CITIZEN OF THE YEAR 2017: CAROLYN HOLLOWAY, page B1 JANUARY 16, 2017
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Valerie Nicholson
Announces Candidacy for Georgetown City Council
Maynard Sworn at Cedar Ridge
State Board of Education Member Tom Maynard took the oath of office at Round Rock Independent School District’s Cedar Ridge High School January 3. Maynard won re-election in November’s general election to the 15-member board which has rulemaking authority for significant portions of the state’s public education system serving more than 5.3 million students in 1219 school districts and charter schools. SBOE District 10 covers 17 central Texas counties and about half of Travis County, and is home to about 1.8 million Texas citizens. Maynard says he chose a school setting as a backdrop for his swearing in because it underscores the SBOE’s mission. “The students always have to be the focal point of what we do on the board,” Maynard says. "Public education works. Students are building up a storage of knowledge and I encourage [them] to do the heavy lifting now." Maynard discussed the potential success to follow House Bill 5, which is designed to allow students to dial into things that they are passionate about. "I am very optimistic about the prospects. The current number of CTE classes that also count toward core curriculum is growing and I support any change that allows that. We have been on a path where our standards are so voluminous; we are a mile wide and an inch deep. I am happy that we have begun to streamline those processes to focus on essential knowledge and skills and I look forward to making progress on standardized testing this term." Photo: State Rep Larry Gonzalez and Maynard's wife Freda assist with the oath.
Brainard Retiring From District 2 Seat by Mike Payne
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” Perhaps in the case of Valerie Nicholson, it would be more appropriate to say, “If you really want something done, ask a busy Georgetown mother of three young children.” Nicholson now intends to add another item to her list of responsibilities, which already includes caring for her family, working full time, acting as an unpaid ambassador for the City everywhere she goes, and volunteering on city boards and non-profits; she is making plans to fill the
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rience and knowledge I’ve gained to do the same for the city that we love. Not to sound cliché, I am a firm believer that the more we give, the more we get back.” Nicholson is no freshman at knowing what is happening in and around the city. She is a V.P. on the Williamson Museum Board; volunteers for the Main Street Program as a member of the Economic Vitality Committee; sits on the GISD District Performance Council; and serves on the Georgetown Commission on Aging. In addition to these activities, if there’s anything happening around Georgetown, you’re likely to find Valerie, Blake, and their three children, Tate, Drew, and Colt, engaged, helping, or just having fun as a family. Nicholson describes herself as fiscally conservative, and says she plans to bring that characteristic to the council. Continued on page A6
GISD Standing Up to TEA's "Flawed" Domain Grading System Most of the school districts in Central Texas were confounded by the preliminary "report card" they received in the new A-F grading system drafted by the Texas Education Association. Adopted after House Bill 2804, the system aims to support a focus on continuous improvement of student outcomes rather than constantly changing standards that do not reflect progress. However, the consensus in ours and surrounding districts is that the rating system is inherently flawed. GISD Superintendent Dr. Fred Brent says, "This system is a mistake and it does not truly tell us what we want to know about our kids." Among the reported 150 Texas district requests for a repeal, Jarrell ISD signed a resolution asserting their own concern that, "These grades leave the public with an invalid and disconnected impression of
student performance. Our goal is to transform education and be accountable for the learning needs of each student." GISD will soon follow asserting they also disagree, not just with the grades, but with the system itself. Dr. Brent agreed, "It has not been posted [at press time] but the board will address it at our January meeting." He continued, "The biggest problem is that it is a ranking system and it does not take into account true student performance. We believe we are accountable to our community and, as such, we believe a
true metric for student performance should be determined by our community." He added the Trustees plan to discuss community-based accountability processes and procedures during their Spring meetings. "Our message to the students and parents is that we have been and will continue to be accountable first to the students and parents themselves. What we want to talk about is what the community chooses to measure." Dr. Brent added that the District will be talking to the legislature and hope they will consider all the points and perspectives of Texas school districts. "We know there is a better way to explain what our students are really doing."
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District 2 City Council seat held by Keith Brainard who will not seek re-election in May 2017. Nicholson and her husband Blake are fourth generation Texans, originally from Austin. After graduating from UT in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication, she worked with school districts around the state for 16 years in the Educational Technology field. In addition, she and Blake operate TapSnap, a local Georgetown-based company that provides customizable photo booths for events. Nicholson is seeking this council position because she believes now is the time to transition from consumer to contributor. “Given my life experience, it seems a natural progression to seek a significant opportunity to give back. I’ve assessed where and how I’ve been able to make a difference, and I intend to use the expe-
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Dr. Brent's video "The A-F Accountability System" is available on YouTube.
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