THE CARGILL CONNECTION, April 2006

Dear friends and supporters,

It has been a beautiful spring, but where did it go?  I hope that you have enjoyed the lovely weather with your family and friends.  Taking our boys to the Grand Canyon over spring break was an amazing experience!  Other than getting a little nervous when one of them strayed too close to the edge, it was a fantastic trip.  Looking out over the canyon depths takes your breath away---what a wonderful reminder of God’s glory.

It is time for an update on some of the important State Board of Education issues.  We meet this week in Austin and things will be hopping.

ON THE APRIL SBOE MEETING AGENDA:

I am very pleased that Representative Rob Eissler (R, The Woodlands) was able to accept my invitation and will speak to the Board about current education issues on April 27^th.  Rep. Eissler is a member of the House Education Committee, and we look forward to hearing what he has to say. 

Here is a description of some of the other items that are on the agenda for our meeting in Austin on April 26-28.

1.      Discussion of Technology and Instructional Materials:  This item presents the board with the opportunity to discuss instructional materials and the impact of technology, history of technology and education, the Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 1996-2010 publication, the status of technology in Texas schools, and other appropriate issues.  

2.      Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements:  This item includes adding language relating to the importance of proper nutrition and exercise to match an amendment in Senate Bill (SB) 42.  Proposed amendments relating to the physical activity requirement in Grades 6-8 are also included in this item. Proposed amendments would add engineering to the list of science courses approved for graduation credit.  (I have gathered a lot of opinions from teachers and Health Advisory Committees about the middle school PE requirements.  Did you know that each school district has a 21-member Health Advisory Committee (HAC)?  These dedicated volunteers choose the sex education curriculum and health textbooks for their district.  Find out more about your HAC by contacting your district’s central office.) 

3.      Recommendations Regarding Re-adoption of Instructional Materials:  This item recommends re-adoption of instructional materials. (It has come to my attention that spelling workbooks have been left off the re-adoption list.  We will gather more information at the Board meeting, but I support getting spelling workbooks for our little ones!)   

4.      Review of Charter School Application Process:  The Charter School Task Force was charged with reviewing specific issues pertaining to the application for open-enrollment charter schools.  Proposed changes and refinements to the charter school application will be presented to the Committee of the Whole. (I attended both the December and February Task Force meetings and hope that the recommendations will make the Charter School application process even better.) 

5.      Review and Adoption of the Long-Term Strategic Asset Allocation Plan of the Permanent School Fund:  This item provides an opportunity for the committee to receive a presentation by the representatives of the investment consulting firm of R. V. Kuhns & Associates, Inc. regarding the Long-Term Strategic Asset Allocation Plan of the Permanent School Fund. The board will have the opportunity to adopt changes to the current plan.  

6.      Discussion of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter A, Elementary, Subchapter B, Middle School, and Subchapter C, High School:  This item provides the opportunity for the State Board of Education to discuss proposed amendments to refine and align the ELAR TEKS.  (Please see more about this under Action Items below.)

The Committee on Planning (of which I am a member) will meet to discuss many things including:  ongoing State Board for Educator Certification activities, a review of open-enrollment charter school applications removed from consideration for incompleteness, and an update on approved open-enrollment charter schools. 

To see the complete agenda for more information, please go to the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us.  The agenda is posted under “State Board of Education and Commissioner” (on the left).  After that screen appears, click on “Meeting Schedule and Agendas” (on the right).   

ACTION ITEMS:  YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR KIDS!    

*English Language Arts Reading TEKS:  Currently, our schoolchildren’s English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) curriculum standards (also known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS) are being refined and realigned.  It is very important that our state curriculum standards are clear, objective, sequential, and grade-level specific. 

You can help by asking your child’s ELAR teacher to let me know their thoughts about the ELAR TEKS.  (E-mail sboe@barbaracargill.com)  Are they clear?  Are they grade-level appropriate? Are there too many or just enough?  Will they result in our children becoming more successful in spelling, grammar skills, reading, writing, etc.?  If you would like to see the curriculum standards for specific grades, go to http://www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter110/index.html and click on Chapter 110, English Language Arts and Reading.

