February 15, 2007 by rob.

I am taking steps to shutdown the EanesTAG site and list server.

The level of spam on EanesTAG is going up and the activity has been zero.

Recently, Colleen Dement, Laura Hirschfeld, and I have started to reorganize the EanesTAG nonprofit. In the next few weeks we will be coordinating with the District to relaunch with a new mission. We hope that GT parents across EISD will collaborate with us and the District to redefine the organization. For more information, please visit the 4eanes.com site.

If you have questions or concerns, contact me by posting a comment to this blog entry.

Posted in EISD Gifted & Talented, Gifted & Talented @ Eanes | 1 Comment »

November 30, 2006 by rob.

This month’s DLT meeting was primarily a review of the district performance on standardized tests.  The report should be available on the district web site.
Eanes continues to excel in nearly every category.  In most we far exceed the State.  The testing helps the district identify areas for improvement.  This year’s results identified that teachers should be more proactive with students in the “at risk” category to ensure they get extra help when needed.

I was very impressed with the district’s dedication getting students to perform well in their regular classroom setting.  The district has plenty of special programs and specialists, but their common objective is to have all students succeed together.
Unfortunately, GT students (the group I am supposed to represent at the DTL meeting) are completely invisible in the reported testing results.  We need to think about relevant measures for success of GT students.  I believe that measuring their success would help the district monitor their ability to serve that subgroup.  I’m happy to discuss this with you!
We also heard about the EEF teacher training program.  Is a clear example of the subtle ways that EEF contributes to making sure that we attract and retain the best teachers.  The quality and dedication of Eanes’ teaching staff is the single largest influencer in the quality of our kids experience in school.  Note: This program is funded by specially designated donations and does not take away from their core staffing objective.
I asked Dr. Wellman about the new Austin ISD Magnet program.  She was very insightful about the program.  The program is not being implemented at the 2 Austin schools that are most like Eanes: they are focused on their lower performing schools.  She stated that our high school provides a wonderful range of activities for our students while also providing demanding courses in focus areas.

Posted in EISD Gifted & Talented | 1 Comment »

November 3, 2006 by rob.

I attended the Eanes District Leadership Team at the GT Representative for the first time last Monday. I’m very impressed with the work entrusted to this team and was pleasantly surprised by the real work that we accomplished.

There were two primary topics: district road map and 07-08 calendar. As required by state law, we voted on an passed recommendations for the EISD Board on both items.
The district road map is a lengthy and comprehensive document. For GT, the critical theme is that the district wants to substantially increase enrollment in AP classes at Westlake. Beyond the TAKS, AP enrollment is one of the primary measures of our district’s excellence. This is also significant to GT students because AP classes are the primary way that GT academics are provided in High School. Dr Wellman stated that small class sizes will be maintained even if the types of classes are shifted.

In order to increase AP enrollment, the district is putting extra resources into better preparing elementary and middle school students. Specifically, they are targeting the kids who could qualify for advanced material if they had some extra support (tutoring, etc).

[editorial comment] I believe that advanced students benefit from having more people in AP system as long as small class size is maintained. I also believe that differentiation is vital to ensure that students at the are challenged appropriately in their classes. In advanced classes especially, students progress at different rates. These differences need to be properly managed.

The academic calendar was difficult to work out. The State requires that we start 2 weeks later than this year. The impact is unfortunate: the already busy Fall semester gets further squeezed. This has broad implications for timing of exams (still before Winter holiday), mid-year schedule changes, timing of holidays, and end of classes. The decision was to *mostly* maintain the current holiday and exam calendar. The primary change impacts the timing of semester change causing Fall 1/2 year classes to teach material after the “final” exam.

In short, starting later in the Fall is not better for your kids academics at Eanes. The school calendar should serve the students and teachers, not the tourism industry. Feel free to contact your Texas legislators and let them know. It’s not too late.
Overall, the meeting shows the continual balancing act required for our district to navigate between state mandates and our desire to be excellent. These goals often conflict and we need to find effective ways to create excellence within the framework.

Posted in EISD Gifted & Talented, Eanes District | 1 Comment »

October 18, 2006 by rob.

I (Rob Hirschfeld) have been asked to serve on the Eanes District Leadership Team to represent GT Parent interests.  I have 5th and 3rd grade students in the Eanes Elementary GT program and would like to bring a broader range of knowledge draw from on this team.
I’d like to hear from GT parents about how their experiences, celebrations, and fustrations.  This will help me better represent your children’s needs for to the District.

Please feel free to comment to this post (I’ll get emailed) to contact me directly (rob@4eanes.com).

Posted in EISD Gifted & Talented, Gifted & Talented @ Eanes | 2 Comments »