INSIGHT — Spring 2017

TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL

SPRING 2017

INSIGHT

Classroom Connectivity Initiative—Helping Texas Schools Fund and Improve Internet Access

Coming this fall!

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We’re putting the finishing touches on a brand-new virtual learning platform designed exclusively for campus leaders and district administrators in School Transformation Network (STN) districts.

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School Transformation Network

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SPRING 2017 Volume 32 No. 1

INSIGHT FEATURE ARTICLES

Cover Story ➤

CLASSROOM CONNECTIVITY INITIATIVE 10 Helping Texas schools fund and improve internet access

Dacia Rivers PERSONALIZED LEARNING IN COPPELL ISD 12 New app helps provide insights into student learning styles, aptitudes

Marilyn Denison LEGAL INSIGHT 14 U.S. Supreme Court provides guidance on IDEA

Ramiro Canales TEACHER PERSPECTIVE 15 Personal experiences from a dual-language classroom

Allison Ashley TCEA TECH TAKE 17 Managing complex change

Lori Gracey

TSPRA Voice ➤

MEDIA RELATIONS: TEARING DOWN THE WALL TO TELL OUR STORY 19 Nicole Ray (with contributions from Stephanie Migl and Joel Weckerly)

ARE YOU READY FOR GUNS ON CAMPUS? Robert Nicks, Elvis Arterbury and Bob Thompson

Higher Education ➤

Small Schools Perspective ➤

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CHOICE AND SMALL RURAL SCHOOLS—IS THERE ANY? 25 Michelle Carol Smith

cover photo © Highwaystarz-Photography

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OFFICERS Kevin Brown, President, Alamo Heights ISD Buck Gilcrease, President-Elect, Alvin ISD

DEPARTMENTS

Gayle Stinson, Vice President, Lake Dallas ISD Karen G. Rue, Past President

TASA Professional Learning Calendar

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President’s Message

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Daniel Treviño, Jr., Mercedes ISD, 1

Executive Director’s View

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Troy Mircovich, Ingleside ISD, 2 Jeanette Winn, Karnes City ISD, 3 Greg Smith, Clear Creek ISD, 4 Shannon Holmes, Hardin-Jefferson ISD, 5 Clark C. Ealy, College Station ISD, 6 Stan Surratt, Lindale ISD, 7 Rex Burks, Simms ISD, 8 Kevin L. Dyes, Holliday ISD, 9 Kevin Worthy, Royse City ISD, 10

INSIGHT EDITORIAL STAFF

David Belding, Aubrey ISD, 11 Judi Whitis, Valley Mills ISD, 12

Executive Director

Johnny L. Veselka

Assistant Executive Director, Services and Systems Administration

Ann M. Halstead

Amy Francisco

Director, Communications and Media Relations

Design/Production Anne Harpe

Editorial Director

Dacia Rivers

INSIGHT is published quarterly by the Texas Association of School Administrators, 406 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701-2617. Subscription is included in TASA membership dues. © 2017 by TASA. All rights reserved.TASA members may reprint articles in limited quantities for in-house educational use.

Articles in INSIGHT are expressions of the author or interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of TASA. Advertisements do not necessarily carry the endorsement of the Texas Association of School Administrators.

INSIGHT is printed by 360 Press Solutions, Cedar Park, Texas.

Douglas Killian, Hutto ISD, 13 Joey Light, Wylie ISD, 14 Aaron Hood, Robert Lee ISD, 15 Steve Post, Tulia ISD, 16 Keith Bryant, Lubbock-Cooper ISD, 17 Ariel Elliott, Greenwood ISD, 18 Jose G. Franco, Fort Hancock ISD, 19 Brian T. Woods, Northside ISD, 20

AT-LARGE MEMBERS Elizabeth Clark, Birdville ISD Pauline Dow, North East ISD Gonzalo Salazar, Los Fresnos CISD Doug Williams, Sunnyvale ISD

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Gayle Stinson, Lake Dallas ISD, Chair Steve Flores, Round Rock ISD George Kazanas, Midway ISD Michael McFarland, Lancaster ISD Dawson Orr, Southern Methodist University Jill M. Siler, Gunter ISD Greg Smith, Clear Creek ISD Kevin Worthy, Royse City ISD

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TASA Professional Learning Calendar: April–June 2017 For details on our professional development events, please visit us at www.tasanet.org or call the TASA office at 512.477.6361 or 800.725.TASA (8272)

Date

Event

Presenter Location

April April 4–5, 2017

Future-Ready Superintendents Leadership Network Various EdCamp #3

Menger Hotel San Antonio, TX

April 18–20, 2017

Curriculum Management Audit Training Susan Townsend Level 2

TASA Headquarters Austin, TX

April 19–20, 2017

Academy for Transformational Leadership Schlechty Center Klein ISD – Session 4

Klein Multipurpose Center Klein, TX

June June 25–27, 2017 UT/TASA Summer Conference on Education Various

Renaissance Austin Hotel Austin, TX

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TELLING OUR STORY

T Kevin Brown

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE We are at a time in our state and nation when we must all

hree years ago, the students in our rocketry program in Alamo Heights had the opportunity to engage in a live conversation with American astronauts on the International Space Station that was arranged by a teacher and local congressman. As we watched the two astronauts literally floating in space on the big screen in the classroom, our students asked excellent questions, thrilled to be having this conversation. After the session, one of our senior students, Eric, came up to me and said, “Dr. Brown, I love our rocketry program and I have decided that I will be the first in my family to go to college. I am going to major in Aerospace Engineering, work for NASA and eventually work on the next mission to Mars.” Eric was dead serious. I believed him.

When Eric was a sophomore, he had wanted to drop out of high school. He signed up to take our rocketry class because he thought it would be easy. Instead, he learned that it was quite challenging and that he had to actually do all of the work himself. Students in this class design and build their own rockets.The teacher is really a facilitator, and the class mantra is “failure leads to success.”There are many failed launches, but with each failure, the students learn about what works and what doesn’t. They redesign and rebuild until they get it right.The rockets get progressively bigger and more sophisticated.

Students have Critical Design Reviews in front of actual aerospace engineers from NASA and have to defend their work.

remind people why public schools exist and share the stories of our successes.

By the time Eric entered his second year in the program, he was hooked. He worked for hundreds of hours outside of class as he and his peers built a 22-foot-long rocket weighing 600 pounds with the capacity to travel at three times the speed of sound.The goal height for the launch was 100,000 feet, or three times the height at which a commercial jet flies.The only place in the U.S. where such a rocket can be launched is at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Eric and his team worked hard, and they had a very successful launch. Their rocket traveled nearly 3,000 mph and 34,000 feet high. Although it didn’t make the goal height, it was a stunning accomplishment. Shortly after that launch, Eric was indeed the first in his family to enroll in college. His major—Aerospace Engineering.

During his freshman year in college, Eric came to visit his high school rocketry teacher, Colin Lang. He said,“Mr. Lang, I just got a paid internship at NASA.”“You got it, Eric!” Mr. Lang shouted.They both shared tears of joy. Eric has spent the past two summers working at NASA as a paid intern on, you got it, the mission to Mars. In fact, the Space Launch System he’s working on is the most powerful rocket ever developed for travel into deep space, Mars and beyond.

