State convention fires up delegates, boosts Bill White
Fellow Democrats,
The Texas Democratic Party’s state convention in Corpus Christi this past weekend was much more than a day at the beach.
We Democrats are definitely fired up and ready to turn Texas blue, starting with electing Bill White our next governor. If you were in the hall for Mayor White’s keynote speech Friday night, you felt the electricity. If you were not, you missed an exciting performance that had convention delegates on their feet and cheering.
White blasted Rick Perry for milking taxpayers for his Westlake mansion, for working less than part-time on state business and for running a campaign based on personal ambition for the national limelight. White also focused on his goal of improving education in Texas and working to overcome our embarrassing dropout rate, which is one of the highest in the country.
More than 300 delegates represented Travis County at the convention, and they represented us well. Garry Brown and Crystal Viagran were reelected to the Senate District 14 executive committee. And three new SDEC members were elected from Travis County: Jackie Soliz-Chapa, SD25 SDEC committeewoman; Rene Lara, Texas Democratic Party secretary; and Lila Valencia, SDEC Hispanic Caucus Committee.
We also reelected Boyd Richie to another term as chair of the TDP and, after a typically lively Democratic debate, voted to keep our distinctive “Texas two-step” (primary/caucus) delegate selection process. All in all, it was a convention that makes us proud to be Texas Democrats.
And speaking of proud Democrats, be sure to catch up with Austin-born Ambassador Ron Kirk in this week’s “On the Record with Diane Holloway.” The former Dallas mayor (and son of Austin’s legendary activist Willie Mae Kirk) talks about life in Washington as a member of President Obama’s cabinet.
With the 4th of July just a few days away, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Remember that we are celebrating our nation’s freedom and be thankful.
Sincerely,
Andy Brown
Travis County Democratic Party Chair
If Bill Wright were to understand and adopt the following “Texas Dropout Prevention two-step” he may become our next governor a bit more easily, and then really change Texas!
For the first step in this “Texas Dropout Prevention Two-step” he must help us all to more easily understand how bad the dropout rates are in almost every Texas school. Every school and school district should have a multi-year enrollment by grade spreadsheet, with graduation numbers for each year. When such annually updated spreadsheets going back a decade or more are easy to find for ever school on school district websites we will have a way to easily follow dropout rate fluctuations year to year. Such transparency will initially make people angry, but this gives us a place to start. We can then track progress using this more easily audit-able data with minimal potential for staff manipulation, and at very minimal expense. It only involves placing already collected data into a spreadsheet and online.
For the second step in the “Texas Dropout Prevention Two-step” he must understand that while the many efforts being tried to lower dropout rates (home visits, daytime curfews, truancy fines, etc…) can help, these efforts should never receive more attention, media time, or human effort than the ultimate goals of education itself: self-improvement.
Our students must want to stay in school for the right reasons, not because the classroom is an effective detention facility!
The second step is to focus students on their own futures in as concrete and physical a way as is possible. To achieve this future focus a Dallas middle school started the School Archive Project in 2005. It is a 10-year time capsule and class reunion project. It involves a 350 pound vault bolted to the floor in the school lobby to function as the 10-year time-capsule. It holds letters 8th grade students write to themselves about their history and plans for the future. Students place their letter, and also often a letter from their parents, or a teacher, about their dreams for the student, into one envelope. At the end of the year there is a small ceremony wherein they pose in front of the School Archive vault with their Language Arts class holding their sealed letters for a photo. They then place their letters inside the vault.
Students receive a copy of this photo with information on the back about their 10-year class reunion. They are reminded that they will be invited at that reunion to speak with then current 8th grade classes about their recommendations for success. They are warned to prepare for questions such as; “Would you do anything differently if you were 13 again?”
Thinking of answering such a question in 10 years helps students realize the value of current school work. They must build their own futures. Nobody is going to do it for them.
The first students to write letters for the School Archive graduated in 2009 as members of the largest 12th grade class in over a decade! The Class of 2010 again set graduation rate records!
This project has now spread to 6 schools within Dallas ISD. It is a simple project helping teachers do what they have always done, focus students onto their own futures.
At a cost that is about a dollar per child per year, it is a project all schools should be involved in. It only requires one dedicated teacher as project manager who is also interested in motivating their students to write more, to better understand the flow of time and history, and to find more value in education.
Bill Betzen
The School Archive Project
http://www.studentmotivation.org
Quintanilla Middle School
Dallas, Texas