January 2007
Copyright © 2007 • Queue, Inc.

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Education News

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Texas Scores 5 Out of 6, Highest Score in the Nation

Results of 2006 NCEA Survey of State Data Collection Issues Related to Longitudinal Analysis

In preparation of the launch of the Data Quality Campaign, the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) conducted a survey, with the support of The Broad Foundation and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, about state data systems to determine the number of states that have built the infrastructure to tap into the power of longitudinal data. This report provides an overview of the findings of the August 2006 survey in addition to a state-by-state analysis of the policy implications of each state's data system.

The Power of Longitudinal Data

Longitudinal data matches individual student records over time, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and into post secondary education. States are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve student achievement. But without quality data, they are essentially flying blind. Policymakers need to act now to put in place the policies and resources to ensure that each state has a longitudinal data system and the culture and capacity to translate the information into specific action steps to improve student achievement. When states collect the most relevant data and are able to match individual student records over time, they can answer the questions that are at the core of educational effectiveness. Longitudinal data (data gathered on the same student from year to year) makes it possible to:

• Determine the value-added of specific schools and programs by following individual students' academic growth;
• Identify consistently high-performing schools so that educators and the public can learn from best practices;
  
• Evaluate the impact of teacher preparation and training programs on student achievement; and
  
• Focus school systems on preparing a higher percentage of students to succeed in rigorous high school courses, college and challenging jobs.

Based on responses to the 2006 NCEA survey, only a few states can answer each of these priority questions facing policymakers and educators today.

Which schools produce the strongest academic growth for their students? (23 states can answer this question)

• Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin

What achievement levels in middle school indicate that a student is on track to succeed in rigorous courses in high school? (5 states can answer this question)

• Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Utah

What is each school's graduation rate, according to the 2005 National Governors Association graduation compact? (26 states can answer this question)

• Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

What high school performance indicators (e.g., enrollment in rigorous courses or performance on state tests) are the best predictors of students' success in college or the workplace? (4 states can answer this question)

• Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas

What percentage of high school graduates who go on to college take remedial courses? (14 states can answer this question)

• Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming

Which teacher preparation programs produce the graduates whose students have the strongest academic growth? (9 states can answer this question)

• Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia

For the complete report go to: http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results

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Charter Schools Closing Achievement Gap for Hispanic Students, Research Finds

A growing body of research is producing encouraging news about the performance of Hispanic students in public charter schools, according to an Issue Brief released by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

The report points to four recent studies:

• Hispanic students in Massachusetts charter schools are overtaking peers in non-charters on state reading and math tests, according to a 2006 study by the Massachusetts Department of Education.
• A 2004 state-level study found Hispanic charter students in Florida start out farther behind, but exceed learning gains of non-charter students in reading.
• Charters in highly Hispanic areas hold a “proficiency advantage” over non-charter students on 4th grade reading and math tests, according to a 2005 national comparison.
• The most recent “Nation’s Report Card,” known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found Hispanic 4th graders in charter schools outpace those in non-charters on national reading tests.

Additionally, some of the highest performing charters in the nation primarily serve Hispanic students, including IDEA Academy (Texas), Partnerships to Uplift Communities (California), Cesar Chavez Charter School (Colorado), and Octavio Paz Charter School (Illinois), each of which is profiled in the Issue Brief.

Click here for a copy of the report: http://www.publiccharters.org/content/publication/detail/1608

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Annual Report Charts Texas’s Participation in School Breakfast Program – Texas Ranks 3rd

During the 2005-2006 school year, 1,116,582 low-income Texas students participated in the School Breakfast Program, according to the School Breakfast Scorecard 2006. The Scorecard is issued annually by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) to measure participation in the School Breakfast Program.

For every 100 low-income children that participated in the National School Lunch Program, 52.6 also received free and reduced-price breakfasts. If Texas schools increased school breakfast participation by serving 60 out of 100 low-income children eating lunch, they would help 157,713 more children and gain an additional $32,960,501 in federal funding.

In Texas, 98.7 percent of schools that offer school lunch also offer school breakfast, ranking Texas 3rd out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The School Breakfast Program began as a pilot program in 1966 as a way to make sure children were able to start the school day ready to learn. Numerous studies have found that breakfast in the morning improves children’s school achievement and health.

“Reaching a lot more children with breakfast in schools is probably the cheapest and fastest way to improve children’s learning and health, improve attendance and, of course, reduce hunger,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). “It’s essential that more schools serve breakfast, adopt steps like breakfast in the classroom and reach out to more children.”

