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Update - April 2009
Parents, there is a new bill in the Texas House that will likely end after-school programs like Plano's PASAR that many school districts have developed to meet the needs of parents, students and generate additional revenue. The bill is HB1540, and the way it works is it will require schools to become certified child care centers if they offer an after-school program. Why are these changes being made? To make the program so expensive to the district that they stop offering it and so unattractive to parents that they go to private after-care programs.
What Does the Bill Do?
- Requires the district to get after-care employees fingerprinted.
There is already a Texas law that requires all district employees to be fingerprinted and background checked and even requires them to go to a specific vendor to get this done. But HB1540 will not allow that fingerprint background check to count - it has to be a different vendor at a significant cost per employee.
- Sets standards for employee training in areas of safety and student management.
The site managers and assistant managers already are CPR/AED certified with semester drills, conduct monthly fire drills and disaster drills each semester. They receive training in programs and activities, on medication, Epi pens, diabetes and human resources. They participate in monthly meetings on safety procedures and guidelines and receive two site observations per month. Those training programs won't count toward the new
hours required.
- Places restrictions to do with the environment the children are in to ensure their safety.
The after-care environment is the same as the rest of the day. Our district already uses a total controlled access campus, facility camera surveillance, instant radio communication with security department and the Raptor system on all visitors. If the school isn't safe for after-care, are we concerned about the rest of the school day?
- Mandate enrollment 4 months before they start using the program.
When you need after-care, you can't wait 4 months to get help.
Why Is This Bill Being Considered?
It's about the money. Private after-school programs see the popularity of the school-based programs. In Plano, the after-school program generates about $1.7 million dollars to help the district. After four years of no change in funding per student by the Legislature, school districts have eliminated anything they can without harming instruction and have had to get creative on how to generate more funds or face cutting academic programs and raising class rations. This bill would cost Plano ISD about $800,000 annually.
Why Are the School-Based After-Care Programs So Successful?
The schools are providing a service that parents like - a familiar, education-oriented environment with kids from their community. Parents like that their children aren't bussed to another facility and the staff includes people who know their kids. Students like that they can have a regular, designated homework time and some informal time to continue to develop relationships with their peers. The school district staff likes the opportunity to supplement their income doing the work they love with familiar students.
Why Do We Oppose This Bill?
The Plano Council of PTAs thinks that parents should have as many options as possible for after-school care, including allowing students to stay at school or choose a private after-school program. Those choices should not be eliminated by lobbyists trying to increase private school business by adding unnecessary requirements to the public school program.
How Can I Stay Up To Date on What Is Happening With This?
To keep up with what is happening with this bill and learn about other issues that affect you and your family, please sign up for the Plano PTA Council e-newsletter by sending an email to newsletter@planopta.org.
Is There Anything I Can Do To Stop This Bill?
Yes! Few people are willing to speak up - but if you value this program, either for your children or for the revenue it brings the district, please call or email the legislators below today. All you have to do is call or email saying you heard about HB1540, you are opposed to it and give one or more reasons. You can really make the difference!!!
Whom To Contact?
Representative Will Hartnett
Bill Author
District: Dallas
(512) 463-0576, (214) 891-1776
will.hartnett@house.state.tx.us
Representative Brian McCall
Calendar Chairman (controls if it gets to the floor to be voted on!)
District: Plano, West of Custer Road
(512) 463-0594, (972) 881-0890
brian.mccall@house.state.tx.us
Plus, Contact YOUR Representative
Representative Jerry Madden
District: Plano, East of Custer and West of Jupiter, plus N. Dallas & Richardson
(512) 463-0544 , (972) 424-2235
jerry.madden@house.state.tx.us
Representative Jodie Laubenberg
District, East Plano, Murphy, Parker & Allen
(512) 463-1086, (972) 772-8525
Jodie.laubenberg@house.state.tx.us
To find your representative, go to http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
Update - January 2009
Below please find an article that was printed in the Houston Chronicle about education reform in Texas. Our superintendent, Dr. Otto, has been a part of this process and will be presenting information about the report at our March 24th PTA Council meeting. All Plano PTA members are welcome to attend - it is at 10 a.m. in the PISD Administration Board room. When you read the article and hear the presentation, you will see that the future of education is so exciting... if only we can get there! Our education model today is all about preparing kids for the way it was 20, 40, 60+ years ago. Life's changed.... and your help as a parent or an educator in speaking up for the changes
needed is critical to providing our kids an education for NOW and the FUTURE. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Cara Mendelsohn
President, Plano ISD Council of PTAs
Administrators Share Vision to Change Schools
By LINDA STEWART BALL Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
DALLAS - Skip the piecemeal education reform. A group of Texas school superintendents are calling for a complete transformation of public schools to better prepare students for the future in ways that aren't boring. They've laid out the framework in a 48-page report called Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas.
