August, 2016

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We are thrilled to report 249 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.

Share the great news about being a Friends of Texas Public Schools Network Member by adding this badge to your website.

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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.

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.

95.8% OF TEXAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS MEET STATE'S RIGOROUS STANDARDS IN 2015-16

The percentage of Texas public school districts meeting the state's rigorous state standards reached 95.8% in 2016. "That's an incredible record of 978 wins and just 44 losses... hardly a picture of widespread failure," said Scott Milder, Friends of Texas Public Schools founder and CEO. "By comparison, 88% of charter schools met that same standard."

get the facts

GREETINGS FROM NEW FRIENDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

After a 33-year educational career, I am excited to join Friends of Texas Public Schools as its new Executive Director. I believe this organization, founded 12 years ago by Leslie and Scott Milder, understands the importance of public education in the continued development of our children in Texas.

With all of the negative publicity in the media concerning public education, it is our mission to make sure the people of Texas know our public schools are achieving more today than ever in spite of the many challenges they face. By doing so, we hope to restore pride in our schools and pride in the teaching profession, leading current teachers to remain in the profession and others to consider teaching as a career. We also believe that more parents and communities will get involved when they feel good about their public schools. And, in the end, we hope that our positive voice will inspire schools to continue to achieve and continue to improve.

Every school year brings great accomplishments and many challenges. I believe that administrators, teachers, staff and students are more equipped than ever to gain higher levels of achievement and meet the ever-present challenges waiting for them in the days and weeks ahead.

Thank you to the many, many districts across our state who have joined Friends as a Network Member! I hope that if you are not currently part of the Friends of Texas Public Schools Network, you will consider joining the growing number of school districts that support the Friends mission. We want to be a resource for you and your students throughout the year. Please let me know how we can help!

Again, Friends wishes you the best in the start of a new year!

- Blake Cooper, FOTPS Executive Director

Our Mission

By educating Texans about Texas Public Schools and their many strengths and achievements, we aim to:

* Underscore the significance of them;
* Unite Texans around them;
* Restore pride in them;
* Strengthen confidence in them;
* Lift spirits among them; and
* Inject resources into them...

...all of which will lead to even greater performance.

Join the Friends of Texas Public Schools Network!

Great things are happening in our Texas public schools! We want to continue sharing that story with Texans across the state, and we need your help to continue our work. Every fall for the last decade, you received our posters featuring some of your most impressive achievements. We hope they serve as a daily reminder to you and your staff that your hard work is making great things happen for Texas students.

We invite all public school districts in Texas to be part of our Friends of Texas Public Schools Network for the 2016-17 school year. If you haven't been a member of our Network before, we hope you will consider joining us this year. Membership is just $300 annually. Your district can join more than 250 school districts already enrolled in our Network, helping us promote what's right in our Texas public schools via our website featuring the many achievements of Texas public schools, social media, a monthly e-newsletter to 22,000 subscribers, general marketing, editorials, posters mailed to every school campus and superintendent, and speaking engagements at schools and in communities across the state.

Thank you for considering this invitation.

God Bless,

Leslie and Scott Milder

Founders

Friends of Texas Public Schools

To request an invoice, please email StormJ@fotps.org.

Friends Network Members