Nationally, the program has grown to include 7.7 million low-income children. To get even more children and schools participating, FRAC recommends that all schools participate in the school breakfast program, even offering universal breakfast, which provides breakfast at no charge to all students who want it. Schools can encourage higher participation among children by providing breakfast in the classroom, “grab and go” breakfast or offering breakfast after first period. These successful strategies have been used by states to boost participation in the program.

The full report, School Breakfast Scorecard 2006, is available at http://www.frac.org/pdf/2006_SBP.pdf

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Key Education Facts and Figures for Texas

The Education Watch State Summary Reports provide state-specific data on:

Achievement Gaps:

• How many students are proficient in reading and mathematics on state assessments? How do proficiency rates on state assessments compare to proficiency rates on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)?
• How do achievement gaps between groups compare across states? Where are gaps the smallest? Where are they the biggest?
• What are the trends in student achievement over time? Which states are making the biggest gains?

High School and College Attainment Gaps:

• What is the on-time high school graduation rate for different groups of students?
• How many high school graduates enroll in college?
• What is the college graduation rate for different groups of students?

Opportunity Gaps:

• What are the participation and success rates for different groups of students in high-level courses such as Advanced Placement (AP)?
• Which students are most likely to have teachers who have even a college minor in the subject they’re teaching?
• How much state and local per-pupil funding is provided to schools in low- versus high-poverty districts? Which states provide the most funding to low-income districts? Which states provide the least?
• How affordable is college for each state’s lowest income students?

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A Deeper Look at Achievement Across States: NAEP Data Tables

While no state is yet where it needs to be in terms of educating poor and minority students, some are doing a much better job than others. To help state leaders, researchers, and advocates explore these differences and identify states from which they might learn, the accompanying NAEP Data Tables allow for easy state-to-state comparisons of scale scores for different groups of students. They include tables that look at student achievement and gap trends over time. For example:

Low-income eighth-graders in Massachusetts score 21 points higher in math than low-income eighth-graders in neighboring Rhode Island (273 vs. 252).

In 2003, reading scores for African-American fourth-graders were 14 points higher in Connecticut than in Delaware. Over the last five years, however, African-American reading scores increased by 23 points in Delaware while in Connecticut, they decreased by 2 points. Delaware’s African-American fourth-graders now read at higher levels than their peers in Connecticut.

The gap in math achievement separating Latino from White eighth-graders in Minnesota is 10 points larger than the gap in Virginia, a state educating a similar proportion of Latino students (33 points vs. 23 points).

The wide variation between states in achievement for the same groups of students demonstrates just how important state policies and practices are. “If race and poverty mattered more than what happens in schools, then NAEP scores for low-income students and students of color would be more consistent from state to state,” said Daria Hall, senior policy analyst for the Education Trust.

Focus on Opportunities to Learn

The data are clear: what states do matters a lot when it comes to student achievement. But far too often, state policies and practices work to the direct disadvantage of low-income and minority students. For example:

In New York, schools in the highest poverty districts have $2,065 less to spend per pupil than schools in the most affluent districts.

In Illinois, students in high-poverty secondary schools are more than three times as likely as students in low-poverty schools to have a teacher lacking even a minor in the subject they’re teaching (47 percent vs.15 percent).

In Michigan, African-American students represent 20 percent of the state’s K-12 enrollment but just 5 percent of the students enrolled in Advanced Placement English Language and Composition courses.

Texas Report: http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/summaries2006/Texas.pdf

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$8 Million Grant to Fund Ground-Breaking Dallas Arts Learning Initiative

Gift Is Believed to Be Largest Arts-Education Grant in Texas History and Is Considered 'Huge Win' for City's Children

      The Wallace Foundation has approved a three-year, $8-million grant to help establish the Dallas Arts Learning Initiative (DALI). The program is a groundbreaking partnership between the City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School District, and local cultural organizations and will be managed by Big Thought.

       The grant, along with other funds that have been committed and that Big Thought expects to raise, will help DALI connect and coordinate the efforts of Dallas' schools, libraries, cultural institutions, community-based organizations and others to provide access to high-quality arts learning. The Wallace Foundation will also develop lessons from DALI's work intended to help other cities make the arts a central part of the learning and development of all children.

       "This is a huge win for the Dallas Independent School District," said Dallas Independent School District general superintendent Michael Hinojosa. "Dallas ISD is very appreciative of The Wallace Foundation for this contribution, and for supporting our efforts, as a leader among urban districts, to offer quality arts education programs for all students."

