...and away we go!

Well, we have completed our first full week of school, and we are off and running. We are all looking forward to a great 2011-2012. The Wildcats pulled out a victory last Friday, and we are prepared for a  great season of football. I hope that you will all come out and support our Wildcats when you have the opportunity. I always find it great to watch our boys and girls mature into young men and women over the years, and I am proud of the support that the Harleton community gives to our students.

We thank you for allowing us to be a part of your child's life. We realize that it takes all of us working together to ensure that our children are successful.

What's Going On?

As you can tell there have been a lot of changes taking place at Harleton ISD over the summer months. We are very proud of these projects and hope that you will take pride in them as well. Our students deserve the very best, and we are working hard to give them the very best. I want to thank each of you for your support and encouragement for the district and our students. It takes all of us working together to make all of our students successful.

Please visit our new website. It is currently under construction so we may not have everything in place at the moment, but we will soon have everything up and running. I think this will be a great asset for our parents, students, staff, and community members.

Also, please take a moment to read an article that I wrote concerning school finance and what it means for Harleton ISD. I have tried to give you some information about the cuts that were imposed by the 82nd Legislature in the form of a Frequently Asked Questions document. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

We are looking forward to a great year!

Schools About to Begin!

I can feel the anticipation in the air, parents are singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and teachers and school employees are frantic. It must be about time for school to begin.

It's not long now. The first day for students will be August 22. We are looking forward to a new school year and all of the activities and fun that comes with starting a new year. I hope you will take a few moments to visit our school and become an active participant in our school events. It takes all of us working together to ensure that our children reach their fullest potentials.

Graduation May 27

We are quickly approaching another landmark in the lives of some of our students. Graduation services will be held on May 27 at 7:30 pm at the Harleton High School Football Stadium. This is a great time for our students and parents which represents the first in what is, hopefully, a long line of accomplishments and achievements in the lives of these young men and women. We hope that each of these young adults will be able to look back upon their time at Harleton with fond memories and an appreciation for the hard work and dedication that it took to reach this milestone. We are extremely proud of each of them and wish them continued success in the future.

Auxiliary Personnel Appreciation Week May 9-13

We are extremely proud of our auxiliary personnel.  We would not have a chance to be successful without the help of these dedicated men and women. Our schools rely on these individuals to feed our children, transport them to school, clean our facilities, and maintain our buildings. Without their help we would not be able to function, and we thank them for all all that they do! Please join me as we salute our Auxiliary Personnel.

Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6

With all of the negative press about public schools that has been floating around lately, we are often forgetful that our founding fathers believed that public education is one of the premises that our nation should be built upon. It is still true today that the greatest equalizer is education. Therefore, I am proud to serve the wonderful teachers of Harleton ISD. These men and women deserve our respect everyday, but I am extremely grateful that we have set aside this time in our state to fully recognize the invaluable work that they do with the children of our state. Thank you teachers! You are appreciated!

What's Your Priority?

What are our priorities as a state? I don't know about you, but it seems that our legislators are sending mixed messages. Do we want to cut spending, or do we want to have a truly educated workforce? Do we want to be a low tax state at all costs, or do we want to use a level-headed approach to the budgeting process? You can't increase the standards (which is what is happening with the STAAR testing taking the place of TAKS) while cutting funding for school districts at the same time.

We've heard a lot lately about the increase in expenditures by school districts over the past two decades. Unfortunately, we don't get the whole picture when listening to the talk that is coming out of Austin. One of the things that we keep hearing is that schools are taking money out of the classroom by having staffing at a level of one-to-one teacher/non-teacher. The claim is that this number has increased over the last couple of decades; however, the research shows a different story (see chart below, taken from Ed Fuller's Blog on education). The fact is that the number of teachers has remained relatively stable while administration has actually decreased over this time. The difference comes in the instructional aides who have been added to help with the types of students that have been entering our schools. Many of these students are limited English proficient, and they require more help to bring to them up to the level of their peers. This takes staff and ultimately...money.

So, what are our priorities? Educating our children will lead to a better educated citizenry. This leads to a more productive workforce and more tax revenues. I believe that we will reap the benefits in the long run for our investment today. Or, we can shortchange the education system and pay for it later. What do you propose?