Governing Principle
The single most effective step a person can take toward a better life is getting a great education, and Texas has made a concerted effort toward creating better, more accountable schools to make a great education easier to achieve during a time of increasingly global competition.
While a quality education provides a strong foundation for everyone, quality education for all collectively provides a strong foundation for the state's entire economy. In Texas, our fertile business climate continues to attract employers from around the nation and around the world, largely due to our versatile, talented and hard-working workforce that can fill any position employers need.
By investing in resources and leveraging technology to prepare today's students for the challenges of the new workplace, Texas can maintain its edge in cultivating and attracting the employers of the 21st century.
Under Gov. Perry's leadership, Texas has become the first state in the nation to make the college preparatory curriculum the standard for all students, and has won nationwide acclaim for its high academic standards and efforts to battle the school dropout problem.
Highlights
» Gov. Perry recently proposed expanding the Virtual School Network by creating the Texas Virtual High School that will provide students who have dropped out of traditional high schools an opportunity to earn a high school diploma without returning to a bricks and mortar school. Additionally, this expanded network will give students additional access to classes their schools may not offer, dual credit opportunities, and flexibility to help keep students in school.
» This year, signed HB 2910 creating the T-STEM Challenge Schorlarship that will provide competetive awards to regional partnerships between community and technical colleges and local employers to help attract, retain and graduate STEM students. The bill establishes a 50 percent matching requirements with local business and industry partners. Gov. Perry originally announced his proposal to create this scholarship in October of 2009.
» The T-STEM Challenge Schorlarship builds on the Texas High School Project (THSP), a multi-million dollar public-private partnership designed to improve outcomes for economically disadvantaged and at risk students through innovative programs such as High School Redesign, Early College High Schools and T-STEM Academies. To date, THSP has served 83,000 students in 172 schools across the state. These efforts combined with new proposals, will provide multiple avenues for Texans to earn their diploma.
» In 2007, Gov. Perry supported the creation of Texas' Dropout Recovery Program. Nationally recognized, the program recruits students who have already made the decision to drop out and offers them an avenue to complete their degree and enroll in college. The program provides maximum flexibility and is highly individualized based on students' needs. Most promising, the program has been equally successful across all demographic groups.
» Providing parents and students the opportunity to attend the school that best fits their needs is paramount to providing students a superior educational experience. Whether a student chooses to attend one of the state's more than 400 charter schools, one of our state's public schools or are educated at home or in a private school, Gov. Perry believes that having these option is a critical component of creating a robust education system. According to US Charters, Texas has the second highest number of students in charter schools.
Related Content
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April 14, 2011 - Chairman Fred W. Heldenfels IV - Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
April 14, 2011 - Raymund Paredes, Ph.D. - Texas Commissioner of Higher Education
August 24, 2010 - Rob Gasparello, Principal - Sharpstown High School
November 16, 2009 - John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director - The Texas High School Project
August 27, 2009 - Dean Patricia Starck, DSN, RN, FAAN - University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston
June 17, 2009 - David Daniel, President of the University of Texas at Dallas
News & Announcements
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Monday, January 30, 2012 • Austin, Texas • Noteworthy
Infographic: Texas Emerging Technology Fund
Six years after its creation, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund is hard at work in laboratories throughout the state and on display in marketplaces across the world, pointing the way to the future of our economy as well as the future of the ways we’ll live, work, diagnose and heal.
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Monday, January 23, 2012 • Austin, Texas • Press Release
Gov. Perry Announces TEF Investment to the Advisory Board Company
Gov. Rick Perry has announced the state is investing $500,000 through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) in The Advisory Board Company, which will create more than 200 jobs with an average salary of $90,000, and invest $8.1 million in capital expenditures to expand services provided by its Austin-based Crimson division. -
Friday, January 13, 2012 • Austin, Texas • Noteworthy
Celebrating a Perfect Bowl Season
The Lone Star State is well-known for both football and bravado, so forgive us a bit if we have to brag a bit on a college football accomplishment of truly Texas proportions. Texas football teams went an unblemished 6-0 in BCS Division bowl games, putting an exclamation point on a season that saw the Heisman Trophy once again go to a well-deserving Texan. -
Monday, November 28, 2011 • Houston, Texas • Press Release
Gov. Perry Announces Creation of Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Gov. Rick Perry announced the creation of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which will help scientific discoveries become viable therapies. -
Thursday, August 25, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Press Release
Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on UT System Improvement Plan
The plan unveiled today reflects important steps toward both increasing productivity and improving academic quality in The University of Texas System, and I applaud Chancellor Cigarroa and everyone involved for their hard work in this effort. -
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Proclamation
Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation Calling General Election in November for Constitutional Propositions
Gov. Rick Perry has issued a proclamation calling a general election to be held in the State of Texas on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, to allow Texans to vote on 10 constitutional amendments submitted by the 82nd Legislature. -
Friday, August 19, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Editorial
WGU Texas Latest Step To Help More Texans Earn College Degrees
Last week, Texas partnered with the Western Governors University in the creation of WGU Texas, an accredited, online university offering degrees in more than 50 areas of study, many of them vital to meeting the demands of the growing jobs market here in the Lone Star State. We all know attaining a college degree is among the most effective ways to improve anyone’s quality of life, and ensuring a steady stream of college graduates ready to take on the high-tech jobs of the future is imperative to our mission of keeping Texas on top of the nation in job creation. -
Wednesday, August 03, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Executive Order
RP75 - Relating to the establishment and support of Western Governors University Texas
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Wednesday, August 03, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Press Release
Gov. Perry Announces Creation of Western Governors University Texas
Gov. Rick Perry, with the support of Higher Education Chairs Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Dan Branch, today announced the creation of WGU Texas, a subsidiary of Western Governors University (WGU), which is an accredited, nationally-recognized, nonprofit university. WGU Texas will offer an affordable and flexible alternative for Texans seeking a higher education degree. The governor also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance the state's participation with and support of WGU, which was founded in 1997 by governors of 19 states, including Texas. -
Thursday, July 21, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Press Release
T-STEM Challenge Scholarship Receives $25 Million Donation from Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation
Gov. Rick Perry praised the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation for their donation of $25 million to the T-STEM Challenge Scholarship. The scholarship program was created by House Bill 2910, by Rep. Dan Branch and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, to help students pursuing degrees and certificates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields receive the education necessary to compete in the global workforce.