Both Sienna Area Schools Move Up In Preliminary Accountability Ratings (From FBN.com)-
Fort Bend ISD Elementary Schools Moving Up In State Ratings, Early Figures Show
by Bob Dunn, Jun 06, 2006, 03 50 pm
Fort Bend Independent School District elementary schools turned in an exceptional academic performance this year, as 11 of 37 appear ready to move up in the state’s accountability ratings.
According to rating calculations provided by the district to individual school officials, six elementaries likely will improve from 2005’s “Recognized” rating to “Exemplary.” Walker Station Elementary – the district’s lone Exemplary school last year – is on track to repeat that designation this year.
But the district isn’t releasing the ratings to the public, despite what appears to be mostly good news. Sources provided FortBendNow with the preliminary elementary ratings, but not with ratings for the district’s middle and high schools.
“I do not feel comfortable naming those schools specifically until we have official results,” Dr. Susan Wey, associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said Tuesday. . .(click title link above for the full story)
__________________
Comment: Why is the district so tightly guarding the data?
posted by responsible_dvlpmnt at Wednesday, June 07, 2006
10 Comments:
See 5/24 related story:
TAKS Results Mixed; District Won't Release Preliminary School Ratings
by Bob Dunn, May 24, 2006, 08 11 am
Preliminary results from Fort Bend Independent School District’s spring Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing are out, but while the district has made much of the data public, it is not releasing accountability ratings either for its schools or the district as a whole.
Related Charts:
→FBISD Elementary TAKS rankings by 4th-grade results
→FBISD Middle School TAKS rankings by 7th-grade results
→FBISD High School TAKS rankings by 7th-grade results
That information won’t be available until August, said Kathy Aaron, FBISD director of testing & evaluation. Also unavailable is information showing whether five district schools did or did not achieve federal Adequate Yearly Progress status.
The five schools – Willowridge High School, and Christa McAuliffe, Missouri City, Lake Olympia and Hodges Bend middle schools – failed to achieve AYP status last year. If a school misses AYP two years in a row, parents of students there have the right to transfer their children to another school, and the district must provide transportation.
Aaron said FBISD just received the preliminary guidelines necessary to calculate AYP, but can’t make those calculations yet because the formulas for doing so differ from last year, and the Texas Education Agency hasn’t yet printed a manual required to make the calculations.
“We’re all sitting here on the edges of our chairs” with the data in hand, but no way to make the calculations yet, Aaron said. “There’s a lot at stake.”
Mandated by the Texas Legislature in 1999, TAKS measures the reading curriculum in grades 3-9, writing in grades 4 and 7, English language arts in grades 10 and 11, math in grades 3-11, science in grades 5,10, and 11, and social studies in grades 8, 10, and 11. A Spanish TAKS is administered in grades 3 through 6. Getting a satisfactory TAKS performance rating in the 11th grade is a graduation requirement.
FBISD officials talked about select TAKS data – 5th-grade science scores and middle-school math scores, for instance, which they said show significant improvement.
Numbers & Context
However, because no accountability ratings were released, FortBendNow has attempted to provide some context by ranking the district’s elementary, middle and high schools using a portion of the 2006 data.
The rankings can’t be construed as an accurate overall picture of any school’s performance because they only take one grade level into account for each type of school, and don’t include test performances by so-called sub populations of students (students classified by race).
Overall testing and sub population testing are used to calculate whether a school is ranked Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable or Academically Unacceptable.
FortBendNow ranked the district’s elementary schools based on the percentage of overall tests taken by fourth-grade students that “meet standards.”
Using that criteria, the district’s top five elementaries are: Walker Station, Settlers Way, Commonwealth Elementary, Brazos Bend and Sienna Crossing. (see chart)
The five worst-ranked are: E.A. Jones, Ridgemont, Jordan, Hunters Glen and Ridgegate Elementary.
The disparity between the percentage of students whose test scores meet state standards at top and bottom-ranked schools is considerable. Only 42% of last-ranked E.A. Jones’ 4th-graders met standards. At Walker Station, more than twice that number – 98% – met standards.
The elementary rankings also underscore concerns parents of bilingual students expressed before the district board earlier this week.
Most of the parents who addressed the board said they live in attendance zones for Sienna Crossing or Scanlan Oaks elementaries (which were ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, according to fourth-grade performance).
But bilingual elementary students in those zones have been forced to attend Burton Elementary to have the district’s bilingual program. Burton was ranked 29th out of 37 elementaries on the FortBendNow chart. And, the parents’ group complained, the district now has told them their children must attend Blue Ridge Elementary to take part in the bilingual program.
Blue Ridge, 14 miles away, is ranked 32nd out of 37 schools on the fourth-grade performance chart.
Highs & Lows
FBISD’s TAKS performance included several bright spots.
For instance, the district said gains were made at most campuses in the percentage of students reaching commended status “particularly in 3rd, 4th and 6th-grade math, 7th-grade writing, 8th-grade reading and social studies, 10th-grade English language arts and 11th-grade science.”
And FBISD scores were higher than the state in 30 of the 34 test areas, the district said.
In three, however, – 3rd-grade math, 6th-grade math, and 6th-grade all tests taken – the district scores were 1 or 2 points behind the state, and are the same as the state scores in 6th-grade reading.
In FortBendNow’s elementary school ranking, 17 of the 37 schools lost ground, with a lower percentage of students showing test results “meeting standard” this year than in 2005.
It was much worse when considering the percentage of all tests taken that reached “commended performance” levels. Fully 24 of the 37 elementary schools in the district had poorer numbers in 2006 than the year previous.
