TEXAS PTA’S STATEMENT ON PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE RULING
“We concur with Justice Willett and Justice Guzman that there is much work to be done,” stated Lisa Holbrook, President of Texas PTA. “In the words of Justice Guzman, ‘While the constitution requires the system be merely good enough, that does not mean that our system is good, or that it will continue to be enough.’ We must continue to improve our system of education. We cannot do less,” she added.
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court issued its ruling on the constitutionality of Texas’ system of funding public schools, determining that while, “undeniably imperfect, with immense room for improvement,” it is constitutional.
While the ruling means that the Texas Legislature will have no mandate to make any changes to the state’s funding system, it is clear from Justice Willett’s opinion that, “Texas’ 5 million students deserve transformational, top-to-bottom reforms that amount to more than a Band-Aid on top of Band-Aid,” and from Justice Guzman’s concurring opinion that, “There is much work to be done to improve our public school system, particularly for the population that represents the majority of the student base — economically disadvantaged students,” that the Texas Supreme Court in no way endorsed our current system as the best it can be.
“Texas PTA vows to continue to work with legislators and other advocates to create a system that is fair and that gives all students the education they deserve. We must come together — parents, school leaders, policy-makers — to craft a solution that affords every student the opportunity to achieve his/her dreams through education,” stated Holbrook. “We must not take this ruling as permission to ignore the problems we know exist in our public school system.”
PTSA scholarship applications are due today (20-APR-2016)!
Here are a few of the things you’ll learn about this month:
- Programs: Digital Citizenship – this Wednesday!
- PTSA Membership Meeting (Elections & Budget)
[wc_button type=”primary” url=”https://marcusptsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Marcus-PTSA-Newsletter-2016-04-11.pdf” title=”Read It!” target=”self” position=”float”]Newsletter[/wc_button]
Reminder
PTSA Senior Scholarship Applications are due on Wednesday, April 20, 2016!
National PTA is pleased to join forces with the Center for American Progress (CAP), America Achieves and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), among others in support of the Testing Bill of Rights to ensure assessments are fair, reliable, relevant and aligned to high-quality standards.
The Testing Bill of Rights outlines the need to accurately measure student learning in a way that is useful for parents and teachers and less burdensome for students.
Learn More Testing Bill of Rights
LISD Strategic Design | Goal #6
Develop and implement meaningful, varied assessments that inform and inspire students and educators for continuous improvement and growth in a way that transforms learning and teaching.
Reminder for Parents from the Marcus Nurse:
This is a gentle reminder that if your student is sick, please keep them at home. School policy states that students with a fever of 100 degrees or more should be at home until they are fever free for 24 hours, without the aid of fever reducing medications. For other diagnosed infectious conditions, such as strep throat, please follow the guidelines and medications recommended by your doctor. This may include staying at home until antibiotics are on board for 24-48 hours.
It is wonderful that students want to be at school! It is not wonderful to have a sick student spreading illness to other students. Please be considerate to others, if your son or daughter is ill, keep them at home. We will welcome them back with open arms, when they are better! And if you have any questions, feel free to contact Nurse Boyd.
EnglishSpanish
Dear Parents,
Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) is recognized across the state of Texas as a district where all students have limitless opportunities to thrive. From the daily classroom instruction students receive to the countless extra-curricular activities in which students may choose to be involved, LISD is comprised of world-class educators dedicated to the success of each student.
Nearly 54,000 students walk the halls of LISD, each of them with individual talents, hopes and dreams. In LISD, we help every student find a path toward a future they create, and prepare them for life beyond the halls of our schools.
Perhaps the greatest strength of our school district, however, lies in the tremendous support LISD enjoys from the parents of our students, and community members throughout our district. Part of how we evaluate how well our schools live up to the district’s commitment to our students, parents and the communities we serve is based on your feedback to our community engagement survey.
That’s why I’m asking you to participate in a brief survey, which will be available beginning March 14. The survey asks for your thoughts on how well our schools are performing in a number of important topic areas.
Your responses are confidential and anonymous, and your candid feedback is critical to our efforts toward the continuous improvement of the educational environment in LISD.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey, and for your continued support of our schools.
To take the survey, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LISDHB5.
Best Regards,
Kevin Rogers, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Lewisville Independent School District
Why We Conduct This Survey Annually
House Bill 5 (HB 5), passed by the Texas Legislature in 2013, made substantial changes to the state’s curriculum and graduation requirements, assessment program, and accountability system. The community engagement requirement is an opportunity for districts to showcase areas of excellence and success as well as recognize areas in need of improvement and set future goals valued in the community. Survey results will be utilized to calculate Lewisville ISD (LISD)’s HB5 rating and shared with the community at a future LISD Board meeting.
Estimados padres,
El Distrito Escolar Independiente de Lewisville (LISD) es reconocido a través del estado de Texas como un distrito donde todos los estudiantes tienen oportunidades ilimitadas para prosperar. Desde la instrucción diaria del salón de clases, los estudiantes reciben innumerables actividades extra-curriculares en las cuales los estudiantes pueden elegir participar, LISD está compuesto por educadores de clase mundial dedicados al éxito de cada estudiante.
Cerca de 54,000 estudiantes caminan los pasillos de LISD, cada uno de ellos con talentos individuales, esperanzas y sueños. En LISD, ayudamos a cada estudiante a encontrar un camino hacia el futuro que ellos crean y los preparamos para la vida más allá de los pasillos de nuestras escuelas.
Quizás, la fortaleza más grande de nuestro distrito escolar radica realmente en el enorme apoyo que LISD disfruta por parte de los padres de nuestros estudiantes y los miembros de la comunidad a través de nuestro distrito. Parte de como evaluamos cuán bien nuestras escuelas llevan el compromiso del distrito para nuestros estudiantes, los padres y las comunidades que servimos, está basado en sus comentarios en nuestra encuesta de compromiso con la comunidad.
Es por esta razón que les pido participar en una breve encuesta, la cual estará disponible desde el 14 de marzo. La encuesta pregunta cuáles son sus pensamientos sobre cuán bien nuestras escuelas están funcionando en un número de áreas de temas importantes.
Sus respuestas son confidenciales y anónimas, y sus comentarios sinceros son fundamentales para nuestros esfuerzos hacia el continuo mejoramiento del ambiente educativo en LISD.
Gracias por tomar el tiempo para completar esta encuesta y por su continuo apoyo a nuestras escuelas.
Para tomar la encuesta, por favor visite: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LISDHB5.
Atentamente,
Kevin Rogers, Ed.D.
Superintendente de las escuelas
Distrito Independiente Escolar de Lewisville
¿Por qué hacemos esta encuesta anualmente?
El Proyecto de Ley HB 5, aprobado por la Legislatura de Texas en 2013, hizo cambios sustanciales al currículo del estado y a los requisitos de graduación, programas de evaluación y el sistema de responsabilidad educativa. La participación comunitaria es una oportunidad para que los distritos muestren las áreas de excelencia y éxito, así como reconocer las áreas que necesitan mejoras y establecer metas futuras valoradas en la comunidad. Los resultados de la encuesta serán utilizados para calcular el índice del Proyecto de Ley HB5 de Lewisville ISD (LISD) y compartidos con la comunidad en una futura reunión de la Junta de LISD.
