Category Archives: School days

Castro gets involved with school politics

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This will be interesting to watch. Mayor Julián Castro will take an active role in local school board elections and superintendent appointments, he said in an interview Saturday outside SA2020’s final community workshop, one in which education was heralded as … Continue reading →

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Still more on magnet schools

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So what do we know about HISD’s magnet schools and that consultant’s report that recommended some hefty changes to them? Well, other than the consultants themselves, no one likes the report very much. The message was clear at Lamar High … Continue reading →

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More on the magnet schools report

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess it’s just as well that I never made it all the way through that audit on HISD’s magnet schools, because it seems that neither Superintendent Terry Grier nor the Board of Trustees are all that wedded to it. … Continue reading →

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Too many tickets

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Appleseed, via Grits. Class C Ticketing, Arrest of Youth at School is Introducing Thousands to Justice System, Says New Appleseed Report Schools Should Follow Lead of Juvenile Justice Agencies: Restrict Pepper Spray, Taser Use Austin, TX. – A … Continue reading →

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If class size doesn’t matter…

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

…then why do private schools boast about their small classes and low student-teacher ratios? That’s the question former Lite Guv and State Sen. Bill Ratliff asks in the Chron. When confronted with public decision-making, many people find it instructive to … Continue reading →

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The audit on HISD’s magnet programs

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The long-awaited audit has arrived. Students in Houston ISD’s prestigious magnet schools could find themselves shopping for new campuses if district leaders act on a critical audit that suggests eliminating nearly half the programs. The long-awaited audit, released on Friday, … Continue reading →

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Teaching safe social networking skills

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This seems like a good idea. The all-boys San Antonio Academy has long used an internal e-mail system provided by a company called Gaggle. So when Gaggle launched the Social Learning Wall application this year, the private academy’s administrators jumped … Continue reading →

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“Children of God”

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You really need to read this Houston Press story about homeless students and how one HISD elementary school tries to deal with them. Of the 800 kids at Grissom Elementary, 300 of them — or 37 percent — are classified … Continue reading →

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Civil rights complaint against Texas curriculum

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Two civil rights organizations are seeking a federal review of public school education in Texas, accusing state school administrators of violating federal civil rights laws after curriculum changes approved earlier this year by the Texas … Continue reading →

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Will HISD close low-enrollment schools?

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As if there weren’t enough politically charged agenda items out there for next year. Like dozens of campuses in the Houston Independent School District, Jones is losing students and brimming with empty seats. HISD trustees must make politically tough choices … Continue reading →

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Reviewing magnet schools

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be lively. HISD Superintendent Terry Grier is starting to tread in the most politically delicate territory he’s tackled since coming to Houston: the beloved magnet program. Starting this week, the district is holding town hall meetings to … Continue reading →

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The case for using social media in the schools

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds good to me. A year after seventh grade teacher Elizabeth Delmatoff started a pilot social media program in her Portland, Oregon classroom, 20% of students school-wide were completing extra assignments for no credit, grades had gone up more than … Continue reading →

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Story on Texas’ “dropout factories”

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last month I blogged about this Washington Monthly story about colleges with extremely low graduation rates. Here’s a Star-Telegram article about that, which contains some reaction from a couple of the Texas schools named in the original piece. One factor … Continue reading →

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Helping middle schoolers

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think this would be a pretty basic thing to do. Texas Sen. Florence Shapiro was stunned a few years ago when state auditors answered her request with a white surrender flag: They could not tell her which programs designed … Continue reading →

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Are you ready for end-of-course exams?

