Administrators Will Get Their Press Box; Supt. Frailey, Key Administrators ‘Just Say No’ To On The Record Interviews
The Katy I.S.D. School Board has decided to delay any consideration of a major new bond election until 2010 but have decided to proceed immediately with major renovations to the Rhodes Stadium football complex. Board members Tom Law and Chris Crockett voted against the use of undesignated bond funds approved in a prior election to expand the press box and other facilities at Rhodes Stadium. George...
Advisory To My Readers: Processing Columns On Public Information Requests, College Series, And More
I am taking several days to ‘reload’ a whole new series of columns on a variety of subjects. George Scott Reports has maintained a very aggressive schedule over the last two months including 14 major columns since New Year’s Day. I have received several responses from Katy I.S.D. regarding my various public information requests seeking information on key matters involving curriculum...
Chronicle, Times, Sun Support And Enable Frailey’s Isolation, Retreat From Accountability
It appears that Katy I.S.D. Supt. Alton Frailey simply lacks the intellectual courage or the professional self-confidence to submit to questions regarding his administration’s policies and practices by anyone who will not genuflect in his direction. Nor, it appears, will your superintendent remove the muzzle from his key curriculum administrators and allow them to be questioned on the programs. President...
Response To Researcher Part 6: With This, We’ll Move Inside The Katy I.S.D. Classrooms
The most substantive criticism that the professor made regarding my reports on George Scott Reports was based upon the fact that I did not use scale scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test in my analysis. Because it was the most important criticism, I spent five columns addressing the complaint in exhaustive detail. I encourage you to read all five of those prior columns...
Response To Researcher Part 5: TAKS Content Mastery Reporting Is Perfectly Fine
The majority of my response to private criticism from a public education researcher has focused upon his assertion that the appropriate way to always review standardized test results is by looking at results expressed as scale scores rather than the percent of questions that students answered correctly. Again, this series is cumulative. I will not spend much time summarizing from one to the next. ...
Response To Researcher Part 4: The TEA’s Scale Scores For TAAS Covered Up ‘Celebrity Jeopardy’
You should think of the entire Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) testing program as you do Celebrity Jeopardy with one huge exception. The producers of the game show never lied to its viewers. Topics such as “Second Largest Cities” would feature clues such as “Montreal” to which the correct answer (question) was “What is Canada?” There were no pretenses. Celebrities (some...
GSR Seeks Interviews With Supt. Frailey & Athletic Director Rusty Dowling On Rhodes Stadium Attendance Reports
The following letter will be delivered to Katy I.S.D. administrators on Tuesday, January 20. That is the first business day following the District’s observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. As the letter notes, this is not a request made pursuant to the public information request. It is a formal request to interview key administrators that are addressed. The letter will also be delivered to...
GSR Requests Formal On-The-Record Interviews With Key Katy ISD Administrators
The following letter will be delivered to Katy I.S.D. administrators on Tuesday, January 20. That is the first business day following the District’s observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. As the letter notes, this is not a request made pursuant to the public information request. It is a formal request to interview key administrators that are addressed. The letter will also be delivered...
‘Honoring’ & Dishonoring Local Journalism: Chronicle, Times & Sun
George Scott Reports has decided to ‘honor and dishonor’ the best and worst of local journalism in Katy on a weekly basis. Of course, our first focus will be to evaluate stories involving Katy I.S.D. However, we won’t be restricted to just that if a story comes along that is worthy of note. THE NOMINEES FOR “WEEK’S WORST NEWSPAPER”: The Houston Chronicle...
Weekend Wonderings: Has Helen Abandoned Journalism?; Have The Watchdogs Whimpered Away?; Is Tom Law Running For Re-Election?
I’ll resume the series of columns responding to a researcher’s criticism of my reports Monday. I think by now he realizes that he made some comments that he simply could not defend. By the time I am finished, I am quite certain that he will have a higher level of respect for the work I am doing here. It is my genuine hope that there may be some opportunity in the future that will allow...