{"id":2884,"date":"2026-04-27T10:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/?p=2884"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:17:30","slug":"strong-public-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/strong-public-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong Public Schools Make us all Stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Strong Public Schools Make us all Stronger<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u00a0I’m Ashley Bean Thornton, and I am running for the Texas House of Representatives, House District 56.\u00a0 If you like what I have to say, and you live in HD 56, I hope you will vote for me in November 2026.\u00a0<\/p>

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Meanwhile, I hope you will subscribe to my newsletter: https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/stay-in-the-loop\/.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong> Thank you!\u00a0 Let’s build the Texas we want to live in!\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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By Ashley Bean Thornton

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Strong Public Schools Make us ALL stronger<\/h5>

Strong public schools are the foundation for building the Texas we want.

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If we want a strong democracy,<\/strong> we need schools that prepare young people to think clearly, participate as informed citizens, and vote wisely.

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If we want a strong economy,<\/strong> we need schools that prepare young people to work, solve problems, and keep adapting in a changing world.

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If we want strong communities and freedom,<\/strong> we need schools that help young people learn to live and work peacefully and productively with people from all kinds of backgrounds and with all kinds of different ideas and beliefs.

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Whether your kids are in school now, or your kids are grown and on their own, or you don\u2019t even have any kids \u2013 we all benefit from strong public schools.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What we\u2019re seeing here in House District 56<\/h5>\nAcross the 17 school districts that are contained all or in part in District 56, a consistent pattern shows up in the TEA accountability ratings:\n
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  • 8 districts with less than 50% economically at-risk \u2192 A\/B ratings<\/li>\n \t
  • 6 districts with 50\u201375% economically at-risk \u2192 B\/C ratings<\/li>\n \t
  • 3 districts with 80%+ economically at-risk \u2192 D ratings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
    \nIf we want to build a Texas where more of our children succeed, we need to acknowledge the plain fact that schools serving more economically at-risk students face different and bigger challenges.\u00a0 These students don\u2019t need lowered expectations — they need better support to get on track, and stay on track, for success.\n\n

    \n\nThat points to two clear goals:<\/strong>\n

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    Keep strong schools strong:<\/strong> Make sure high-performing schools have what they need to continue succeeding and to build on that success.<\/p>\n
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    Help more schools get strong:<\/strong> Make sure schools serving students with greater challenges get the support and resources they need to help overcome those challenges and prepare their students for success.<\/p>\n
    \nI am running because I believe Texas could be doing a much better job with both of these goals.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Six ideas to make schools stronger<\/h5>

    Build a solid foundation for learning first.<\/strong><\/p>

    Taking the time early to build a solid foundation for learning, helps kids go faster later. \u00a0Pushing kids quickly into advanced academics may seem like it is \u201cimproving rigor,\u201d but it is really like trying to start building a house before the foundation is poured and set \u2013 it leads to problems later.\u00a0

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    Building a solid foundation for learning means making high-quality, full day, pre-K available for everyone.\u00a0 It means taking time to get strong on socialization, behavior, and essential foundational skills in pre-K, kindergarten and early grades instead of pushing kids too quickly into more advanced academics.\u00a0

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    Get serious about attracting, developing and retaining great teachers.<\/strong><\/p>

    A great education for every child depends on great teachers in every classroom.\u00a0 To attract, develop and retain a steady supply of great teachers we need to pay attention to the whole teacher lifecycle. Teachers need to be well-prepared before they start teaching, intentionally developed especially in their early career, given adequate support in the classroom, and treated and paid like professionals throughout their careers. Career teachers should be able to plan on a secure retirement.<\/p>


    Build an accountability system that supports learning.<\/strong><\/p>

    We need an accountability system that helps us make sure all students are mastering the fundamentals for lifetime learning. We don\u2019t need the current high-stakes system that (1) ignores the reality that different students start in different places on the learning journey, (2) punishes the very schools and teachers that are working hard to help students who need the most help, and (3) traps students in a cycle of non-stop test prep to \u201cperform\u201d on tests that have become needlessly confusing in a misguided attempt to become \u201cmore rigorous.\u201d

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    Manage behavior with an eye on the present and the future.<\/strong><\/p>

    Students need a calm, orderly, constructive learning environment. That means effective behavior management is a must.\u00a0 But, if the goal of education is productive citizens in the future, a system based on just \u201cthrowing the bad kids out\u201d is short-sighted.\u00a0 We need to invest in (1) developing positive social behaviors in young children, (2) helping schools develop, staff, and consistently implement behavior management plans that help teachers teach and students learn, and (3) providing counseling and support to help disruptive students self-regulate and get back on track for learning.

