Rigor in Learning

In an early posting, we talked about our branding positioning statement. We focused on one sentence: “We value creativity, relevance and rigor in learning.”

In that posting, we chatted about why creativity was part of C-FB ISD’s positioning statement. Creativity and innovation can be found throughout our C-FB ISD campuses and district operations.

This week, we want to talk about “relevance and rigor in learning.”
We are seeing more and more middle and high school students (grades 6- 12) take advanced courses, especially in math and science.

And, with college getting more expensive, parents are going to like this news. We have more high school students enrolling in dual credit courses. This means our students are earning college credit and high school credit by taking the same course – while in high school.

At the School Board meeting on April 23, Dr. Sheila Maher, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction shared statistics. As you can see, C-FB ISD is on the right track when it comes to students understanding the importance of stretching their learning.


The percentage of students enrolling in advanced courses (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and dual credit) is growing annually.

2005 - 39.84%
2006 - 45%
2007 - 47%
2008 - 55%

And, taking all those advanced course work is paying off for C-FB ISD seniors. As the 2008-09 school year wraps up, you will hear wonderful success stories about the 2009 C-FB ISD Graduating Class.

Just three examples.

• Celeste Russell - the Newman Smith student - a Gates Millennium Scholar. Celeste now has a four-year full scholarship to any university. Only 1,000 students are selected. Gates Millennium Scholar News Release

• Newman Smith Senior Sameer Badruddin - a 2009 Dell Scholar. The scholarship, valued at $20,000, was awarded by Michael and Susan Dell.

• R. L. Turner student Charuta Gavankar is one of 560 semifinalists in the 2009 Presidential Scholars competition. The President Scholar program established to honor the nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors.
  2009 Presidential Semifinalist News Release

Check out the Accolades section of http://www.cfbisd.edu/ or visit the C-FB ISD Celebration WIKI. On these two sites, you will always find out the celebrations of students, staff, and campuses.

We know that taking these advanced courses pays off in so many other ways. In his book, The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman wrote about the future. He said that if we wanted to maintain our standard of living then our country must concentrate on the right education.

Well, in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, we do concentrate on the right education because we are innovative leaders in learning.