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From the Editor

I have decided to publish this web site because I don't think that the public is getting a true view of our local school system.

Where do you get your information? You can view the web pages of the school district and the various schools. Information on their pages are of course information that the schools want you to believe.

You can also read the local paper "the Lake Travis View". Here again, the articles are submitted by the school district itself.

So, where do you go to get a different view of our schools. You come to this site. Is this site totally unbiased? Probably not, but you will get a different opinion and something to think about.

This site is an open site in that I will publish letters, articles, and opinions from the public. I will not publish anything from the school district as they already have their means of dissemination their information.

If I make any statement that is not correct, please let me know and I will correct the error. I am here to state facts only.

I also have a User Forum where you can ask questions, reply to questions, and post your opinions for others to see and reply to. The public is encouraged to read the Forum and participate in the discussions. How else can opinion be changed. Just do it!

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Email addresses of board members and the superintendent

Why do these people hide their email addresses? They are elected to serve the public, then they go and hide. What is going on here and why are they still in office?

Teacher spends own money for science projects

A teacher has told me that he has elected to spend his own money, about $500 to complete a specific science project. Why?

Our School Board, a bunch of Lemmings

July 11, 2010

I just read in the Lake Travis View about the school board and administration decision about teaching sex education at Lake Travis High School.

I don't disagree with the decision but I do disagree with the way the decision was reached.

It was reported that Lisa Johnson disagreed with the rest of the school board as to what should be taught. Apparently, she held out for a long time before the church gang beat her down and she agreed with them.

The View reports, "Despite expressing her skepticism, Johnson voted for the provision, making the decision unanimous."

It is to bad that there is no individualism in our school board. Come on Lisa, stand your ground next time and next time if the vote is 6 to 1, then so be it!

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Do we have good schools?

As we drive down RR 620, we pass by an impressive high school and middle school complex. If you have the opportunity to visit the school, you will be impressed by the quality of the buildings and classrooms. However, how well are these facilities performing in educating our students.

As is reported in the media, Texas is ranked low compared to other states. Our school board claims that our schools are great. Are we in fact the best of the bad? Do we believe what we read in the View about how many awards our school system receives? Well, I guess we do get the awards but what are they for? Are they for something important or merely an award to make us think we are doing good. Children are often given rewards for performance even though the performance is bad just to keep them trying. We are not children. We should good at rewards for what they really are. We should try to find out how our high school compares to schools in California, New York, and other schools in Texas. It is hard to get this information. No one wants to state that one school scores higher or lower than another but this is information we need in order to learn where we really are.

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Did you know that many teachers do not use the textbooks that are provided?

I have found that many of the math and science teachers do not use the textbooks that we the taxpayer pay for. Why not? Why should we care about the Texas Educational Agency's efforts to control the textbooks if the teachers do not use them. I think that most of the effort is trying to scrub the textbooks to make them politically correct and non-offensive to minorities.

I have looked at the math and science textbooks extensively. They are good. Are they the best? Perhaps not, but if a student learns what is in the provided math and science textbooks they will be very well educated in these fields.

Looks like there is an improvement in teacher web pages

August 22, 2010

It looks like the new software along with good training and motivated teachers is resulting in improved teacher web pages.

Last year, many, if not most, of the pages were not very good. I have looked at a couple of pages using the new software and format and there is a noticeable improvement. These is consistency on the opening page. I clicked on a subject and found the syllabus and assignment calendar filled in. Some pages are work in progress but things are looking much better.

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Some Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Results...

I just received some information as to the results in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Was Lake Travis High School in the competition? No! No schools in our district participate. What about our competitors.

Westlake, Westwood, and Vista Ridge has entries. There was a 2nd and 3rd place won.

What is wrong with our school district? Why is our school administration and school board so void of educators?

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Financial Transparency

Some school districts post their check registers online for all to see. Why does our district elect not to do this. As it turns out, the state mandates a particular accounting software package that is uniform throughout the state. It would be easy to post the check register.

