USDE Issues New Regs For Calculating Graduation Rates

Good news. The U.S. Department of Education set final regulations for a uniform way to calculate graduation rates across states. We’re making progress on the issue. But a 2008 survey by the Data Quality Campaign finds that just six states now have all 10essential elements of a robust longitudinal data system.

Double click the title of this post for a summary of the NCLB guidelines. According to the US Department of Education the final regulations establish a uniform and more accurate measure of calculating high school graduation rates that is comparable across states. The goal was to increase accountability and transparency.

I beleive this is a good fist step. However it still requires parents or students who move between districts or schools to complete forms with consistant information for comparability. I beleive that it may be time to consider a form of national student identification if we are going to hold schools accountable.

For great New Year's resolutions about graduation rates read the IDRA article at http://www.idra.org/School_Holding_Power/Graduation_for_All_e-Letter/ They provide an action agenda for school, community and family partners, and leaders.

Ag Science Program at Guthrie Center Part of National Pilot

The Guthrie Center Ag Science Department at Spring Branch ISD learned that it was selected as one of eight programs in the state to field test new courses in Animal Systems and Plant Systems. The pilot begins in the 2009-2010 school year through TEA in partnership with Project Lead the Way and the National Council for Agricultural Education. The Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) is being designed to provide schools with a rigorous, scientific-based method for delivering instruction in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource cluster. Patterned after the Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering program, CASE activities, projects and problems will allow students to learn key concepts within each course. The curriculum is practical and application based. Texas, along with 11 other states, is participating in the development and field testing of this innovative approach to teaching agricultural science.

SBISD is fortunate to have classes at the farm where "hands-on opportunities" are immediately available. Joe Kolenda, Guthrie Center Director, said that the pilot compliments the model of instruction currently used and seemed like a natural fit for the SBISD program.

Texas Education Data in Friendly Format

The Texas Education Agency (TEA)has created a web application that provides fast, easy access to Texas K-12 and higher education data. Called the LONESTAR System it displays data using charts and graphs at the state, region, school district, and legislative district levels for the five most recent years. Designed with legislators, media, and the general public in mind, it enables quick interpretation of important educational data.

The application is maintained by the TPEIR Unit in the Information Analysis Division of the TEA. TPEIR is the Texas Public Education Information Resource, a collaborative project between the TEA and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Go to http://loving1.tea.state.tx.us/lonestar/Home.aspx or double click on the title of this article.

Support College Scholarships - Purchase College for All Texans License Plate

Purchase the College for all Texans specialty license plate and help pay for college. Proceeds from the sale of this official State of Texas vehicle license plate will go to a fund managed by the College for All Texans Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation to match scholarships for Texas students. Details can be found at www.CollegeforallTexans.com.

The College for all Texans specialty plate costs $30 (in addition to the annual registration fee). $22 of that fee will go to the matching scholarship fund and is tax-deductible. TxDOT retains $8 for administrative costs.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is committed to creating a college-going culture in Texas through its mission of Closing the Gaps by 2015. www.THECB.state.tx.us

Childress Foundation Kicks Off New Class

Former professional football player, Ray Childress, and his wife, Kara, sponsor an academy for students at Northbrook High School in Spring Branch ISD. On Wednesday, Oct 29, Ray & Kara Childress met with the new Childress students. Ray and Kara spoke to the students about opportunities in High School, taking advantage of those opportunities, and the importance of starting now. Thanks to all who helped make this happen.

They encourage the students to participate in service projects like serving a meal at the Turning Point Center homeless mission, ice skating with elementary mentees from Treasure Forest Elementary Buddies and preparing a meal & orchestra playing at the Ronald McDonald House. What a great way to mentor students and teach the importance of community involvement.

Welcome Back After Hurricane Ike

Welcome back, Houston friends. I hope that everyone survived Hurricane Ike with minimal damage to life and property. I know that several friends throughout the area are renovating or repairing from trees or large limbs through roofs and on vehicles. Know that prayers and offers of assistance are with you. Please post your stories so we can help restore your energy or share your frustration.

We feel fortunate that our major challenge was loss of power for 16 days. We camped out in the living room most of the time. That was long enough to place pioneer. I also spent a lot of time at the gym where I was able to check email after a week.

I've also cleaned the backyard of limbs three times and am ready to stop. (Our last tree fell three days after the storm. Then the Electric company came through and cut a bunch more large limbs when they restrung the lines.) We had three foot high piles of tree debris across the front year twice. I sent some pictures via text messages. It really did look pretty disastrous around here.