At Barrington Place Elementary, the percentage of 4th-grade tests “meeting standards” dropped from 82 in 2005 to 72 in 2006. The percentage of tests considered at the “commended performance” level dropped from 14 in 2005 to just 3 this year.
Middle Schools
Rankings among FBISD middle schools, based on the percentage of all tests taken by 7th-graders in the “meeting standard” category, show that the four schools that failed to make the federal Adequate Yearly Performance designation last year are ranked at the bottom this year. However, 7th-grade percentages at all four schools increased over the previous year.
Fort Settlement was No. 1 in the seventh-grade FortBendNow rankings, with 95% of tests meeting standards. Sartartia, First Colony, Macario Garcia and Dulles rounded out the top five.
Quail Valley was ranked sixth, followed by Lake Olympia, Hodges Bend, Missouri City and Christa McAuliffe. (see chart)
Despite the gains, Christa McAuliffe and Missouri City middle schools only showed 41% and 42%, respectively, of test results meeting standard – less than half the 95% and 93% achieved at Fort Settlement and Sartartia.
Based on the seventh-grade TAKS scores, all but one of the district’s middle schools showed improved performance. Dulles’ percentage of tests meeting standards dropped to 74 this year, from 77 in 2005.
First Colony Middle School showed the most improvement, gaining 9 percentage points – from 81 in 2005 to 90 this year.
High Schools
As for the district’s high schools, which FortBendNow ranked based on 10th-grade results, Willowridge remained at the bottom of the pack.
However, the school’s performance increased significantly, with the percentage of all tests taken “meeting standard” increasing from 13 in 2005 to 28 this year.
Clements topped the list, at 88%, followed by Austin (74%), Dulles (73%), Elkins (60%), Kempner (59%), Hightower (47%), Bush (45%), Marshall (29%) and Willowridge. (see chart)
Two of the high schools – Elkins and Hightower – saw their 10th-grade performance slide. Elkins went from 63% meeting standard in 2005 to 60% this year; Hightower dropped from 50% to 47% over the same period.
Willowridge’s 15-point performance gain was the largest, but Clements, with a 9-point jump from 79% in 2005 to 88% this year, also was significant.
The 10th-grade rankings for percentage of tests in the “commended performance” category mirrored the “meeting standard” rankings. No. 1 Clements saw a 9-percentage-point jump in commended performance test results, from 9 in 2005 to 18 this year; No. 2 Austin went up 7 points, from 4 in 2005 to 11 in 2006.
Aaron said the district does not, as a rule, release preliminary accountability ratings for the schools because “it’s not a done deal.” Some calculations can be made that may allow a school on the cusp of a better accountability category to be “gated up” and placed in the higher category.
But while district officials are familiar with the criteria which would allow such a “gate-up,” it’s possible the TEA’s final calculations could differ. Wary of telling the public that a particular school has achieved a ranking with which the TEA might later disagree, it’s one reason the district won’t release the accountability designations until August, Aaron indicated.
“Overall, we are pleased with our TAKS results especially in light of the fact that in the areas where we had targeted focused instruction, the increases were most significant,” said Dr. Susan Wey, Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. “Our efforts at Willowridge High School and in fifth-grade science are two examples of the results that can be achieved with strategic planning and teamwork.”
Comments on this from FBN.com thread and community:
1 Liz Mitton - May 25, 11:46 am
The District has the information available now to let parents know which schools will be ranked (at a minimum) Acceptable, Recognized, and Exemplary right now. They could do this note which may be able to “gate up.” No school will “gate down.” Why not release that information now as Katy ISD has done?
2 schoolwise - May 25, 12:01 pm
It doesn’t suit their purposes. They are still guarding information as if they own it and not if it is the publics (whom really own it through their tax dollars/voting rights). Do we really need to file a FOIA request to get the data? Kudos to KISD for getting theirs out! Release the data Smelley!
3 Robert Cocheu - May 25, 12:04 pm
Is it any surprise that 4 of the lowest performing schools (Burton, Barbara Jorden, LOMS, and Hightower) all face severe overcrowding situations? To adequately address TAKS scores a district wide rezoning and long range plan must be put into place. In addtion, as noted from Monday’s board meeting, not all schools in the district have the exact same programs (band and orchestra isssues as well as the bilingual program issue that was brought up come to mind). For us to move forward as a district, both of these issues must be addressed. Only then can we begin fairly asscessing the TAKS scores. The district will be lucky if every parent at LOMS does not request an AYP Transfer for next year.
4 Donna Parker - May 25, 12:10 pm
Dr. Ray should spend one week in the shoes of a band director. It is then and only then he could arbitrarily decide that Elkin’s is adequately staffed. As much as we all pay in taxes, you’d think that we could afford to adequately appoint a school board that actually cared about the good of the students by providing each with a well rounded education.
What’s it going to take to have our plight heard.
I’m almost embarrased to say my chidren go to school in Ft. Bend. We cannot keep or attract quality teachers if they are unsupported by a disfunctional group.
The school board is a joke.
5 mark - May 25, 01:58 pm
Well it looks like there is plenty of room at Fort Settlement, Sartatia and First Colony. Sounds like we should relieve some of Lake Olympia overcrowding by sending kids over there like the Burton kids are going over to Baines. That would certainly relieve the overcrowding situation. Why is it that those schools are under capacity but Lake O isn’t. Shame, shame, shame on the district for letting this situation fester so long when other “high score” schools are underattended. Do those zones and children attending deserve better than those attending Lake O???
6 schoolwise - May 25, 03:03 pm
Looks like a district wide transparent rezoning plan needs to be implemented with all the accurate information provided. Do it for all the kids!
