But Dr. Hinojosa asked teachers and parents to consider that in the long run the rules will help more students succeed.

"We want to make sure that students are mastering the content [of their classes] and not just failing busy work," he said.

"We want students to get it right, and we want to make sure that they do get it right."

If that means teachers will be required to extend an assignment deadline, or let students retake exams, so be it, he said.

Trustee Jerome Garza also saw much in the new protocols to like.

He liked the consistency of having the same rules apply to every teacher and every student districtwide. That should help parents predict what to expect from teachers and provide some stability for children who change schools midyear. Mr. Garza also praised the rules for requiring teachers to take preventive steps, like conferring with parents, before giving students little or no credit for missed assignments.

"If we've got somebody who is beginning to fail, we've got to bring parents in before it is too late," he said.

Trustee Nancy Bingham, a former teacher, said she does not agree with the requirement that teachers accept late work with no power to impose a penalty, but she does think that students sometimes need "a safety net" that some teachers are unwilling to provide.

While she said she found most of the new rules "reasonable" she didn't think they would have much impact on truly lazy students or those who openly defy their teachers.

"If the kid is hell-bent on failing, they're going to fail anyway," she said. "But some kids need a cushion, or a safety net."

Dr. Hinojosa said the new rules are aimed, in part, at helping curb the district's alarming ninth-grade failure rate. Each year, roughly 20 percent of the district's high school freshmen fail to advance to the 10th grade. Many eventually drop out.

Dr. Hinojosa cited new research that determined ninth-graders who are flunking two or more classes in their first six weeks of high school are almost doomed to become dropouts.

"Our mission is not to fail kids," he said. "Our mission is to make sure they get it, and we believe that effort creates ability."

Teachers, though, argue that the high school failure rate has less to do with the first six weeks of ninth grade than it does with most DISD freshmen struggling to read. In 2007, 80 percent of them scored below the 40th percentile in reading on the Iowa Test of Educational Development. Yet the promotion rate out of eighth grade for that class was 98 percent.

Some teachers and parents have noted that even if the new rules lead to 100 percent passing rates on class work, students will still have to pass Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exams to graduate.

Aimee Bolender, head of the Alliance/AFT teachers' organization, said most teachers will not support the new grading protocols.

"There is a constant shift of accountability away from the students and onto the teachers," she said.

The new rules have been sent to principals, who will present them to teachers next week.

They're the latest step in DISD's effort to standardize instruction across the district. Last school year, the trustees reaffirmed a policy that prevented teachers from giving students a grade lower than a 50 for any one grading period. The reason given was that students who fall below 50 have no hope or motivation to bring up their grades and just give up.

During the discussion, trustees asked administrators to develop standardized grading rules for elementary, middle and high school teachers. Those rules were finalized this summer.

One student thought that some students would exploit the rules knowing that doing so would come with light or no penalties.

"I'll be interested to see how teachers advertise these rules – I'm sure they won't be promoting them," said Skyline High School senior Aileen Mokuria. "This seems to teach procrastination."

Ms. Mokuria added that she found the requirement for teachers to accept late work especially odd. She recently volunteered at Skyline to mentor incoming freshmen about the ins and outs of high school.

"One of the things I told them was that it was very important to turn in your work on time," she said.

She added that students are too passive about their education.

"Students need to take the initiative and go to the teacher and ask for help," she said. "Let it come down to the student-teacher relationship."

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9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

10 Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

11 Seek the LORD and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,

His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,

13 O seed of Israel His servant,

Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the LORD our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

15 Remember His covenant forever,

The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,

16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,

And His oath to Isaac.

17 He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,

To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

18 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan,

As the portion of your inheritance."

19 When they were only a few in number,

Very few, and strangers in it,

20 And they wandered about from nation to nation,

And from one kingdom to another people,

21 He permitted no man to oppress them,

And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,

22 "Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do My prophets no harm."

23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

24 Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

He also is to be feared above all gods.

26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the LORD made the heavens.

27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and joy are in His place.

28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;

Bring an offering, and come before Him;

Worship the LORD in holy array.

30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

32 Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD;

For He is coming to judge the earth.

34 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

35 Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation,

And gather us and deliver us from the nations,

To give thanks to Your holy name,

And glory in Your praise."

36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

From everlasting even to everlasting.

Then all the people said, "Amen," and praised the LORD.

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I liked the set up. First a group of elite runners ran a 5k. It was fun to watch them. The first one finished around 14 minutes. Then they had the 5k for everyone. And then there was a one mile fun run that was free if you ran the 5k. I wanted to run in the one mile but things didn't work out.

There were alot of high school and college students there. At the start of the 5k they would huddle together and do a chant or pray.

The races ran 30 minutes later than scheduled but it really didn't matter. Most took the opportunity to do a warm up or do a short run and grab a little of the free breakfast (bagels and watermelon).

Jonathan finished first. His time was about 28 minutes. I finished second in our family with a time of 29 minutes and 55 seconds. Benjamin finished a couple of minutes after me. Ginny finished at about 40 minutes and 30 seconds. She got sick at the end. This has never happened to us before. We left quickly after that happened. And Sam, who said he didn't want to do it and said he was not prepared finished as the very last person! When my husband told me this it made me really mad and I wanted to cry. I told Sam that and he said he also figured I would cry when I heard.

Oh, well. We'll keep doing these and we'll get better. The drive home from a 5k is fun. Especially if it's in the morning. You feel like you've already done something big for the day and it has barely begun.

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