       DALI is designed to coordinate and leverage high-quality arts learning experiences for Dallas children and families. The three main goals of the programs are to:

• Increase the amount and quality of arts education in Dallas ISD elementary schools
  
• Work with the City of Dallas to create networks that coordinate arts programming for children and families at the neighborhood level
  
• Work with Dallas cultural providers to more deeply position the arts as a tool in the teaching of science, math, social studies and language arts as well as bolstering fine arts education

       "Ultimately the people of Dallas are the biggest beneficiaries," Dallas city manager Mary Suhm said. "With this grant, each organization will be better able to plan and target arts education programs to reach the spectrum of Dallas, whether they are being served at a library, recreation center, school, or cultural center. It's an old adage, but working together, everyone really will achieve more."

       "Parents, policymakers, business and school leaders tell us they want the arts to be part of every child's education - but that achieving the goal is difficult given the multiple players and priorities," said The Wallace Foundation President, M. Christine DeVita. "Dallas has made remarkable progress in aligning the city's cultural assets, financial resources, policies and practices to achieve this goal. We are delighted to help catalyze and expand this effort and expect it to yield useful lessons for other cities."

       The Wallace Foundation grant supplements and leverages existing community investments in arts learning. Additional funding will be needed to fully implement and sustain the project. These funds will come from public and private sources including charitable foundations, corporations, individuals and government agencies. As the program's managing partner, Big Thought will take the lead in raising these funds on behalf of DALI.

       Last January, The Wallace Foundation extended a $1-million grant to help plan DALI. More than 500 parents, educators, politicians and art advocates were convened in a series of meetings to express their opinions about what levels of arts education were currently available to the city's children and what steps might be taken to improve access to high quality arts education. The Foundation has also commissioned two research studies, one from Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero to better understand how to achieve quality in arts education, and a second from RAND Education to understand how cities can set up effective ways to deliver arts education. Both will be published later in 2007. Wallace has also funded planning work in New York City that is intended to strengthen arts education.

       Big Thought is one of the largest non-profit learning partnerships in the nation, inspiring, empowering, and uniting children and communities through education, arts and culture. Formed in 1987, the Dallas, Texas-based organization offers a diverse array of arts and culture-based performances, workshops, cultural excursions and multi-visit residencies for children and teens, and provides professional development and training to help adults use these programs. Big Thought's programs reach an average of 400,000 students, teachers and family members each year in schools, libraries, museums, juvenile facilities and community centers. Programs are presented in affiliation with Young Audiences, Inc. More information on Big Thought can be found at www.bigthought.org

       The Wallace Foundation is an independent, national foundation dedicated to supporting and sharing effective ideas and practices that expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people. Its three current objectives are: strengthening education leadership to improve student achievement; enhancing out-of-school learning opportunities; and expanding participation in arts and culture. More information and research on these and other related topics can be found at The Wallace Foundation Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org

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YES College Preparatory School Southeast Campus Houston, Texas

Source: School records data from 2005–06

Just off a busy main highway, along what was until recently a country road, now dotted with small business-industrial parks and new housing, three neat rows of portable-like structures house YES College Preparatory School, Southeast Campus (YES Prep). Along these rows, flapping in the Gulf Coast breeze, inspirational banners proclaim the school’s philosophy: “Excellence is a Habit,” “The Students of Today Are the Leaders of Tomorrow,” “The Only Way to Lose Is to Quit Trying.” One banner, declaring “Whatever It Takes,” holds special meaning for students, families, and teachers as YES Prep’s recipe for success. For Keith Desrosiers, the school’s third principal and former YES Prep teacher, “whatever it takes” means “not letting obstacles prevent us from reaching our goal.” And the goal is ambitious: matriculation from high school as well as acceptance to and success at a four-year college.

YES Prep’s mission is “to provide a rigorous and comprehensive educational program that prepares low-income students for success in a four-year college or university,” which is interpreted as “pursuing excellence, building positive relationships, serving and improving communities, and creating new opportunities and experiences.” The school’s structure includes an integrated sixth through 12th-grade academic and developmental program, a longer school day, monthly service learning (i.e., community service) experiences on Saturdays, annual three-week summer sessions and summer enrichment opportunities, and classwide spring trips to colleges and universities.

The idea for YES College Preparatory School was born when Chris Barbic, a dedicated and visionary Teach for America corps member at Houston’s Rusk Elementary School, and a small group of parents saw Rusk’s graduating students slip academically and disengage from learning while attending their neighborhood middle and high schools. “High rates of illiteracy, truancy, and juvenile crime were consuming students in the East End,” says Barbie. The impetus for a new schooling model, says one board member, was seeing “good work being lost” as students entered the large and low-performing local schools where there was “no one to catch them when they fell.”

