I just came from the school board meeting and wanted to commend the realigned Board for their work. Bonnie Brinkmeyer presented the STAAR/EOC/TEKS. My impression is that our schools are average and fall below in Reading and English but by the 8th grade, they are back to average with some Commendable. The schools offer 5 different versions of the STAAR test and have up to 3 re-takes when students fail. One school that did better than “our” average has a Parent Liaison that works to get the parents involved. I think this is an area where parents need to step up and offer their help. Talk to your school and see how you can help.

The Board then asked Ms. Brinkmeyer questions regarding CSCOPE. Ms. Jenkins asked about the financial aspects and made it clear the Board needs to decide whether the Board will renew, after the legal issues with CSCOPE and TESCC are worked out. Ms. Brinkmeyer said that CSCOPE offers tools besides the lessons. The tools that I have discovered seem to be no more than a “glorified calendar” and an overview of what the EOC and TEKS testing contains. This is available for free on the internet.

We won the battle but the war is ongoing. TESCC will meet Jun. 24th to decide what “we” owe them to use their products. Talk to your Board members and support them as they work for our children!

Keeping the Faith!