7 Sienna Resident - May 25, 03:10 pm
So, basically, the Sugar Land schools are fine and the Mo City schools are overcrowded? Hmmm. Very interesting…
8 mark - May 25, 03:34 pm
Yes and all special privileges like field trips and dances etc were cancelled because of overcrowding, safety and discipline issues. Now that’s not fair, is it/
9 Liz Mitton - May 25, 03:43 pm
Sienna—no that is not the case. Barbara Jorden Elementary is in Sugar Land on the west side and it’s probably the worst case of overcrowding we have. There are several other “west side” schools that are over capacity. This is a district-wide issue.
Donna—blaming the board (at least the current board and the one in place last year) is putting blame in the wrong place. The problems now coming to light have been in the making for many years—most notably under the now retired-but-still-being-paid Superintendent. Her actions (or rather in-actions) along with the nearly complete lack of oversight shown by previous Boards has put FBISD where it is. That’s why the current Superintendent search underway is so vital. It’s imperative the community come together and the new Board do the right thing by bringing in a top-notch leader with the business experience, know-how and leadership necessary to start righting this ship. But don’t expect miracles overnight. FBISD has dug itself into a hole and it’s going to take a lot of effort to dig ourselves out.
10 Very Concerned Citizen - May 25, 04:10 pm
Seems to me that you are putting all the blame in the wrong place. I recall reading some where about the now-retired-but-still-being paid Superintendent being nominated for Best Superintendent or something like that. The reason she is retired-but-still-being-paid is because the previous boards total lack of regard of a professional. They dug this hole, the tax payers did not and we did something about it with the election of Mr. Smelley and Mrs. Buchar.
11 Citizen - May 25, 04:26 pm
Liz Mitton,
The reason that Dr. Baitland is “retired-but-still-being-paid” is because of you and your friends Rickert, Magee, Caldwell and Bryant. The 5 of you could not wait to remove her and install Dr. Pedraza who seems to know nothing about running a district and spends much time crying after being attacked by the 4 trustees who chose her. The district is going to have a tough time getting any quality person to come here because of the “new guard’s” antics and the current war between Lisa Rickert and Stan Magee. They seem to care mostly about scoring points against each other and little about the operation of the district. Frankly, many candidates will pass over FBISD because of the caustic atmosphere here—fanned by your personal blog.
12 mark - May 25, 05:21 pm
And the Stafford School District lost there Superintendent in March and are already interviewing. Interesting that it is taking FBISD so long.
13 Robert Cocheu - May 25, 09:13 pm
Let’s be honest as a starting point for the discussion. The overcrowding issues did not come about over the last year, rather years of inattention have led to this problem. Have the things that the “new” board done to help or hurt this particular situation? That remains to be seen. The one thing the “new” board did was put in place a long range planning committee to begin to think about some real long range planning (no, despite comments by Dr. Baitland and Lee Petros bond issues do not count has a long range plan). All of the talk over the last several posts have nothing to do with TAKS scores but seem to be a rehash of the election. I have been saying since the election it is time to stop the rhetoric, let the board get to work and lets see what happens.
14 Susan - May 26, 07:21 am
Mr. Cocheu,
While I applaud the decision to attempt to deal with FBISD growth with a long range plan, many have greatly exaggerated expectations of what such a plan can/will do. Unfortunately, life is complicated and there are MANY variables that influence where and when growth will occur.
The last 15 or so years have been ones where “If you build it they will come” has been the guiding principle. FBISD, LCISD and KISD have all had to deal with the consequences of this explosive growth. However, those who have been here a long time or those who care to check the history of the county know that this has not always been the case. There were years when developers projected that they could build and sell houses and they were wrong. Check the original projections for the growth of First Colony and Greatwood. Both neighborhoods did not meet the initial early projections. In fact, the area now called Commonwealth was intended to be more of Sweetwater proper with expensive custom homes and slow/no sales allowed Perry Homes to purchase the land and build the type homes there now. There are many examples of neighborhoods that did not grow as expected. Further, yesterday’s Chronicle was predicting a slow down in home sales.
The point is that growth is complicated with many uncontrollable variables and demographer’s predictions are helpful but should not be assumed to be infallible. Some seem to advocate that FBISD change their policy so that they build schools before they are needed so that all the new folks who move to FBISD are not inconvenienced by overcrowding. Previous Boards have felt that was irresponsible and have waited for the need to materialize before spending taxpayer’s money on buildings for people not yet here, but expected. Steve Smelley advocated the latter course and soundly defeated Liz Mitton who campaigned on the former.
As I have said before, I advocate having the new residents/developers assist in funding schools for mega neighborhoods via land donations and impact fees on new homes. However, that would take action from the state legislature and our own representatives have not been interested in the topic at all.
15 Liz Mitton - May 26, 08:10 am
You’re right, Robert. It’s time we started dealing honestly and with facts. Here are some to also consider:
1) FBISD currently has one of the worst student teacher ratios (1018 out of 1037) in the state.
2) Six years ago, 56% of FBISD employees were classroom teachers; today only 48% are.
3) Standard and Poors (via its free website www.schoolmatters.com) recently determined - based on statewide data analysis- that FBISID is an average school district in the state of Texas.
4) According to data supplied to me by the District (via Lee Petros) FBISD today has enough functional capacity in our campuses (at each level) that not one child should be in an overcrowded school and not one t-shack should be needed.
16 Rick Yancey - May 26, 08:18 am
Liz Mitton is correct to say that the current board did not create the fine arts problem, but they have done nothing so far to correct it. The interest shown in the fine arts topic by concerned parents is greatly appreciated by the current fine arts teachers! Dr. Ray wants to know more and talk more, he and I are going to meet next week. I am convinced that he does care.