In 1995, through a charter with the Houston Independent School District, Barbie and others opened YES Preparatory school, a middle school program for students at Rusk. By the time the first cohort of sixth-graders graduated in 1998 the vision for an integrated sixth through 12th grade program had evolved and a new charter was obtained to open the state’s only chartered public middle and high school district. The first school in the YES system, YES College Preparatory School, Southeast campus, opened that same year. Since then the YES system, still headed by Barbic, has opened two other campuses, with another campus opening this fall. Currently, the southeast campus is the only one fully integrating all middle and high school grade levels. Desrosiers says the “plan is to operate 13 campuses in Houston neighborhoods within the next 10 years.”

“Our intent is to change the face of public education,” he says, “by making sure that all kids in Houston, regardless of where they live, get the best education and by changing their expectations along the way.” The ultimate goal, he adds, is “to create a critical mass of college educated students who can then return to Houston and bring real change to our underserved neighborhoods and communities.”

School Operations and Educational Program

YES Prep offers its students, selected by lottery, an award-winning rigorous college preparatory curriculum and enriching social experience. The curriculum is a content-based detailed scripted sequence of instruction—developed by YES Prep faculty and based on Pre-AP and AP course outlines—specifying student outcomes for each nine-week grading period. AP work is offered in every subject area. Students also report a thriving social experience at YES, talking of dances, community service projects, sports competitions, summer enrichment activities, and more than 30 mixed-grade clubs from which to choose.

The YES Prep course of study is aligned to state standards and has augmented requirements. To qualify for a diploma, students are required to earn 22 credits, including 4 in English, 4 in mathematics, 3 in foreign language, 4 in science, 4 in the social sciences, 1-1/2 in physical education and health, 1 in both fine arts and technology, and 1-1/2 in electives ranging from painting, video production, and photography, to psychology, yearbook, and robotics.

Trusting relations between caring adults and students are promoted through the structure of the school. All students participate in the APSD (Academic, Personal, and Social Development) program, which addresses nonacademic issues relevant to their lives. During APSD time, students receive counseling and support and discuss tragedies like the death of a classmate and information about puberty, dating, health, body image, and sexuality. Students also learn about career and academic planning, money and time management, and how to study. By their junior year, APSD becomes a twice weekly seminar, and by senior year a daily seminar, to address issues about the transition from home and family to roommates and college, and facilitate the college search, application, and acceptance process.

YES Prep students report high satisfaction with their school experience, crediting good teaching and caring adults for their successes. Teachers give one-to-one time in class, out of class, after class, through e-mails or cell phone calls. Issued cell phones, all teachers are on call to students until 9 p.m. each school night and on weekends. “Teachers want you to understand information, not memorize it, and make us redo work until we get it right,” says one student. They “find new ways to teach until you understand.” Another student declares, “Knowing they honestly care is my safety net.”

Class sizes are small, typically one teacher for every 13 students, the largest class sizes not exceeding 28 students. Having time to work individually with students is key to the school’s success. As described by one veteran YES Prep teacher, the school is committed to moving beyond “book knowledge and taking thinking to the next level, to interpreting, analyzing, challenging children.” A new teacher talks about “making material relevant” and “keeping content exciting,” explaining that he teaches mathematics by using examples and by inviting guest speakers from applied fields, like meteorology and psychology, and from the computer industry. “Ask anyone, even the custodian,” urges Desrosiers. “Every single person knows why they are here—to get our kids into college and ensure that they are successful when they are there.”

Assessment is integrated into the YES Prep instructional program and is used to develop tutorials, to target individualized instruction and remediation, and to designate time for pullouts or enrichments for students below grade level or struggling to master content, especially in reading and mathematics. Teachers report routinely working in teams and departments to disaggregate data in order to make sense of them and understand what they suggest for subsequent teaching.

Family Involvement and Partnerships

Parents’ belief in the YES Prep mission and involvement in bringing it to fruition are central to the school’s success. Parents sign a “contract of commitment” to affirm their role in the “Whatever It Takes” approach. Desrosiers explains that while working multiple jobs prevents most parents from spending time in the classroom, they are active in many other ways. A Parent Advisory Association provides a range of needed support services, such as fund-raising, special events planning, office assistance, monitoring the cafeteria, and helping to supervise Saturday service activities. According to parents, communication with teachers and the administrative staff is routine, and they feel the school is open to ideas, suggestions, and concerns. Communication is generally maintained through e-mail and telephone contact.