The up side of the adventure was that we enjoyed neighborhood dinners for three nights. We slowed down and did a lot more fun reading than usual. We also appreciated the use of a friend's ranch house in Boerne (Texas hill country)for five days. We took a hurrication and watched the deer, turkeys and feral hogs feed off the front porch each morning. We took several great hikes, visited the LBJ ranch, a Texas winery and caught up with friends in Austin, San Antonio and in between.

As a School Board member we had three emergency meetings during the three weeks. While the schools weren't severely damaged our leadership, maintenance and custodial staff worked long hours to bring the facilities back into working order. We have an incredible staff! Our district athletic complex is used by the department of public safety as a disaster relief staging area. Mike and I volunteered the Friday before the storm to help serve the national guard and police forces that were stationed there. It was amazing to see the sea of patrol cars and military vehicles at the ready. Our school Food Service staff worked 16 hour days to prepare and serve meals for the first responder personnel.

Things are finally getting back to normal after three weeks. How about you?

Education Policy Groups Launch Multi-State College & Career-Ready Policy Institute

In early September the policy groups Achieve, Data Quality Campaign, the EducationCounsel, Jobs for the Future and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices announced a unique partnership to provide guidance, advice and support to states through the "College & Career-Ready Policy Institute". The Institute is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Institute's purpose is to help states put K-12 assessment and accountability systems in place that will ensure that all students graduate from high school college- and career-ready. The Institute will also assist states in developing strategies for building the capacity of districts and schools so that all students successfully reach higher standards. The support to states by the partners will include multi-state gatherings where state teams will participate in cross-state leadership sessions and in-state, customized technical assistance.

According to Sandy Boyd with Achieve the Institute will assist states in:

Developing goals for improving high school graduation, college- and career readiness and postsecondary attainment rates;
Putting in place a comprehensive state assessment system that is aligned with college- and career-ready standards and that measures student progress over time;
Establishing a coherent system of accountability that makes college- and career readiness a central priority and that "incentivizes" proper actions, promotes accurate judgments, and drives effective supports and interventions;
Designing a statewide system of supports and interventions to assist low performing districts and schools and ensure continuous improvement for all schools and districts around the state; and
Providing educational options and supports to boost the achievement of low-income students and other groups at high-risk of not achieving college-ready standards and college success.

Class of 2008 SAT Results

The 2008 SAT results have been released. Below are the results for Spring Branch ISD compared with state and national data.

Our students are achieving higher than state and national averages. Congratulations 2008 Grads. I believe that our district's goal of "being the premier college-focused district in the State of Texas and preparing all students for success after high school graduation" is a significant contributing factor. As we all talk about the importance of education beyond high school, more students are setting the goal for themselves. Thanks to those of you who are helping to spread the message.

2008 SAT Average Scores

% Students Participating, Critical Reading, Math, Writing
SBISD: 67%, 512, 546, 513
Texas public schools: n/a, 484, 502, 476
Texas: 50%, 488, 505, 480
Nation public schools: n/a, 497, 510, 488
Nation: 46%, 502, 515, 494


A few observations follow from Dr. Keith Haffey, Executive Director of Accountability and Research for SBISD:
* There were more than 3.3 million students in the class of 2008 in the US
* Although the percentage of SBISD seniors taking the SAT decreased from 2007 (72% to 67%), the percentage of SBISD seniors testing still exceeded state and national participation rates
* Texas results dropped 2 to 4 points in each test - Critical Reading -4, Math -2, and Writing -2, and national results were unchanged from the previous year
* SBISD students improved in all tests, with the greatest gains in Writing – Critical Reading +4, Math +6, and Writing +11

You can find press releases from the College Board and TEA at the following URLs.

College Board Press Release:

http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/197846.html

Texas Education Agency Press Release:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/press/08sat.pdf

Can Education Lift All Children

Susan Neuman wrote an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, "Education should lift all children." She writes, "Despite the heroic attempts of many dedicated educators, NCLB-inspired school reforms, like so many others before, have failed and will continue to fail to change the trajectory of our disadvantaged children. The failure is not a result of the president's espoused "soft bigotry of low expectations," but because many children grow up in circumstances that make them highly vulnerable." Susan was the undersecretary of for elementary and secondary education when NCLB was passed. Double click the above title to read her article.

I agree with several points that she makes. Schools can't solve all social ills and some of our students come to us with very heavy burdens that make learning difficult. However, my early professional experience as a Head Start Program Director and Special Education teacher taught me that all children can and want to learn. I believe we have to start with a belief in our children's ability to grow. Then we measure against that growth each year, keeping in mind that children grow at different rates. The real challenge is finding a meaningful and flexible yardstick.

What are your thoughts?