Eric says, “Instead of looking forward to dropping out, I’m now pursuing a career in aerospace engineering so that I may fulfill my purpose—to become one of the pioneering engineers that are designing and fabricating their way into establishing humanity’s transport to and settlement on Mars.”

Again, tears of pride and joy.

Eric exemplifies who we serve in public education, and his story must be told. His teacher, Mr. Lang, exemplifies the type of teacher who engages students in a way that is needed to transform our schools, and his story must be told. Eric’s learning of calculus, physics, engineering, teamwork, collaboration, problem-solving, professionalism and discipline all came as a result of the learning experience. His story

President’s Message continues on page 9

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TPAC: Answering the challenge of next-generation assessment and accountability

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uilding on the work of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium (THPSC) and recognizing the continuing need to develop alternatives to the A-F state-driven accountability system, we are launching a new initiative—the Texas Performance Assessment Consortium (TPAC).

Johnny L. Veselka

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S VIEW Our goal is to

Among the recommendations made by the Texas Commission on Next-Generation Assessments and Accountability (TCNGAA) in 2016 was a study on alternative, district-based assessment and accountability systems to expand opportunities for innovation, including an examination of schools achieving high levels of academic success with limited resources. TCNGAA specified that the study should identify school districts, including the 22 districts of the THPSC and Texas charters, that have adopted community-based assessment and accountability systems designed to promote family and community engagement and reflect their community’s needs, values and interests.

demonstrate that a well-crafted communitybased accountability system has the necessary explanatory power to clearly communicate the quality of effort undertaken by a school and a district such that it can eventually supplant the standardized testcentric system in place in Texas for more than 20 years.

During the past few years, through the work of the THPSC, the idea of community-based accountability systems has grown. A number of Texas districts are now experimenting with various models. Those that support them have come to recognize the serious limitations of an accountability system based on a single, end-of-year test. Chief among those limitations is that the results represent a narrow view, if not a misrepresentation, of the actual work being performed in a school.

Forty four school districts, ranging in size from 540 to 98,000-plus students, that are either part of the THPSC, the group of districts that make up the Consortium Associates, or involved in TASA’s FutureReady Superintendents Leadership Network, have responded to an invitation to be part of TPAC this spring.

TPAC’s mission is to build and support next-generation measures and assessments in support of community-based accountability systems.The first year of TPAC has been designed as a pilot involving the 44 districts that have volunteered to participate. The plan is to open up the opportunity to more districts in the second year. Our goal is to demonstrate that a well-crafted community-based accountability system has the necessary explanatory power to clearly communicate the quality of effort undertaken by a school and a district such that it can eventually supplant the standardized test-centric system in place in Texas for more than 20 years.

We believe that the next generation of assessments and accountability must be driven and created locally. When a superintendent, a principal, and a teacher each ask the core accountability question: “For what am I accountable and to whom?” each walk away with answers tailored to them and the students they serve.Though individual districts will develop answers to their accountability questions that are different based on their communities’ needs, the commonalities that arise throughout the process will make the statewide project worthwhile for informing development of future communitybased accountability systems.

TPAC will partner with organizations including the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), which for the past 10 years has been a leader in building highly reliable performance measures at the local level. Other partners are the Portland, Maine-based Great Schools Partnership, one of the primary contractors for competency-based programs in the United States, and the Institute for Executive Director’s Message continues on page 9

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President’s Message continued from page 7

is far more meaningful than any test score or grade because it changed the trajectory of his life. His learning was far more enriching than what can be measured on a standardized test.

I think of Eric often, as well as the 5.3 million public schoolchildren in Texas. Each of us has students just like him, and, more often than not, there’s an inspiring story about how teachers like Mr. Lang made an impact on them.

We are at a time in our state and nation when we must all remind people why public schools exist and share the stories of our successes.We also have to give our teachers the freedom from standardized

Executive Director’s Message continued from page 8

tests to be innovative and creative like Mr. Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, Lang. which brings educators the best current knowledge and research about learning I applaud the efforts of groups such as Go processes and principles of instruction.

Public here in San Antonio, the newly formed Gulf Coast Go Public campaign, The benefit of TPAC’s work to schools Friends of Texas Public Schools, TASB, and districts, in addition to developing a and now the #TexEdTuesday campaign way to create a rich performance assessstarted by North Texas superintendents, ment program in support of initiatives as well as the efforts of many other groups such as high-priority learning standards and even your own school districts. and college and workplace readiness, will be to participate in the creation of metrics I am thankful for the stories you tell, the that can be included in a communityefforts you make, and the inspiration it based accountability system. Success by brings to all. What a blessing to work in TPAC members could well be the catalyst a profession where we get to see these for a new generation of school accountmiracles happen every day. My challenge ability that is tied directly to the activities to you is this—keep sharing your stories. undertaken by a school and the quality of the results, ultimately providing the policy community with a compelling alternative.

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CLASSROOM CONNECTIVITY INITIATIVE Helping Texas schools fund and improve internet access

By Dacia Rivers

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ince 1997, the FCC’s E-Rate program has been helping schools across the country offset the cost of getting online and improving internet access—but for school districts in Texas, the program is now more attractive than ever. Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the Texas Classroom Connectivity Initiative in a partnership with the nonprofit organization EducationSuperHighway and the TEA.This initiative can offer financial and organizational assistance to Texas public schools looking to create and improve internet access for students and staff, in some cases even canceling out the cost of installing new fiber lines.

The initiative has two main goals: to make sure every school in Texas has a fiber connection, and to make sure every school district has enough internet access that teachers and students can access technology in their classrooms, according to EducationSuperHighway CEO Evan Marwell.

For a typical Texas school district, the E-rate program covers about 70 percent of the district’s costs of fiber installation or upgrades. Under the initiative, the TEA has asked for an exceptional item of $25 million over the biennium. These state funds would allow 10 percent of a school district’s fiber construction or upgrades to be covered by the state, which would trigger an additional matching 10 percent in funding from the FCC.This means that many Texas school districts could receive as much as 90 percent funding for fiber projects, while small and rural districts that qualify for an initial 80 percent funding from E-Rate could install and improve fiber lines at no cost.

“Many of our districts tell us that one of the reasons they haven’t run fiber is because they cannot come up with that extra 10 or 20 percent,” says Melody Parrish, chief information officer at the TEA.“This is really a one-time opportunity for the state of Texas to give districts an extra 20 percent funding on their approved fiber projects.”

“Governor Abbott and Commissioner Mike Morath have recognized that school districts in Texas, especially those in rural and small town districts, don’t really have the money they need to build fiber to schools that don’t have it,” Marwell says.“And so they’ve requested $25 million in their budget this year as a matching fund that school districts can access to help pay for those connections.”

Even Texas school districts with functioning fiber connections are eligible for the program.To qualify, a district must fall short of the FCC’s goal of a minimum of 100 kilobits of bandwidth per student.The initiative serves to help these fiber improvement districts by improving existing fiber lines or negotiating better deals with service providers to increase bandwidth at low or no extra cost.

