Frisco ISD officials speak up about misconceptions

Low test scores, pornography in the library and assaults going unpunished were issues brought up during the public comment section at the Dec. 12 Frisco Independent School District board meeting. To dispel what district officials say are inaccurate comments, a “Correcting the Commentary” video was recently posted online. René Archambault, board president, said the district welcomes community feedback but some of the information is shared is false. “As long as I am a board member, I will stand up for what is right. And what is right is making sure that this community understands the truth about our teachers, staff and the academic programing that we work tirelessly to provide for all of our 68,000 students,” Archambault said. Here are the assertions and the district’s responses.

No. 1: Student STAAR scores are dropping Wes Cunningham, associate deputy superintendent, said in October trustees shared information about the ISD showing significant improvement on STARR tests, with English/language arts scores higher than pre-pandemic and “scores higher than the state, the region and most of our comparison districts in math.” No. 2: Monitors that helped with class presentations were removed from the classrooms and stored in warehouses. Teachers are spending their own money to replace the monitors. Cheryl McDonald, chief technology officer, said teachers not only have a hard-wired computer connected to a projector in their classroom but also to have a mobile device with a Chromebook. “Giving teachers a wireless keyboard and mouse and the Chromebook allows for freedom and flexibility to move around the classroom and not be tied to a computer desk,” McDonald said. “Our warehouse is actually a portable building about the size of two classrooms. We do have some monitors stored there but they will be used when we open our two new campuses, Wilkinson and Wortham, in the fall.” No. 3: During the 2021 school year there were 135 assaults, some resulted in school suspensions, but some resulted in just a phone call to parents. Erin Miller, chief student services officer, said the consequence for assault is usually placement in the district alternative education center. “All instances of assault would include a phone call home and/or a conference with a parent and an administrator. None of these instances of assault would only include a phone call home,” she said. No. 4: Pornography is allowed in the libraries. McDonald said trustees were updated during the November board meeting about the work librarians are doing at each campus.