“We will work with anyone who wants to work with us,” declares Desrosiers. The YES Prep model relies on long-term partnerships from an expanding pool of community organizations and businesses that support the school’s mission. Many are contracted to provide fee-for-service enrichment opportunities and clubs for the students. All students participate in service-learning projects and interface with the greater Houston community through their stewardship efforts. Examples of such projects include building paddocks at a humane horse ranch, cleaning beaches and parks, and tutoring elementary school students. During summer, many students are placed at university summer school programs or in volunteer internships or real work experiences or work shadowing opportunities at local businesses.

YES Prep maintains an extensive network of relations with college recruiters, frequently hosts college and university representatives and alumni to meet with students, and takes students to visit campuses across the nation. A partnership with Houston Community College allows YES Prep students to take dual enrollment courses in pre-calculus, calculus, and literature and composition, as well as to make up course work during summer sessions.

Since acceptance to a four-year college is a graduation requirement, and since many students are first-generation college bound, the school works directly with parents to support them through the “letting go” process. A designated full-time faculty works with each student and family to identify colleges and universities, apply, select “the best fit” from among the offers, secure financial aid or scholarships, prepare for the transitions, and provide alumni support once they are enrolled.

Governing for Accountability

A board and site-based leadership team govern YES Prep. The board, comprising a group of 21 business and community leaders, sees chartering as an innovative tool that can be used well or poorly. YES, says one board member, is using the tool effectively to “create a different culture in education—a culture of success.” The on-site management team, consisting of the principal, the middle and high school deans, and the director of college counseling, meet weekly to address operational and other “hot topic” issues. Together with some of the department heads and nominated teachers and staff, they form the campus-based leadership team, who addresses budget, personnel, and student affairs.

As a charter school, YES Prep has the flexibility and autonomy to innovate, solve problems, and do “whatever it takes” to meet the academic, behavioral, social, and developmental needs of students so that each graduate succeeds at a four-year college or university. Desrosiers says, “Now that we have an ‘army’ of alumni in four-year colleges and universities, it is easier for our students and families to see that they are capable of achieving the same results. Success breeds success.”

Since 2001, 86 percent of YES Prep first generation college-bound students were accepted to 170 colleges and matriculated from 56 campuses nationwide. Among the students graduating since 2001, there have been three AP scholars with distinction, three AP scholars with honors, 25 AP scholars, four honorable mentions from the National Hispanic Recognition program, two Gates Millennium scholars, ten Vanguard scholars, and one Jackie Robinson Foundation scholar. YES Prep also has a college application rate of 100 percent, with 100 percent of its students being accepted to one or more four-year colleges or universities each year since 2001.

Out of nearly 200 charter schools in Texas, YES Prep is the only school to receive the Texas Education Agency ratings of “exemplary” or “recognized” every year of operation. In 2002, it was one of nine schools nationwide to receive the Hewlett-Packard High Achieving Schools award. In 2003, it was one of 20 schools to receive the Education Trust’s Dispelling the Myth award for educational excellence in low-income communities.

YES Prep: Evidence of Closing the Achievement Gap

Outperforming the Houston Independent School District (HISD) on the 2005 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exams in reading and math, 98 percent of YES Prep students passed the English language arts exam and 95 percent passed the math exam compared with 74 percent of HISD students passing reading and 52 percent passing math.

Ninety-nine percent of 11th-grade YES Prep students passed the TAKS English exam and 100 percent passed the math exam compared with the Texas state average of an 88 percent pass rate in English and a 77 percent pass rate in math.

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When Playing Equals Learning in San Antonio

San Antonio kindergarten teacher Joanna Bacon leads workshops designed to teach sounding out words, understanding patterns and relating a cause to an effect in a playful manner.

Ten years ago, such a workshop would have been about play and little else.

Decades of early childhood research helped establish kindergarten classrooms that emphasized social activities, stretching children's imaginations, and a joyful transition to school — in essence, learning through play.

Today, however, pressure from parents, an emphasis on early academics, and concern that easing children into the rigors of schooling suits middle class kids better than their less affluent peers have led some educators to see play as a luxury. Fantasy play, where children learn to problem-solve, empathize and ask "what if?" is being lost along with free play, especially recess, in the race to teach reading at a younger age.

And these changes are happening despite overwhelming evidence that children need movement and a break from structure…

I'm just pushing so hard," said Park Village Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jennifer Felty, whose classroom in the Judson Independent School District is a whirlwind of themes, activities punctuated by song and dance, and hands-on projects, including a butterfly garden. "I try to watch my little ones. I know I'm going to read to them, but they need to wiggle first."…

That's why the North East Independent School District drew an imaginary line in the sand this year, requiring that teachers maintain centers, considered the linchpin of most early childhood programs.