It is not productive to spend time assigning blame for this, or the TAKS scores! Let’s quit attacking each other and open up to opposing viewpoints. Let’s fix problems, not wallow in limbo waiting on the new Superintendent/Savior who will spend his first year studying and being careful.
The kids deserve it.
17 JRK - May 26, 08:44 am
Seeing that both of my sons’ high schools (Hightower and Elkins) plummetted on this test (whcih both of my sons said was very easy), makes a wonderful opportunity to reinterate that this innane idea to put all high school students in one of two levels of each course is destroying these kids ability to get quality education. Those students needing remediation to pass this (totally inappropriate) test are made to take classes with the students who are able to learn (and possibly place out of) college material. And neither group garners the result they seek and deserve. I truly believe this is a much bigger problem for our district than $42,000 of lawyer expenses or ice hockey. I can’t believe that I’m the only one who believes this situation is a travesty and is cheating our teens and teachers. When this gets fixed (oh, I’m not stupid, I know it never will – it’s not what public education is all about), we will see the HS TAKS scores improve and the classroom atmospheres improve.
18 Mary McClure - May 26, 10:21 am
Reiterating, I love Sienna Crossing—much more challenging than the private school I attended. All my daughter’s teachers have been great and the principal is great. My daughter scored a 4 in a TAKS writing test and it was announced that albeit only 1% score this in the state, 5% have in Sienna. Sorry to brag about my daughter, but it’s my job—she deserves it and her teachers and principal are due much credit also! I will probably not respond to any attacks on me being happy today because I actually do have a life.
P.S. My daughter received a commended rating in 3 TAKS categories, including only missing 1 problem in the math TAKS, in case anyone questions subjective/objective ratings.
19 JRK - May 26, 12:48 pm
Mary, congratulations on your daughter. My son (10th grade at Elkins – and not my honors student son) made a 4 (highest possible) on the TAKS essay and did commended on most of the areas. But, enjoy elementary school and brag about it all you want. Just be prepared, in fact start preparing now (join my quest to get this situation fixed) for when your daughter gets to high school. Especially since it seems like your daughter will be going to Hightower. You’re in for a shock as she gets mixed with a larger variety of students, beginning in Middle School, and the administration still treat the situation like all kids are the same and do not recognize that most of the students could flourish, as they did in elementary school, if they are mixed with students of similar needs and ability and taught a curriculum that accommodates those (needs and abilities).
20 Leslie Bauer - May 26, 12:58 pm
Well written article. A few Q’s
1.Lamar, Katy & Huston ISD’s have released their preliminary results, including sub populations and predicted accountability ratings. Why is FBISD “holding out”?
2.When does the TEA usually release the calculation manual (discussed above) that is needed to perform the accountability ratings?
3.Does anyone else want to see this info sooner than August? If so any ideas on how to get it?
21 Mary McClure - May 26, 02:06 pm
JRK, I forgot, my daughter was honor roll all year too, in addition to being commended on all TAKS scores. She has always been mixed in w/a variety of students of different ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, and personality types (including kids that misbehave and taunt her for living in a small house—kids learn from adult bullies/snobs, btw).
I quote you:
“the administration still treat the situation like all kids are the same and do not recognize that most of the students could flourish, as they did in elementary school, if they are mixed with students of similar needs and ability and taught a curriculum that accommodates those (needs and abilities). ”
JRK, your quote could really be misinterpreted, I would be careful. If “All men are created equal.”, I think the same applies to kids. Btw, I believe the gifted kids whom I believe are mixed in w/the others are given different/more homework (what I was told). Why would I want my daughter to be in a class where everyone was the same?—she would freak out as an adult and not be able to cope in the workplace.
22 Sienna Resident - May 26, 02:07 pm
My Scanlon kiddo had a perfect score on one section of the TAKS and missed just one on each of the other two sections. Although I’m very happy, I wish more time this year had been spent on teaching other things besides passing a multiple choice test.
23 Mary McClure - May 26, 02:20 pm
...& btw, in the expensive private school I attended as a child, our class was split up into Section 1 and Section 2 (1 being the higher grade level).
24 Mary McClure - May 26, 02:47 pm
...the thing is, we could afford a bigger house, but we don’t care and have given thousands to charity without “announcing it” (believe it or not). Does house size equate to wealth?, and besides, wealth does not impress me—niceness does. My Sienna kiddo sure did not have multiple choice Math problems and the written composition could not be multiple choice either—perhaps you should move to be zoned to Sienna Crossing if you do not think Scanlan provides enough of a challenge. Sienna also has many wealthy kids despite the reputation Scanlan has as the “rich school”.
25 JRK - May 26, 02:58 pm
News flash Mary, there are smart kids, average intellect kids and those in need of remediation in every ethnic, racial, religious and socio-economic group. I think it was quite biggoted of you to think that was what I was implying. So, that your daughter gets the curriculum designed for her particular (obviously highly intellectual) ability will not separate her from diversity. And yes, as an adult she will have to learn to deal with people not as smart and smarter, but when she’s trying to learn Math or Grammar or History or place out of college courses, is not the time to learn how to slow down her thirsting (for knowledge) mind (in order to keep up with those around her). She can join clubs and be in PE and go to the mall to use her socialization and teamwork skills and to get beat up by bullies.
