I thought it might be appropriate to put together a few notes about the public elementary schools here in Fort Worth, Texas. Although the city has a thriving private school community, it would be wrong to broadly assume that is a negative reflection on the public schools.  I’d like to talk a little about what’s right in these schools.

There’s a tradition of discipline in our public schools and although that sometimes seems a bit intimidating, ultimately it means that the schools are able to focus very strongly on skills aquisition, fairness, and safety. Each school has procedures in place to ensure parents are kept in the loop all though grade school. In the younger grades (K-2) , kids get a stamp every day on their calendar sheet: green for “good citizenship,” yellow for “some trouble spots, “red for “they go into real trouble today.” The parent signs the folder and returns it and can correct their child if needed. 

Every public school and every classroom is focused on student performance. Testing accountability is one reason. Texas public schools focus on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills test, or, colloquially the TAKS. Instituted in 2003, the test covers math, reading, writing, science and social studies. Schools are rated on how well their students test and the ratings are public. Although some teachers may complain about having to “teach to the tests,” it also means no one can ignore skills acquisition in this modern environment.

In Fort Worth’s elementary schools, good citizenship is emphasized. All students say the pledge of Allegiance, the Texas pledge of Allegiance, (“Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible”) and then have a moment of silence. There is also a school citizenship pledge for each individual elementary school.

Overall, at first it can seem like a great deal of structure, but then structure and discipline is, at least by my observation, the Texas way. And the students do learn well in this environment. A high degree of personal responsibility is expected, and students are rewarded for positive behaviors. The Accelerated Reader program allows students to read books at their grade level, answer reading comprehension questions on a computer, and gain points towards prizes. Despite the perpetual funding struggles of public education, grade school students do still get “specials,” or PE, Music and Art, taught by a specialist, not their classroom teacher. 

It’s true that many use private schools instead of public, but still, most kids who live inside the Fort Worth city limits attend FWISD elementary schools, including the children of many teachers. With their democratic nature, expectation of self-reliance, and discipline these schools can truly be the best choice for many children.