Linda Hamilton, who oversees North East's kindergarten curriculum, said managing kids working independently requires far greater skill on the part of teachers than asking them to sit and follow the teacher's lead. For centers to be effective, children should be focused on activities that challenge them intellectually….

To read the rest of this excellent, detailed article, please go to: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA120506.01A.KINDER_PLAY.35d95f6.html

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Texas School District Selects Products for Literacy

DeSoto Independent School District to Use Neuroscience Intervention for Remediation and Enrichment

DeSoto Independent School District in DeSoto, TX, has chosen the Fast ForWord® software intervention products as the foundation of its new literacy program.

After evaluating a variety of interventions, Superintendent of Schools Alton Frailey and his curriculum team selected the Fast ForWord family of products as the cornerstone of the district’s literacy intervention initiative. Mr. Frailey cited the software’s proven track record in effecting dramatic improvements in students’ foundational cognitive skills in a short period of time as one of the major factors in his decision.

“We see Fast ForWord as an ideal intervention for all students,” he said. “The products are backed by excellent scientific research and have been proven both in the scientific sense and the real world. We have a district goal of creating life-long learners, and we see Fast ForWord as a valuable tool in achieving this goal.”

The district plans to put the products into use in all district schools this fall, and to use the software both with struggling students – specifically, those at risk of failing the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test – as well as by gifted students at West Junior High, with the aim of enriching those students’ academic experiences.

“We’re pleased that DeSoto ISD will be using the Fast ForWord products for its struggling readers, but are also excited that the district has recognized the ability of the Fast ForWord software to enhance the academic experience of students who are already excelling,” said Robert C. Bowen, Chairman and CEO of Scientific Learning. “This neurological intervention, which is founded on over 30 years of scientific research, truly offers significant benefits for all students by improving the cognitive skills essential to all learning.”

Located in the northeast section of Texas in Dallas County, DeSoto Independent School District serves approximately 8,000 students in 5 elementary schools, 2 intermediate schools, 2 junior highs, 1 freshman campus, and 1 high school.

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McAllen Nurse Professional of the Year in Healthcare for Special Education Students

Loretta Walsh, RN, MSN, M.Ed., of the McAllen Independent School District (MISD), has been named Professional of the Year in healthcare for special education students by Cambridge Who’s Who. While inclusion in Cambridge Who’s Who is itself an honor, only one member in each discipline is named Cambridge Who’s Who Professional of the Year. The Cambridge Who’s Who selection committee hand picks these special Who’s Who honorees based on accomplishments, academic achievement, leadership, and service.

Walsh has spent 54 years in nursing. She worked in hospitals for 32 years in orthopedics, medical/surgical pediatrics, surgery, and the emergency room. An indefatigable healthcare professional, Walsh is currently an MISD staff nurse for special education students who need individual care due to their medically fragile condition. MISD is a multicultural community in which all students are actively engaged in the learning process. Assisted by technology and the McAllen community, Walsh helps to create a safe, nurturing and challenging environment where students can thrive.

Walsh received a master’s in education supervision from the University of Texas Pan American, a diploma in nursing from St. Joseph's Hospital, and a bachelor of science in nursing from St. Louis University. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, Texas Nurses Association, Texas Classroom Teachers Association and National Association of School Nurses. She received the Good Samaritan Award from the City of Mission, Texas in 1997.

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Plano ISD Selects WAN Manager for Video-on-Demand

Plano Independent School District (ISD) has selected SAFARI Montage as their video-on-demand solution for the entire school district.  Plano ISD’s goal is to improve visual learning in the classrooms of this technology-driven Dallas suburb via digital technology.

SAFARI Montage has taken off in Plano! Even before implementing a district training program for teachers, word of mouth from librarians has already produced impressive usage statistics. This product is full of educational content not available anywhere else, and it can be linked directly into our online curriculum with a persistent URL. Combining superb video resolution with no buffering time and closed-captioning feature makes SAFARI Montage a first choice for more and more teachers.

“With the CreationStation feature, we can add district-created or other curriculum content to make it easy and fast to provide the right content at the right time. It is easy to upload, segment and make available quickly to our students and teachers.”

Plano ISD selected SAFARI Montage as its district-wide solution because of the high-quality content providers, the powerful and flexible system management, and for its ability to integrate into Plano’s online curriculum system.

According to Plano ISD officials, for nearly a decade, the ISD community has actively supported the use of technology resources in communication, teaching and learning, and the administration of school support services.

