Pflugerville, TEXAS (KXAN) — The superintendent for the Pflugerville Independent School District has set a massive goal for all students.
Superintendent Quinton Shepherd explained how the district plans to make sure all of its graduates either have a job, enlist in the military or enroll in higher education the minute they get their diploma.
KXAN Anchor Sally Hernandez sat down with Superintendent Shepherd to ask for more details about this year’s goals as part of KXAN’s Set For School series.
Read an edited transcription of the conversation below.
Hernandez: As the superintendent, what are you looking forward to when it comes to the school year?
Shepherd: One of the things that we are really excited about is a brand new initiative that we call the “three E’s”. And what this is a big bold promise and it’s centered on this notion that every parent in any school district has this moment that they ask themselves, ‘now what are they going to do?
What we are planning is a big, bold promise, one that I don’t think any school district has done in the state of Texas. And by 2029, our expectation is that 100 percent of our graduates will graduate with not just a diploma but one of three e’s. The three E’s are employment, enlistment and enrollment.
Hernandez: As a school district, do you partner up with these businesses to achieve the goals you are talking about?
Shepherd: We do have conversations with Samsung and Tesla, and we are hoping those conversations continue to grow. The way we look at it when we talk to those companies is we hold about 26,000 of your future workforce if you want them. Let us help you.
Hernandez: What do your teachers think when you tell them something like that?
Shepherd: So this notion of “three E’s” is a symbol. If we could get behind that symbol, and there is no doubt in my mind, teachers and parents would adhere to it. Because it applies to every classroom, I think the natural tendency is that people will think this is a high school initiative, and it’s not. This starts in pre-kindergarten.