 

[email protected]

214-497-6411

 

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Perry's school funding lie and shell game exposed    

Note from Scott Milder

Founder and CEO

Friends of Texas Public Schools

Rick Perry was recently caught in a profound lie when he intentionally misled Texans with the absurd claim that state spending on public education has increased 70 percent over the last 10 years (2002 to 2012). I for one am grateful the governor had the audacity to make this statement because it gave the folks at PolitiFact.com an opportunity to set the record straight on the state's public school funding trend, a subject widely misunderstood and misreported. Like most data regarding our public schools, public school funding trends cannot be assessed in black and white terms, a truth the governor knows all too well.  

 

On behalf of Friends of Texas Public Schools and the 600,000-plus educators in our schools I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to PolitiFact.com for shedding light on the reality of state funding for public schools, which is the subject of the following article. If you get nothing else out of this article, when accounting for a host of variables, state funding for public schools during this period has actually decreased by 25 percent.

 

Please remember to share this information with your fellow educators working in your schools, your families, your friends, and everyone you know. Grassroots communication is the only way to fight these mean-spirited, misleading messages designed to undermine the public's confidence in our public schools.

 

- SM

Rick Perry says Texas education spending increased a phenomenal 70 percent as enrollment escalated 23 percent
Source: Austin American-Statesmen
politifact.com

Asked about restoring public education aid, Gov. Rick Perry suggested that's the wrong question.

According to a Jan. 9, 2013, Texas Tribune news story, Perry replied at a press conference earlier that day: "We've had public education funding growing at three times the public education enrollment. So you've had a 70 percent increase of funding from 2002 to 2012. You've had a 23 percent increase in enrollment... I think under any scenario over the last decade, the funding that we have seen in the state of Texas for public education has been pretty phenomenal."

Those contrasting figures seemed surprising given that the revenue-strapped 2011 Legislature modified school finance formulas--sending schools $4 billion less than if the formulas had stayed the same--and also made other school funding cuts. We were mindful, too, of other flawed education spending claims. Of note, Republican lawmakers have said Texas did not cut such spending (Pants on Fire), that they raised education spending (Pants on Fire) and also that they raised education's share of the budget (Mostly True).

Enrollment increased about 20 percent from 2001-02 to 2011-12, from more than 4.1 million to nearly 5 million students, according to a December 2012 report by the Texas Education Agency. By email, agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe told us 2012-13 enrollment is expected to exceed 5 million, but the total has not been settled.

And how much did spending increase or decrease during the period?

 read full article... 

 

New President Leads Friends of Texas Public Schools  

 
Blake G. Powell, J.D., founding partner in the school law firm Powell & Leon, is the new President of Friends of Texas Public Schools.  FOTPS is an organization founded by Scott and Leslie Milder in 2004 in response to the incessant, often mean-spirited criticism leveled against our public schools. For the past eight years co-founder Scott Milder has served as President of the organization.

TRUE or FALSE?

Graduation rates in Texas public schools lag behind the rest of the country.


Answer:  FALSE


Texas has the highest graduation rates in America!

  • White students in Texas rank 1st in the nation among their peers with a 92% graduation rate. 
  • African-American students tied Montana for 1st in the nation with 81% graduating. 
  • Hispanic students rank 2nd in the nation with 82% graduating, behind only the state of Maine.  
  • Economically disadvantaged students in Texas rank 2nd in the nation with a graduation rate of 84%.

Brag More This Year    


In this commentary, high-school literacy coach Julie Conlon writes about her New Year's resolution to promote and publicize the joys and benefits of teaching. While it can be easy for teachers to give into the public perception of teachers, Conlon said she is making it her mission to tell her story.

 

"Unfortunately, the negative stereotypes of teachers as professionals will prevail until we convince others that our job is about a lot more than low pay and summers off," she writes.   

 

read more...