Dr. Howard's Headlines

Goodness! If there was a way to lose your confidence in me, I may have just done it. It's the truth, I failed algebra three times. The kind of fail that looks like this on your report card: "F". The fail that shreds your confidence. The fail that whispers in your ear, your ninth-grade math teacher was right, you are "unteachable". What do you do after you fail a college class three times? You take it again and pass it! Then you go on and get a doctorate, and hope you run into that teacher one day so that they know you are teachable!

Our students and staff are in the depths of testing season. For some, it is no big deal, just another day. For others, it looks like being so nervous that they vomit before the test. We send such mixed messages, our kids are more than a test score, and then the state sends our school district report cards telling us that is all we are. Our teachers are our most valuable resource, yet the state says they can only make more money based on their students' performance on state tests.

In the face of the pressure and fear, I will choose to celebrate the little and big wins along the way. I will value the things our community values, like good manners, sportsmanship, the arts, and kids who know what it means to work together. I will celebrate the underdogs and the overachievers. I will celebrate growth and mastery. I will celebrate novice and experienced instruction. The point is, when there is so much that works to steal the joy out of school and learning, I will defy it and choose joy! In these last weeks of the school year, I hope you will choose joy with me.

The data used to report in 2023 was collected during 2022. TEA changed the rules of the game during 2022, and school districts did not fully understand that the "indicators", what was being measured, had changed. Let me see if I can help it make sense.

Imagine students playing a football game during the 4th quarter, at the buzzer, the team pushes through the line to make a tie-breaking touchdown. The crowd is cheering, the kids on the field are going crazy, then the referee calls the touchdown "no good". He explains that the game's rules changed right before the touchdown, and touchdowns no longer count, but instead we get points for how far down the field they had to carry the ball in the last play, so instead of seven points, we get 3. There would be chaos. That is what happened with the school accountability system.

We are considered an "B" school district. Our schools are still performing well, our students are demonstrating growth (that is what really counts), and most importantly we are in the game! Do we look different than before, yes we do. Can we do better, yes. We have already begun the work to achieve in the new way of ranking. The scores being released for 2023, do not reflect where we are today, now that we know the new rules of the game.

Accountability is a very important part of the service we provide to you and your children. We are committed to meet and exceed your expectations, to be transparent, and to talk about things even when they are hard.

The last weeks of school are some of the most important days of the school year. Please partner with us to make sure students are in school every minute of every day!