Accountability/Accreditation

Governor pitches school savings incentive in Lubbock
Governor Incentifve: In the midst of the political season, one of the issues most discussed nationwide is education. In the Lone Star State, Governor Rick Perry is drawing support for a new school savings incentive program. "Sometimes there are functions that you find a better way to do them, and that's a better way to do them and save money so that those dollars can instead go into the classroom," Perry said. Participating districts would receive a grant equaling ten percent of the total money they cut from their budget. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:38

Angelina Co. superintendents react to governor's cost cutting plan
LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) – With budget pressures getting harder to manage, elected officials have already started pitching ideas on how to increase revenue. This week Governor Rick Perry proposed a new incentive program that would reward districts who partnered with other districts, counties, and cities to reduce administrative costs The news of possible financial incentives is usually well-received, but not one that governor Perry recently pitched.[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:37

High number of home-schooled students leads to state audit
READ! - from yesterday - js In an attempt to ensure that public school districts aren’t disguising high school dropouts, the Texas Education Agency is conducting an audit of students who withdrew under the auspice of home schooling. TEA officials wouldn’t reveal details of the audit — other than to say that the state is contacting a random sampling of families to validate that they intended to home-school when they left middle or high school. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:35

State looks at number of home-schoolers
The Texas Education Agency has begun an investigation into the large number of high school students who have withdrawn from public school to begin home schooling in the past couple of years. More than 22,620 Texas secondary students were listed as withdrawing to home-school in 2008. That number represents a 24 percent increase from the year before. TEA officials have expressed concern that some public schools could be disguising their dropout rates. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:35

State ruling leaves 1,500 HISD ‘virtual’ students unaccredited
At 8:30 a.m., Patrick Kehoe approaches his desk, turns on his computer, and starts his school day. The 13-year-old has a curriculum gamut similar to other peer eighth-graders, from Algebra I to Physical Education, though Kehoe handles the rigors of instruction from the comfort of home, as a student in the Texas Connections Academy Houston, a partner of HISD. “It’s a great option,” said Patrick’s mother Pam, of her son’s move from the Rainard School for Gifted Children to the home partnership in the public school system. “HISD should be commended for being part of this program. Having a gifted kid comes with educational differences and you have to keep these kids challenged.” Kehoe is a textbook example of the skyrocketing popularity of virtual classrooms in HISD. The TCAH partnership began in 2008 with 100 students and grew to 1,000 last year, serving grades 3-8. Earlier this year the district announced plans to expand the 1,000 enrollment cap to a projected 2,500 and found the community interest more than equal to the ceiling.[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:31

Houston: HISD to open night high schools
The Houston school board voted this morning to approve another one of Superintendent Terry Grier's let's-get-this-done-yesterday initiatives: night classes for high school students. The so-called twilight school is slated to operate on seven campuses: Sharpstown, Lee, Jones, Kashmere, Worthing, Scarborough...[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:27

Palestine ISD sees gains in TAKS test
PALESTINE — Palestine Independent School District officials are pleased with gains made by the district’s students on the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test this past school year. The district and three of its campuses (Palestine Middle School, Story Elementary School and Southside Primary School) were rated “academically acceptable” by the Texas Education Agency, while Palestine High School, for the second straight year, achieved a “recognized” ranking. “First of all, I couldn’t be more proud of our teachers in Palestine,” PISD Superintendent Dr. Thomas A. Wallis said, “considering 24 of 25 academic indicators were either exemplary or recognized with TPM (Texas Projection Measure).” [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:19

GED helps those seeking a better opportunity
With county unemployment rates as high as 8.9 percent, finding a job can be difficult. Meeting minimum qualifications is necessary to gain employment, but for those without a high school diploma, it can seem impossible. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:47

