Friday, February 27, 2009

Fort Worth ISD clears up confusions over Trimble Tech admission policies

By Pegasus News wire

The Fort Worth ISD Superintendent and administrators are disappointed that there continues to be misinformation about the admission policies of Trimble Tech High School. Rather than limiting admission to Tech, the Board has specifically widened the door to include consideration of all students.

Two weeks ago the Board of Trustees voted to:

• Expand the Trimble Tech recruiting process to all middle schools. The Board decided, in fact, to require a broader recruitment process, so that every child and every parent in the District has some knowledge of what Trimble Tech offers.
• Make it easier for any student to get into Tech by removing consideration of the student’s past attendance record.
• Add transparency to the selection process by having a joint committee of campus and central office administrators review applications.

The last issue was in response to concerns raised by Board of Education trustees about a lack of transparency and to ensure the District wasn’t excluding any child who wishes to attend Tech from serious consideration. This process is more aligned to the process used to evaluate students who choose to attend other Special Interest Programs in the Fort Worth ISD.

Additionally, Superintendent Melody Johnson eliminated a prior recommendation to use a proposed blind lottery for selection process. Superintendent Johnson’s final recommendations to the Board were made after extensive talks with Trimble Tech students and staff members.

Superintendent Johnson also had the chance to speak Tuesday evening with Dr. Rod Paige, the former U.S. Secretary of Education, who wrote a letter addressing the admissions criteria at Trimble Tech. Dr. Paige told Dr. Johnson that he regretted writing the letter before checking with her and he very much appreciated her clarifying these points for him. While he stood behind his long-standing philosophy and other opinions expressed in the letter, it was written without any knowledge of the facts.

Dr. Paige and Dr. Johnson share the philosophy of wanting what’s best for all children. Additionally the Trimble Tech admissions policy won praise in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial published on February 19, 2009. The editorial said, in part:

The Fort Worth school board’s recent decision to shift admissions processing for Trimble Tech High School applicants to the central administration looks like a minimally disruptive change that leaves a thriving program intact.

That, along with a requirement that Tech recruit districtwide instead of targeting particular schools, is a rational response that takes into account both criticisms of the enrollment process and pleas not to ruin a good thing.

Again, the Fort Worth ISD will include parallel recruiting for Trimble Tech and all other Special Interest Programs beginning next week.

Dr. Johnson has indicated her willingness to meet with those who wish to discuss matters surrounding Trimble Tech’s future.

Source: FWISD

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