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THE CARGILL CONNECTION, July 2006Dear Friends and Supporters, Our State Board of Education meeting in July was very productive and I think you will enjoy reading about the positive things happening in public education in Texas. Two key issues include graduation requirements mandating four years of math and science (starting with the freshman class of 2007-2008) and the rewrite of the English Language Arts and Reading state curriculum standards. FOLLOW-UP TO THE JULY 6-7, 2006 SBOE MEETING: A few highlights… In April, I shared with you how Representative Rob Eissler accepted my invitation to come speak to the board about education issues. This was a “first” for an invited legislator to speak to the board directly, and it was great getting information from him as a member of the House education committee. For our July meeting, Rep. Eissler returned and brought Senator Florence Shapiro with him! Sen. Shapiro chairs the Senate Education committee. They spoke to us in detail about the education reforms in House Bill 1 and the board had the opportunity to collaborate with them on a variety of education issues. We are off to a great start in developing strong lines of communication with the legislature.
Dr. Steve Murdock, state demographer of Texas and director of the Texas State Data Center, discussed changing demographic trends in the state. His full presentation is available at: www.txsdc.utsa.edu/presentations.
Other items on the agenda:
1. Discussion of College Readiness: This item was postponed until our September meeting due to time constraints.
2. P-16 Council Update: This item was also postponed until September.
3. Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements: The board approved on second reading and final adoption amendments which deal with curriculum requirements and graduation requirements for students who entered high school in the 2004-2005 school year or earlier.
The board voted to withdraw proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Subchapter A, which deals with the required curriculum, and Subchapter F, which deals with graduation requirements that are to be followed beginning with students entering high school during the 2007-2008 school year. This action sends these chapters back to first reading so that they can be updated to reflect changes adopted in House Bill 1, the education finance and reform legislation approved this summer, and additional changes proposed by board members.
**Friends, please read the following information very carefully—I need to hear from you, especially if you are a teacher, a principal, a superintendent, a counselor, or a concerned parent. Let me know what you think about these possible new requirements for graduation based on the new law that requires students to have 4 years of math and science if they are on the Recommended or Distinguished graduation plans. I am trying to gather as much information as possible from those of you who are actively working with schoolchildren so I can make wise decisions about this issue. Please e-mail me at sboe@barbaracargill.com with your thoughts. The board approved the following amendment to the Recommended High School Graduation Program and Distinguished Achievement Program to be included in the proposals considered at the board’s Sept. 13-15 meeting: • Mathematics – All students in these two graduation plans should be required to take Algebra I and II and geometry, plus an additional approved math course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite. • Science – All students following these two graduation plans should be required to take biology, chemistry, and physics plus an additional approved laboratory-based science course. • Earth and Space Science should be added to the list of approved science classes. • Engineering is to be considered for inclusion in the list of approved math and/or science classes and new curriculum standards must be prepared for an engineering course.
Because of a petition to the board by a citizen, Computer Science will be considered as an option for course credit in the math and/or science category.
Additionally, the board will consider increasing the total number of credits required for the Recommended High School Program or Distinguished Achievement Program from 24 to 26. The Minimum Graduation Program, which requires 22 credits, would not be affected by any of the proposals.
4. Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 66, State Adoption and Distribution of Instructional Materials, Subchapter B, State Adoption of Instructional Materials, §66.66, Consideration and Adoption of Instructional Materials by the State Board of Education: The board postponed consideration of this item until its Sept. 13-15, 2006 meeting.
