Placido Salazar psalazar9@satx.rr.

com March for Education - Austin TX'

American GI Forum Motto: EDUCATION IS OUR FREEDOM AND FREEDOM SHOULD BE EVERYBODYS BUSINESS. I personally believe that, whether or not we are members of the American GI Forum, each one of us as parents and grandparents, should adopt these words as the road through which we can prepare our future generations, to achieve a successful career and a better life. As Don Luz Salazar, my beloved Dad used to say, The best inheritance we can leave our children, is a good education. We need to hold our elected officials accountable for the proper funding of our schools and equitable pay for our teachers, but WE NEED TO PUSH OUR LEGISLATORS TO GET RID OF THE STAAR TEST and allow our teachers to teach a curriculum which will enable our students to solve every-day problems, in the real world, when they graduate high school. Our children need to be college-ready when they leave high school and the teachers cannot prepare them for that, if their hands are tied, TEACHING TO THE TEST. GET RID OF THE STUPID STAAR TEST, WHICH IS CAUSING SO MANY STUDENTS TO DROP-OUT OF SCHOOL; SOME WITH ONLY A 9TH GRADE EDUCATION. THIS CAN NEVER BE ACCEPTABLE. Why keep amending a test which we know is producing high school graduates who might be able to pass the test, but cannot write their own name? GET RID OF IT. What sense does it make for legislators to set tough standards if too many students are not properly educated/prepared to PASS those standards? WE CANNOT AFFORD, NOR ALLOW AN OOPS GOVERNOR, NOR HIS EXTREMIST CHRISTIAN APPOINTEES TO DERAIL OUR CHILDRENS EDUCATION, WHILE HE OR HIS WIFE ARE WASTING MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS ON HIS PLEASURE TRIPS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS THE OCEAN. RICK PERRY PRETENDS TO ATTRACT OUT-OF-STATE BUSINESSES TO RELOCATE TO TEXAS, WITH THIS SHAMEFUL SCHOOL AND DROP-OUT RATE? Give me a break. That $5.4 Billion should never have been taken out of the Permanent Education Fund, which the Texas Constitution clearly prohibits. It must be returned to the Permanent Education Fund before more schools are shuttered and more teachers and other staff lose their jobs. This was just a set-up to open the door for private schools. Our teachers can only educate our children if they are in school every day, properly fed, rested and with encouragement from parents, to listen and to learn. NEEDLESS TO SAY WE CAN ONLY MAKE CHANGES HAPPEN, IF WE MOTIVATE EVERY ELIGIBLE VOTER TO REGISTER AND TO VOTE THESE CHARACTERS OUT OF OFFICE. WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME FOR OUR LACK OF INVOLVEMENT AS CITIZENS AND AS PARENTS. Please read the following column on Texas National Rating:

Placido Salazar, USAF Retired Vietnam Veteran Veterans Legislation Liaison Dr. Hector P. Garcia American GI Forum Org of TX Inc.

Texas school ratings plummet under tougher standards

Unacceptable schools rose from 104 to 569

By Chris Tomlinson Associated Press Posted July 29, 2011 at 10:01 p.m.

AUSTIN Texas school ratings plummeted Friday under tough new standards imposed by the Texas Education Agency, with the number of Unacceptable schools jumping more than 400 percent. The number of Exemplary schools the state's highest rating fell from 2,637 last year to 1,224 in 2011. The number of Unacceptable schools rose from 104 to 569 this year, the agency reported. Schools and districts are placed into one of four categories: Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable and Unacceptable. "This is a far more accurate look at what is happening in these schools," Robert Scott, commissioner of education, said, while pointing out that Unacceptable schools only make up 6.7 percent of the campuses in Texas. The ratings are based on a formula that includes standardized tests, completion rates and dropout rates. Schools that perform badly over several years can be shut down if they don't meet the state's standards. Parents also may request transfers for their children out of Unacceptable schools. Scott said the lower scores reflect tougher standards imposed this year. The agency eliminated a controversial calculation called the Texas Performance Measure, which critics say allowed schools to count students who failed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills as passing on the expectation that they would score better in the future.

The Texas House of Representatives unanimously voted to abolish the measure, but the legislation did not make it into law. Scott said he decided to drop the measure to prevent any further criticism of the school ranking system. In 2010, 62 percent of the schools that obtained Exemplary status did so relying on a boost from the Texas Performance Measure. Scott insisted that eliminating the measure from the calculation of ratings was not the only factor in the lower ratings. The state also raised the minimum test scores required for a school or district to gain a Recognized or Exemplary rating. "We have also raised the number of students actually taking the test, from 90 percent up to 94 percent," Scott said. The agency also has increased the number of special education students involved in the school accountability program by providing special tests for those groups. There were similar changes on the district level, with the number of Exemplary districts falling from 241 in 2010 to 61 this year. The number of Unacceptable districts more than doubled from 37 to 88, or roughly 7.2 percent of the school districts in Texas. Nationally, Texas students rank 49th in the nation on the verbal portion and 46th on the math section of the SAT college preparatory exam. During the next two years Texas schools will face a tougher time as they cope with a $4.8 billion cut in state financing compared to previous years, the first cut in per-student funding in Texas since World War II. Democratic lawmakers repeatedly have expressed concerns about the cuts and their impact on student achievement. "Those dramatic cuts will make it that much harder for our schools to compete with other states and countries," said Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio. "Students, teachers, parents, and community members will have to work tirelessly to overcome the cuts handed to them by the Legislature." The results announced Friday will remain in effect for the next two years as Texas prepares for a new standardized testing system, known as the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests.

"Our school system on the whole is very strong, and this year you can look at the ratings and there are no longer any allegations that we are artificially pumping up the numbers. These numbers are absolutely real," Scott said.

From: cruz chavira [mailto:cruzcchavira@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 2:12 AM Subject: March for Education - Austin Tx

CP Garcia Chapter Members, Our chapter participated in the recent March for Education in Austin, Tx. Participants assembled on South Congress Ave, south of the Colorado River. Teachers, students, and pro education advocates numbering 4 to 5000 marchers, walked to the State Capitol for speeches on the south lawn. The CP Garcia Chapter members lead the march, flying the colors. Commander Placido Salazar delivered the first of many speeches urging the State Legislature to restore the 5.4 billion dollar cut to Texas Public Schools. Error! Filename not specified. -Cruz S. Chavira CP Garcia Chapter, Member cell: 210.669.9119 email: cruzcchavira@gmail.com