Congratulations February VIP Honorees

Congratulations to the staff members honored as VIPs at the February School Board Meeting.

Watch February School Board Meeting

Watch February School Board Meeting

Safety is Our Priority

Watch Focus Points Video

In C-FB ISD, we believe that for high achievement to take place, our schools must be safe and focused on learning. Through crisis drills and well developed crisis plans, our campuses, in partnership with our local police and fire departments, are safe.

Last week, we had a bomb threat called into R. L. Turner High School. The campus administration, staff and students responded calmly as they evacuated the building. Working with the Carrollton Police Department, the campus made sure the students were safe and taken care of. We have received numerous compliments from parents and the community about how the staff and students handled the situation.

One parent posted on a media news site, “C-FB takes seriously the safety of their students, and Turner administration reacts appropriately. Families and students love C-FB!”

In crisis situations, the campuses and district work hand-in-hand with first responders. We have outlined our safety plans at www.cfbisd.edu/safety. One specific protocol that we have learned through the years: For the safety of all concerned, we do not notify parents by phone during a crisis. We will communicate with families when the situation is safe with specific instructions regarding the incident.

But safety also includes mental health. C-FB ISD has a staff of qualified counselors who help students deal with pressures around them. This is National School Counseling Week. I want to thank our counselors for their dedication to the safety and welfare of our students.

Our educational team uses many great strategies to ensure that our schools are positive learning environments. We believe that in order to meet our goal of high achievement for all students that schools and classrooms must be safe and promote learning.

Update on School Finance Litigation

I wanted to share an update on the lawsuits regarding school finance.  Below is an update from Tonya Tillman, Chief Financial Officer for C-FB ISD.

After hearing twelve weeks of testimony involving six litigant groups who sued the state, State District Judge John Dietz issued a ruling indicating that the current school finance system is unconstitutional. Judge Dietz ruled that the system is:

• A de facto state property tax
• Quantitatively inefficient (lacks equity)
• Unsuitable and inadequate

The state is expected to appeal directly to the Texas Supreme Court, which could hear the case later this year. We do not anticipate there to be any major changes in the system until a final ruling is issued by the high court. 

Judge Declares Texas School Finance System Unconstitutional 

View Complete Ruling

Community-Minded: C-FB Students Care about Their Community

Watch Focus Points Video

Students in C-FB ISD are community-minded. I have said this before, but it bears repeating: Our students in C-FB ISD care deeply about the world around them. The next generation of leaders is caring, thoughtful and articulate. Rest assured – the students graduating from C-FB ISD schools are prepared to lead our nation and to tackle the challenges ahead. The students in C-FB ISD are making our future bright through their positive attitude, care, concern and empathy for others. I am so honored and proud to serve our students as their superintendent. Our students inspire me every day.

I want to share a story with you about a group of students who are giving of their time and energy to serve others. In C-FB ISD, we have a program called “Moving on Up”. The Moving on Up students have volunteered at the PTA’s Gently Used Book Sale. The C-FB Council PTAs Gently Used Book Sale requires many volunteers and volunteer hours to organize the thousands of items donated.

Barbara Morgan, the book sale chair shared: “The special contribution by the Moving on Up students has been to organize the hundreds of CDs, DVDs, and other media to make them sale-ready. This requires a lot of work. These students take pride in their work and are the major reason this section of the sale is so well-received by our customers."

Character Counts! In the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District, we teach the character values of pride, cooperation, responsibility, respect, integrity, service, and citizenship. Our Moving on Up students are an excellent example of the culture of service that C-FB ISD students exhibit. Well done.

A Better Place: Diversity in C-FB ISD

**We apologize for the technical difficulty in sending Focus Points on Friday. Here is the correct version.**

Watch Dr. Burns' Focus Points

In the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District, we believe that diversity strengthens the community and enriches the fabric of our society. Respect for the diversity of others is a matter of character. As educators, we instill in our students a respect for others and their differences.

Our staff members in C-FB ISD are innovators. They value creativity, relevance and rigor in learning. They respect and honor the diversity of our families. They impact all aspects of corporate and family life in the six communities C-FB ISD serves. They do not compromise high expectations for themselves or their students. They live the character values of cooperation, integrity, pride, respect, responsibility, service and citizenship. And more importantly, they teach these values to our students.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

The diversity of our community is a jewel for C-FB ISD and makes us a strong community. Our students in C-FB ISD celebrated our diversity on Saturday, January 19 by participating in the Martin Luther King Day Parade in Carrollton. Our students can think intensively and critically and they exhibit true character. I am proud of our students and their commitment to making our community, state and nation a better place for us all.

View photos from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in Carrollton.

Diversity Video from C-FB ISD

Calling All Kindergarteners!

Parent Preview and Kindergarten Roundup Events: Coming Up THIS Week: January 22 Davis Elementary, 8:30-9:30am Blanton Elementary, 9-10:30am and 1-2:30pm McKamy Elementary, 9am - 1pm (...