Tim Carr • Candidate for School Board Place 6
There has been a lot of dialogue with regard to GISD, STAAR testing results, and accountability ratings. We must continue to improve, and find the appropriate balance between STAAR results and making sure that, post-graduation, each student is poised for success.
For reference, the 2019 accountability ratings are from 2018 testing. The test was not administered in 2020; the 2021 test will not include accountability ratings. To infer nothing has changed in four years is untenable, and I don’t believe this single measure should ever determine the overall success of our students.
The District is doing some really incredible things to prepare our kids for post graduation. From a parent’s perspective, our Board has been adamant that the only goal should be that 100 percent of our graduates should be college-, career-, or military-ready. We have to prepare our kids for one of those three things, and they are doing a great job.
No one loves testing, but it is a necessary part of public education. Our challenge is to make sure students are prepared for the test, but we also must continue to ensure we are setting up each child for success. When I’ve attended the State of the District events, I look around and say, “This is what I want for my kids.”
My son is very smart, but at the end of the day I don’t want anyone judging our kids’ sole success or failure on one test.
The current Board has been transparent about where we need improvement, they’ve shared their incremental focus, and shared the plan to address those areas. This is a community board; not just seven people making decisions. Dr. Brent, as the CEO, always acknowledges that things can be improved, and he continues to move forward with collaborative plans in place.
The reality of our District is that every student, no matter their background, economics, ethnicity, or gender, should have the exact same opportunity to participate in the exact same programs* across every campus. It is critical that we provide access and opportunity but also empower schools to identify the resources they need to enable those choices.
We are challenged when parents don’t attend board meetings, so we need to have town halls and similar opportunities for feedback so we are getting that input. That is a critical piece to making our students successful.
I believe GISD is moving in the right direction and I would hate to see us take ten steps backward in order to take two steps forward. We need to keep growing, but not at the expense of the gains of the past ten years.
My children are in 7th and 4th grade. I want to make sure they are going down the best path, and I want to be a good shepherd to them through the end of their school years. As parents, we have to take more ownership of our kids’ education and be a louder voice in the community. It’s not just about what they do day to day, but also what impacts them. That’s where I want to be involved.
*Mr. Carr clarified that he refers to academic and career-ready programs, not gender-specific athletics.
Jen Mauldin • Candidate for School Board Place 6
Our District does a great job on career and technical education. They are very innovative, with great programs, and I think they’ve tried things that have been a bit out of the box; explored some arenas that many others have not—kudos to that.
It is really important that a District provide a range of opportunities for students to consider post-high school. It may not be college or the military, and there are some great technical areas they can consider. I also feel the social-emotional learning and counseling they are working on now, while not fully implemented, can make life challenges smoother and a little easier. It provides great coping strategies and skills; good job there.
As a principal for 25 years, I applaud our state for its curriculum; they stay abreast of updates so if a student is mastering it, they will leave high school as a well-rounded and -educated student. The District took a detour about five years ago and started focusing on other areas, so when you focus on one thing, you lose focus on others. I believe some of the focus on learning and meeting the state curriculum was lost.
It is not a teacher issue, but more an upper administration issue. We just took a detour and we can do better. It is better with kids mastering, measuring that, and using the results to help kids. We can applaud kids on those objectives they are meeting well, and helping them master the ones they find difficult. It’s important to take the results and use them.
Some want to say I just want to focus on the knowledge and skills, but I believe it is an ‘and’; we need to master the core curriculum and we need to have great and innovative technical and career programs. While the test results are from 2018, the District can say we’re doing better, but, unless we have the data to show the accountability and show that change has occurred, there’s no certainty. We are simply aware of the need, the District is working on it, and I don’t think people really know where we are.
About student challenges: There is a school in East Austin with 84.4% free and reduced lunch, and 64.4% ESL. Overall, the school scores 96% in reading, 95% in math, and they are doing phenomenal things. They are focused and intent on instruction and making sure kids are mastering the skills. They work one-by-one, re-teach when necessary, and really work with kids. Kids can learn but you have to have the resources. It’s not just material; sometimes it’s personnel that work with one student while the rest of the class moves on. It’s part of the equity framework, and it should be our primary mission. The District needs to be prepared to do that.
I’m really focused on academic change because of where we are. I’m really passionate about there being change.