How it all Began This is four years of research and understanding. The progression of TASA's vision condensed into one blog. Follow the links with each section to read the actual documents that led me to this understanding. In 2005, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation put out this 23-page white paper on High-Performing School Districts, also known as Common Core. Next, Delphi-driven (another term for group think) school boards in their quest for consensus mirrored Gates whit

A post published last fall by the Texas American Federation of Teachers exposes that the name, District of Innovation, is simply another non-sensical buzzword. There is nothing innovative happening in school districts which adopt this designation. It's actually just a way for districts to exempt themselves from following Texas state law. It is our duty in civic involvement to ensure excellence in education which is the hallmark of Highland Park schools. Therefore, we need to

TCTA fought the innovation district concept during the 2015 legislative session because of the potential for widespread elimination of teacher and student rights and protections. As a professional organization TCTA does a wonderful job updating and advocating for teachers throughout Texas as more and more school districts are adopting the designation of innovation. Following is an excerpt from an article published on the TCTA web site. "Initially, it appears that they would m

On March 21, 2017, HPISD school board voted 7-0 in favor of becoming a designated District of Innovation. In opposition of this concept, I penned a letter to our school board trustees prior to their vote and also testified against DOI before the Texas state Senate last fall. Innovative districts can exempt themselves from certain laws in theTexas Education Code that are in place to protect teachers, students and parental rights; these include teacher certification requirement