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    Support Stability and Focus with Wrap Around Services\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

    Students learn best when they come to school ready to focus and participate. But for some kids, challenges like transportation problems, untreated health needs, family stress, hunger, or housing instability can lead to chronic absenteeism and contribute to disruptive behavior. These barriers get in the way of learning no matter how strong the teacher or curriculum may be.

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    Wraparound services are practical, school-connected supports that help address those barriers\u2014such as counseling, attendance outreach, tutoring, mentoring, family resource connections, or access to vision and health care. They can help families regain stable footing so students can focus in class and teachers can teach.

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    There is growing evidence that, when done well, wraparound services can improve attendance, reduce disruptions, and give students a better chance at academic success. Strong schools need strong classrooms\u2014but they also need students who are ready to learn when they walk through the door.

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    Strengthen special education.<\/strong><\/p>

    Special education isn\u2019t one thing\u2014it\u2019s a wide spectrum of support for kids with very different needs. It includes students with dyslexia or ADHD who, with the right support, can thrive in a regular classroom, and it also includes students with significant disabilities who may need help with communication, mobility, or even basic daily care. Students who need special education services need support that is timely, appropriate, and effectively integrated into the overall work of the school. Serving these students requires, among other things, an adequate number of specially trained faculty and staff.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Investment is needed.<\/h5>\nGreat schools are the load-bearing pillars that hold up great communities.\u00a0 They are a smart investment that pays off \u2013 not just for the individual students \u2013 but for all of us. We need to make that investment:\n
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    • Catch up school funding to 2019 levels, adjusted for inflation and enrollment.<\/li>\n \t
    • Adjust future funding increases for inflation automatically.<\/li>\n \t
    • Provide additional funding for schools serving a high percentage of low-income students.<\/li>\n \t
    • Increase pay for all teachers, not just those in the Teacher Incentive Allotment program. \u00a0Increase pay for support staff as well as faculty.<\/li>\n \t
    • Give school districts more flexibility in how they use the funds they have.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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      Strong public schools make us ALL stronger.<\/h5>

      Public schools are a big investment with a tremendous return. Our current Texas leadership is on the wrong track when it comes to tending to that investment to get the return we need for our people, our communities, and our state.\u00a0

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      Our current administration underfunds our public schools, while they spend our tax money on a voucher program that ignores the vast majority of our students in order to cater to a few.\u00a0 They have saddled our public schools with a so-called \u201caccountability\u201d system that has damaged the love of learning and the love of teaching far more than it has helped anyone learn \u2013 meanwhile they require almost no accountability from schools that receive vouchers.\u00a0

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      We need to make some changes.<\/strong>

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      To make those changes we need to elect people who have a better and deeper understanding of public education. I\u2019ve worked in public schools. I\u2019ve seen first-hand the amazing potential of the kids in our schools, and I have seen the frustrating and sometimes tragic challenges that are choking that potential.

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      I believe that because of my own experience working in public schools and my willingness to listen to teachers and other educators, I am the best choice to advocate for public education as your representative in the Texas House.\u00a0 I am asking for your vote. \u00a0

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      Let\u2019s build the public school system we want.\u00a0 Let\u2019s build the Texas we want.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Strong Public Schools Make us all Stronger \u00a0I’m Ashley Bean Thornton, and I am running for the Texas House of Representatives, House District 56.\u00a0 If you like what I have to say, and you live in HD 56, I hope you will vote for me in November 2026.\u00a0 \u00a0 Meanwhile, I hope you will subscribe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Strong Public Schools Make us ALL stronger","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/psmuas-horizontal-2.png","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":2914,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":1954,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":1036,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/psmuas-horizontal-2.png","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":2914,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":1954,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":1036,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,1],"tags":[24,14],"class_list":["post-2884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-schools","category-uncategorized","tag-education","tag-public-schools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2884"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2909,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2884\/revisions\/2909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ashleybeanthornton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}