Keep the families and the community involved in the classroom. That's what the chairman of the House Public Education Committee says is ones of his missions at LISD's Community Partnership forum.
Rep. Jimmie don Aycock says his biggest accomplishment is helping House Bill 5 get through the legislature.
The bill reduces the dependence on state testing and increased career endorsements, which prepares students for careers in technical education.
"Everybody hopes their kid will go, and we want as many as we can to go, but about 40-plus percent of our students are not going to get a college degree ever probably," Aycock said. "And they need to have a good skill that pays well, lets them step out of those bad situations they're in in life and the best way to do that is career in technology for many of those children."
Aycock says he's not sure when a ruling will be made regarding the school finance lawsuit case from 2011, and he says something must be done to keep Texas teachers happy.
"Very troubling that so many of our teachers turn over every year, and part of that I think is the emphasis on testing and part is the lack of discipline in the classrooms," he said. "Teachers' working environment is more concern to them than typically than the pay. Pay is important, but work conditions seem to be driving them out of the classroom."
He says we need to find a better way to train, retain and prepare our teachers.
