District Administration - May 2010 - (Page 33)
SPECIAL REPORT
States of DEBATE
Lone Star
In education, Texas has been a source of both controversy and innovation.
THE FIRST OF A THREE STATE SERIES
BY KURT EISELE DYRLI
“E
VERY STATE IS DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE IN ITS education system,” says Don McAdams, founder and president of the Houston-based school-board training and consulting firm Center for the Reform of School Systems. “But Texas is one state that is really different and unique.” e state’s tumultuous history, huge size, high poverty rate and English language learner population have created “an overall sense of urgency” when it comes to education, McAdams explains. Texas schools today are in the “top tier” of student achievement nationally, he says, “but the work to get here has been long, hard and complicated, and with disagreements, disputes and compromises throughout.” Tumultuous Education History e land that was to become known as Texas became part of the new country of Mexico after its war for independence from Spain in 1821. But, Texans took up arms against Mexico in a war for independence in 1835, feeling that the government had become an oppressive dictatorship. Several famous battles ensued, including at the famous Alamo outpost, where a small group of Texans fought to the death against thousands of Mexican troops rather than surrender or compromise—an enduring image in the state to this day. In 1836, Texas became an independent, self-governed republic, the only U.S. state besides Hawaii that was a sovereign nation at one time. Education was part of the motivation for the revolution. e 1836 Texas Declaration of Independence lists among the grievances against the Mexican government that “it has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources.” e early years of the republic saw ambitious work begun in education, but as University of Texas professor and state education historian Frederick Eby described it, “there were many discordant views” in the 1840s, particularly concerning school authority, standardization and funding between proponents of private Christian schools, locally operated municipal schools, Masonic-run state schools, homeschooling, or a state public education system supported by tax dolwww.DistrictAdministration.com May 2010 33
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2010
District Administration - May 2010
Contents
Tech Disruptions
From the Editor
News Update
Technology
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Problem Solution
Power to the Students!
Lone Star
Racing for Reform
Department of Education Revives Civil Rights Office
New Products
Product Focus
Crisis Response
Supervisor’s Opinion
Professional Opinion
District Administration - May 2010
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