Nearly two years in the making, the document spells out school leaders' thoughts on six key issues, including the use of digital technology, abuse of standardized testing and designing accountability systems that inspire excellence instead of punish perceived shortcomings.
The 35 superintendents from Dallas, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Worth, San Antonio and numerous rural and suburban school districts are responsible for educating about a quarter of the state's 4.7 million schoolchildren. "We came together to say 'Stop this train that's going in the wrong direction,' " said Coppell school Superintendent Jeff Turner.
Keith Sockwell, chief executive officer of Cambridge Strategic Services, an education consulting firm, conceived of the initiative after visiting with frustrated Texas school superintendents. "When we look at our public schools today, I'd say they're doing a dadgum good job of preparing our kids for the 20th and 19th Century," Sockwell said. "It's almost like we need to blow it up and start over."
The superintendents say part of the problem is that state and federal politicians, business leaders and their policy advisers have set education's current course. The school administrators want to return control to principals, teachers, parents, school board members and others at the local level - or at least create a better balance.
"It's going to have to be a joint collaborative effort with parents, educators and legislators," said Plano school Superintendent Doug Otto. "None of us can do it alone. Certainly, the business community has to be part of it, too.
"I'm optimistic," Otto added. "People are ready for a change, to see if we can't devise a much better system for our kids."
To do that, he and others said there needs to be a grassroots discussion about what needs to change and how. The report opens the door for such a dialogue. Much of the research behind it came from national experts who met with the
superintendents and challenged their thinking. "They really stretched us," Dallas superintendent Michael Hinojosa said of the process. "To get 35 superintendents with a bunch of egos to agree on where we ought to go, was really inspiring. I think this is long overdue."
Although completed last summer, the document has been quietly making its way onto some school board agendas and has become the focus of town hall meetings. "We're asking for comment," said Stephen Waddell, Birdville school district
superintendent. "We want people to read it and respond."
Some 3,500 school administrators from across the state_ including about 800 superintendents - are expected to weigh in on the report this week during a three-day Texas Association of School Administrators conference that began Monday in Austin.
"It's a work in progress," said Johnny Veselka, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators. "It's not a document that will reach its full fruition during this legislative session. But it gives us a lens through which we can look at legislative proposals."
Otto said a major overhaul in education - using the report as a roadmap - probably couldn't happen before the 2011 legislative session. However, there's plenty that school districts can start addressing now. "I think the hardest thing to do is change what goes on in the classroom," Otto said. "School can be a very boring place for a student sitting at a desk all day."
He said students come to traditional school settings with a mastery of iPods, Wii game systems, cell phones and other devices that must be "powered down" in class. The challenge is finding a way to use gaming techniques and other technology to enhance the curriculum and create a more relevant and engaging learning environment, he said, citing one of the report's guiding principles.
Otto said "parents and educators are tired of high-stakes testing that limits what is taught and emphasizes sanctions rather than rewards. Dawson Orr, Highland Park's superintendent agreed. "By no means are we suggesting that we don't need assessments or all testing is bad," Orr said. "What we're saying is it's become disproportionate."
The superintendents say there are other ways to measure the quality of schools. Sockwell, who has recently shared the report with educators in Georgia and Virginia, said if Texas is able to make such changes, other states will follow.
Cara Mendelsohn, president of the Plano school district's Council of PTAs, said she plans to present the report to her council in March. She particularly appreciates the superintendent's quest to move from a "one size fits all education" model to a more personalized approach, recognizing the many ways students learn.
"I think it's what we need," Mendelsohn said. "When we start teaching things in a relevant way, kids will succeed."
Dr. Jon H. Fleming, chairman of the board of The Texas Education Reform Foundation, said the document is important.
"Do I agree with everything in there?" he asked. "No." But it sparks a conversation that needs to be had, he said.
For a copy of "Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas," go to the Texas Association of School Administrators Web site.
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