Currently, EducationSuperHighway is working with 175 school districts in Texas to help take advantage of the initiative and improve access.

“We see the most action in Texas of any state in the country, which is really amazing given the size of the state,” Marwell says. “But what’s really important is there are still a couple hundred districts that aren’t doing anything yet and need to take action.”

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Districts must apply for the matching state and FCC funds by May 2018, which means now is the time to reach out and see what the initiative can do for your school district.

While Salado’s schools were connected, they did not meet the minimum goal of 100 kilobits per student, making them eligible for assistance. They had already run their fiber lines, but the folks at EducationSuperHighway were able to help the district in another way—by negotiating their costs with their local service provider.

request for proposal, and EducationSuperHighway is available to help districts do just that. They also help districts find service providers and negotiate the best prices, like they did in Salado.

Huntsville ISD is in the process of upgrading its fiber lines to include dark, or as-yet-unused, fiber. Huntsville decided to lay these extra fiber lines in an attempt to prepare for increased need and costs in the future. Tracie Simental, Huntsville ISD’s executive director of technology, worked with EducationSuperHighway to determine the district’s needs, plan the best way to meet those needs for the long term, and create an RFP.

A good place to start is at compareandconnectk12.org, a website where school districts can see what kind of connection “They were able to work with our vendor every other school district in the state, and and they got us a higher capacity inter- in the country, is buying, who they’re buynet connection speed for the same price,” ing it from, and what they’re paying for it.

Bragg says.“Basically, they doubled it.”

When you’re ready to reach out, send Before this, Salado met 70 percent of the an email to classroomconnectivity@ 100 kilobit speed goal. After this negotia- tea.texas.gov to get the ball rolling, tion, they now meet and exceed it at 135 and someone from the TEA will conpercent. This increase has improved con- nect you with the connectivity experts at EducationSuperHighway. nectivity for schools in Salado greatly.

“For a small district, we didn’t have anybody on staff that knew all the ins and outs and intricacies of going through a fiber project,” Simental says. “It was really helpful to have the consultants available to walk you through that and make sure you didn’t leave any loopholes.”

“We were noticing congestion and backlogs, slower services, but right now we’re having no issues with bottlenecks or speeds or anything of that sort,” Braggs says. “Teachers are happy because they click on something and they get a faster response, and they get to focus on teaching the kids and not having to deal with The payoff has been great for Huntsville. technology.”

Eligible for an initial funding of 80 percent from E-Rate, the district will have Braggs says he would recommend any 100 percent of its fiber construction costs school district in Texas reach out to see if covered thanks to the Classroom Connec- the initiative or EducationSuperHighway tivity Initiative, if the legislature approves can help them, even if, like him, they don’t the budget request. see how it’s possible at first.

“This year and next year are critical because these are the two years those matching funds could be available,” Marwell says.“If you don’t get your fiber built in the next two years, those funds won’t be there, and you’re gonna have to pick up a lot more of the cost.”

Initiative in action

“I thought, we’ll try it out, it can’t hurt, “They found exactly the point where I and we’ve been impressed,” Simental says. was, where I needed help, and they were able to help me,” Braggs says.

In Salado ISD, Technical Director Earl Bragg had already begun upgrading the The first step district’s infrastructure with new fiber and switches when EducationSuperHighway Marwell urges districts in Texas to look reached out to him about the initiative. into how the initiative and his organization can help as soon as possible, especially “I was like, ‘Well, there’s no way you can since the state funding is only available help me,’” Bragg says, “But they actually through fiscal year 2019. One of the first ended up helping me.” steps of any fiber project is preparing a

Currently, 83 percent of Texas school districts meet the 100 kilobits per student goal, up from 67 percent in 2015.Through the Classroom Connectivity Initiative, the governor’s office and its partners hope to increase this rate to 100 percent, but school districts must act fast to get the most financial assistance possible.

“Reach out now and we can get the process started,” Marwell says. “The sooner n the better.”

Dacia Rivers is editorial director of INSIGHT.

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PERSONALIZED LEARNING IN COPPELL ISD New app helps provide insights into student learning styles, aptitudes Dr. Marilyn Denison Students enter the classroom with a wide range of skills, aptitudes and academic ranges, making it difficult for teachers to serve all equally well.

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ersonalized learning is not a new concept. In fact, teachers have long been trying to meet individual needs of students through pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments. However, students enter the classroom with a wide range of skills, aptitudes and academic ranges, making it difficult for teachers to serve all equally well. No matter how hard a teacher plans, students may not receive the adequate time or specific interventions to change their trajectory of learning. Or students may have needs the teacher doesn’t get a chance to address within the amount of time that class allows, which may unintentionally result in students falling through the cracks. So what is one district doing to improve the pathway for personalized learning?

Coppell ISD (CISD) is a district in North Dallas.The district is home to 16 schools that serve 12,500 students and employ 760 teachers.The mission statement of CISD establishes the need for learners to achieve personal success and for students to develop a zeal for service through engaged and innovative learning experiences. The vision of educators is to prepare students for their futures. In other words, educational practices in CISD are focused on preparing students for jobs that have yet to emerge, using technologies that haven’t been invented, solving problems that have yet evolved, and connecting to a world in ways not invented. To address this high demand, CISD has embraced technology as a tool for instructional delivery, research exploration and project development.The district has a 1:X device philosophy with iPads issued to every student and teacher. Most classrooms have sets of laptops and students are encouraged to bring their own devices.These devices allow students to access information rapidly, to collaborate on projects, and to provide a means to connect to real world experiences.

However, personalized learning was still a struggle, until now.

The journey began the summer of 2015, when several representatives from IBM and Apple met with the CISD leadership team. IBM asked for a partnership to assist in the development of an educator app that would transform learning experiences by providing critical insights about each student so that educators can personalize learning. The app would provide advanced cognitive solutions that understand and reason to help educators gain insights into learning styles, preferences and aptitude of every student.Who would say no to that?

CISD committed to providing time for educators to collaborate and provide input as to how the app would best meet the needs of teachers.Three different teams from IBM met with CISD teams of curriculum, technology and information systems for a discovery workshop.The purpose of this workshop was just that—to discover how the school district functioned with their systems that support teaching and learning. This gave IBM the information they needed to understand how education works in CISD and to begin a discussion of how CISD would like things to work in the future.

The fun for CISD staff began in January 2016, when a team that consisted of one teacher each from an elementary, middle and high school, CISD’s instructional technology lead, and the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, went to IBM’s headquarters in Cupertino, California,

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to participate in a design thinking process at the Design Lab. What an experience that was! The first exercise for the teachers was to describe their workday from the moment they woke up to the time they went to bed. Pain points, or problem areas, were identified with great discussions about why they were pain points.

The design engineers then created a story that captured the teachers’ daily efforts and their impact on student learning.

the app might look like in real time.Wow! All design educators were impressed, speechless (and that is hard for educators), and overjoyed to the point of tears. The design engineers continued to ask for feedback to improve their work and align the app to the teachers’ needs.

