Veteran Public Educator Jean Pickering Enters Private Sector

Jean Pickering has profound respect for the vast majority of classroom teachers, assistant principals, and counselors who labor daily in public education working on behalf of the children of Texas.

Why? It’s because she is a veteran public educator who until recently was fully engaged with her professional peers doing her very best to meet the educational needs of a diverse array of children who attend public schools.

Now, she is in the private sector having established both an innovative private school approach that uses independent online programs as alternatives to public schools as well as an academic diagnostic service that can help children perform better in public education.

“Private education is not for everyone, but unfortunately, public education is also not for everyone,” Pickering said. “The challenges confronting parents today have never been greater. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are options and solutions.”

Pickering, who has earned four degrees including two masters, has been a classroom teacher, counselor and top level administrator. Because she has been in the private meetings with teachers and professional peers as specific children and specific issues are addressed, Pickering brings an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and insight into her new business venture.

When Pickering speaks about issues and problems confronting students in public education, she brings truth and professional credibility to the forefront.

“Let me be very clear. I am not an opponent of public education. I have spent my life working in it. However, the truth is that classroom teachers and counselors are the first to understand that public education is not organized to effectively deal with the full myriad of problems that students and parents confront,” she said.

“The era of accountability testing in Texas has forced public education to shuffle its priorities dramatically. Thousands of students have been lost in that shuffle,” she said.

“My business approach is based upon confronting two facts. The first is that there are children in high school even as early as their freshman year who have fallen behind in their course work and their grades to the degree that their academic or technical workforce training even in community colleges is in jeopardy,” Pickering said.

“The second is that there are children enrolled in all levels of school from elementary to junior high to high school who are struggling with their course work because they have been given passing grades when their mastery of actual academic skills is lower than their report cards reveal,” she said.

As it relates to the first group, Pickering’s Capstone Classical Academy has targeted three separate online high school degree programs that she offers to parents as an alternative to public education.

“Parents can order these online and correspondence programs by themselves, and their children can work at home alone with parental guidance or none at all,” she said. “I don’t recommend that except in the rarest of circumstances.” Her business “twist” is this:

“At Capstone, we have created a school environment where students come four days a week and their work is guided by certified professional educators whether it is language, math of all levels, or other courses,” Pickering said. “There are hard copies of instructional materials and we are totally focused upon guiding a student’s progress through academic mastery.”

The three online programs include:

1. Texas Tech High School Diploma/Course Credit Plan: Texas Tech is recognized as prestigious program. It is for those who want to pursue a high school diploma.  It is also for those who need to take one or two courses to “catch up” or “get ahead” in their course work. The college entrance SAT scores of graduates rank very well. The curriculum is rigorous. For those taking targeted courses, the grades transfer subject by subject back to any school district in Texas. A student graduates from Texas Tech High School “college ready.”

2. Ashworth College Prep High School Diploma: This program is also academically rigorous. It is accredited by The Secondary Association of Colleges and Schools. It is less expensive than the Texas Tech option. Students who earn this diploma can be expected to move into the college world.

3. Ashworth College General High School Diploma: This program is designed for students who have fallen behind in the course work and who or in danger of not graduating from public high school.  This is an academically solid program.  However, it does not include upper level math and science classes.  Thus, it is also effective for students whose career plans do not include the highest level math and science courses. Graduates of this program can expect to attend community college to pursue additional academic studies or move comfortably into workforce training programs.

“While these high school programs are ones for which we have students who currently enrolled and one that we expect to be the highest in demand, we also offer such programs with support for elementary and junior high students,” she said. “We also offer the Alpha-Omega Christian-based curriculum, for instance.”

The cost of all of these programs as well as our tuition fees are substantially less than enrolling a student in a traditional full-service private school, Pickering said. “Our goal is to help your child advance academically so we focus upon curriculum. We move your child at a pace that is based upon the accumulation of academic skills.”

“There are families out in the real world who know that their children (despite their report cards and despite their passing TAKS test scores) are struggling in school,” she said. “They know public schools are not working and they know they cannot afford a traditional private school. Capstone Classical Academy represents a financial middle ground that is absolutely dedicated to help students maximize their academic advancement.”