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A preliminary run of the state’s new end-of-course exams shows that student performance is not where we would want it to be yet. Of the nearly 102,000 students who took the Algebra I test in May, for example, just 57 … Continue reading →

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Dropout factories

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people have recommended this Washington Monthly story about colleges with extremely low graduation rates, and now I’m recommending it to you. I’d never given this any thought before, but having read the story, it’s quite clear to me … Continue reading →

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School social media policies

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN has an interesting look at how Dallas-area school districts handle social networking by its employees. [S]chool districts and teachers trying to reach and engage students and parents find that using the latest and most popular technology is faster, … Continue reading →

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The charter schools make their case

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Specifically, David Dunn, the executive director of the Texas Charter School Association, makes the case for public funds for charter school facilities in this op-ed from the weekend. One of the major obstacles to critical education reform in Texas is … Continue reading →

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Smartphones in the schools

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense to me. While most [San Antonio] area school districts maintain policies that ban students from using cell phones on campus, a few districts are breaking the mold and beginning to admit smart phones into … Continue reading →

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Meet the HISD hopefuls

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The people who are hoping to be appointed to the open HISD Trustee seat made their appearance at Furr High School and made their pitch. Trustees are slated to discuss their options Thursday and must make a decision by next … Continue reading →

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Trustees still dithering about replacing Davila

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no action from the HISD Board of Trustees regarding Diana Davila’s open seat. Trustee Larry Marshall called for holding an election in November but his motion failed 3-5, mostly along racial lines. The board plans to screen possible appointees … Continue reading →

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How the schools are really doing

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I think I’m just going to let the picture tell the story: If you want the words, go read the Trib story. I get that the TPM is supposed to measure growth, and that growth can and does occur with … Continue reading →

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Where all of the children are above average

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your school ratings, according to the Texas Education Agency. Including charter schools, here’s a summary of how the state’s 1,237 districts performed: Exemplary 239 19% Recognized 597 48% Academically Acceptable 346 28% Academically Unacceptable 45 4% Not Rated: … Continue reading →

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TEA Commissioner Scott defends Texas Projection Measure

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott takes advantage of a friendly audience to lash out at critics of the Texas Projection Measure. Scott, speaking to the State Board of Education, said the so-called Texas Projection Measure has been misunderstood and … Continue reading →

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Saint Arnold school supply drive

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from the latest Saint Arnold Army newsletter: School Supply Drive for Needy Families on Wednesday, July 28 In conjunction with State Representative Jessica Farrar, we will be hosting a school supply drive at the brewery on Wednesday, … Continue reading →

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The SBOE and charter schools

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some members of the State Board of Education want to get into the charter school business. Representatives for Texas’ 460 independent charter schools asked the State Board of Education on Wednesday to tap into the state’s education trust fund and … Continue reading →

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Adolfo Santos

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigned her position. It’s not clear yet whether the Board will appoint a replacement or there will be a special election, but Marc Campos is floating the name of a possible successor. UH-Downtown Political … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigns

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. HISD trustee Diana Dávila said Wednesday she will resign from the school board Thursday, more than a year before her term ends. Dávila, who was first elected to the school board in 2003, said she is stepping … Continue reading →

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Charter schools

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s good and there’s bad, and if we’re smart about it we can maximize the former while minimizing the latter. Fifteen years into the Texas charter school experiment, some charters have brought impressive innovation to public education, saved dropouts and … Continue reading →

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Bad projections

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just go read this Trib story about how the Texas Education Agency’s Texas Projection Measure, which purports to measure student academic growth as a way to evaluate school districts, is basically a load of hooey. It was the subject of … Continue reading →

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Meria Carstarphen

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the Chron had a profile of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier that looked at what he had accomplished and what people thought of him after 10 months on the job. This week, the Statesman has a profile of Austin’s … Continue reading →

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Opinions mixed on Terry Grier

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So not a surprise. I’ve expressed similar feelings a time or two myself. To [HISD Superintendent Terry] Grier’s supporters, his thick skin, independence and kids-come-first mantra are proving a successful recipe for shaking up the status quo in Texas’ largest … Continue reading →

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HISD strategic direction meetings

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From an HISD press release: HISD will be holding two interactive, live TV shows to gather comments and feedback from the community. The first will be on Monday, June 28, from 7:00–8:00 p.m., on the HISD channel, and will be … Continue reading →

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Response from Randle Richardson regarding the CEP report

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As noted before, Randle Richardson, the CEO of Community Education Partners (CEP), left a comment on the Hair Balls post in which Houston’s LULAC chapter and the Texas ACLU raised concerns about that report evaluating CEP’s effectiveness. He left a … Continue reading →

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