The Beginning of a New School Year!

There's always a feeling of excitement that I feel when we are about to start another school year. I guess it's because of the renewed feelings of hope and purpose that is evident when we have a new start. Anyway, I'm really excited about the coming school year.

We have several new employees at Harleton ISD that I believe are going to be great additions to our school district. Each of them brings new ideas and strategies to help us as we strive to become the premiere school district in East Texas. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish this year. I expect great things!

We have a new Athletic Director/Head Football Coach this year. Coach Terry Ward joined our district at the beginning of the summer. Coach Ward brings a lot of enthusiasm and successful coaching strategies to all of our athletic programs. I believe Coach Ward will be a great addition to our district, and I hope that you will join me in welcoming him and his family to our district and community.

School will begin for students on August 24. We looking forward to seeing the students on this day, and we are going to work hard to ensure that we help each and every student reach his/her fullest potentials.

We appreciate you entrusted us with your most precious resource. Please know that we consider you partners in the endeavor to educate your children. Don't hesitate to let us know if we can be of service in any way. Also, remember that we are on Facebook and Twitter to help keep you informed about the activities of the district. You may also gather information from our Skyward portal. This will help to keep you informed of your child's progress throughout the school year.

Thank you again for allowing us to be a part of your child's lives. We are looking forward to making 2015-2016 the best year ever!

So long 2014-2015...

What a great year at Harleton ISD! The school year of 2014-2015 was filled with successes for our district, both academically and athletically. I am very proud of all involved in making this one of the best years ever!

I congratulate our student athletes on their successful seasons in almost all areas. Our softball and baseball teams were able to compete in the state championship tournament, and performed very well. I am very proud of their hard work, as well as, that of the coaches that worked with these young men and women.

During the summer months we will be busy getting ready for a new school year. There are many maintenance projects that have to be completed during this time, and we will also be working to plan for improvements in all areas of our district. Although we've had a lot of success, we are not resting on our laurels. We seek to continuously improve the quality and content of the instruction that we offer our students, and to increase the opportunities that our students have to reach their potentials.

Please, contact our offices if you have questions or suggestions for improvement. I thank you for allowing us to be a part of your child's life.

Struggles for Small Schools

In education there are many advantages of having small schools. Our staff and students have great opportunities to form strong relationships that lead to a safe and secure environment that is conducive to learning. Students in smaller schools have varied opportunities to be involved in many activities and aspects of the school experience. But, small schools also have some struggles that are not faced by larger districts.

Often, the state's legislature passes laws and introduces bills that are tailored to larger districts. They sometimes fail to realize that smaller schools do not always have the same resources that are available to larger districts. This is not wrong, it's just the facts. As an example, I would like to share with you some struggles of a small school stemming from the Accountability requirements imposed by the state. This list was composed by Allen Garner from Central ISD.

• Significant cost at $75 per hour for professional service provider (PSP)

• The progress index is an unfair indicator of campus success for a

campus with only one tested grade level. This is not a fair playing field when other campuses have multiple grade levels.

• The measure of student progress for 4th grade math students in

comparison to their 3rd grade STAAR is difficult, when the TEKS have changed this year. We are trying to pull from a 4th grade

released test, with the new TEKS taught this year, and compare to a 3rd grade STAAR with old TEKS.

• Short time between notification that our campus is Improvement

Required and beginning of school year-Staff development is planned at the beginning of summer. This puts a burden on schools to plan staff development during the year to target the areas of the Targeted Improvement Plan. This infringes upon much needed classroom instruction time when teachers are pulled out for the required staff development.

• One year is not long enough to fully meet the mandates of

developing, communicating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the Targeted Improvement Plan. There was one training date, which was informative, but also raised numerous questions about the process. Principals are trying to get school started, and the time required to do this process effectively is not manageable. This process requires EXTENSIVE Needs Assessment, Data Analysis, planning and meetings with the Campus Improvement Team (who are also teachers), and the deadlines for reports are not realistic expectations for administrators trying to effectively lead a campus. To continue the leadership necessary during the day, countless hours are spent at night and on weekends to do this.

• Small districts do not have resources available for campus level

Curriculum/ Instructional Specialists who are the ones in larger districts assigned to disaggregation of data, monitoring the curriculum and instruction, writing of curriculum, assessments and organizing and providing staff development as needed. Once again, this falls on the campus principals.

• The state has no written curriculum available, so campuses are

responsible for teachers writing curriculum, trying to ensure the

resources are effectively aligned to the TEKS, (which no longer work when the TEKS change) on limited funds available.

• Developing higher level thinking, using technology and the training required, is hard to do when the state does not provide the sufficient funding for this. Most small schools have to write grants to acquire the needed technology to be competitive.

• The systems in place, such as the Kindergarten Readiness System,

always have issues of submission of data. There is, once again, gaps in the communication process.

