Bryan Adams and Its GPS Devices Get a Couple of Minutes with Katie Couric

• KERA ran one of their local productions from 2005 again last night, about schools in DISD, Highland Park, and Irving: http://kera.org/tv-productions#bestrest Funding doesn't appear to be the biggest problem; Highland Park is short on money and having to cut programs because they have to give 70% of their tax money to poorer school districts via Robin Hood, yet their students do great, apparently mainly because parents are so supportive and involved in the school system. The elephant in the room was only mentioned by the students: Hispanic enrollment has skyrocketed in the last 20 years, and as one student put it, "their culture doesn't emphasize education as much." Can you imagine a Highland Park student missing school 100+ times in a year? Their parents would <i>kill</i> them.

• None of this changes the fact that DISD is one of the worst school districts in the nation, and the American education system is one of the worst world wide as far as modernized countries go. It's scarry what that says about Dallas.

• FWIW - The news story alluded to a stat that 49% of Dallas SENIORS this year will not graduate. Two things- A) The stat did not specifically single out public school students - but if I had to guess, that's what it meant. B) It said seniors, not students. Not sure if that means more or less students at large do not graduate - or maybe they just don't graduate in four years. (Maybe they're redshirting?...)

• 49% of student don't graduate in DISD? Jesus, I knew it was bad, but not THAT bad!

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