Dear Goose Creek Families,

With a new year, we have a new opportunity presented to us, to reflect on our current path in life and contemplate the journey going forward. Many of us create New Year’s resolutions as we evaluate our physical and mental health, as well as our circle of friends, and determine what our best course of action will be, in order to strive to become the best possible version of ourselves.

As I have reflected on 2023 and considered our greatest hopes for 2024, I thought of my own unlikely educational pathway and how a doctoral degree was not in my vocabulary as a young adult. In my mind I traced each step along the way, but what came to the forefront of mind was not my first degree, but my second one and the master's thesis entitled, “Finding Balance”. I remember that twenty-five years ago the concept of finding balance between career and a quality home life was quite challenging. I remember that teachers, coaches, and administrators were revered as model citizens and a group that the community held in such high regard. Then, my mind of course jumped to our current dedicated Goose Creek educators and the national rhetoric they must endure in hearing that all public schools have been cast into such a negative light associated with what I believe to be a campaign set out to smear public education in favor of something more entrepreneurial and believed to be a lesser burden on our taxation system. As educators, we clearly did not choose the method or the madness by which our public schools are funded. It was created by legislators in 1845, almost 180 years ago and designed to be paid for through a 10-cent tax on every dollar collected placed into an educational depository now called the Permanent School Fund, which now has almost $50 Billion, with a B. Those not truly informed of the dedication of our teachers, staff, and administrators assume that most teachers have chosen the profession because it's “easy” or maybe to have summers off, which is hilarious to most educators. What many may not realize is that the “educational summer” has become shorter and shorter by state mandates and is often less than a month, which most employees use for personal growth and staff development. At the end of the day, this national rhetoric does not apply to 99% of educators across America, much less Texas.

According to the 55th Annual Phi Delta Kappan Poll of the Public’s Attitude Toward the Public Schools, 66% of adults believe teachers should be making decisions regarding public school education, not residents or lawmakers, and certainly not state governors or legislatures, who finished last on the list of ideal decision-makers (PDKpoll.org, 2023). The parental survey indicated that parents supported their local public schools and graded their schools as top quality, or of A caliber. Those not directly associated with the public school graded their public schools with a B and those with little or no association graded them as C. One can conclude that the more involved you are in the local school, the more you see and appreciate them. Those who are not involved – perhaps detached from our public education altogether - do not value the cost and efforts of our staff associated with providing the highest quality education for our community. For most public-school educators, the choice to teach is altruistic, or rather a RANDAL O’BRIEN, ED.D. SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS GOOSE CREEK CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT decision to place others above self, and ultimately to assist our great nation through the vessel of our public schools doing what they do, elevating society through the portal of our youth.

I am not here to bash alternatives, but those with less altruistic and more entrepreneurial mindsets may also pursue or accept a lesser quality alternative to all of the choice we offer our families in public education. Those pursuing other interests represent only about 12% of all Texas students, ultimately risk enrolling their students in schools that may not be fiscally sound and many but not all of these alternative educational platforms actually underperform our local public-school districts (TSTA, 2022).

A lot is expected from those in education, far exceeding a regular 40-hour work week. In my final reflective moments, what comes to mind is what we would like from our citizens. My nostalgia brings thoughts of what used to be automatic and still seems quite simplistic, however in today's divisive world in which we live, seems like a long stretch. What is it? A simple expression of respect, thanks or acknowledgment for the hard work done by our entire educational organization, from librarian to teacher, to bus driver, to grounds and maintenance workers who are all indeed growing, shaping and transforming our Goose Creek CISD children into future GIANTS who will serve within our community and across the globe one day. We need true champions for what we are doing every day. We need you to join us in the literal fight for the state and national public education system so that the additional state funding sitting in a savings account in Austin, Texas can help address the crucial needs such as classroom resources and improved teacher salaries and building structure to absorb the growth of our community. We recognize that less than half of our community are actually connected to the school system. Doesn't it just make sense to educate our children and view it as an investment in our future. I believe in an educated society. It is our greatest hope as a nation. It is the pathway toward each of our own personal life’s journeys.

The question is, are you or will you become a champion for GCCISD and our local schools?

Dr. Randal O’Brien

Superintendent of Schools