5. Discussion of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter A, Elementary, and 19 TAC Chapter 128, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Spanish Language Arts and English as a Second Language, Subchapter A, Elementary: As you may remember from my June newsletter, the board held a work day on June 14th to discuss the English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) curriculum standards. Three national education experts, Dr. Reid Lyon (the unofficial Reading Czar of the United States), Dr. Sandra Stotsky (a well-known and oft-quoted author, education activist, and retired Harvard professor), and Dr. Barbara Foorman (a leading reading researcher with the NIH) graciously met with us and gave some great advice regarding the Texas ELAR standards: rewrite them so they are clear and concise, content-based, testable, and more specific for each grade. TEA gave the board a proposed timeline for this process which includes reviewing curriculum standards from other states like Virginia and California, meeting with the teacher workgroup (I have 8 fantastic teachers who serve on this committee.), review and commentary by the national experts, official public comment period in May ’07, and a public hearing tentatively set for June ’07. I will keep you up-to-date as this important process plays out. What a privilege it is to work on curriculum standards that will ultimately affect how well our children learn to read and write!
6. Review and Adoption of the Long-Term Strategic Asset Allocation Plan of the Permanent School Fund: Following recommendations by representatives of the investment consulting firm of R.V. Kuhns & Associates Inc., the board approved a revised asset allocation with the understanding that the decisions on methods and timing used to select specific investments will come before the board in future meetings. The approved plan diversifies the Fund’s investment options.
OTHER HAPPENINGS: *Attorney General Greg Abbott released his opinion about textbook funding from the Permanent School Fund. The opinion was requested by our board chairman, Tincy Miller. AG Abbott said that funds designated for textbooks "must be used exclusively for the purpose of conveying information, including curriculum content, to students." This is great news for our schoolchildren! Hopefully this opinion will help protect the $20 billion PSF so that it can be used as our Texas forefathers intended-- to fund textbooks and other content instructional materials. It is not intended to fund equipment or hardware. The board is very supportive of classroom technology if it has proven to increase academic achievement, but hardware should be funded from other sources, not from the PSF. *On that note, the $14 Million Texas Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) 2006 report has been released. Funded by the U. S. Department of Education, this study focuses on whether immersion on laptops by middle-school students in 22 Texas schools has helped to improve their academic achievement. The results are very interesting. The report explains, "Technology immersion encompasses multiple components, including a laptop computer for every middle school student and teacher, wireless access throughout the campus, online curricular and assessment resources, professional development and ongoing pedagogical support for curricular integration of technology resources, and technical support to maintain an immersed campus." Here is another important excerpt from the study: “We found that after one academic year of implementation, there were no positive effects of immersion on either reading or mathematics scores. After controlling for prior achievement and other important student characteristics, there were no significant differences in the spring 2005 reading or mathematics TAKS scores of students in immersed and control schools. In fact, students in immersed schools had slightly lower scores than comparison students.” As you can see, we need to continue evaluating the effectiveness of laptops for students. If they do not provide educational value and increased academic achievement, then I will not support their use in the classroom. There are many other options to improve our technology tools in the classroom. To see the entire study, go to http://www.txtip.info/images/06.05.06_eTxTIP_Year_1_Report.pdf *Lawmakers voted in May to delay future textbook purchases and review the adoption process that has been in place since 1949. I will keep you informed about this important issue once the legislature meets again in January. *The next National Math Panel hearing will be on Sept. 13 and 14 in Boston. You may want to consider testifying before this panel, particularly if you are a classroom teacher. If you cannot testify, please contact other possible testifiers who believe in the importance of teaching traditional math based upon mastery of basic skills. If you want to testify, please contact Jennifer Graban at 202-260-1491 or www.jennifer.graban@ed.gov
*Charter school interviews will be held September 7-8 in Austin. There are many fine applicants, and the State Board Planning Committee (of which I am a member) will visit with each applicant for one hour. It is a thorough and arduous process that benefits many schoolchildren through the option of charter schools. ************************************************************************ I want to wish each and every one of you a wonderful summer that will be over before we know it. Our family leaves this weekend to visit my brother and his family in Atlanta. My boys can’t wait for the Braves game and a tour of the new Atlanta aquarium! Best regards,
Barbara Cargill 281-465-8095
Please forward this e-mail to other people who have an interest in education. Also, please let me know if your e-mail address is changing so I can stay in touch. Thanks!
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