Congrats on your daughter’s accomplishments so far. I’m just trying to forge a path for her to be just as academically successful throughout her academic career. It is almost too late for my kids, one of who graduates tomorrow (with honors and a lot of academic sholarships) and one who will be stuck in this system for only 2 more years. But my quest to cure this system doesn’t extend to just as far as it affects me and mine. I don’t know your daughter, but I hope for the very best for her and all kids. This thing can be fixed, but I haven’t seen it as a priority to anyone who has any influence. But, if the ostrich thing works for everyone on this site, I teach at community community college, so more work for me.
More comments:
26 Bob Dunn - May 26, 03:04 pm
Leslie,
I have not been able to obtain TAKS results from Lamar Consolidated ISD. Have you seen those results, and if so, where did you find them?
Beyond the reasons administrators cited in the article above, I don’t know why they aren’t releaseing more information. It would appear that at least some of the principals are aware of the individual school ratings.
My experience has been that, in such cases, favorable results tend to be released to the public sooner than unfavorable results.
Kathy Aaron indicated the TEA manual was expected this month, but that the state informed the district it wouldn’t be printed until June.
I am always in favor of the public having access to what essentially is its own information, as early and often as possible.
If sufficient members of the public communicated to school board members their desire to see the prelimary results, including accountability ratings, as soon as they are released, I would think the board would communicate that desire to the administration.
27 JRK - May 26, 03:10 pm
BTW Mary, your private school education probably took place many years ago in a time when most parents and schools were more on the same page about discipline and the importance of education and at a private school where the student population was controlled to include only (primarily) those students that the instruction styles and levels could handle. Public schools are supposed to be obligated to have a (proper) place for all kids.
28 Mary McClure - May 26, 04:17 pm
Not implying anything, JRK. I was alluding to diversity (please forgive me, if I forgot to mention intelligence/grades in the sentence you may have preferred, albeit I covered it in another) because some people think Sienna Crossing is not diverse and it was not any rebuttal to your post. I was trying to help you because it could be misinterpreted and you would not want that, but it was wrong of me to give unsolicited constructive criticism. I guess I would have worded it “intellectual needs” instead of just needs.
Please explain to me how it was “quite biggoted” (quoting you, btw, I spell it bigoted) of me based on my post which was (see above):
“21 Mary McClure – May 26, 02:06 pm
JRK, I forgot, my daughter was honor roll all year too, in addition to being commended on all TAKS scores. She has always been mixed in w/a variety of students of different ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, and personality types (including kids that misbehave and taunt her for living in a small house—kids learn from adult bullies/snobs, btw).
I quote you:
“the administration still treat the situation like all kids are the same and do not recognize that most of the students could flourish, as they did in elementary school, if they are mixed with students of similar needs and ability and taught a curriculum that accommodates those (needs and abilities). ”
JRK, your quote could really be misinterpreted, I would be careful. If “All men are created equal.”, I think the same applies to kids. Btw, I believe the gifted kids whom I believe are mixed in w/the others are given different/more homework (what I was told). Why would I want my daughter to be in a class where everyone was the same?—she would freak out as an adult and not be able to cope in the workplace.
Btw, thanks for the news flash, JRK. I am stupid and need your help. I make spelling/grammatical errors constantly, and stink at written composition, make no sense and am very very combative. I should put my head in the sand so nobody hears from me again.
29 Sienna Resident - May 26, 04:29 pm
Mary – My point was about how teachers are forced by the state to spend so much time on one test. I was not trying to slam anyone (except those that enact laws putting too much focus on standardized testing). And although I’m zoned to Scanlan, I can assure you that my house is no “Domaine du Vin”. It’s more like “Cottage du Kool-Aid”.
30 Moomah - May 26, 04:52 pm
”...the thing is, we could afford a bigger house, but we don’t care and have given thousands to charity without “announcing it” (believe it or not). ”
You just did…
31 Liz Mitton - May 26, 09:06 pm
Susan said: “many have greatly exaggerated expectations of what such a plan can/will do.”
How do you know? FBISD has never tried it.
The City of Sugar Land has a rolling 10-year (e.g. updated annually) plan for growth. Many other school Texas districts operate under long-range plans with good success. Of course it does no good to do a plan and then put it on a shelf. It should be looked and and updated annually—always with at least a 5 and preferably a 10-year or so horizon.
I have never advocated that FBISD build schools before they are needed. What I have said, repeatedly, is that we should have a better plan for where schools will likely be needed down the road and have a process in place for potentially purchasing land for schools ahead of the growth curve so we are not paying inflated prices in areas where development has already taken place.
It is now the middle of 2006. Ask Lee Petros to see the District’s plan for where we will need to site new schools in 2008. I have. It does not exist. That is not adequate planning in a fast-growth district no matter how you slice it.
32 Susan - May 26, 10:22 pm
So Liz, do you want to purchase the land in advance of need so that we are ready just in case people come as predicted? Are you willing to pay the inflated prices charged by the mega-developers to satisfy the promises made by Realtors and devlopers to the new or potential residents of FBISD? Are you willing to pass that charge on to the long-time homeowners in the form of bond indebtedness?
I will repeat that many, including you, IMHO have unrealistic expectations of the benefits that can be derived from a demographer’s plan. Life is messy and the majority of residents are not willing to invest money up front to assist the mega-developers sell houses—as evidenced by the 4,000 vote margin Smelley had over you.
33 Liz Mitton - May 27, 08:32 am
Susan—what do you think FBISD is doing now? Look at the property that has been purchased (at the last minute) for most of the schools built in the past 5 years. We have been waiting until areas are well-developed and land prices have skyrocketed—usually paying those prices to the mega-developers with very little negotiating leverage.
