3.2.1. The power of limiting your options, the value of eagerness, and what we undervalue
3 Ideas From Me
I.
“If you’re eager to learn—even if you aren’t particularly talented—then you can make it a long way despite your shortcomings.
But if you’re not eager and curious, you’ll find your natural abilities often fall short of what is required.”
Graduation rates continue to fall
The majority of states, 26, saw declines in high school graduation rates following the pandemic, new research shows.
In 2020, for example, 10 states had graduation rates of 90% or higher, but only five did in 2022, according to Tuesday’s analysis from the Grad Partnership, a network of nonprofits working to improve student outcomes.
But the report suggests that the full impact of COVID school closures on graduation rates has yet to be realized. This year’s seniors, for example, were seventh graders when the pandemic hit in March, 2020 and likely spent much of eighth grade learning remotely or in a cycle of on-again, off-again in-person learning.
Death by Meetings
Meetings that work energize talent.
Principal #1: Meetings give the illusion that something got done.
If you spend all day in meetings:
You waste time.
You can’t make decisions.
You don’t know how to delegate.
You’re self-important.
You spend your day assigning work to others.
“… one either meets or one works. One can not do both at the same time.” Peter Drucker
The right to free education
Since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1982, undocumented students have had the right to a free education
Public schools cannot discriminate against nor force undocumented families to pay tuition due to a 1982 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case known as Plyler v. Doe.
In a 5-4 decision, the court held that schools are responsible for extending the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to undocumented children, and that public schools could not request citizenship documentation of students nor deprive children of an education.
“By denying these children a basic education, we deny them the ability to live within the structure of our civic institutions, and foreclose any realistic possibility that they will contribute in even the smallest way to the progress of our Nation,” wrote Justice William Joseph Brennan Jr. in the majority decision.
The average superintendent salary
Austin— The median salary for a Texas school superintendent in 2024-25 is $153,176, an increase of 2.1% from the prior year, according to the annual Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Superintendent Salary Survey.
The survey is conducted each fall to help school districts across the state understand compensation trends. Of all the responsibilities entrusted to school board members, among the most important is hiring and evaluating a superintendent, said Amy Campbell, director of TASB HR Services, which administers the survey.
“As districts wrestle with budget constraints, current compensation data helps school board members develop a compelling pay and benefits package to recruit or retain the best superintendent for their district,” Campbell said.
Bluebonnet Curriculum is adopted
Critics say the curriculum overemphasizes Christianity. Texas school districts don’t have to use it but will receive $60 per student if they do.
A majority of the Texas State Board of Education gave final approval Friday to a state-authored curriculum under intense scrutiny in recent months for its heavy inclusion of biblical teachings.
Eight of the 15 board members voted to approve Bluebonnet Learning, the elementary school curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency earlier this year.
