Kyle may get an IDEA

Look at this. You should really look at this if you have school-age children living with you in Kyle. This is the Washington Post’s most recent rankings of "America’s Most Challenging High Schools." If you’re like me, the first thing from this list that jumps off the page is that six of the top 10 ranked high schools are in Texas and the names of five of those six schools begin with the word "IDEA."

IDEA, in this case, is an acronym for "Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement." It is a growing network of 61 tuition-free pre-K to 12^th grade public schools serving 35,000 students in Austin, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. Approximately 85 percent of its student body is economically disadvantaged. It was founded in Weslaco, Texas, just before the turn of the century by two former Teach for America corps members, Tom Torkelson and JoAnn Gama, with the mission of serving impoverished students. They opened their first school in Donna, Texas, in 2002. By 2008, IDEA had expanded to 10 schools serving 4,000 students and it currently has 14,000 students on its waiting list for its schools in the Rio Grande Valley. At the invitation of former NBA great David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, IDEA opened its first school in San Antonio in 2012, the same year it launched in Austin, where it recently received a $16 million donation so that it could expand to 26 schools in the Austin area.

According to figures released last year, 95 percent of IDEA’s student body is Hispanic and English is a second language for 33 percent. About 5 percent of students have special education needs. Admission is initially carried out by lottery, but students who have a juvenile record or a history of disciplinary problems may be excluded.

The schools have the reputation for being academically rigorous. In the sixth grade, students begin to take the classes needed for Advanced Placement courses (college-level courses and examinations for high school students) and they take their first AP course in the ninth grade, By the time they graduate, students are required to complete 11 AP courses.

IDEA likes to boast that 100 percent of its graduates attend college, but that braggadocio can be somewhat misleading; the truth is being admitted to a four-year college or university is one of the requirements needed for a student to graduate from an IDEA school. According to the IDEA student handbook, a student may graduate "only if the student successfully completes the curriculum requirements identified by the SBOE (State Board of Education), has been accepted into a four-year college or university, has completed a minimum of 125 hours of community service, and has performed satisfactorily on required end of course assessment instruments." Again, referring to last year’s numbers. 65 percent of the students who enter the ninth grade at an IDEA school do not graduate at an IDEA school.

Normally, a new IDEA school will contain three grades, kindergarten, first and second (in what IDEA calls an ‘’academy,’ its name for primary schools) and sometimes a sixth grade which is used to seed its "college preparatory," IDEA’s name for its grades 7-12. It establishes and fills the rest of the grades over a subsequent six or seven year period.

There’s an excellent chance that Kyle residents will have the opportunity to see this process unfold up close and personal. Tuesday’s City Council agenda includes this item "Discussion regarding the Mayor’s signature requirement to comply with federal tax law for tax-exempt financing for bond financing documents, IDEA Public Schools." Now there is really no reason this item has to be on the council’s meeting agenda. These bonds do not indebt the City of Kyle in any way; there’s no municipal liability here. Their authorization does not require council approval. State law simply requires the signature on these documents of the "highest elected official" of any city where IDEA plans to locate. Therefore, the only reason I can see for its inclusion on the council’s agenda is so that a public announcement can be made that IDEA plans to locate a campus in Kyle.

It will be interesting to see the reaction to the announcement, especially from the existing public school community. However, if that community is truly interested in education and not in its own entrenched fiefdoms, that community should applaud any and all efforts to increase the number of Kyle students who will graduate from high school and attain a post-secondary degree. We may get a glimpse of the actual priorities of local school officials and their hangers-on during Tuesday’s council session.

Overall, Tuesday’s council agenda appears on the surface to be comparatively routine (and possibly even briefer than average — an executive session may not be necessary). The only other items worth noting on the agenda are:

• A public admission that the cameras installed in police vehicles have, in the words of Police Chief Jeff Barnett, "failed to perform." In a memo Barnett sent to City Manager Scott Sellers, the chief said "These failures have caused a tremendous amount of work for both PD and IT staff, as well as being costly and detrimental to the quality of services provided to the citizens of Kyle." To remedy the problem, as well as to outfit Kyle police officers with body cameras and tasers, the council’s agenda includes an item that authorizes Sellers to enter negotiations with an outfit call Axon of Scottsdale, Ariz., (formerly known as Taser International) for a possible contract to provide some or all of this equipment. It is worth noting that three days ago television station WWLP in Springfield, Mass., reported that Axon made an offer to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno to deploy body cameras to every police officer, with all supporting storage and training, for a full year at zero cost. The station’s report added "It’s a sort-of 'try before you buy,’ meant to help the city see how well they work before committing to using them. The offer will also include docks, use of Evidence.com software and accessories." Perhaps the council’s authorization should include instructions for Sellers to seek a similar deal.
• A presentation from Planning Director Howard J. Koontz on a "grant request" from the Rail House, the reconverted restaurant/entertainment facility current undergoing extensive renovations and expansion across Center Street from City Hall. No details were provided on the reason for the request or, for that matter, exactly what the grant will be used for.