Yes, in many instances, it would have made more sense to quietly purchase land (while it was still relatively cheap) in areas where schools would likely be needed down the road. Many school districts do this (you know, the ones that have long-range plans in place). If the growth projections in a particular area do not pan out, the district can simply sell the land (generally at prices above what was originally paid) or they have property to negotiate potential land-swaps with.
You can repeat the inane all you like, Susan. The facts are that good long-range plans can and have been effective in many areas. “Life is messy” is a damn poor excuse.
34 Mary McClure - May 27, 08:49 am
Quoting Bob Dunn from above article:
“Using that criteria, the district’s top five elementaries are: Walker Station, Settlers Way, Commonwealth Elementary, Brazos Bend and Sienna Crossing. (see chart)”
Way to go, Linda Ruckman! You must be doing something right!
35 Susan - May 27, 09:16 am
Liz,
Many of us advocate neither idea above. If you “quietly” purchase land before it is needed, you have no guarantee that it will indeed be needed. Some of these planned neighborhoods never get built—despite your demographer’s predictions. A much better idea is to lobby the state legislature to get the mega-developers to pitch in free land for needed schools and/or new home sales prices to include an impact fee for building new buildings. Only the state legislature can help with this, so why don’t you talk to your friend Charlie Howard about it.
36 Liz Mitton - May 27, 11:27 am
Susan—Now you’re just talking in circles. School Boards have a duty and an obligation to work with what they have control over. Certainly lobbying the Legislature on that particular issue might have merit. But, are you saying that because no plan is perfect that no attempt at planning should ever be made? Why do you suppose the City of Sugar Land does a 10-year rolling plan? Is that folly as well?
You don’t need Legislative action to negotiate more forcefully with local developers and work cooperatively with them on school planning—which obviously benefits their developments as well. P.S. Susan, not to point out the obvious, but it’s not “my” demographer. The professional demographer now working with the district was unanimously selected by the BOT.
37 Susan - May 27, 11:57 am
Mrs. Mitton,
You have repeatedly used the growth issue to attack and berate the former trustees and Dr. Baitland. You advocate “quietly purchasing land” before it is needed as a wise practice. You fail to understand that growth is not as predictable as one would like—with or without a demographer. You did not live in Fort Bend County during the days when houses and developments sat empty. Your lack of experience and knowledge does not, however, change the reality that purchasing land for yet to be built houses and yet to materialize students is in effect gambling with taxpayer money. You campaigned strongly on that issue and you lost—the majority of the voters do not want the trustees engaging in land speculation with funds that are needed right now to maintain and improve existing facilities.
There are many sites in Fort Bend County where developers predicted schools would be needed and when the neighborhoods actually materialized, they were not needed. I disagree with your strategy to gamble on land purchases and have long advocated greater participation by mega-developers and new residents in building schools—something that would require a legislative solution. Past BOT members and administrations have banded together with other fast growth districts to push for legislative change, but they were rebuffed and ignored.
Further, you were obviously not paying attention or not living in FBISD when the administration and the trustees “negotiated forcefully” with various developers and told them what they could do with their inflated land prices—much to the chagrin of certain new residents and the mega-developers. However, I suppose by your comments that you believe that you would have been more successful and making the developers sell land at bargain basement prices—something that no one else in the history of Fort Bend County has been able to accomplish.
Please at least try to see the benefit to FBISD and other fast growth areas of long term legislative solutions rather than constantly repeating your condemnations of those you oppose politically.
38 Liz Mitton - May 27, 12:39 pm
Susan conveniently sidesteps the central issues and questions again.
According to Susan, NO long-range plan should be done because, in her opinion, it won’t be “perfect.” Yes, that was a central issue in this campaign and EVERY SINGLE candidate eventually campaigned for long-range planning.
Susan will not answer whether or not it’s the Legislature’s fault that our local administrators have not been able to do simple things like verifying credentials, accurately tracking turnover rates, conducting fixed asset inventories, or setting up a self-funded employee dental plan that doesn’t go into the red by over $1 million in less than two years? She won’t answer the question—but again deflects.
Try again, Susan.
Is it the legislature’s fault FBISD now has one of the worst student/teacher ratios in the state or that we currently have fewer than one of every two school district employees that are classroom teachers?
39 Susan - May 27, 02:02 pm
Mrs. Mitton,
May I respectfully recommend a reading comprehension course?
I have commended the self-proclaimed “new guard” trustees for initiating a long range planning process. However, I have cautioned you and others that the plan will not enable you to “know” where land speculation will be profitable or effective because the process will not be 100% accurate. It is like forecasting weather—another complicated system. We pay attention to the weather forecast, especially short term, but most would not bet the family fortune on the long term “predictions” about the exact conditions expected in say 10 years.
I clearly stated that the legislature had nothing to do with the specific audit findings in the Human Relations Audit Mr. Dunn just reported on.
However, I have also explained that yes, the legislature does in fact have some culpability in the teacher shortage and decreasing teacher to student ratio in Fort Bend. This is because the legislature has decreased the percentage of funding they provide for public education, limited the ability of individual districts to collect funds that can be used for salaries, and mandated various other duties, reports, courses and requirements—unfunded mandates—that in some cases caused districts to choose between hiring additional teachers or fulfilling legal requirements. I do not absolve individual districts, administrators or superintendents from all responsibility, but simply state the fact that the state of Texas forced all school districts—including FBISD—to make difficult choices. The problems are noticed most severely in districts that are experiencing rapid growth—like FBISD, LCISD and KISD.
Please, Mrs. Mitton, will you attempt to set aside your extreme dislike of me long enough to examine the issues carefully rather than attempting to blame those you do not like and offer Band-Aid solutions for complicated situations? The students, taxpayers and employees of FBISD desire and deserve real solutions and have rejected attempts to politicize education for personal gain. That was the message delivered in the last FBISD election. I do hope that everyone understood it clearly.
