Look who's using Twitter

Psst...Hey, have you heard of Twitter. Chances are, if you have a high schooler living in your house, at least they have. Twitter is a free social utility that is all based on a simple interface asking users to answer the question, "What are you doing?"

Mansfield ISD now has a Twitter account. If you already have a Twitter account or are just curious, you can follow our account here. We plan to offer comments here on what is going on within Mansfield ISD, and is also a great "real-time" source to find out about weather closings, breaking news, etc.
If you're still not sure about all this, watch this great video about Twitter. Many families are also using it to stay in touch with each other amidst their busy lives. Enjoy.

Side note: The Common Craft site also has some great videos about other new media, or Web 2.0, apps like online photo sharing, Facebook, etc. As always, their site is an outside Web site and we do not take credit for any of their content.

Rumor Mill #2 - Timberview HS Threat Tomorrow(False).

We have received a few calls today regarding a potential threat at Timberview High School tomorrow (Thursday, March 13, 2008). In this particular case, Mansfield ISD police have confirmed that there is no credible threat to the school tomorrow. This rumor actually ties to a rumor that began circulating in January.
Several parents that called asked if this is just students who "want an extra day off before Spring Break." I cannot verify what exactly is behind this rumor, but rumors often get heavier on high school campuses near holidays and school breaks.
Please know that we take all threats, rumors, etc., seriously and we will notify parents and students as soon as possible in the event of an actual credible threat.

Rumor Mill#1 - 5A Teams Get Preference at New Stadium?

We asked, and you sent us some rumor mill items. Thanks for those, and keep them coming. Below is the first installment of our blog feature Rumor Mill where we answer some of the common rumors on the street.

Will the 5A high schools get a preferred schedule of more games at the new MISD Stadium than the 4A high schools?

False. We double-checked with Athletic Director Debbie Weems to be double-sure, but there is no such system in place. Actually, coaches from all high schools get together to determine the schedules.

Thanks again, and send us your other Rumor Mill items by clicking on Comment below or email them directly to morate@mansfieldisd.org .

Rumor mill.

We were talking in the office(we've obviously had a little time to talk since my last post), and we thought a fun thing to tackle on the blog would the rumor mill. We're often amused, surprised and occasionally amazed by the things we hear while out in the community. One of our personal favorites last year was the rumor that a Starbucks was going to be built inside Legacy High School.
That said, we have an assignment for you. Send us your rumor mill items and we'll take them on here. You can send us one by clicking on the comment tab of this blog or by emailing me at morate@mansfieldisd.org . If you send it by email, be sure to let me know it is a rumor mill item in the subject line.

A/B Block Schedule.

Allow me to tell a story. The story is about a school district who had grown accustomed to a particular scheduling method for their high schools. In an effort to improve academic standards, that district makes the tough decision to change to a new scheduling system. Many parents, students and staff are critical of the new system and say that it will lead to poor academic performance. In essence, we should stay with the old system. Some go as far as to say that we are ruining the educational experience for our high school students on an experiment. The story I am telling is of the decision Mansfield ISD made over ten years ago to switch to the then-revolutionary system called Accelerated Block.

Now, six weeks into this school year, we are hearing many of the same comments from that change many years ago. Ultimately, the change to A/B was made for the same reason the district decided to change to Accelerated Block at one time - to increase the academic aptitude of our students. All signs point to the fact that our high school students need assistance in preparing for college.

The student editors of the Mansfield Legacy High School newspaper, The Rider, commented on A/B Block in their first issue. They said, "The A/B schedule will be beneficial; all it takes is a little getting used to and simple organization." You can read the full article here - (careful, it's a big file.)

The switch to A/B block is just one piece of this puzzle. We have also signed on with the AVID program in our middle schools, and soon in our high schools, to teach students study skills and time management techniques. In addition, we offer tutoring to all students in core subjects to keep them up to speed in classes they find difficult.

If students find A/B block more academically challenging, this is not necessarily a bad result. We do not intend to overload any of our students, but we do intend to increase our academic standards and expectations in the district.

Questions about the new Raptor system?

Since the start of this school year, parents and visitors have been asked to scan their driver's licenses upon entering our schools. This might have been a surprise to some and hopefully, it was not too much of an inconvenience.

We have received several questions about the V-Soft Raptor system and would like to clear up a few questions that are out there.

#1 Is the Raptor system storing visitor's personal/private information? This is not the goal of the Raptor system. The system checks the visitor's information versus registered sex offender databases covering 48 states and Mexico. The single purpose of this system is to alert school administrators and Mansfield ISD Police to the fact that a registered sex offender is visiting one of our campuses.
#2 Isn't information about sex offenders private information? No. Records identifying sex offenders is very public and easily available to anyone with an Internet connection.
#3 I don't believe any sex offenders live in my area. Why should my school have this system? Information posted online by local law enforcement proves out that sex offenders live throughout our school district, and we are not unique in this fact.
#4 Why put Raptor on our campuses? The district responded to requests from parents who wanted a system like this installed. We do believe it further enhances the security of our students on our campuses, and have been pleased with its operation thus far.



















#5 What does the person at the front desk see on their screen after they scan my license? An image is posted above(and on the District site) showing exactly what the front desk staff member sees.
They see: a photo(to verify a match), the name, a driver's license number and a birth date. Nothing more, nothing less.

As with any new system, there has been an initial adjustment period for campuses. So far, it has operated extremely well. If you would like to read more, the District Release is here and at the official Raptor site is here. Please feel free to post any comments below.

Checking in...

Thanks for checking in on our Mansfield ISD Blog. We established this blog in the spring with the intention of starting regular posting this fall.
It has been an eventful year to date. We have seen several events unfold in the first few weeks of school - the tragic death of a student from Summit High, the joyous opening of two new schools(Legacy High School and Carol Holt Elementary), the implementation of the district-wide Raptor security monitoring system, the naming of T.A.Howard's Kathy Meek as the Region XI Secondary Teacher of the Year. The list goes on and on of joys and challenges.
It's also worth mentioning that as of today(Sept14), the district has enrolled almost 2000 additional students, as compared to the same day last year. This means we are rapidly approaching 30,000 total students.
We intend for this blog to be a current and interactive experience for our school community. If you have any ideas for items you'd like us to include here - email them to blog@mansfieldisd.org or post them here.