College, La Porte ISD providing center for dual credit students
A new San Jacinto College (SJC) Center in La Porte is set to open in January 2011 to meet the needs of dual credit students from La Porte High School (LPHS). What was once a bank, and later the school district’s administration building, the facility will house six classrooms and an office area. The College and La Porte Independent School District (LPISD) will work together to customize the dual credit program. The College currently provides the faculty for instruction as well as a counselor to help students write their post-secondary plan.[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:45

Abilene Area: TEA graduation report
Out of the area high school freshmen set to graduate in 2009: Abilene High School 186 students did not graduate on time: n 21 left for home-schooling n 44 left for Texas private schools ...[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:30

Beeville: What questions should be on state standardized tests?
Kathy Saenz will be headed to Austin this month to offer her opinion on the questions that could ultimately be placed on state educational assessment tests. Saenz, a fifth-grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Elementary, said that she was honored to receive the invitation from the Texas Education Agency.[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:30

Tyler: Two More TISD Schools Join AVID
A college-readiness program designed to increase the number of students going to college will come to two more Tyler ISD elementary schools. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:15

Financial Ratings Released
New! The financial accountability ratings for all public schools including charters were released. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:41

Abilene: Woodson kicks off night school, considers slimmer grad requirements
Justin Grant, 20, dropped out of Cooper High School three years ago even though he was just a few credits short of graduation. “I was just tired of it,” he said. “I didn’t want to get up in the mornings.” Sonya Grant, 18, dropped out just before she married Justin. She’s been getting by with her waitress job at Desiree’s, but things have changed now that the couple has a 5-month-old baby named Heaven. “We can’t tell her to finish school if we never did,” Sonya said. “We want a better life for her.” So Sonya and Justin signed up for the new night school offering at the Woodson Center for Excellence, which started this week with four students.[ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:47

Brownwood High academic strategies praised
Brownwood High School is one of nine Texas high schools selected as a “Best Practices” model for whole-school strategies for improvement by the Texas Education Agency.[ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:45

Katy ISD to allow retesting on all failed exams
Grading! KATY, TX (KTRK) -- It's a new bill that could have an impact on the grades your children earn in class.The bill does away with giving students minimum failing grades. So now, each school district has to come up with its own policy when it comes to grades. In Katy, the school board has voted to let students who fail tests retake them until they pass. This is just the latest step in an ongoing battle over minimum grades after the Texas legislature passed a "truth-in-grading" law last year. Eleven Houston-area districts sued, but a court upheld the law. Now critics of the retest policy in Katy say the district is trying to find a loophole. [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:36

Lubbock: A new GED testing center opens at the Texas Tech ISD
Lubbock ended an eight-month period of not having a General Educational Development (GED) testing center Tuesday when the ribbon was cut for a new center at the Texas Tech University Independent School District. GED testing will be offered monthly through the school district beginning on Sept. 25, according to TTUISD Superintendent Gib Weaver. A complete battery of the five tests will cost $115,[ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 07:54

Willis not lone district to release
The Willis Independent School District and one other district were the only two out 20 school districts that received “academically unacceptable” accountability ratings from the Texas Education Agency to dismiss their superintendents.[ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 07:45

Katy ISD changes grading policy
The Board of Trustees for Katy ISD adopted a new grading policy, allowing each campus to create its own redo/retest policy, during its Aug. 24 meeting. The police was necessary after the Texas legislature began requirin teachers to give students an actual grade on assignments and tests. However, teachers may also allow students the opportunity to redo or make-up work. The bill banned schools from giving students minimum failing grades, even if the student had not earned the grade. For instance, some districts required teachers to give students grades no lower than a 50.[ View Article ] Aug 31, 2010, 07:53

Texas students not doing well on first end-of-course exams
AUSTIN – Texas high school students have a year before they must begin to pass a battery of 12 end-of-course tests to graduate, but results for hundreds of thousands of students already taking some of the exams portend a rocky start for the new testing program. Of the nearly 102,000 students who took the Algebra I test in May, for example, just 57 percent met the passing standard on the 50-question exam. Only 12 percent achieved "commended performance" for correctly answering most of the items. [ View Article ] Aug 31, 2010, 07:35