About Plano Independent School District

Plano ISD’s 67 schools feature award-winning architecture, state-of-the-art technology and well-maintained grounds. As beacons of knowledge in our masterfully planned and celebrated Plano community, our schools and administrative facilities house our more than 51,000 students and 7,000 employees. Plano ISD provides curriculum, instructional programs and services that enhance each student’s academic and personal potential, resulting in successful graduates. For more information about Plano ISD, go to www.pisd.edu.

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Lewisville ISD

Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'AA' rating to Lewisville Independent School District, Texas' (the district) bonds.

The 'AA' rating reflects the district's success in planning for and managing enrollment growth and new facilities while recording consistently strong financial results. The district has generated a significant buildup in operating reserves in a financially challenging environment; this trend reflects the sound, conservative fiscal management that is a credit strength for the district. A new finance methodology for Texas public schools introduces an additional challenge that district administrators must address, along with its moderating tax base growth, declining state financial support and expanding enrollment.

As the district's service area has matured, both enrollment gains and growth in taxable assessed valuation (TAV) have moderated. Enrollment growth rates have moderated to 3%-4% annually since fiscal 2004 compared with over 5% annual growth in the prior decade, but still adding between 1,500 and 2,000 students annually to the current enrollment of nearly 49,000. District officials estimate reaching build-out in 10-12 years at about 65,000 students. While TAV gains have also moderated, the district's fiscal 2007 TAV is solid at $18.9 billion, and the preliminary fiscal 2008 TAV suggests a $1 billion increase in value. Since fiscal 2002, TAV has grown at a compound annual rate of 7%, down markedly from the 15% average annual increases recorded over the previous five fiscal years.

While slowing enrollment growth has offered a measure of relief, the district nonetheless has faced mounting spending pressures while contending with declining state financial assistance and slowing TAV growth. Despite these constraints, financial performance has been consistently strong. The district has reported operating surpluses in the each of the past eight fiscal years, building substantial reserves. Fiscal 2006 ended with better than expected results as increased revenues from several sources and recapture payment received from the state's school finance system enabled the district to record an operating surplus of more than $13 million and an unreserved, undesignated general fund balance in excess of $110 million, or 35% of spending.

Fiscal 2007 will be the first year for Texas school districts to operate under a new state school finance structure. To comply with the new funding program, Lewisville ISD will 'compress' its operations tax rate from the prior state cap of $1.50 per $100 TAV to $1.33 for fiscal 2007. Due to an increase in the wealth level for equalization purposes from $305,000 per student to $319,500 for fiscal 2007, state education officials have informed Lewisville ISD that it is not classified as a 'property-rich' district and is not required to make wealth transfer payments for the coming year. District officials are anticipating a balanced budget for fiscal 2007 after implementing budget cuts totaling about $6 million and levying at the compressed operations and maintenance tax rate of $1.33. Beyond fiscal 2007, the district anticipates using general fund reserves to balance operations; however, the district has adopted a formal fund balance policy requiring the maintenance of a minimum of $45 million in general fund balance reserves, equivalent to 14.4% of fiscal 2006 spending levels.

Principal amortization at nearly 47% has accelerated since the last bond sale and while still below average, it is better than the amortization rates typical of fast growing districts. Debt ratios are above average and expected to increase with additional capital needs associated with enrollment growth. Direct debt per capita is $2,633 and 3.94% of TAV and overall debt ratios are $3,976 per capita and 5.95% of TAV.

The most recent bond election was held in October 2005, at which voters approved by an overwhelming margin nearly $200 million in debt. Projects approved by voters include a new middle school, technology improvements, maintenance projects, and various renovations and additions. The amount of authorized but unissued debt remaining after this sale totals $87.7 million. Officials expect to sell the remaining authorization in one to two installments in the next two years and plan to return to the voters in 2008 for another authorization to address additional capital needs. The district's debt service tax rate for fiscal 2007 was increased four cents to $0.31 per $100 of TAV and officials anticipate that this rate will increase by another five cents over the next several fiscal years due to the approved bond package.

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Fitch Rates Port Arthur ISD

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A-' rating to the Port Arthur (TX) Independent School District series 2007 bonds.

The 'A-' rating reflects Port Arthur Independent School District's improved financial performance and ongoing tax base growth. Growing general fund reserves have been enabled by management's efforts to maintain appropriate staffing levels during annual enrollment declines. Direct and overall debt levels are moderate. Offsetting risks include substantial energy and chemical refining concentration in the district's tax base and a trend of enrollment declines. Prospects for continued strong tax base growth are promising due to ongoing expansion of local oil refining capacity. Management improvements are also evidenced by the district's recent removal from conservatorship status by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

The district is part of the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area (MSA), a three-county region whose economy in southeast Texas is supported primarily by petroleum-related industries, trade through its three public maritime ports, and timber production. The majority of the district's tax base is composed of oil refineries and chemical plants, led by the Motiva Enterprises LLC (Motiva) refinery, with 28% of fiscal 2007 total assessed valuation.

