Students playing catch-up as they hit college

An article by Holly Hacker in the Dallas Morning News addresses how well local high schools prepare local kids for local colleges.

Each year, tens of thousands of Texas students land in this academic purgatory – no longer in high school but not ready for college. About 40 percent of recent high school graduates in the state's public universities and colleges need at least one remedial class.

In the Dallas County Community College District, which includes Brookhaven, about 70 percent of recent high school graduates need remedial help in at least one subject – reading, writing or math. In more affluent Collin County , about 40 percent of graduates enrolled in the local community college need remediation.

"The school districts that send the area's highest proportions of graduates who need extra help include Dallas , Irving , Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Cedar Hill and Lancaster . "

Yet those high school graduates have passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. And most must take a college-prep curriculum.

Local Problem with "No Child Left Behind" Federal Title I grants and programs

We do a poor job of following NCLB rules because we’ve never set local policy. The policy that should guide is is EHBD Local Which we haven’t touched since 1997. We’re 13 years behind.

On March 2009, without regard to policy, our board voted for “reconstitution plan” at High School under Bobby Parker. Anybody seen the changes? The high school has gone from a 7 period day to a 4 by 4 block back to a seven period day. We turned over about one fourth of the teaching staff – by attrition. We spent a bunch of federal money on a summer 2009 seminar for all the teachers to sit and watch powerpoint slides… This is 'reconstitution'?

Nivens was the principal and is the principal. Better than Randolph, very true. But is the 'strong man' actually making progress on a plan?

It seems to me situation at the high school is so chaotic that 'reconstituting' the place happens whether we want it or not. I suggest we get our planning and budget process under control and constitute a STABLE set up.

Safety and Health at schools

Here we have ANOTHER example of board not following it’s own policy and not updating local policy as needed. The master policy is BDF LEGAL from 2009. By state law and this TASB policy the Board must appoint a permanent council of parents to advise about sex education policy. The parent’s committee is called the Safety and Health Advisory Council. (SHAC, “shack”) LISD instead makes the SHAC just one more “other duty” for the child nutrition Specialist. And we have NEVER created a local policy on the questions.

Policies FFI Local and FFH Local define and attempt to deal with bullying and sexual harassment, generally. But without the regular review of incidents by the Safety and Health Advisory Council, their summary reports to the superintendent and board, and board action, the board is --by their own design-- isolated and ignorant of what's going on in the schools.

Lunchroom in chaos as students jump on tables, chant, and play "king of the mountain"? Not documented. Not addressed. Students knocked down and their pockets rifled? Not reported, not considered, notn solved.

The board can't fix the schools until safety issues are resolved -- and that means following their own policy to know what's happening.

Sporks?

Again.

The school was charging twenty five cents per spork. Upon instigated investigation, Texas Agriculture Commission agent in charge of school lunches got himself told that school was charging twenty five cents for the SECOND spork.

Oookay.

Now, the question is, why doesn't the Lancaster Child Nutrition program follow it's own rules?

According to Board Policy CO-Local (1989) the superintendent or his designee (in this case, Paul Walker) suggests meal (and spork) prices. But the board is responsible to APPROVE the suggested prices. Or, implicitly, correct outrageous pricing suggestions. Like charging twenty five cents for a 2 cent spork.

As far as I can tell in the board meeting minutes, the board hasn't approved any prices.

Now, if they don't want the responsibility, shouldn't they at least change the board policy to give away that power?

Seatbelts on Buses?

Board policy CNC(LEGAL) from 2009 requires us from this year on to buy only school busses and activity buses with seat belts – PROVIDED that TEA pays for the extra expense. TEA has to decide on the safety issue, the Texas legislature has to decide on appropriations from taxes or federal grants, the federal Transportation people have to decide whether to make grants – and all our bus buys funnel through Dallas County Schools agency anyway. The local board is hostage to higher powers on this.

There’s been interesting academic work just recently done on the issue, in Minnesota. You might google for a study completed for St. Paul by a guy named David Peterson: see what you think. Then let me hear from you.

Recognize this?

http://bellescottagenest.blogspot.com/2010/03/sweetsmall-town.html

A voter writes me:

I ...live with ... [a] younger brother, who is a senior at Lancaster High School. We believe that you are the best candidate to represent District 3 on the LISD school board. {We] also plan to attend the candidate forum on April 22.

An issue that I have raised on several occasions with district officials is the of the airing of tape-delayed board meetings on Time Warner Cable's public access channel, similar to the way that the City of Lancaster does with its City Council meetings. The school board unanimously approved this item on August 4, 2008, but nothing has happened since then. ... I was a subscriber to the Today Newspaper and since its closure last summer, we really lack an outlet to provide citizens with timely information concerning the district and school board.

Hi friend.

This is an issue I've also raised with the technology director at Lancaster. The tale I hear is that the district only makes DVDs and the cable company only wants VHS tapes. If true, that still seems a highly surmountable problem, to me. (so it's probably more complicated... ) Hope I have the chance to help with this particular technology challenge.

Jeff

And then, for ANY board or leader, there is this:

I especially appreciate warning # 2

Watch for deadlines that pass by without adequate, timely responses. If a staff member is constantly missing deadlines, this is a red flashing light. It means such staff cannot keep track of upcoming deadlines and the need to keep things rolling along to meet the deadline. Alternately, there may be numerous excuses to postpone deadlines that ring hollow and do nothing to enhance the project being worked on.

Trustees code of conduct

Does anybody have a copy of a similar document in an edition newer than this?