April, 2016

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Friends to Friends

Dear Leslie (Friends of Texas Public Schools founder),

I know in your travels you come across a bunch of us educators, so you probably can't place me, but I have been an "ambassador for education" with Klein ISD since the first year we began the program (2011). I thoroughly enjoy every visit you have made to the district and really appreciate your ideas and guidance. As someone who is passionately in love with my job, you helped me become very aware of my words and the power they carry outside the building.

The message you shared below was what motivated me to send you a quick note. Wow! I mean, I'm sitting in class, tears in my eyes as I read. Thanks so much for sharing such a potent and powerful message.

Just want you to know that I really appreciate the work you are doing on the outside to help those of us on the inside.

Jeff Clary, Educator, Klein ISD

Do you have good news to share? We would love to hear about it and share with our Friends. Send us an email at smilder@fotps.org.

Share the great news about public education by adding the FOTPS logo to your webpage and social media.

Click here to download the logo

School districts can piggyback on money-saving contracts available through two national cooperative purchasing programs under one roof, The Keystone Purchasing Network and PEPPM Technology Bidding and Purchasing Program. Both programs advertise and solicit sealed bids, which are awarded to the most responsive and responsible bidders. The result is higher quality at lower prices.

We are thrilled to report 187 districts have joined the network.

current member list

Network membership is $300 for the school year. If your district is not listed and you'd like to be a part of the Friends Network send us an email and let us know.

Want to help out Friends of Texas Public Schools?

When you shop on Amazon, go to www.smile.amazon.com and log in as you normally do. Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to Friends of Texas Public Schools when you select us as your charity of choice.

DK Haney Roofing is a certified TIPS and TXMAS vendor dedicated to helping schools get roofing projects done. Schools have been our specialty for 23 years, so we can help you navigate insurance claims and board approvals. Our state-of-the-art roof management portal provides instant access to all your roofs and reports. Call 866-379-4846.

Advertise with Friends!

With more than a million hits annually on our website and more than 22,000 e-news subscribers, we are pleased to offer advertising and sponsorship opportunities available to organizations wishing to reach school leaders across Texas who support Friends of Texas Public Schools.

For information on getting your organization's message out to Friends of Texas Public Schools followers and readers, please email Scott Milder at smilder@fotps.org.

Texas students outperform U.S. peers on the NAEP math assessments

Texas fourth and eighth grade students taking the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics ranked in the top 10 among their peers nationwide.

In fourth-grade mathematics, White and Hispanic students in Texas ranked 4^th in the nation among their peers in all other states and Texas's African-American students ranked 2^nd in the nation behind their peers, second only to African-American students in the Department of Defense schools.

FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS	TEXAS	NATIONAL RANK	NATION
White	255	4	248
African-American	233	2	224
Hispanic	239	4	230

Texas eighth-graders also performed well compared to their peers nationally. White and African-American 8^th graders in Texas ranked 6^th in the nation against their peers in all other states, and Hispanic 8^th graders ranked 4^th in the nation.

EIGHTH GRADE MATHEMATICS	TEXAS	NATIONAL RANK	NATION
White	298	6	291
African-American	267	6	260
Hispanic	277	4	269

NAEP is administered over a six-week period. For 2015, the assessment period was from Jan. 26 through March 6. Approximately 279,000 fourth-graders and 278,000 eighth graders across the country participated in NAEP assessments. For mathematics, 5,700 Texas fourth graders in 480 schools and 5,800 Texas eighth graders in 380 schools participated.

NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, located within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. It is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in the United States know and can do in various subjects. Since 1969, NAEP has provided a common measure of student achievement across the country.

Number of Texas students taking Advanced Placement more than doubles in the past decade

The number of Texas graduates taking at least one Advanced Placement Program� (AP�) exam during high school has more than doubled over the past decade, according to College Board's AP Cohort Data Report for the Class of 2015. In addition, the percentage of Texas students taking at least one AP exam in high school continues to outpace the national average.

Number/Percentage of Graduates

Who Took an AP Exam During High School

YEAR	TEXAS		NATION
2015	116,404	40.5%	37.3%
2014	107,451	39.1%	35.7%
2010	82,418	30.2%	27.8%
2005	57,273	23.9%	21.2%

According to Class of 2015 figures from the College Board, Texas also continued its successful pace in achieving equitable participation for low-income students. Half (50.5 percent) of the AP examinees in the Class of 2015 were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Of those students, 44.6 percent achieved a score of 3 or higher - much higher than the national average (24.2 percent) and higher than any other state.

Meet Jennifer Storm

Jennifer Storm serves Friends of Texas Public Schools as the Director of Business Operations and Fund Development where she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of FOTPS including: meeting/event planning, membership development, communications, as well as financial and administration management.

Prior to joining FOTPS, Jennifer served for four years as the Senior Director of Planning and Administration for Texas Retailers Association where her role was diverse and included: association management; finance/book keeping; social media/website; support government relations activities; event planning; payroll/human resources; and board/committee management; communications to name a few; a role that touched every aspect of the Association.

Jennifer previously served as the Executive Director of the South Texas Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) for nearly three years where she had a complex range of responsibilities including: served as the point person for advocacy on behalf of the local commercial construction industry on the city, county, and state level; organized a multitude of events and volunteers; expand membership participation; and represented AGC member companies at a variety of community organizations.

Prior to AGC, Jennifer spent over six years at The University of Texas at San Antonio in the Office of the President as the Assistant Director for External Affairs where for her responsibilities were multifaceted and included: building relationships and promoting UTSA among University stakeholders including federal, state and local elected officials as well as their staff and various community leaders; researching and preparing information regarding legislation and community projects that impacted the University; and planning and executing successful special events.

Jennifer is a native Texan, raised in Premont on Storm Nursery, her family's tree farm. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi with a Bachelors of Business in Marketing. She is married to David Nuckels and together they have two boys, Landon (6) and Barret (2).

Cute Kid Note: Stating the Obvious
source: huffingtonpost.com

Raise Your Army of Ambassadors


	photo by Dr. Diane Frost

Training the 600,000+ people who work in our schools to step up as ambassadors for themselves, their students, and their schools is the most effective long-term strategy for restoring the public's confidence in public education and neutralizing the destructive rhetoric leveled against Texas public schools.

Ambassador program participants gain actionable strategies for raising morale, strengthening the culture of brotherhood, and restoring public pride, hope, optimism and confidence in their schools.

Contact Leslie Milder at lmilder@fotps.org, or by phone at 214-498-7680 to get started.