Motiva is undergoing $1 billion in improvements and is co-owned by Shell Oil Company, an affiliate of Royal Dutch/Shell Group (senior unsecured notes rated 'AA+' by Fitch). The final proposed expansion will make Motiva's Port Arthur facility the largest refinery in the U.S. The large tax base concentration is mitigated somewhat by the essentiality of oil and gas refining assets in the U.S., making their closures unlikely even if ownership should change.

Ongoing demographic patterns have led to annual enrollment declines. Totaling about 9,400 in fiscal 2007, enrollment has declined by an average of 3% annually since fiscal 2002 due to an overall population decline in the region and enrollment shifts to the suburbs in neighboring districts.

The district continues to rebuild its previously strong unreserved, undesignated general fund balance that was narrowed to 4% of spending in fiscal 2003 due to three consecutive years of operating deficits. Drawdowns resulted from reductions in enrollment-driven state aid and diminished flexibility associated with multiyear teacher contracts. The administration approved a switch to one-year contracts for teachers and increased enforcement of certification requirements, allowing the district to reduce spending commensurate with enrollment declines. The district added to its reserves in both fiscal 2004 and 2005, increasing its unreserved, undesignated general fund balance to $8.6 million, or 14% of spending in fiscal 2005. Unaudited fiscal 2006 results point to a $2 million addition to reserves, aided by further reductions in force. Such mid-year reductions were enabled by the district's strategy to declare a state of financial exigency that allowed them to cancel multi-year teacher contracts in order to avoid a structural imbalance given their declining enrollment trend which was further exacerbated by Hurricane Rita. The fiscal 2007 budget is balanced and assumes another 2% decline in enrollment although year-to-date figures point to a modest increase.

TEA was brought in to review the district via a request from the Board of Trustees regarding issues with school governance in November 2004. Further investigation determined that the district situation warranted conservatorship status. Sufficient progress has been made toward resolving these issues, leading TEA to release the district from its conservatorship status in Sept. 2006.

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Fitch Rates Coppell ISD

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AAA' rating to Coppell Independent School District, Texas' (the district) bonds.

The 'AA-' rating reflects the district's strong financial position, steady taxable assessed valuation growth (TAV), and the strength and diversity of the regional economy. Also incorporated into the rating are the district's proactive management practices, prospective growth in the North Lake area, and average debt ratios. Despite the new funding formula that raises the wealth threshold for equalization payments, challenges that lie ahead include operating pressures attributable to the growth anticipated from the development of the North Lake area combined with the corresponding rise in TAV.

Located about 18 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, the district serves the city of Coppell and small portions of Dallas and Irving in northwest Dallas County. The district's most significant growth occurred in the 1990s and until recently was considered to be relatively built-out at about 10,000 students since fiscal 2003. However, a large, 350-acre tract around North Lake within the district's property boundaries in the city of Dallas was recently rezoned to residential use, and the district estimates a potential 30% increase in student population upon eventual full build-out. Given its lakeside location, proximity to downtown Dallas, and the scarcity of developable land in the area, this property will probably be developed with high-end luxury residences, which will add to the district's already solid tax base.

The district's TAV has grown steadily; while increasing in the double digits during the 1990s, the pace has declined to an average compound annual rate of 5% in the last five fiscal years. The community is relatively built-out with about 50% of the area developed as residential, but continued commercial growth is projected. Local wealth levels remain above state and national averages.

Direct debt as a percentage of TAV and per capita are average at 2.1% and $2,849, respectively. Overall debt ratios are still moderate with overall debt as a percentage of TAV and per capita at 3.5% and $4,796, respectively. The remaining $23 million authorization will be issued over the near term and is intended primarily for land acquisition and renovations to existing facilities. Additional borrowing over the next three fiscal years to support the current capital plan is expected to generate only a modest one cent increase to the district's debt service tax rate.

The current offering will be used to refund certain outstanding obligations and generate a net $7.7 million present value savings for the district.

Financial performance and reserve levels are strong. Fiscal 2006 ended with a better than projected general fund balance of $17.7 million, which maintained the unreserved general fund balance to 17% of spending, comparable to fiscal 2005. The district projects adding modestly to general fund balance by the close of fiscal 2007 even with 4% pay increases across the board and a net increase of full-time staff.

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