40 Liz Mitton - May 27, 04:41 pm
Susan—your paranoia is showing. I do not dislike you. I don’t even know you. Why make the debate personal and make somewhat nasty, snide attacks?
No planning process is ever perfect. Again, you don’t look out 10 years and and then put the plan in a drawer, hence the need to review, update and adjust the plan every year while continously looking out to the next 10 years. That is not a Band-Aid solution, it is a common sense approach. Perhaps it’s the common sense part that has you befuddled?
Your argument about Legislative funding sounds good on the surface, but the fact is the District’s budget has never gone DOWN. While the percentage that comes from the state may have decreased over the years, the increased taxes collected from a growing local tax base has made up the difference. Our per student spending has always increased from year to year. It does not explain the steady slide in the student/teacher ratio over the last 6 years.
You have offered no solutions or concrete suggestions for doing better with the funds that are available. What the audits show conclusively, is that funds that could have been going to pay for more teachers and classroom needs have been needlessly wasted and squandered by the lax, inept business management of our past administration leadership.
Please explain your assumption that the last election had anything to do with “rejecting attempts to politicize education for personal gain.” Just who are you referring to specifically and what proof do you offer that was the case?
41 Susan - May 27, 05:22 pm
Mrs. Mitton,
It is true that you do not know me; however, it is also true that you miss no opportunity to attack me personally. Frankly, I do not care what you think of me, but know that I was given a copy of a letter you wrote to the BOT (copying attorneys) seeking a way to get me to stop voicing my opinions. At first I felt very threatened; however, I chose not to allow myself to be intimidated into silence.
As for the reference to politicizing education for personal gain, I sincerely believe that that is what has been happening under the leadership of Lisa Rickert over the last year. I am not denying that there are problems to address and that elected board members have the duty and right to address them, however, what I observed during the last year was grandstanding, political posturing, and personal, public attacks on those who dared to disagree with the “conventional wisdom” of Rickert, Caldwell, Bryant and Magee. This occurred from the dais, in the newspaper, on your personal blog and via emails you personally sent. Many of the actions that the “new guard” wanted to do could have been done quietly and professionally (replacing RHJ with another contractor for example), however, IMHO that course of action would not allow individuals to portray themselves as “saviors” of the district and to besmirch the record of others, and thus was not chosen.
It appears that you simply refuse to understand the message the voters were trying to send in electing Bhuchar and Smelley, but it was NOT support for the policies and unprofessional conduct of the “new guard” that you continue to support and defend. I do not understand what you hope to accomplish by continuing to repeat your campaign bullets after the public rejected them so strongly. Perhaps you believe that if you say something long enough and often enough, your sheer determination will cause everyone else to agree with you. So far, it has not worked.
42 Liz Mitton - May 28, 08:45 am
Susan—you have now crossed a line from paranoid to delusional. Your assertions in the first paragraph above are completely untrue. You mistake disagreement with your positions as personal attacks (and then proceed to make many personal attacks of your own). You can have the last word here and good luck to you.
43 Linda - May 28, 11:31 am
liz,
Since you also wrote 2 letters to my superiors (1 without my knowledge, yet I was also given a copy), I highly doubt your claim that what Susan asserts is “completely untrue.” You are the queen of personal attacks – attacks on anyone who disagrees with your position. When I “called you” on your attempt to threaten my livelihood, you barely remembered what you’d done – and, then attempted to shrug it off as incidental. I find it “very telling” that no one is posting on your SOS site – so, you’ve brought all your negativity and false claims to this site. Thank goodness the voters reacted to you as they did – and, it’s simply too bad you aren’t getting the message. Susan isn’t the one who is delusional here. . .
44 BlameAll - May 28, 01:29 pm
Let me see if I understand FBISD’s blame game correctly. Pedraza and Dupree were hired under Baitland. The gangof4 got rid of Baitland because she was the problem and promoted Pedraza as interim-superintendent. Audit now shows (and continue to show) mismanagement occurred during Pedraza’s reign as HR’s chief and Dupree as chief financial officer (CFO) and Baitland as the chief of all chiefs. There's supposed to be a DA’s investigation (is the DA dragging its feet or what?). Mitton blames all wrongs on the Baitland’s group while Susan blames all wrongs on Rickert. Who are more wrongs: The incompetent one (Baitland) or the incompetent group (gangof4) who got rid of the incompetent and installed another one of the same ? Who are more rights ? Mitton or Susan ? Baitland mismanaged the budget, while the gangof4 spent the money to uncover the mismanagement. There is one thing the gangof4 did right though: they did not install Dupree as the interim-superintendent. I give them credit for that. Now that Smelley and Bhuchar are in. What’s next ? Spend more money to uncover the mismanagement of the Rickert’s gangof4?
45 Susan - May 28, 01:46 pm
BlameAll,
You do not have all the facts correct. Dr. Baitland did not hire Dupre or Pedraza. I belive Dr. Hooper hired them both, but I am relying on memory so I stand to be corrected.
Like you, I do hope that the BOT will stop the blame game and infighting and act in the best interests of the district. It has indeed become very ridiculous and wasteful of time, talents and funds.
46 Liz Mitton - May 28, 03:25 pm
For the record, save-our-schools.blogspot.com has had more than 3000 hits since reactivating on Tuesday.