Upon returning to the district, bimonthly virtual meetings were scheduled between the development engineers and the educator design team as the app was under development. Each step of the process included feedback from the educator design team. Within a few months, the app was developed and in the hands of the design team in CISD. So what does this app do?

calendar of events and class schedule with class averages. Tapping into a class reveals a pictorial view of the class roster with student averages, standards and objectives with mastery levels, and students that need immediate attention for anything from a grade dropping to a celebration of an event. Also on this class page, the teacher can document notes, sort students by various means, and track learning from formative assessments. A simple tap takes the teacher to individual student pages that provide a more 360-degree view of a student. A teacher can document the student’s learning style, special interests and service learning projects, among other things. All courses the student is assigned to show up on this page, which allows for immediate connections among teachers to better design experiences for this student.

The second day at the Design Lab, the design engineers presented drawings of a future app that would support the work of teachers and relieve identified pain point areas. There was great collaboration between the educators and the design engineers to determine structure of the information for the app.

The MobileFirst iOS education app, Element, provides teachers with a holisThat led to day three and the excitement tic view of each student through a fun, And it gets better! There is a web partner that was felt in the Design Lab.The design easy-to-use mobile experience. Upon to the Element app that is called Enlight. engineers developed screenshots of what opening the app, a teacher sees his or her This web product provides specific and Personalized Learning… continues on page 26

Carla Mendoza Lopez, right, with (L-R) Mason Mulkey and Amrutha Mantha, use IBM Watson Element at Coppell ISD’s Richard Lee Elementary School.

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LEGAL INSIGHT U.S. Supreme Court provides guidance on IDEA

by Ramiro Canales

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Importantly, the Supreme Court concluded that a child’s “educational program must be appropriately ambitious in light of [the] circumstances.”

n a unanimous opinion issued on March 22, the U.S. Supreme Court provided new guidance to school districts regarding compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

IDEA provides Texas with federal money to help educate students with disabilities. Receipt of the money is contingent upon school districts providing students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE) via an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

At issue in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School Dist. RE-1, No. 15-827, was the adequacy of an IEP for a child with autism. Endrew had attended the Douglas County School District in Colorado from preschool until the fourth grade. Endrew’s parents enrolled him at Firefly Autism House, a private school that specializes in educating children with autism. After Endrew enrolled at the private school, his parents sought reimbursement for the tuition they had to pay. They filed a complaint under the IDEA with the Colorado Department of Education, which was denied.

The parents challenged the denial in federal court. The federal court affirmed the denial and the parents appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial. Relying on Board of Ed. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist.Westchester Cty. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982), the Tenth Circuit created its own standard and concluded that an IEP is adequate if it provides an “educational benefit [that is] merely…more than de mininis.” Endrew F., slip op. at 8.Applying its own standard, the Tenth Circuit concluded that Endrew’s IEP had been “reasonably calculated to enable [him] to make some progress” and thus Endrew was provided a free appropriate public education. Id. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review Endrew’s case.

The Tenth Circuit established a de minimis standard for an IEP. However, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the de minimis standard.The Court held that “[t]o meet its substantive obligation under the IDEA, a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” Id. at 11. Importantly, the Supreme Court concluded that a child’s “educational program must be appropriately ambitious in light of [the] circumstances.” Id. at 14.

The Supreme Court did not define the phrase “appropriately ambitious” or create a bright-line rule.

The Supreme Court noted that it did “not attempt to elaborate on what ‘appropriate’ progress will look like from case to case.” Id. at 15. “The adequacy of a given IEP turns on the unique circumstances of n the child for whom it was created.” Id.

Ramiro Canales is an attorney and the assistant executive director of governmental relations at TASA. Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice.

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TEACHER PERSPECTIVE Personal experiences from a dual-language classroom

by Allison Ashley

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Dual-language programs serve as powerful means of building students’ positive self-identities, appreciation for diversity, motivation to preserve their heritage language, and overall achievement in schools.

s adults, most of us can think back to recurring negotiations we navigated with our parents at a young age. As children, my siblings and I were often angling for ways to get more screen time in exchange for speaking Spanish.The rule was, if we spoke in my mother’s native language for the week, we could watch an episode of our favorite show. Countless weeks passed when I wasn’t able to watch “Anne of Green Gables,” and over the years, I slowly lost my Spanish-speaking skills. It wasn’t until college when I enrolled in Spanish literature courses that I began to reclaim my bilingualism.

I have seen a similar struggle for language maintenance play out over the years as a bilingual educator.

Though my story differs from those of my students in numerous ways, the challenge of language preservation is often a common thread. Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the 1980s, we didn’t have bilingual Spanish-English classes and, being inundated by environmental English likely affected my disposition toward a second language.

Benefits of dual language After five years of teaching and a master’s degree in literacy coaching, I decided to return to the classroom. I sought to work in a place that valued students’ heritage language and found ways to develop, elevate and celebrate linguistic diversity in schools. Dual-language programs do just this. Specifically, they seek to build students’ proficiency in two languages simultaneously with the ultimate aim of students becoming bilingual, bi-literate, and developing strong multicultural competencies.With this goal in mind, I found my way back to Austin ISD as it was beginning its district-wide implementation of dual language.

Knowing abundant research points to the positive long-term impact of students in dual-language programs, I was eager to dig in. In the early months of teaching dual language, I began to see some additional benefits of teaching through two languages.

Schools that are inclusive of linguistic diversity provide a foundation for students developing positive self identities and an appreciation for diversity. Instead of transitional models that eventually replace instruction in the students’ native language with English, dual language upholds students’ mother tongues, helping them develop pride in themselves and their backgrounds.

It goes without saying that language is power in our society, and it’s one of the necessary foundations for learning. Dual-language programs can challenge traditional power structures in our schools where English Language Learners were often seen as having a language deficit. Instead, a student’s home language is an asset that is leveraged by teachers and classmates in instructional and social settings.

Supporting teachers Over the years, the principals for whom I have worked have helped me develop as a dual-language teacher and, in turn, positively affected the achievement of my students.Among the many things these

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administrators do to support dual language communication and building students’ in our schools, below are four key areas vocabulary in both languages, this sends that stand out.These principals: the message to staff and students that both languages are valued. These actions also Create a bold campus vision for dual serve as a model, and are constant reminder language. The leadership teams at the of, expectations for teachers. schools where I have worked have created a strong vision for our dual-language pro- Make cooperative learning a pedagrams and what’s possible for all students. gogical cornerstone of the school.

They face challenges with an orientation Students develop language through expetoward solutions. Furthermore, discussions rience and interaction with others. In around best practices, setbacks and prog- one of our first years as a dual-language ress across grade levels are discussed with campus, our principal set a campus-wide staff on a continual basis. goal of increasing cooperative learning in classrooms.We attended trainings and were Commit to school-wide dual lan- provided ongoing support. This strengthguage. There’s a commitment among ened our cooperative learning practices administration to create a culture of and got students building linguistic profibilingualism. All signs and home com- ciency throughout the content areas and in munication are available in both both languages daily. languages. “Language of the day” is used to balance school-wide announcements, Engage family members. Parents play morning assemblies and all informal inter- an important role in the education of their actions. In addition to providing effective child, and principals can develop among

them an understanding of what dual language is and its benefits. In my experience, this has increased their investment in the program. Additionally, parents occasionally have misconceptions about learning two languages simultaneously, and administrators can help both clarify the intent and promise of dual language while also assuaging any concerns.

