You Can Share Your Story Too!

We have asked individuals who have relationships with C-FB ISD to share their stories with us.  You often see those requests from universities to their alumni or companies to their clients.  We appreciate those parents, community members, teachers and staff members who have already done so.

Here are just a few stories:

"We had our son enrolled in a private school when we heard about the wonderful things that are happening at R. L. Turner High School. We moved him to Blalack Middle School in his eighth grade year just so he could apply to be in the AMAT (Academy for Media Arts and Technology) program at Turner. He received a great education at Blalack, but he has had the most amazing experience ever at Turner. He has enjoyed the staff, students and atmosphere that Turner provides."

                                                                                                   C-FB ISD Parent

"My husband works in Addison so we were looking to move to an area that would make his commute less than 20 minutes one way.The schools and school district were the deciding factor in where we ended up. I did my homework and looked at accountability ratings and other school and rating information for many C-FB ISD schools and the district overall. The stats were quite impressive. My kids ended up going to Kent, Blalack and now Creekview. I feel these schools have provided my children with a private school education from a public school. Their experiences in these schools are preparing them for success in life and I am very thankful to every teacher, administrator and volunteer who has contributed."

                                                                                                      C-FB ISD Parent

"I taught in the district, and then we moved to another state for my husband's career. We came back over a year ago because I wanted to be an educator again in C-FB ISD, and my husband and I wanted our children to be in C-FB schools. C-FB puts students first, no matter what, and gives the most amazing opportunities for teachers to continue growing professionally. Students achieve at great levels in this district because they have educators who believe they can achieve at high levels."

C-FB ISD Teacher

We are videotaping stories from parents, teachers and students.  Last year, one of our parents shared this story with us.  You can find it on our "C-FB Innovative Leader in Learning YouTube' Channel. A Video Story

You can find these and other stories in a special section section on our website, Share Your Stories. This section is available for anyone but especially for prospective families and future C-FB ISD team members to hear from "real C-FBers" on what makes our district special for students and of course, families. And, we believe C-FB ISD is one of the best professional homes for educators too!

Do you have a story to share?  We want to know how the spirit of our district, the C-FB ISD team, or educational opportunities has impacted your life.  If you do, we've made it really easy for you. We've created a form where you can write your story. We simply ask you to limit your story to less than 250 words.Share Your Story Form

We know that C-FB ISD is a great place to learn and to work. We have outstanding students. We have a great community. We have a wonderful team who believes in high achievement for all students.  We  encourage you to share your positive story about C-FB ISD today!

What's Going On About Grading

Grading and grades ... Students, parents, teachers and principals spend much time talking about grades and what they mean.  What is the real purpose of a grade?  What evidence supports a grade? What motivates an individual to make good grades?

Those questions and more were why C-FB ISD formed a Superintendent's Task Force on Grading Procedures last school year.  The task force included teachers and administrators from elementary, middle and high schools plus central office instructional team members.  They spent more than one year studying experts in the field of grading and assessment.  During that time, the task force also obtained feedback from other staff, parents and students as they developed new grading procedures.

One reason the district is changing current assessment practices relates to Senate Bill 2033.  This state law allows a student a reasonable opportunity to make up or redo a class assignment or examination for which the student received a failing grade. The law applies to an individual student and not a percentage of the students as our current procedures require.  Because of this, we don't believe our procedures meet the spirit of the law, and the district needs to change.  And, in our new procedures those changes have been made.  We also believe that these changes will benefit all students and their learning. 

A grade is all about learning. We want to determine if the student understands the state-required standards and the district curriculum required for that grade level or course.  Basically, we are measuring student achievement.

The Task Force has developed a draft of district procedures that will be used by the five pilot campuses for the 2011-2012 school year.  The campuses will use the procedures to determine if the changes move their student achievement forward.  Their work will help us make improvements in the procedures, and then district-wide implementation is planned for 2012-13.

The five piloting campuses are:

• R. L. Turner High School
• Davis Elementary School
• Vivian Field Middle School
• Rosemeade Elementary School
• Early College High School

The principals and our Educational Services Division have held parent meetings on the five piloting campuses.  We believe that the grading procedures are in tune with our district goal: high achievement for all students. 

In an article in the November 2009 issue of Educational Leadership, social studies teacher Tony Winger wrote the article, "Grading What Matters."  Two sentences from his article stand out. They are:  "No matter how lofty our espoused education goals, our grading practices reveal what we truly value. ... If higher-order thinking matters most, then that is what our grades must assess, record, report, and reward."

We in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District are always looking for ways to improve the educational quality found in our classrooms.  We believe that students must understand what they are learning in school because they need to re-connect and apply it to real-life situations.  C-FB ISD's grading procedures must assess a student's learning and his real understanding of the content.

To read the draft grading procedures, click here: C-FB ISD Grading Procedures

First Online Annual Report - Check It Out

Stakeholder confidence and accountability go hand-in-hand. We in C-FB ISD have always believed in the importance of both. We have just created our first comprehensive district online annual report, and we believe that this communications tool will help our community learn how well C-FB ISD is doing.

The report gives you the opportunity to become more knowledgeable about C-FB ISD.  We provide statistical details about the 2009-2010 school year plus figures about the current year.

Designed primarily around our four strategic objectives, the report has six tabs: leadership, achievement, learning environment, operational effectiveness, stakeholder support and current figures.

Throughout the report, we have links back to http://www.cfbisd.edu/ so you can see live, current information. As we focus on our singular goal of "high achievement for all students," we continually work on our four strategic objectives. I believe that our four objectives are intertwined. As our team improves  operational effectiveness, we are strengthening shareholder confidence. And, as our students increase their achievement in academics, the arts or athletics, we are building shareholder confidence.

Our annual report has been developed so that you can get a quick glimpse of how your school district is doing. Or you can take your time and delve into the report. Writers use the term "3-30-3 rule". That means, a reader can check out the site in 3 seconds, 30 minutes or 3 minutes; whatever time you spend, you will glean valuable information about C-FB ISD.

As you look at our annual report, I believe that you will see that our students are achieving and that our staff is committed to our goal and objectives. And, finally, you will see that C-FB ISD has a plan to move our work forward. We in C-FB ISD thank our community for believing in public education.