News Update
Frisco ISD award a community effort: School district named one of the 100 best communities for young people
Officials from the school district, city and community organizations hold up a banner celebrating Frisco ISD's new honor. Photo courtesy of Frisco ISD.
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
When Frisco ISD was named one of the 100 best communities for young people by America's Promise Alliance last week, it was truly a city-wide celebration.
Though the school district was the organization that received the honor, it wouldn't have been possible without the help of community partners, school officials said.
At the live announcement of the district's honor last week, Renée Ehmke, president of Frisco ISD's board of trustees, said Frisco ISD is in a much different position than many school districts across the country.
"Frisco is very unique -- we have great relationships that allow us to do things that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise," she said. "Every school board should be so lucky."
As a result of the honor, Frisco ISD was awarded a $2,500 grant that can be used to help fund a local program or service.
America's Promise Alliance cited multiple community programs as reasons why Frisco ISD was chosen as one of the 100 best communities for young people. According to the organization, Frisco ISD set itself apart from other nominees through its "dedication to youth through programs that focus on education, health, mentoring and supporting youth in need."
Mike Simpson, a former mayor of Frisco and the current CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, said the recognition was a long time coming.
"We actually first applied for this award back when I was mayor of Frisco, sometime around 2007," Simpson said. "I believe one of the most unique things about Frisco is you do have great cooperation and partnerships between the school district, city and all these great organizations. We all work together to provide programs and opportunities that are beneficial to kids and their families."
Simpson has a unique perspective on the matter, as he has transitioned from one side of the community to the other. The former mayor now helps the Boys and Girls Clubs organize numerous programs for area children.
Currently, the clubs have about 350 children registered for their after-school programs that takes place from 2:30 to 7 p.m. The clubs previously offered summer programs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"The benefit of these programs is you have parents and guardians who may have to work, and now they have a safe, supervised place for their children," Simpson said. "We provide programs on a variety of topics, from character-building to programs designed to help children make the right decisions in life."
Another community group America's Promise Alliance said was vital to Frisco ISD's award was One Voice.
One Voice was founded by Marie Walters after reviewing test scores of Frisco ISD students. Walters found that black students were performing at lower levels than white and Hispanic students. She and Peter Burns, the organization's vice president, then discussed the issue with school district officials.
Following that discussion, Frisco ISD Superintendent Rick Reedy worked with the organization to improve communication between parents, students and teachers.
"When we looked at the numbers, we realized it wasn't a Frisco problem, but a United States problem," Burns said. "We said to ourselves we can either accept it or do something about it. We realized there was a [communication] gap between the parents, students and teachers. We felt closing this gap would stop students -- primarily African-American students -- from underperforming."
The program has been successful, Burns said, as black students are now more aware of the programs offered by the school district as well as some of the contributing factors to performing better on college admissions exams, such as the SAT and ACT.
One of those factors was taking Pre-AP and AP courses, which Burns said helps students prepare better for the admissions exams.
"This award serves as validation of the community coming together to identify and create a solution for a big problem," he said. "Getting more of our kids able to achieve success in SAT and ACT scores is great."
Though One Voice focuses on black students, Burns said it's already helped students of all races and backgrounds.
For Simpson, the award showed Frisco for exactly what it is: a city where residents and organizations help one another to put the needs of children at the forefront.
"I think the great part of it is that it shows the total collaboration of the school district with the city and many of our nonprofit organizations, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County," Simpson said. "We all work together to provide programs for the benefit of our children."
Though the school district was the organization that received the honor, it wouldn't have been possible without the help of community partners, school officials said.
At the live announcement of the district's honor last week, Renée Ehmke, president of Frisco ISD's board of trustees, said Frisco ISD is in a much different position than many school districts across the country.
"Frisco is very unique -- we have great relationships that allow us to do things that we wouldn't be able to do otherwise," she said. "Every school board should be so lucky."
As a result of the honor, Frisco ISD was awarded a $2,500 grant that can be used to help fund a local program or service.
America's Promise Alliance cited multiple community programs as reasons why Frisco ISD was chosen as one of the 100 best communities for young people. According to the organization, Frisco ISD set itself apart from other nominees through its "dedication to youth through programs that focus on education, health, mentoring and supporting youth in need."
Mike Simpson, a former mayor of Frisco and the current CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, said the recognition was a long time coming.
"We actually first applied for this award back when I was mayor of Frisco, sometime around 2007," Simpson said. "I believe one of the most unique things about Frisco is you do have great cooperation and partnerships between the school district, city and all these great organizations. We all work together to provide programs and opportunities that are beneficial to kids and their families."
Simpson has a unique perspective on the matter, as he has transitioned from one side of the community to the other. The former mayor now helps the Boys and Girls Clubs organize numerous programs for area children.
Currently, the clubs have about 350 children registered for their after-school programs that takes place from 2:30 to 7 p.m. The clubs previously offered summer programs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"The benefit of these programs is you have parents and guardians who may have to work, and now they have a safe, supervised place for their children," Simpson said. "We provide programs on a variety of topics, from character-building to programs designed to help children make the right decisions in life."
Another community group America's Promise Alliance said was vital to Frisco ISD's award was One Voice.
One Voice was founded by Marie Walters after reviewing test scores of Frisco ISD students. Walters found that black students were performing at lower levels than white and Hispanic students. She and Peter Burns, the organization's vice president, then discussed the issue with school district officials.
Following that discussion, Frisco ISD Superintendent Rick Reedy worked with the organization to improve communication between parents, students and teachers.
"When we looked at the numbers, we realized it wasn't a Frisco problem, but a United States problem," Burns said. "We said to ourselves we can either accept it or do something about it. We realized there was a [communication] gap between the parents, students and teachers. We felt closing this gap would stop students -- primarily African-American students -- from underperforming."
The program has been successful, Burns said, as black students are now more aware of the programs offered by the school district as well as some of the contributing factors to performing better on college admissions exams, such as the SAT and ACT.
One of those factors was taking Pre-AP and AP courses, which Burns said helps students prepare better for the admissions exams.
"This award serves as validation of the community coming together to identify and create a solution for a big problem," he said. "Getting more of our kids able to achieve success in SAT and ACT scores is great."
Though One Voice focuses on black students, Burns said it's already helped students of all races and backgrounds.
For Simpson, the award showed Frisco for exactly what it is: a city where residents and organizations help one another to put the needs of children at the forefront.
"I think the great part of it is that it shows the total collaboration of the school district with the city and many of our nonprofit organizations, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County," Simpson said. "We all work together to provide programs for the benefit of our children."
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