Dual-language programs serve as powerful means of building students’ positive self-identities, appreciation for diversity, motivation to preserve their heritage language, and overall achievement in schools.

By setting a strong vision, committing to campus-wide dual language, promoting cooperative learning, and engaging families, administrators enhance dual-language programs and learning for all students. n 2017 Texas Teacher of the Year Allison Ashley teaches at Becker Elementary School in Austin ISD.

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TCEA TECH TAKE Managing complex change Lori Gracey

A

How do you get staff, parents and students to embrace needed change?

ttend any educational conference, webinar, workshop or networking event and you’ll hear the same theme over and over again: Change is needed for our schools today. And to some extent, I think we can all agree with that premise.We all want to see improvements made in how teachers teach, students learn and administrators lead.We all know we can be better.

The problem comes when we have to decide how to implement and manage that change.As the title of one of my favorite books states:“Change Is Good…You Go First.” No one gets up in the morning and immediately wants to begin changing. In fact, most of us actively resist the need to change. So, if you’re an administrator trying to put in a new reading program, a 1:1 technology initiative, or even a different bus route system, how do you get the staff, parents and students to embrace needed change?

Timothy Knoster identified several conditions necessary in order for change to take place (Knoster, Villa, & Thousand, 2000). He explored existing organizational change models in an effort to provide educational leaders with a simple tool to help facilitate sustained, programmatic change in schools.

He then put that tool into an easy-to-read chart (shown on page 18).The chart lists the five essential elements that must be present for change to occur (vision, skills, incentives, resources and a plan) and— more importantly—shows the negative impacts when those elements are not present.

The top row of the chart shows what happens when all of the elements are in place. Each subsequent row illustrates what occurs if one particular element is not provided.While Knoster did not mean for them to be completed in any particular order, I believe that the order he has them listed in is the best way to address them, beginning with vision and working through to a plan.

Vision We have long known that without a clear vision in place,“the people perish.”With any new initiative, it’s imperative that the leaders explain why the change is needed and what that fully implemented change will look like when it’s done. The leaders, whether they are administrators, key teachers, or the technology director, must paint a clear and compelling picture of what the change looks like on a daily basis and specifically how it will benefit those involved. If you cannot address both the nature of the change and its incentives, then, according to Knoster, there will be confusion. Some individuals may try to alter the implementation because they are not clear on what should be happening.And the implementation will ultimately fail.

Skills As a leader about to implement a new program, it’s critical that you identify what will be difficult about the “new thing” and what skills the people involved, whether staff or students, will need to have to conquer those difficulties. If you do not do this, anxiety will rule. And the anxiety will be greatest for those leading the change. Once those skills have been named, then it’s your role to provide the training necessary to help everyone involved master those skills. As you know from best practice, learning

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that trying to force people to make the will carry everyone involved through the change will guarantee its failure. They change. Without a plan, participants will must be enticed into joining in. feel like they’re just running in place and making no real difference. The plan must include realistic deadlines, a clear underResources standing of who’s responsible for each Regardless of the change being impleaction, and small celebrations along the Incentives mented, there will be things that must be way.The plan should also come with conFor those who resist the change, you will provided in order for it to be successful. tingencies and actions to be taken when need incentives to motivate them. Don’t These might be purchased items, like extra failures occur.A strong plan can stand up to immediately assume that this element chargers and power strips for a new 1:1 setbacks and provide reassurance and help. requires additional money. Incentives are computer initiative, or additional time dursimply the carrot that you use to entice ing one part of the school day to tackle the Others have built on Knostner’s work by those who are reluctant to embrace the new discipline management program. If adding three more necessary elements for change. Incentives for staff members could you do not provide the required resources, successful implementation: buy-in (which be the opportunity to watch another then those involved will become frustrated can be tied into the vision), actionable first educator demonstrate the skill in class or as they try to implement the change. Ask steps (included in the plan), and a plan recognition in a faculty meeting for hav- those implementing the change what they for evaluation after the change has been ing tried, even if it didn’t work the first need to be successful, and provide what implemented (also in the plan). time. Being allowed to wear jeans one day they request, thus removing one of the for those who try the change could also be barriers to a successful change.

If all of these elements are in place, you can an effective motivation. Small incentives dramatically increase the likelihood that work just as well as large ones, and could The Plan the change you want to put in place will be be a candy bar with a note attached from successful. Improvements will be made and you or extra snacks in the work room for Once you have all of the above elements sustained. Students will learn and be more everyone for their efforts. Keep in mind in place, then you can create the plan that engaged and empowered by their learning.

You and your staff will be less stressed. At the end of the day, people will always be skeptical of or resistant to change. But if Conditions for Successful Implementation the change is worthwhile and the plan for Vision + Skills + Incentives + Resources + Plan = Sustainable Change implementing it is well thought out, then progress will be embraced. new skills is not a one-time event, but must happen over an extended period of time with plenty of opportunities provided for hands-on learning, discussion and reflection.

Skills

+ Incentives + Resources +

Plan

= Confusion

Vision

+ Incentives + Resources +

Plan

= Anxiety

Vision

+

Skills

+ Resources +

Plan

= Resistance

Vision

+

Skills

+ Incentives +

Plan

= Frustration

Vision

+

Skills

+ Incentives + Resources

Vision:

The “Why are we doing this?” to combat confusion.

Skills:

The skill sets needed to combat anxiety.

Incentives: Reasons, perks, advantages to combat resistance.

Resources: Tools and time needed to combat frustration.

Knoster,T.,Villa, R., and Thousand, J. (2000)

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= Treadmill

Reference Timothy Knoster, Richard Villa, and Jacqueline Thousand. Restructuring for Caring and Effective Education: Piecing Together the Puzzle, 2nd Edition. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing, Co., 2000. n

Plan: Provides the direction to eliminate the treadmill effect.

Lori Gracey is the executive director of the Texas Computer Education Association.

TSPRA VOICE Media relations: Tearing down the wall to tell our story Nicole Ray (with contributions from Stephanie Migl and Joel Weckerly)

O Fostering a culture of responsiveness, trust and accountability with key members of the media can and will benefit your district and public education as a whole.

h, the media! It can be a love-hate relationship. As communication professionals, our tendency is to love the media when they’re sharing a feel-good story about a student or campus success.

Whether it be that moment when the football team pushes a wheelchair-bound classmate the entire length of the field to score his very first touchdown, or the trombone player who overcomes all odds to become first chair, win state and get accepted to the New England Conservatory. It’s during these media-worthy moments that a dry eye does not exist in the viewing audience and all is right with the world—humanity is spared and public education shines bright within the community.