47 Leslie Bauer - Jun 4, 09:26 pm
Bob,
Thanks for writing back! I nearly missed you in all the arguing above. I actually tried very hard to get your e-mail, but could not find it on this site, so hope you get this, as your article is well over a week old. In reference to your question re Lamar ISD: I meant to say Stafford ISD, not Lamar. I was looking at some data from Lamar (old stats) prior to writing you, and had them on my mind. The info re Stafford came from the Fort Bend Star newspaper. It is still accessible via their web site. In addition, since writing you many, many other school districts have published preliminary data. I also checked the TEA web site this weekend, and the manual is now available. Anyone can download the entire 196 page 2006 Accountability Manual. So, now that the manual is available, I’d like to see those results ASAP. I suspect that you are correct as to why the results have not been published. I also agree that we need to urge the district to publish these numbers. As parents, taxpayers and volunteers, we all have ownership in FBISD. The results belong to us just as much as the district.
48 JustBob - Jun 6, 10:16 pm
Wow! I started reading these posts to become more informed. Now I read them for comic relief. It is a good thing my business is education instead of politics. In my opinion, the former would be much better off without the latter.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
More FBN threaded comments on this:
4 Susan - Jun 7, 12:03 pm
Typical response from Liz Mitton—spin the good news as not so good and pan the performance of someone she doesn’t like: Ms. Ruckman.
Congratulations to all the schools in FBISD that are making strong and steady improvement—in spite of all the gloom and doom preached by certain BOT members and their supporters.
5 Liz Mitton - Jun 7, 12:21 pm
Good grief, Susan. Is there anything you can’t take issue with or invent a controversy over ? I’m beginning to think you just don’t like me. :)
In no way did I “pan” the performance of Mrs. Ruckman.
If you equate facing reality as gloom and doom, that’s entirely your option.
6 Sugarbabe - Jun 7, 01:56 pm
Liz you are right about the jump for the schools you mentioned. A lot of those schools who made exemplary this year should have been there before. You have to look at the demographics and then you can really see the progress that is made. Hats off to those schools that reached way over their potential and climbed a notch up the ladder!
7 Janice - Jun 7, 02:55 pm
where is Barbara Jordan Elementary on this list?
8 Bob Dunn - Jun 7, 03:09 pm
Janice, it’s listed as “Jordan” and was rated, preliminarily, as Acceptable.
9 Matthew Feinberg - Jun 8, 12:28 am
Liz. I never said no testing. There are many standardized tests given through out the country.. Why do the children need both Taks and Ohio’s given here? I think the Ohio tests are a good enough test that does not require many weeks to prepare for and class time taken away. My kids must spend weeks just on the taks prep.. I didn’t study that hard for the SAT 20 years ago. The time they spend on Taks prep during school and the the many weeks of extra after school study twice a week is just too much. The Taks have to go..
TAKS = Tests Againts Kids in School.
10 Liz Mitton - Jun 8, 09:09 am
I think you mean the Iowa Skills Test. It’s the one I took growing up as well. FBISD (I believe) now uses it only as part of GT testing and then only at certain grade levels—I don’t believe it’s used in High School at all (teachers? is that correct?).
I don’t think it’s taking a test that is a problem (and it sounds like you agree)... what most seem to have issues with is the inordinate amount of time focused on the build up to the test—including multiple “pre-tests”, practice packets as homework, DACS, practice tests, etc. This not only stresses out the teachers, it stresses out the kids. Let teachers teach the curriculum well, teach kids how to study and take notes again, give them a few ours of instruction on the mechanics of the test (how to fill in the circles, strategies, etc.) and move on. Of course, if we don’t pack kids into schools and classrooms with overcrowding, that would be a plus as well.
11 Sienna Resident - Jun 8, 09:22 am
Testing is great. I don’t think anyone is saying to stop testing. But, a true indicator of how they are REALLY learning would be to just give them the test flat out…without coaching them on it for two months prior. That way you can see what the students have learned and absorbed. If you take two pre-tests and spend countless hours training for it, does it really show how the children are learning, or how the teachers are performing? As far as the Sienna schools, I think they are doing well based on what I see in the kids (beyond test scores). Can the same be said for the other campuses?
12 stevedieu - Jun 8, 10:05 am
Not only should we congratulate and thank the principals and staff (and parents) of the new 6 ‘exemplary’ schools, and 5 ‘recognized’ schools, we should also recognize and thank the administration staff and the Board for their works. It’s a joint effort.
13 Matthew Feinberg - Jun 8, 02:15 pm
Liz.. You hit the nail right on the head. and you are right. I do agree.
14 new territory parent - Jun 8, 02:46 pm
I am the parent of a third grader who just went through this testing. I agree that testing is needed to have some meaurable metrics to use in evaluating both teacher and student performance. Our teachers did a great job of teaching the materials in a way that I think the student didn’t feel the pressure. BUT – these students are stressed about the tests. During the practice tests alone I heard of several students throwing up before the test because they were so nervous, some going to doctors for test anxiety therapy, and many meltdowns the day before the PRACTICE tests! I think the testing is improtant but when the kids feel this kind of pressure it makes you take a step back to wonder what messages they are receiving from either us as parents, the teachers or even among their peers. They are 9 year old children – and they feel like they are taking college entrance exams!
Hats off to all the schools who improved and did well. A special thanks to the teachers at Brazos Bend Elementary who I think did a terrific job.
15 rodrigo carreon - Jun 8, 08:18 pm
I congradulate Goodman Elem. l
campus staff and student for rising from acceptable school to being a recognized school in a minority
and bi-lingual community living in a rural area, without
safe public water resources to servise taxpayers. In 2002
and 2003 it was a recognized school, but
most of all the good
staff was transfer, know they are trying to
transfer all bi-lingual students to other low acedemic school campuses.
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