Marble Falls parents’ group looks to work with district but will raise questions, concerns

DANIEL CLIFTON-PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — When a group of Marble Falls Elementary School parents, including Robin Dahl, realized their children only enjoyed 15 minutes of daily recess, they didn’t think it was enough considering the amount of pressure students endure from high-stack testing.

“Our kids have a very strenuous school schedule with not a whole lot of time during the day to decompress,” Dahl said.

Armed with the knowledge of the benefits of unstructured play, the parents took their concerns to the MFES administration, who then tacked on an additional five minute of recess in January. Dahl and the other parents realized they could make a difference in their children’s schools.

Dahl addressed the Marble Falls Independent School Board on March 25 outlining her and other parents’ plans to form an MFISD parental support and advocacy group. She was buoyed by the board’s and administration’s apparent support of the idea.

“I definitely was encouraged by the reception we received from the board and the administration,” Dahl said. “This isn’t adversarial. I want to partner with the administration and the board, but (the parents) do have concerns. I’m not, and the group isn’t, whining or nitpicking. We know we have an incredible school district, amazing teachers and staff.”

At the school board meeting, Dahl and other parents wanted to let the board and administrators know this group is in the early stages of development.

The main purpose of the group is to have a way to give parents a voice in their children’s education and the school district.

“The district needs to know our desires and concerns,” Dahl said. “And I don’t think we, the parents, have been very good about doing that.”

At the top of the list of issues is the current world of high-stakes testing now called the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and its corresponding end-of-course exams at the high school level.

But, Dahl pointed out, that’s a state mandate. So the problem occurs at the local level when districts add more assessments on top of the required exams.

“As a school district, we have to look at what is a mandate and what is a recommendation,” she said.

State leaders are looking at legislation to temper the current testing requirements. Dahl said parents interested having a voice at that level should contact their state representative or senator. Another option is to learn about the organization Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment. People can go to www.tamsatx.org for more information on it.

Another local concern is the MFISD teachers.

“They have increased amount of pressure, increased expectations, but they have no control,” Dahl said. “We’re blessed in the district to have tenured teachers, but I don’t know if we’re using their wisdom and discernment as much as we should when we make decisions.”

The group would also serve as an information source for parents. Dahl said many parents send their children to school and accept what they’re told or accept how their children are taught. The reason is simply that many parents do not understand the education system.

“So as a group, we can ask questions and make a difference where one parent may not realize he or she can ask those questions,” Dahl said. “We are here to support the district, but there are times we may not agree with the district. We do want to work with the district because this is all about our children’s education.”

The group is still in the formation stages. But Dahl said one promise is to limit meetings to only a few once it’s up and running. After that, with the exception of some “parent break-out groups,” the organization will likely rely heavily on social media and email.

daniel@thepicayune.com