October 2018
Leslie & Scott Milder
Co-Founders
Friends of Texas 
Public Schools
Est. 2004
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Schneider Electric logo











 






Founded in 2016 by Margaret Kilgo, Standards First, Inc. seeks to place importance on the national and Texas state standards in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science. Click to learn more about offered workshops and resources to help improve student education and change the make-up of current standardized testing!

DK Haney Roofing is a certified TIPS and TXMAS vendor dedicated to helping schools get roofing projects done. Schools have been our specialty for 23 years, so we can help you navigate insurance claims and board approvals. Our state-of-the-art roof management portal provides instant access to all your roofs and reports. Call 866-379-4846. 
ADVERTISE WITH FRIENDS 

With more than a million hits annually on our website and more than 60,000 e-news subscribers, we are pleased to offer advertising and sponsorship opportunities available to organizations wishing to reach school leaders across Texas who support Friends of Texas Public Schools. 

For information on getting your organization's message out to Friends of Texas Public Schools followers and readers, please email Jennifer Storm.  

OUR MISSION
By educating Texans about Texas Public Schools and their many strengths and achievements, we aim to:

* Underscore the significance of them;
* Unite Texans around them;
* Restore pride in them;
* Strengthen confidence in them;
* Lift spirits among them; and
* Inject resources into them...

...all of which will lead to even greater performance.


Immediate College Enrollment Reaches All-Time High!

The immediate college enrollment rate for high school completers increased from 63 percent in 2000 to 70 percent in 2016. The enrollment rate for those from high-income families (83 percent) was higher than the rate for those from low-income (67 percent) and middle-income families (64 percent) in 2016. The gap in enrollment rates between low- and high-income students narrowed from 30 percentage points in 2000 to 16 percentage points in 2016. 



Dear Friends,
 
We are almost to the halfway mark of the fall semester.  It is hard to believe how fast time goes by.  We are also days away from election day.  I hope you are making the effort to be informed about your candidates.  We are at a crucial point in our great state and I hope we will keep the 5.5 million students in the forefront of our voting decisions. 
 
We have also announced the individuals receiving special recognition at our Friends of Texas Public Schools Annual Gala.  This special event will be held at The Baylor Bear Club in MacLane Stadium on the campus of Baylor University.  It is a great venue for an even more special event.  I hope you will make plans to attend with the 500 other attendees.  You can get information by clicking here.
 
Thank you again for your support of Friends of Texas Public Schools and REMEMBER TO VOTE!

Blake Cooper
Executive Director


Friends of Texas Public Schools will honor three Texans at its 14 th  annual awards gala on December 5, 2018 at the Baylor Club, McLane Stadium in Waco.
 
TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FRIEND OF THE YEAR
Michelle Smith, PhD, Director of Governmental Relations, 
Raise your Hand Texas
TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR
Bobby J. Rigues, Founder, Make Education a Priority & 
Trustee, Aledo ISD
FRIENDS OF TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDERS' DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Don Rogers, EdD, Executive Director, 
Texas Rural Education Association
 
Please continue reading for more information and career highlights on each of these honorees. For Gala ticket and sponsorship information, visit  www.fotps.org/FOY18  or email  jstorm@fotps.org . 


CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Proudly serving Texas for more than 70 years, Stantec is an architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design firm specializing in educational environments.  

 

October is School Priority Month; it's not to late to join in! 
Posters Coming to a Campus Near You!
Our annual achievement celebration poster is on its way to every single public school campus and administration office across our great state. 

 
Thank you to our Affiliate Partners!

Belfor - Cornerstone - Government Capital - Pfluger Architects -  Powell & Leon - Right at School -  Symmetry  Turf - Texas Association of School Business Officals (TASBO)  - Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators (TASPA) - TransCend4