Ideas#1

I was asked "How could we move the public education ball down the field here in LISD?" I've certainly criticized this district enough, so it's a fair question. Some ideas come immediately to mind...

#1 Fold CT (critical thinking) community K-12 curricula into the teaching model: http://www.criticalthinking.org

#2 Require all teachers and admin to read Tony Wagner "The Global Achievement Gap".

#3 Make Science Fairs required in all LISD middle and high schools, push (through TASB) for more Science in the TEKS, and maximize science exposure wherever possible . VRHS and CRMS are the models.

#4 Raise expectations of more kids to take AP classes. Stop the mindset of excusing performance based on demographics (A high school in San Diego only takes FRL (Free and Reduced Lunch) kids whose parents did not attend college, and manages to get over 90% college bound graduation!)

#5 Draft and politic for education law changes (with community input), and take a leadership role in TASB legislative positioning.

#6 Start an LISD TV channel for everything from lunch menus to urgent announcements to board meetings to facility use schedules. LeanderInsider has its weaknesses. The overall level of communication with parents seems to have dropped since the district went "green".

#7 Maximize community outreach and leverage internal knowledge e.g. conduct Special Ed seminars, Asperger seminars, more Connect U events.