*Heroes for Children:  The SBOE is accepting applications for the 2006 Heroes for Children Award.  This award recognizes public school volunteers who have been strong advocates for schoolchildren in Texas.  Volunteers may be nominated by individuals or by organizations.  The application is available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/awards/.  The SBOE will select one person from each of the fifteen State Board districts.  I am proud to represent a district that is full of giving and wonderful volunteers.  The deadline is May 26, 2006.

OTHER HAPPENINGS: 

*At our last State Board meeting in February, I was able to read over the essay selections that were on the 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade English Language Arts TAKS tests last week.  I am delighted to tell you that the essays were greatly improved—they had positive messages and much better grammar!  You may remember that a concerned grandmother made me aware of an essay with questionable moral content that 10^th graders had to read on their TAKS test a couple of years ago.  Think about it….our schoolchildren are a captive audience when it comes to the TAKS tests and their content.  We want our children to read essays with uplifting, positive content and correct grammar.  Many thanks to the folks at TEA for making progress in this area.  Let’s keep it up!

*Thank you to all of the math teachers, parents, and business people who are willing to serve on a secondary math book selection committee in Austin.  I interviewed almost 30 people and nominated many of them.  The SBOE will be adopting the new secondary math books in the fall, so the input of these committee members will be vital.

*Another big thanks goes to the dedicated District 8 constituents who volunteered to help read Charter School applications, many of them for the second year in a row.  A charter school gives many parents another option in where to send their child to school, so thank you for being part of such an important process!

*It has been a pleasure getting around to a number of the 24 counties in my State Board district.  I look forward to many more visits this year!  Please invite me to come speak at your school, club, or community meeting.  Here’s a look at my May calendar.  If you live in or near one of these cities, please join us!  The title of my talk is “The Four Ts:  TAKS, TEXTS, TEKS, and TECH”.  Come and join in a lively discussion about education in our state.

5-3-06 Speak to North Shore Republican Women’s Club in Bentwater, TX; 11:00 at Bentwater Country Club

5-11-06 Speak to Smith County Republican Club in Tyler, TX; 6:00 at Heartland Ham

5-16-06 Speak to Nacogdoches County Republican Club, Nacogdoches, TX; 6:00 at Foretravel

5-17-06 Speak to Longview Republican Women’s Club; 11:45 at Johnny Case’s Steakhouse

FAMILY CORNER:

Many of you contact me either to ask about family education ideas or to share good information with me.  So I am adding this new section to my newsletter!  It will focus on great ideas and information for children, parents, families, etc.  (Note:  I may not have used the services that will be mentioned in this section, but they will be recommended by people I trust.)

* Number2.com is a great website if you want your child to start working on practice questions for the SAT.  Every week they send practice questions via e-mail. 

*Master teacher Donna Garner sent me information about a new program called MyStudyHall.com.  Donna has been very active in trying to improve English/Language Arts/Reading education in Texas for many years.  She has now helped develop a wonderful ELAR tutorial program….here’s what she has to say about it:

The MyStudyHall.com team agreed that our website would not supplant teacher-to-student instruction but would reinforce that instruction.  We would assist teachers (whether they are home schooling, private, or public-school teachers) by offering their students extra opportunities to practice and improve their English / Language Arts /

*Check out this website:  you can rent movies (DVD) that have been "cleaned" up. http://www.cleanflicks.com/

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Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter about my work on the State Board of Education.  Your opinion does matter, so please feel free to contact me about education issues at sboe@barbaracargill.com 

Most of all, I ask for your prayers for the schoolchildren and the teachers and administrators in our great state.  Pray for our legislators as they make crucial decisions during the special session.  Finally, please pray for me as I travel to Austin this week to represent you and our precious schoolchildren. 

I hope God blesses you with this verse that my son Chase shared with me.  He said God gave it to him the night before he auditioned for a school play.

Deuteronomy 30:16  “For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”

Sincerely,

Barbara Cargill
State Board of Education, District 8
281-465-8095

sboe@barbaracargill.com

www.barbaracargill.com