But then, just as you find comfort in celebrating the great publicity reported about your district, a reporter shows up uninvited to a campus trying to interview students or parents in the car rider line about an adverse incident, or they post a picture and story from a supposed eyewitness without any factual merit. Sometimes it may be a nasty tweet accusing your district of withholding information.

And then there’s SWEEPS month—that awkward time that happens twice per year when absolutely anything can and will become a headline for the media and nothing short of a headache for you. No matter what your experience has been, everyone has similar stories they would like to wipe from their collective memory and at times like this, we tend to loathe the media.

With the rise of social media and cellphones, everyone is now a potential reporter. People are able to get their news from countless outlets.Traditional sources such as newspapers and television stations have seen a decline in viewership as more and more people get their information from online news sites, blogs and social media feeds.The traditional method of researching a story, fact checking and sending a reporter to the location has been replaced by a viewer sending a quick upload to a news blog. Often times, stories go viral before anyone realizes the information is not factual, putting reputations and trust on the line. Comments pour in from around the world allowing those with no investment in your community to slander your schools and push their own political agenda.The rivalry for readers is competitive, and the truth often falls by the wayside. Unfortunately, telling a lie—or rather “providing alternative facts”—has become acceptable and in many instances has become the norm. It is hard to tell truth from reality with the rise of “fake news” sites. So prevalent online, this was actually a serious topic of discussion during the last presidential election.

A recent Cypress-Fairbanks ISD communication survey revealed that 65 percent of non-parents and 49 percent of parents receive their district information from local media.What does that really mean?

The majority of our taxpayers, approximately 70 percent who do not have students in our district, look to the media as their main source for receiving district information. It’s hard to ignore these facts. It’s become imperative that school district PR personnel work with the media to tell our own story… otherwise, the media will tell their own version of it for you.

Public education has been under attack from virtually every angle, and it often feels like full combat when dealing with the media. From ambush interviews to outright lies and from every student having the capability to be a reporter, what’s a school district to do? Financial resources are limited, as well as the number of staff members. Finding that delicate balance of working with the media and telling your

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own story can often be hard to manage.

It’s no longer an option to duck and cover or run and hide. Although it may be difficult for us to admit, we need the media, and the media needs us.They need us for content and ratings, and we need them to help tell our stories. This complicated relationship is much like that of a marriage on the rocks. In the words of famous poet Friedrich Nietzsche, “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

It is true that our love for the media may have been jaded by years of abuse.

It’s no secret that at any given time we may encounter a situation where members of the media turn on you in an interview, twist a comment that was casually made in passing or become aggressive and use intimidation tactics to try to make more of a story when there is no more to give. In one instance, a well-known investigative reporter showed up at the communication office unexpectedly and ambushed the administrative assistant with questions.

Thankfully, she remained calm and was able to utilize strategies learned from training (yes, cross-training is necessary).

Another incident occurred when interviewing a life-saving bus driver; one reporter twisted her statement to make the story appear that she was directed to keep students on a burning bus. Misquoting, misleading information, sensationalized headlines and, in many cases, outright lies, are enough to send any sane person running for cover or refusing to answer the phone. But, it’s important to remember, as in life, there are those with integrity and those without—they have a job to do and so do we. We learn through experience that working with the right person makes all the difference in the world. Staying clear of those with ill intentions is acceptable and must be intentional on our end.When

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you find a true professional, you invest in that relationship, just like you would with a co-worker, building mutual respect and trust. This may be a bit more challenging for those in smaller media markets, but it can still be done.

Now is the time when the skeptics might want to stop reading, but wait, in the immortal words of REO Speedwagon “…if you’re tired of the same old story, turn some pages.”We all know the definition of insanity and the way we reacted to the media in the past did not serve us well.

After all, reporting what is perceived to be news is the media’s job. Like us, they’re just trying to tell a story. A few years ago, our department reached a point where we found ourselves in need of change in how we interacted with the media. We began to make deliberate adjustments to the way we worked with the media. Over the past several years, we have strived to create a culture of responsiveness and transparency, providing timely and factual answers to all requests we receive. We actively

engage media and work with them to help promote our student, staff and district accomplishments. Taking a proactive approach to positive and negative news, our communication is regular, expected and intentional. This does not mean that you should not hold them accountable when they do make a mistake. Although they rarely admit or correct misinformation, you will set a precedent that you do not tolerate it. Using our mass notification system, social media and the district website, we quickly and easily update parents and staff when information must be shared.The community is much more accepting of negative news when they have heard it from the campus and/or district first.

For the past several years, we have made the TASB Media Honor Roll Award a great celebration, modeled after the format used by the Publisher’s Clearing House.

Each year, we secretly collaborate with station managers and editors throughout the city to surprise the winners.We gather

KPRC News Simone Eli poses with the Cypress Springs High School girls’ track team.

Community Impact Editor Marie Leonard accepts the TASB Media Honor Roll award from CFISD’s communication department.

our team, and complete with a framed certificate and balloons, we ambush the winners at their place of employment. The excitement surrounding the award presentation and the good will is hard to measure. When surprising local Fox reporter Greg Groogan, the award became the news. Fox 26 News turned the surprise into a story that aired on the 5 o’clock news. It also gave us the opportunity to visit one-on-one with the station manager, sharing statistics and details about our district and encouraging him to give us more coverage.

covering news throughout the district. In the inaugural year, 97 students at 10 high schools participated in the program and to date, more than 197 students are participating in the program garnering a total of 194 bylines. The relationships developed with local print media benefitted both students and media, with articles being published in major publications such as the Houston Chronicle and Cy-Fair Magazine. HSJN students also participate in monthly press conferences not only with community leaders, local politicians and famous athletes, but also with news anchors, reporters and radio hosts. This Recognizing that covering positive news program has been instrumental in adding in a district the size of CFISD with a small to the positive working relationships our communication team was nearly impos- district has established with members of sible, assistant director for communication, the media.

Joel Weckerly, created the High School Journalism Network (HSJN) in 2014. Whether we want to admit it or not, we Not only does HSJN provide journalism need the media.Who’s to say how people students with real-life experience in the will receive their news in the future? With field, they act as an army of foot soldiers the ever-changing political climate,

evolving social media outlets and communication channels that have not even been invented yet, the media is delivering the news (positive and negative) faster than ever. The challenge for us, as communication personnel, is to stay ahead of the game and execute our story. We can either embrace the media or shun them, as has been a past pattern. Fostering a culture of responsiveness, trust and accountability with key members of the media can and will benefit your district and public education as a whole. A wall exists between us only if we allow it to stand. Let us tear it down and make our schools even stronger n in the public eye.

Nicole Ray, assistant superintendent for communication and community relations at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, has been a member of TSPRA since 2013, when she moved from the private sector to public education.

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HIGHER ED Are you ready for guns on campus?

Robert Nicks, Elvis Arterbury and Bob Thompson

A

ccording to Everytown Research, an organization that tracks gun violence in schools, nationwide there have been 207 school shootings since 2013, an average of one per week. Although it’s a remote possibility that a shooting will occur on a particular campus, that’s little consolation to many parents.Throughout Texas, parents and school administrators are coping with the question of how to best protect our children. Most campuses already have a secured entryway for screening visitors. But is that enough? Or do we dare arm employees, SRO officers or other individuals and risk some very negative consequences? But what if we do not arm them and there’s an attack on a campus?

