Dr. Annette Griffin Superintendent of Schools October 2007 en Español

Committed to a Vision of Every Student Graduating College-ready

Since I returned to Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District as your superintendent 10 years ago, I have talked about how the world that your children will be living and working in as adults will be so different than you and I can even imagine. The U. S. Department of Labor confirms this idea. The department has identified the top 10 'in-demand jobs' for 2010, and they were not in existence in 2004.

In essence, today's teachers are preparing students for jobs and technologies that haven't been created. That is why we in C-FB ISD are committed to a vision of every student graduating college-ready. We begin working on this vision with our kindergarteners because taking advanced courses is a precursor to success in college.

Our elementary schools do an outstanding job of introducing the concept of what going to college is all about to our youngest students. At many of our elementary schools, the faculty and staff have created "College Day." On these days, the teachers and staff wear college shirts and encourage their students to do the same. Some schools have College Walls that have colleges/universities pennants and banners hanging while others have walls that have displays that tell about staff members and the colleges that they attended.

C-FB ISD elementary teachers even blend the concept into their daily lessons as they teach research skills. Students research a variety of topics including how to pay for college, Texas colleges, out-of-state colleges and much more. Students learn how to set goals and how learning helps them get into the college of their choice.

The Career and Technology Education Department works with our business community to host an annual fifth grade career fair. This fair broadens our students' world about careers and the needed advanced education as they get ready to move into middle school as sixth graders.

Middle and high school students are taking more advanced courses. In the 2006-07 school year, 683 more secondary students took an advanced course than the previous year. This is really good news, and we saw an increase in every grade beginning at grade six. I am really proud of our students for taking these extra tough courses, and I appreciate parents encouraging their children to take the more rigorous classes.

The district has numerous programs that assist middle and high school students with their advanced learning options. One such program is AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). Through AVID, our teachers are showing many students that they can be successful in advanced classes and that college is in their future. An exciting component of AVID is the parent involvement aspect which talks about how families can prepare for college.

Parent Universities at the middle schools also provide tips for students and parents on how to plan for college. The sessions involve the students and parents at their own middle school from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Dates remaining this semester include: Oct. 9: Blalack; Oct. 15: DeWitt Perry; Oct. 23: Dan F. Long; Nov. 6: Barbara Bush; Nov. 13: Ted Polk. The district's Parent Education Department also offers classes, and information about these classes can be found under Event Dates on the district's website, www.cfbisd.edu.

The Division of Community, Family and Student Services is promoting a new website that provides college information, www.iamgoingtocollege.com. The website provides tips on financial aid, how to select a college and much more. The division's website also has college information, and parents can find that information on the district's website under the Parent Resources link then look for the Student Services Department.

High school students may also enroll in dual credit classes, which are courses where students earn college and high school credit at the same time. We continue to see growth in this area. In the 2006-07 school year, 81 more high school students earned dual credit than the previous year. As more students earn dual credits, they are taking a wider variety of classes, including economics, fine arts and mathematics as well as the typical courses social studies and career technology. For the 2007-08 school year, our goal is to increase dual credit enrollment three percent.

I know that taking these advanced courses pays off in so many ways. The 2007 C-FB ISD graduating class received just over $15.1 million in college scholarship offers from local scholarship donors, colleges/universities, and military appointments. I want to encourage this year's senior class to apply for scholarships too. Our local scholarship applications will be online on the district's website in November or December so please check with your counselor about scholarship opportunities.

Congratulations goes to the 16 C-FB ISD students who were recently named Semifinalists by the 2008 National Merit Program by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Being a National Merit Semifinalist is a very prestigious honor, and I am very proud of these students.

In his book, The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman wrote about the future. He said that if we wanted to maintain our standard of living then our country must concentrate on the right education. I believe that we in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District are focused on the correct vision of graduating every student college-ready. We are fortunate that our community believes in public education, but as the Department of Labor points out, the future isn't waiting for us; it is upon us. We must continue to work together so we can chart the right course for our students. Thank you for your continued support of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.

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