Another Reason Prosper is a GREAT Place to Live

A while back I noticed a banner hanging on my daughters school that said, “Texas High Performance School Consortium.” I had no idea what that meant, being a former middle school teacher I was curious.  I did a bit of research and discovered yet ANOTHER reason I LOVE Prosper and LOVE Prosper ISD! Reading the information I found really explained the philosophy behind what I see everyday in my kids schooling. Just one more reason Prosper is a GREAT place to Live!

Below is an Overview from the Texas High Performance School Consortium web site, I also thought this Video did a great job of helping to explain:

Mission: School Transformation

The goal of the Consortium is to transform education so that all Texas students are future ready. Students should be given the power to create and innovate, and teachers should be given the opportunity to use feedback and assessments to design learning that is both relevant and rigorous.  Parents, members of the local business community, and individuals from higher education, agree that they are looking for students who are critical thinkers, innovators, problem solvers, collaborators, and good communicators.  Unfortunately, our current system focuses on teaching to the high-stakes tests, not fostering the skills needed to be future ready.

The Consortium is designed to give the districts space to research, explore, develop and implement an assessment and accountability framework that is not over-reliant on high-stakes testing and is malleable enough to meet the needs of urban, suburban, and rural communities.  Consortium districts have been identified by the state as high performing, and will be allowed to operate outside the current assessment and accountability system for five years in order to have the necessary freedom to create the next generation accountability system that is balanced, flexible and helps prepare students for the future.

The preferred future for Texas schools includes an educational system that is built around:

• Dynamic curriculum standards in each content area;
• A variety of assessment alternatives that are not limited to paper and pencil tests;
• The use of technology that is integrated into the learning for students;
• Student interests;
• Involving local communities in determining the accountability features that are important to that community; and
• A variety of pathways to graduation.

Having such a system will prepare students for post-secondary education, the workforce and to be productive citizens.