To answer these and related questions, we asked Texas school superintendents to complete a survey to determine the use (or non-use) of guns as part of their district emergency plan.That survey was conducted in May 2016 with 137 superintendents responding.This article is a summary of the information we gathered, along with some recommendations to consider before adopting a gun policy. Since the survey was anonymous, we cannot identify the location or size of the districts.

If your district chooses to authorize guns on campus, it’s important that your policy address the issues raised in this article. Every district has a set of unique circumstances that make it difficult to develop a “one size fits all” policy.The “guns on campus” issue is so new to school districts that there are few sources of information to explore, and what information does exist often contains conflicting legal interpretation. Although several districts do have policies related to guns on campus, as yet no model policy has emerged that school boards can adopt with confidence that it has been vetted to pass legal scrutiny.

The “guns on campus” issue is so new to school districts that there are few sources of information to explore, and what information does exist often contains conflicting legal interpretation.

One policy issue is clear: School districts that adopt a policy allowing guns on campus incur significant additional liability.What’s not clear are the legal protections necessary to hold the employee harmless in case of a shooting, whether accidental or in defense of others.These and dozens of similar questions are being discussed by school district leadership teams throughout the state.

School districts in Texas are required to have an Emergency Operations Plan (TEC 37.108(a)), which, among other requirements, identifies the school district’s preparedness and response for multi-hazard emergencies. Additionally, the state has a certification program for school districts that have an EOP that includes “security measures for facilities and grounds.” Listed below are some strategies available to school districts that authorize individuals to carry guns on campus. n

n

n

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With a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the school district may utilize the services of a School Resource Officer (SRO) who is employed by a governmental entity and placed at a school district on a full- or part-time basis.

A school district may create a police force (TEC 37.081) and develop cooperation with other law enforcement agencies (MOU) that also have jurisdiction on school property.

A district may hire security personnel and authorize them to carry a weapon on campus property.

Security personnel must be commissioned peace officers.

n

n

n

A school district may enter into a contract with a private security company, although the authorization of employees of a private agency to carry a weapon on campus is somewhat ambiguous.

School districts in Texas may appoint school marshals (TEC 37.0811) and, when in compliance with specified requirements, may carry a weapon on campus.

School districts may authorize designated employees, by named individual or by classification, to carry a firearm on campus. (Tex. Penal Code 46.03(a) (1), federal GFSA, and Texas Attorney General Opinion GA-1051 (2014).

Some superintendents reported their boards had approved certain adults to carry firearms, but only in specified classification groups. Those classifications are listed below in decreasing order: n n n n n n n n

Superintendent Principals Central administrators Assistant principals Coaches Teachers Custodians Bus drivers

It’s also interesting that when asked, “Are board members approved by district policy to carry a weapon on campus?” a small A majority of superintendents responding number of superintendents did authorize to our survey reported that their EOP board members to carry a firearm. addressed the issue of firearms on campus, but in almost every case it was only We also found a significant number of law enforcement personnel who were school districts that do have a gun policy approved to carry a firearm. However, provide one or more of the following at other superintendents reported that their district expense: school district authorized individuals other than law enforcement to carry a n Equipment gun on campus. Let’s examine in detail n Training the responses of superintendents whose n Gun n Ammunition districts allow guns on campus. n CHL license About 15 percent indicated their school n Stipend districts authorize employees to carry guns n Other expenses on campus. When asked to provide the rationale for this decision, the reasons most Superintendents should also be aware that often cited are listed below in decreasing every district with an approved process for identifying individuals or classifications of order: employees to carry a firearm on campus n Wait time for police/sheriff response is also reported that additional training was too long required. School marshals are required n District cannot afford its own police to take specialized training developed by force the Texas Commission on Law Enforcen Better to be safe than sorry ment (TCOLE) and pass a psychological n Community demanded it exam. Some districts have adopted the n Other reasons same requirement for all individuals and

employees authorized to carry a gun on campus.

If your district leadership team is considering adopting a policy or practice that allows anyone other than designated peace officers to carry a gun on campus, we recommend that you do the following: n

n

n

n

n

n

n

Have your school district attorney review current law.

The superintendent should become knowledgeable by conducting keyword searches such as: ➤ School gun policy ➤ Guns in public schools in Texas ➤ Guardian Plan Texas schools ➤ Texas school marshals Provide individual indemnification and an extensive liability insurance policy that protect the individual and the district.

Seek input from your community, local law enforcement agencies, the district attorney, and others that will become involved should there be a gun-involved incident with someone designated to carry a weapon at school.

Talk to superintendents that have already adopted a policy or practices that allow individuals other than peace officers to carry a gun on campus.

(Their experiences may help shape your opinion on the issue and avoid difficulties in developing policy and implementing a program, or you may decide that the potential liability and safety issues eclipse potential merits of a program.)

Call the legal staff of statewide organizations that have dealt with this issue.

Develop answers to the following questions:

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➤ Will individuals authorized to carry a

gun be identified publicly or will this information be confidential? ➤ What associated expenses will be paid by the school district? ➤ Will the weapon be stored until needed or will it be carried by the authorized individual(s)? ➤ What type of firearm and ammunition will be authorized? (Some guns do not have a safety and frangible ammunition is required/ recommended) ➤ What initial and ongoing training will be required for those designated to carry a gun on campus? ➤ What other issues, specific to your school district, should be considered?

In summary, school campus shootings have created significant public concern about school safety. Consequently a growing number of Texas school districts are approving programs that authorize individuals to carry a gun on campus. We believe it is inevitable that superintendents will be required to address this issue.

Because each district has unique safety and security needs, a “one size fits all” policy is n not applicable to all districts.

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Robert Nicks is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and coordinator of the Superintendent Certification Program at Lamar University.

Elvis Arterbury is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Lamar University.

He has more than 50 years of experience as an educator in Texas public schools and universities.

Bob Thompson is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Lamar University and has served as director of the university’s Center for Executive Leadership since 1992.

SMALL SCHOOLS PERSPECTIVE Choice and small rural schools—is there any?

Michelle Carol Smith

“ Small districts face challenges in providing opportunities comparable with their larger counterparts.

I

got a welding job!” Juan exclaimed to his high school welding teacher, Mr. B. “Thank you for teaching me how to use the plasma cutter.” Juan was employed at the local HEB and while having a conversation with a customer who drove a welding truck, it was discovered Juan could use a plasma cutter.The customer gave him a card and told him to show up at his office the next day and if, indeed, he could use a plasma cutter, he would start at $23 an hour. Juan had been working several months for the oil company when he came to share the news with Mr. B. Although limited, Lytle ISD offers Career and Technology Education (CATE) programs that prepare students for jobs in the local area.Welding is one of the programs highly sought after by our students.