Does the district have something to hide???

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Want to make a teacher happy? Thank them!

There are many teachers in the district that do a great job educating our students. What do they get for their efforts? A small salary and the summer off. Is this enough to keep a teacher trying hard? I doubt it. When a teacher gives you extra help, advice, and support, give them your thanks. Believe me, it really feels good when a parent thanks you for the hard work you are doing. A little bit of personal sincere praise from a parent or student for that matter will go a long way to make the teacher happy.

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A church recruits in the school cafeteria?

Is this true? Apparently so. In April, it seems that a local church was allowed to set up a table in the Lake Travis High School cafeteria for the purpose of recruiting new members.

About the exemplary rating of our schools.

August 22, 2010

Last year Lake Travis High School and Hudson Bend Middle School were ranked acceptable. A miracle happened and this year they are both exemplary. what happened? Actually nothing.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) merely changed the way they rated the schools. There is no indication that the schools are any better. It seems that the TEA created a new scheme where they predicted the performance of the schools in the future or something like that in order to raise the rankings. The school district will not tell you that the improvement is just slight of hand, not real improvement. The other schools in the district because they earned the rating, but not the high school.

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TAKS Tests

Texas has decided to place requirements on schools in order to advance and graduate. While this seems like a good idea, is it? Being a math and science tutor, I have noticed problems with the TAKS.

When I first learned of the TAKS program, I was an advocate. Later after tutoring for two years, I am not so sure.

I find that for about two weeks before the TAKS test, all education stops and the students are taught how to pass the TAKS. Is this right? I think not.

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Is the school board political?

Is there a group devoted to dominating the school board and the school administration.

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Is passing the TAKS really something to be proud of?

From a math perspective, the TAKS only includes Algebra 1 and Geometry. There are 60 math questions, multiple choice. One has to get about 33 correct in order to pass, the exit test that is. This means that one can really know the answers to 24 questions and guess on the rest. Actually, you don't even have to know 24 if you learn a few tricks about how to use techniques like eliminate, guess and check.

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Who should run for school board this year?

It is hard to find good people to run for political office. Is the inverse true? Is it easy to find bad people to run?

There are two positions to be voted on this year. Let's hope that there are qualified candidates to run for these positions.

Useful Links

This site has a lot of information about the LTISD that you will probably like to know.

ltisd.info

This site also contains a lot of good information about various school districts in general.

www.peytonwolcott.com

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What does the school board and administrators do?

In most jobs, one gets paid for what they produce. I wonder some times exactly what our administrators and school board members do to enhance our school district. I am not looking for general answers but specific things that they do. Do they research problems and propose answers? Do they give guidance to those under them? Have they responded to the public in any meaningful way? As a start, I have listed the current board members and some administrators. So far, I have no idea what any of them have done.

Now I understand.

Before I made the decision to run for the school board this last April, I spoke to a group of ladies at Starbucks about the school system. After I introduced myself and told them that I overheard them discussing the Lake Travis school system, I asked them their opinions. I got an earful!

One of the things I remember they said was that in their experience, when a school board member gets elected, the campaign promises of the candidate changes from what they said during the campaign and what they do after elected. I was told that they start with great intentions to make things better and then after a few months after they are elected, they sort of join the board, do nothing, and disappear.

I read some of the literature that is passed out for potential candidates prior to the election. Some of it tells of the board members responsibilities, but basically the document says that the board member must be a team member and speak with a single voice. New board members must go to a training session where they are brainwashed into thinking like the old establishment. The training discourages one to think independently and rather to go along with the flow. I can now see why nothing changes in our school district.

Before the election, I spoke with a board member who told me that shortly after he was elected, he tried to stand out and make things happen but was soon convinced to be quiet and join the team

Someone sent me a link to an article about the school board up in the Dallas area. The article basically stated the same thing I am saying here. Here is the article.

Click here

Let’s hope our newest school board member will think independently and make a difference.