OK: Bad week for school bond issues in Oklahoma
Oklahoma voters' willingness to approve school bond issues despite tough economic times took a serious blow this week. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:31

Varied requirements mean Texas' high school diplomas aren't one-size-fits-all
In Texas, not all high school diplomas are the same. There is the mainstream "recommended plan" diploma earned by 80 percent of graduates. But there's also the "minimum plan" graduate who may have earned fewer credits. And there's a "distinguished plan" for high achievers. Students and their parents choose the plan, and it can set futures. A recommended or distinguished diploma is required for freshman admission to state universities. Students with diplomas under the minimum plan can attend community colleges but may have a difficult time.[ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:31

Arlington police increase efforts to stop truancy
As part of the effort, officers will continue to visit with the parents of chronically truant students. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:20

CSCOPE offers timeline on lessons to AISD students
Last year, some staff members at Reagan Elementary School started counting just how many of their students have been sticking around long term at their campus, which backs up to some large apartment complexes in west Abilene.[ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:05

Abilene: Heath Burns, guest: Abilene ISD's journey from good to great
Many ask about our recently released accountability rating from the state. Remember, this rating is based on Abilene ISD’s weakest performing area, which is completion rate. The rating fails to consider the fantastic growth in all student populations on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills or our best-in-state Advanced Placement program. In short, our unacceptable rating is a good reminder that we cannot rest until each and every child has attained success. The rating has nothing to do with the quality of education current students are receiving. In fact, the rating suggests that AISD must work harder to assure we have more students in desks to take advantage of our outstanding offerings! [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:58

OK: Test scores improve but more Oklahoma schools fail
The number of schools on the federal needs improvement list more than doubled this year as increased standards made it tougher for both students and schools to meet proficiency on state tests.

[ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:30

Katrina Report: Emotional Distress, Behavioral Problems Still Affect Displaced Children
A report released by the Children’s Health Fund (CHF) and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) shows that even five years after Hurricane Katrina, approximately 60 percent of the children displaced to congregate settings such as trailer parks or hotels have either severe emotional problems, behavioral issues or continue to experience significant housing instability. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 08:15

State oversight ends for Austin school district
The Texas Education Agency has ended the assignment of a state management team to the Austin school district a decision that will mean less state oversight of struggling schools and financial savings for the district, officials said Wednesday .[ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 08:13

Max Parker: Ratings are commendable but have room to improve
A year ago, in a Viewpoints article, I related how San Angelo Independent School District's 2009 accountability ratings were superior to other large West Texas School districts. Ratings for 2010 have recently been released by the Texas Education Agency. I am proud to report that SAISD again has more Recognized and Exemplary campuses, percentage-wise, than any other large school district west of the I-35 corridor.[ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 07:37

Combs Honors Local Governments for Financial Transparency
(AUSTIN) — During a visit to Abilene today, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs recognized the Wylie Independent School District, the city of Abilene and Taylor County for meeting high standards in fiscal transparency. Wylie ISD received gold status in the Texas Comptroller Leadership Circle, a program that recognizes cities, counties, school districts and other local governments that have taken their first steps toward openness, shown progress or even exceeded transparency standards in providing online access to their expenses and revenue. The city of Abilene received the silver award, and Taylor County achieved the bronze award. More than 200 local governments across Texas have earned a spot in the Texas Comptroller Leadership Circle by posting budgets, financial reports and/or check registers online. Texas Comptroller Susan Combs launched the program in December 2009. “We appreciate the work of local officials who shine a light on spending and ensure greater accountability to the taxpayers,” Combs said. “When we talk about transparency in terms of government spending, we’re opening financial records for public examination so taxpayers can see exactly where their money is going, promoting greater accountability and raising expectations for customer service and government transparency at all levels.”[ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 08:34

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