• The constant changes in the testing of Special Education and

students with dyslexia are not communicated in a timely manner to campuses, in order for students to be tested fairly. Administrators and teachers are not kept informed by the state of changes in a sufficient amount of time, and the training provided by TEA is never adequate.

As I stated before, we love our small schools, but every district, no matter size or location, has its own unique challenges. I just want to make you aware of how we have to weigh all things when legislation is passed. We want to do the very best job possible in educating our children, and we will work hard to overcome any obstacles that stand in our way. As always, if you would like to speak about this or any other issues, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Tracking the Public School's Dollar

In a recent article, Mary Ann Whiteker, superintendent of Hudson ISD, shared some insights taken from a study concerning the funding of public schools in Texas. I think she has done a wonderful job in presenting a summary of this information, and I believe that you will get a lot of information from reading part of her article. The following is from an article that was printed in the Lufkin Daily News:

Moak Casey & Associates released their newest version of “Tracking the Education Dollar in Texas Public Schools” on behalf of the Texas Association of School Administrators and Texas Association of School Boards.  Contrary to public school critics, the 2013 school expenditures reflected 60.8% of the $52.4 billion in state funds were spent on direct instruction for the 4.9 million children in Texas Public Schools.

Direct instruction includes teacher salaries and benefits, instructional materials, teacher aides, librarians.  Add another 21.4% for instructional support, which includes principals, counselors, and nurses. Approximately 14.9% of a district’s funds provide transportation, food service, student safety, technology support, building maintenance and upkeep, grounds maintenance, utilities and a vast number of ever increasing state mandates. The remaining 2.9% of a district’s revenue is budgeted for central administration, which includes all central office staff, legal services, audit and accounting services and the costs of tax appraisal and collections. 

Every school district must account for expenditures using codes that allow for extensive analysis of what is purchased, how it will be used and the source of revenue for the expenditure.  The budget process and expenditures are subject to in-depth audits annually to insure compliance with all state and federal guidelines.

“Tracking the Education Dollar” features the “average” cost for a typical student per day with incremental costs equaling $1.00

Bus ride to school                                                                $.03
Clean and well maintained building                                     $.09
Heat / Cooling                                                                      $.03
Security / Health services                                                    $.02
Classroom teacher                                                              $.49
Instructional aides/instructional supplies                             $.09
Curriculum, professional training, instructional leadership  $.03
Lunch in cafeteria                                                                $.01
Counseling and guidance assistance                                  $.04
Well run campus with instructional support services           $.06
District support structures to insure effective operations     $.03
Bus ride home or extra-curricular activities                          $.03

Although there may be some slight variances from district-to-district, overall, this is how the education dollar is spent in Texas public schools. This is contrary to what many would have you believe. I think it is important to arm you with the facts.

Ready for the Best Year Ever!

I hope this find you all rested and excited for a new year! We are looking forward to the best year ever at Harleton ISD! Please, remember that students will report to school on August 25. Students will also have an Early Release on that day. We are attempting to ease the transition for students from their summer schedules to that of the school routine.

Football practice has begun, and we have scrimmages and games about to start. The cheerleaders at the high school and jr. high have been practicing and are getting ready to cheer on our teams.

You may notice that we have a new website for the district. We hope that you will take the time to look through the website and let us know if there are items you would like to see added. We are attempting to provide as much communication as possible with you so that we can keep you informed. Don't forget to like us on Facebook, as well.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your child's life. We are honored, and we hope that you will join us as partners in helping all of our children reach their fullest potentials.

2013-2014 School Year Coming to an End

Well, the school year is coming to a close, and we are getting ready to graduate the class of 2014. This is especially significant for me because I will be graduating my oldest child this year. I, like many of you, am extremely proud but a little sad at the same time.

We have had a great year, and I, along with the other administrators, will be busy working to plan for the new year during the summer months. We have had many successes during this year, and I am very happy with the performance of our students in the many varied activities. We have a great school and a great group of students. I thank you for allowing us to be a part of their lives. I am humbled and proud to have been a small part of their education.

I hope you will all have a great summer. Get some rest and relax some because we will have a busy year ahead of us.

April 2014

I can't believe that it's already April. This year has flown by! It's seems that the older I get, the faster the time goes.

April brings with it a lot of activity at the district. We have baseball, softball, track, tennis, golf, UIL Academics, and testing taking place during this month. Students, parents, and school employees are extremely busy during this time, and we have to remember to take time to relax. Easter holiday is this month, and, since we didn't have to take a Bad Weather Day, we will have a school holiday on Good Friday. Hopefully, you will be able to spend some time with family and loved ones. Remember, school will have an Early Release on April 17, as well.

Have a great month! We appreciate being a part of your student's lives.