Category — Videos

 The folks in Aledo ISD have continued their campaign to ‘Make Education A Priority’ in Texas.  Lately, they have been posting a series of videos on why supporting public schools in Texas should be a primary focus for policymakers, voters, parents, and indeed, for every citizen.  See the video collection here.

The Houston Chronicle ran a guest column today that calls for public schools to be run more efficiently.  That’s a topic that Texas school districts have been actively working on for some time.

If you’ve been wondering about “efficiency” and how it relates to public education, the Texas Association of School Boards just printed this article in its Texas Lone Star magazine that touches on issues ranging from efficiency in school finance to best practices within school districts.

Back to the guest column in the Houston newspaper, it claims that only 65 percent of ninth graders graduate in four years to make the case that districts are not efficiently using taxpayer dollars.  However, Grade 9 longitudinal data from the Texas Education Agency show that:

• 84.3 percent of the class of 2010 graduated;
• 7.2 percent continued in school the following year;
• 1.3 percent received a GED; and
• 7.3 percent dropped out.

This video from the Be Proud Texas campaign notes that Texas graduation rates, when broken down by ethnicity of students, rank highly when compared to similar student populations across the country.

This year Parents for Public Schools (PPS) asked “What do you love about your public school?”  and students, parents, and teachers from all parts of the U.S. responded with video answers.

See the videos here.

A team of students from Torrey Pines High School in San Diego won the top prize, a Houston parent placed second, and a Mississippi teacher claimed third.

“The video contest was part of Parents for Public Schools national campaign to rally support for public education in an era of state budget cuts and lack of attention among too many elected leaders,” according to PPS.  See the news release here.

It’s a question that deserves a clear answer.  This brief video, prepared by Mesquite ISD in conjundtion with the Friends of Texas Public Schools, explains how Texas public school districts spend their funding.

Great joint rally yesterday (pdf) from Plano, Cedar Hill, Arlington, and Dallas ISDs. Take a look at the coverage from a local TV station:

VIDEO: Operation Education: School officials rally against budget cuts (WFAA)

The rally also birthed a new Facebook page: Don’t Mess with Texas Schools!

In his March 24 commentary, TexasISD.com publisher Joe Smith gives us a plan of action to determine the truth for ourselves:

If you are tired of the double talk and the use of dubious, undefined terminology like “in the classroom/out of the classroom” by those attempting to move the blame from the legislature to the local school boards.  Join me today and do three things:

1. Watch the Shapiro press conference and answer this question, Did this help you with your districts financial issues?
2. Read Education Cuts Outside Classroom – an interview with Ed Fuller.
3. Now read “I am an Educator, Hear Me Roar! An Interview with John Kuhn”  – “Has this superintendent spoken for you? He speaks for me!” ( Anthony Cody, interviewer)

We’ve heard from people having trouble watching video on the Texas Legislature Web site. Persist: Install RealPlayer SP as recommended or read this help content.

Northside ISD also produced a great video for its community–to explain Texas school finance in “plain and simple” terms.  It explains why public schools are in financial crisis and how Northside ISD is preparing for the impact of budget cuts from the state.

Northside ISD Finance Plain and Simple

Keller ISD took on the challenge of informing its community about how the budget deficit would affect its schools. In its “Whatever It Take$” campaign, subtitled, “How to Keep KISD Exceptional,” the district shared links and news as well as as webisodes to let the public know what was going on.

Check out a few of their webisodes:

• Why do we have a shortfall in funds at the local level?
• If we have no money, why are we building another school?
• Why doesn’t the district just spend its ‘rainy day fund’?

Last October, three Texas school districts joined together to educate their communities about the public school funding crisis: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Board members and administrators from Carroll, Keller, and Grapevine-Colleyville ISDs gave a 45-minute presentation to 900 folks gathered at Carroll Senior High School.

See what they had to say.