Currently we’re working on an MOU with a local community college to offer dual credit in the field of welding.The agreement will require an inspection of the facilities and possible upgrades to meet the college’s standards. Once in place, students will be able to leave Lytle ISD with college credit toward industry certifications or associate degrees.

“You are invited to the University of Texas at Austin graduation ceremony for Hannah,” the invitation read. Hannah graduated from UT after three years. How was she able to accomplish so much in three years? Well, it seems Hannah was able to obtain 24 hours of dual credit courses while still in high school.

Hannah was fortunate that her local high school, even though small and rural, has a MOU with a community college to provide online courses for dual high school and college credit.The online option allows rural students the opportunity that otherwise would be prohibitive due to lack of transportation.

Like our CATE students, dual credit students are able to get ahead and save money on college credits with English, math and history dual credit courses offered for no cost at Lytle ISD. Students also have the option to take online dual credit courses through The University of Texas of the Permian Basin for a small fee. Once students have a few college hours under their belt, they are more likely to have the confidence to continue their college educations after graduation.

Small districts face challenges in providing opportunities comparable with their larger counterparts.

It’s costly to offer specialized courses when only two or three students have an interest. Also the cost of setting up a variety of career and technical courses is prohibitive in a small district. Districts have to partner with other entities to come up with choices to offer today’s student. Although difficult to arrange schedules, small districts are putting their heads together to create innovative programs that can be shared among their districts.

“Sam will graduate with an associate degree and a high school diploma at the same time,” his excited mother told her hair dresser. How is that possible in a small rural school? A neighboring mid-size district set up an early college high school and invited students from nearby communities to attend.

Now students from several small districts can benefit from a program at one district.This is an example of how collaboration between districts can provide opportunities otherwise not possible.

Small Schools Perspective continues on page 26

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Small Schools Perspective continued from page 25

JROTC is an example of a program offered at one district with students from nearby schools invited to attend one period a day for instruction. If the district hosting the program can’t enroll enough students to sustain the program, it needs a partnership to start the program and grow it in numbers.The program at Lytle all started because of the determination of one young man, Kyle. Kyle wanted to follow in the footsteps of his military parents and knew participation in JROTC would prepare him for his future in the military. Unfortunately, Lytle ISD did not offer JROTC. Kyle went to a neighboring district, Somerset ISD, and requested to join their program. After several conversations between districts, the program admitted Kyle as the first Lytle ISD student to attend JROTC at Somerset. Many students followed Kyle’s example, and we now have a bus load of students head to Somerset daily for first-period JROTC. Kyle went on to join the military, and we are proud to say he just received his rank of Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

Juan, Hanna, Sam and Kyle were all educated in a small district. Their pathways were customized to meet the individual needs of each student. The current accountability system, which focuses heavily on the results of standardized tests, does not place enough value on such an approach. Although the new A-F system does allow for some inclusion in Domain IV to give credit for these programs, the overemphasis on testing will not allow these great programs to have a large enough impact on a school district’s rating.The A-F system will continue to place an overemphasis on testing that we know will rank schools and districts according to

Personalized Learning… continued from page 13

poverty level.The current A-F system will aligned information for teachers to design continue to mean A = affluent and F = free lessons to meet the needs of individual and reduced. students. Wouldn’t it be cool if we had a system that predicts how successA more highly weighted Community- ful students will be within a given set of Based Accountability System (CBAS) objectives? And, wait, wouldn’t it be even system could provide districts with the cooler if we could then align resources that focus necessary to drive programs most match the specific objectives that a student valued and needed for the children in their needs for interventions? That’s the world community. If a community holds career of Enlight.Watson technology is the cogprograms in high regard, then the district nitive computing agency behind Enlight. will be obliged to deliver and should Watson is IBM’s computing system built be held accountable to deliver a quality to apply advanced natural language proprogram. In an area where multi-skilled cessing, information retrieval, knowledge technical careers are valued, a CBAS representation and automated reasoning. might include measures to report certifications or dual credit hours in the career What’s next? In September 2016, CISD and technical fields. A local community started with a pilot at three campuses, one might also value community service or elementary school, one middle school internships and request a measure be and one high school.This past January, the added to the report. Once schools under- pilot opened to five additional campuses, stand what the local community is holding and CISD is targeting to have Element them accountable for, they can continue and Enlight across the district by the start to create innovative programs to meet of the 2017-18 school year. While IBM those needs. continues to visit Coppell to garner feedback for what is and isn’t working well Small rural schools have unique challenges and what teachers would like in the future, and opportunities. It is critical that the Element and Enlight will continue to local community be part of the conversa- improve and strengthen the connections tion about what our students need. It is for personalized learning.An administrator this community to whom the schools are app, a student app and a parent app are on accountable, not a state-created system of the horizon. winners and losers. Given the current system is probably not going away, it’s up to Even though CISD is still in the stages districts to create an education system that of a pilot, Element and Enlight enable provides the best for students while play- a new level of engagement for teachers. ing the state’s accountability game. With As a result, teachers are empowered with innovation and creativity, we can do it! n data-driven insights that help them address individual needs. Teachers have accurate information to design specific learning experiences that engage students in areas of their interests. IBM Watson’s Element and Enlight are the solutions to personaln izing learning.

Michelle Carol Smith is superintendent of Lytle ISD. Dr. Marilyn Denison is assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Coppell ISD.

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TASA Corporate Partners TASA is grateful to our 2016–17 corporate partners for their support.

Each level of the Corporate Partner Program is designed to offer our partners quality exposure to association members. Partners at the President’s Circle, Platinum, and Gold levels may customize special events and opportunities.

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE Apple Chevron Dell EMC Edgenuity Forecast5 Analytics K12 Insight Northwest Evaluation Association–NWEA Scholastic Stantec PLATINUM Cisco ClassLink CollegeBoard Discovery Education Google for Education Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Huckabee IBM Watson Education Page Pearson PBK Scientific Learning PowerSchool TCG Consulting Turnitin VLK Architects GOLD Achieve 3000 ETS FreshGrade High STEPS Houston ISD–Medicaid Finance & Consulting Services LPA Milliken Renaissance Learning Schoology Source 4 Teachers

SILVER Blackboard Frontline Education JASON Learning Lone Star Furnishings Organizational Health BRONZE 1 GPA ABM Cenergistic GCA Services Group Gexa Energy Solutions Hewlett Packard Hilltop Securities IDIS Indeco Sales, Inc. it’slearning Lee Lewis Construction, Inc. Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP MIND Research Institute myON PBS Learning Media Performance Matters Schneider Electric Silverback Learning Solutions Steelcase Education Vanir Construction Management, Inc. WRA Architects

TASA Learn more about TASA’s Corporate Partner Program 2016–17

http://www.tasanet.org/Page/233

TASA

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E=mc2 ENERGY = members’ needs x competitive rates x certainty in budgeting

The TASB Energy Cooperative offers the best formula for your district’s energy needs—program flexibility, great value, and purchasing options— whether you need an energy provider or diesel, unleaded, and propane fuel.

Put the TASB Energy Cooperative to work for you! energy@tasb.org 800.580.8272, ext. 2045 energy.tasb.org

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