Important message from Dr. Ryan

Please check the latest video message from our superintendent, Dr Robin Ryan, about new developments in the state funding for education and how that could affect GCISD:

Dr. Ryan's BEST Report 22APR11

We are in a crisis. Please get involved!

We all know that public education in the state of Texas is at a critical point in its history. The last report from the US Census Bureau stated that our state ranked 44th among the 50 states in the education funding per child. Current budget cuts being considered in our Legislature could potentially place our state last in education funding. On March 2nd, I joined a group of Board Trustees and Superintendents from Carroll ISD and GCISD in a visit to our state Capitol to discuss the current state budget deficit with several legislators. We met with Representatives Vicky Truitt, Mark Shelton and Senator Wendy Davis. We also met with Legislative Aides at the offices of Senators Dan Patrick, Jane Nelson and Representative Todd Smith.  Unfortunately, the main message from those discussions was that the funding situation for Texas public schools does not look promising for the next two years, with no clear solution in the short term.

Right now, it is critical that all citizens get involved demanding that legislators make Education in Texas a Priority. Balancing our state budget should not put the future of this state in jeopardy. Education cannot be seen as an expense, but as an investment. If you want to get involved, please call, email or send a letter to your legislators. To find the list of legislators that represent your residential area, please visit this site. You can also get a copy of a template to write a letter or an email to your legislators here. Even if you don't have kids in public schools, you need to get involved. After all, the quality of education affects the value of our homes and businesses.

Please spread the word to all your relatives and friends. Feel free to copy this blog link in your Facebook and Twitter pages to ask others to get involved. Many districts have joined forces to make Education a Priority in our state. For more information, please visit www.schoolpriority.com.

Welcome SAGE!

There is a new parents advocacy group in our district, SAGE, which stands for "Supporting and Advocating for Gifted Education". The group's mission is "to ensure gifted children in Grapevine/Colleyville reach their fullest potential by advocating on their behalf, connecting parents to valuable resources and to each other, and by educating and supporting their teachers and administrators." This group will offer resources to parents and educators to improve the overall educational experience of gifted children in GCISD. We need to raise the bar for all kids in our district, starting with our top students. When we give additional tools to teachers and parents to increase the level of educational engagement of our GT kids inside their regular classroom, then all kids benefit from this. The more GT training our teachers have, the better prepare they will be to establish a more fun and stimulating classroom for all students.

If you are interested in joining this parents' group, please send an email to info.gcsage@gmail.com. You can also follow the group on their Facebook page and via Twitter.

GCISD Strategic Planning

During the September Board meeting, the members of the Board approved a contract with Cambridge Strategic Services to initiate our new 5-year strategic plan process. I believe this is a big step for GCISD as we continue to work towards our mission to be the Best. For an organization to be successful in any field, the most important component needed is strong leadership. I am confident that our new superintendent, Dr. Robin Ryan, will provide that leadership to continue to move our district forward. But right after strong leadership, a strong plan is also critical. This is why we are partnering with Cambridge, an entity with many years of successful experience developing strategic plans for school districts in our state.

The Cambridge process has two purposes: to create a long-term strategic plan by rejuvenating the district's planning process, and to ensure implementation through a complete organizational alignment and systemization of plans and actions.

GCISD will have a 30-member team working with Cambridge to develop the plan for the district, and their first meeting will be in mid-October. The team will include two Board members (Jesse Rodriguez and myself), GCISD staff and other members of our community. The strategic plan should be ready for Board approval by February of next year.

Newsweek's Best High Schools Ranking

Newsweek magazine just released their annual Best High Schools ranking, and once more our two high schools made the list. CHHS was ranked #170 (top 0.7% of the US high schools) and GHS #342 (top 1.3% of the US high schools). According to the article, there are approximately 27,000 high schools in the nation. This ranking is based on the rate of AP tests taken by all the students at each school versus the total number of graduates. The ranking used the AP tests taken in the 2008 - 2009 school year.  The rate of AP tests per graduate was 3.428 at CHHS and 2.669 at GHS.  For the state of Texas, CHHS and GHS ranked #20 and #37, respectively.

The full Newsweek's article can be found here.

Congratulations to both high schools!

Welcome Dr. Robin Ryan!

On June 14th, the GCISD Board of Trustees will move to approve the contract of our new superintendent, Dr. Robin Ryan. Dr. Ryan is the Chief Academic Officer of the Dallas Independent School District and is a current Grapevine resident. He was also the principal at Colleyville Heritage High School from 2004 to 2006.

Dr. Ryan brings a strong educational background with a focus on closing the performance gaps of minority and economically disadvantage students. However, he is also experienced in attending the needs of high performing students. In his previous position as the DISD West Secondary Learning Comunity Executive Director, he was in charge of 44 secondary schools, including the Ewell Townview Center magnet schools. The Ewell Townview Center includes the School of Science and Engineering, and the School for the Gifted and Talented, two of the top ten high schools in the United States according to the US News and Newsweek magazines (2009 rankings). His success in working with such diverse student body in DISD will be a great asset for GCISD.

Dr. Ryan has a Doctorate in Education from the University of North Texas. He also has degrees from Texas A&M and Midwestern State University.

New GCISD Board Member

I would like to welcome Mrs. Karen Deakin to the GCISD Board! Karen is the current President of the CHHS PTSA. Karen received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Consumer Studies from Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. She has been a resident of Colleyville for the past 9 years. Karen won the May 8th GCISD election with 2131 out of 4218 votes (50.52%).