SBOE, TEA Commissioner approvals provide parents, children with opportunities
By Jim Cardle
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – “I think that Great Hearts Charter School does a very good job in getting kids to open up their minds and seeing things differently,” said the parent of one current student (right.) Texas public schools and school kids are getting a boost from the newest set of charter schools after a rigorous vetting and approval process by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and Texas’ Education Commissioner Michael 
Williams. Great Hearts Charter School is but one example of a tuition-free, public school where studies are based on Classical, Liberal Arts education, driven by sound data-proven leadership.
Earlier this year, the SBOE approved Great Hearts for new campuses in San Antonio, and in recent weeks Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams also approved a Dallas-area Great Hearts public school.
Texas families and communities are responding in a big way to Great Hearts public charter school and its decade-long record of educational excellence in its founding-state of Arizona.
Strong Texas Support
More than 650 Texas parents and students attended the 
Great Hearts open house in central San Antonio last month.
Great Hearts Texas is backed by civic and educational leaders there, where it has built an organization committed to excellence and improving public education in the Lone Star State.
The Mayor of Irving also recently issued a proclamation asking Great Hearts to open a campus in that diverse community.
College scholarships and rising SAT scores
In 2013, more than three-quarters of each graduating class of the five Great Hearts high schools received college scholarships and average student SAT and ACT scores far exceeded the national average.
Great Hearts Average SAT Growth: 2007 – 2012
Building on Texas curriculum, Texas diversity and high performance
Utilizing and building on the Texas essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) curriculum, Great Hearts Texas provides a classical education featuring great books, U.S. and world history, art, economics, languages, phonics and grammar and high-level mathematics to prepare young Texans for future success.
Diversity within each school and across the network is also crucially important to Great Hearts. As they grew larger in Arizona, Great Hearts became more diverse (currently 33% minority across the network), and test scores increased.
At Great Hearts’ Maryvale Prep, for example, 67% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch and 75% are African American or Hispanic. Maryvale Prep has an A-grade from the state and has some of the highest standardized test scores 
in the state and in the Great Hearts network.
Great Hearts plans to open schools like Maryvale Prep in San Antonio and the Dallas areas.
With the backing of the State Board of Education and Texas Education Commissioner, Great Hearts will be a tuition-free and high-quality addition to the public school landscape in Texas.
Donna Bahorich of Houston is Chairwoman of the SBOE’s School Initiatives Committee, responsible for scrutinizing Charter School applications, and Marty Rowley of Amarillo serves as Vice Chair. SBOE Chair Barbara Cargill of The Woodlands also serves on the committee, along with Ruben Cortez, Jr. of Brownsville and Mavis Knight of Dallas.
Said one current student of his learning environment and experience, “This school particularly, out of all the other schools that I know of, has really good teachers.”
For more information, click on the video below, or visit http://www.greatheartstx.org