“We have developed a financial policy that is most convenient to families. Parents will buy the online curriculum program and materials directly from the providers. Our fees are based upon a monthly charge. We do not require long term contracts because we want parents to know that if they are not satisfied with the program, they can leave it without a continuing financial burden,” she said.

For the families of students absolutely dedicated to remaining in public education, Pickering has formed another company to give them the assistance they need.

“Except for the academically elite students or those who need a little boost to be able to pass the TAKS test, the modern classroom is one that has abandoned ability grouping to the detriment of the broader range of students,” Pickering said. “Classroom teachers talk about this privately, but there are obvious pressures on what they can say publicly and to parents.”

“The delivery of instruction to the majority of students in public education is an academic compromise that classroom teachers are forced to make because it is not possible to be the most effective in trying to reach students with a broad range of strong and weak skills in the same classroom,” Pickering said.

“That’s education’s dirty little secret that everyone in the system knows but won’t talk about publicly because it is not politically correct to do so,” Pickering said.

“There are hundreds of children at virtually every public school campus sitting in language, math, and other core subject classrooms today receiving instruction that is either ‘over their head’ or ‘too easy’ for their actual academic skills,” Pickering said. “It would be irrational to blame classroom teachers for this situation. They work in the real world, and they do the very best they can because they are dedicated to your children.”

“However, they are not miracle workers. There is no amount of differentiated instruction in a single classroom that can bridge the academic disparity of students that are sitting in too many of our public school classrooms,” Pickering said. “That strategy works in theory but is often overwhelmed by the reality of your child’s actual classroom.”

That’s why Pickering Assessments has developed three key approaches to help parents who students are in this situation. It primarily focuses upon students between the 5^th and 10^th grades but can be customized for students who are younger or older.

“These three programs are for parents who children who are dedicated to staying in public education by choice or because of financial considerations,” Pickering said. The three programs are as follows:

1. The ‘Red Flag’ Academic Audit: “The first step is to identify whether the instruction your child is receiving really targets actual academic needs. We can do that in a very cost effective, time-efficient way through the following steps:

a. Assessment of TAKS Test Results: “We will review your child’s most recent TAKS test results to evaluate what the State of Texas says your child does and does not know. We’ll look at the results academic objective by objective and reach our independent conclusions…

b. Assessment of Actual Classroom Work: “We will ask you to provide us with 2-3 weeks of actual classroom work your child has completed most recently. We’ll look at what has been tested and how your child performed…

c. Assessment of Actual Major Test: “We will ask you to provide us with a recent major test your child has taken. We’ll look at what has been tested and how your child performed…

d. Academic Gaps Testing in Math: “After reviewing the above, we’ll administer a brief but targeted test that will ‘audit’ perceived academic strengths and weaknesses…

e. Assessment of Reading Fluency: “The State’s TAKS test asserts a level of reading fluency for your child. We’ll administer a brief but targeted assignment that evaluates your child’s reading fluency…

f. Assessment of Writing/Grammar Skills: “We’ll administer a brief but targeted writing and grammar test. Most “TAKS Grades” don’t test these skills.

g. We’ll Report Our Findings To You: “This ‘audit’ is designed to put you on a schedule to make important decisions about your child’s academic future. It may be that you decide obtain a full scale nationally norm-referenced test. It may be that you want short term or even long term tutoring. We’ll help you give the information you need to start taking back control of your child’s academic future.”

2. Private Tutoring: “We can provide your child one-on-one tutoring in any subject by a certified professional educator.” There are no contracts to trap you into a financial burden that is not working for your child.

3. Acceleration Classes: The cost of private tutoring is a financial burden for many families. That’s why Pickering Academic Assessments has established its “Acceleration Classes.” The concept is simple. “We’ll group your child with one to no more than four other children whose skills are very similar. That will allow us to give your child the benefit of small-group tutoring that’s very close to private tutoring at discounted price.” Again, there are not contracts to bind your honest evaluation of effectiveness.

If you are interested in learning more about the programs or you want to review actual curriculum materials, “please give me a call, and I’ll be glad to visit with you and your child personally.”

Capstone Classical Academy and Pickering Academic Assessments are located at 515 Pin Oak in Katy. The phone number is 832-314-1400. Pickering can be reached at directors@capstoneclassicalacademy.com.