Brownsville, Rio Grande City schools only two in Texas to win award
Before a gymnasium full of cheering students, teachers, staff and district administrators, Putegnat Elementary Principal Aidee Vasquez acknowledged her school’s latest accomplishment Tuesday morning, the Distinguished Performance Award given by the Texas Education Agency. The Elementary and Secondary Education Association, or ESEA, designated Putegnat for the award at its national conferene in February in New Orleans. “What we’ve always known about Putegnat has been reognized once again, that we are a distinguished school amongst very few. You can now call yourselves a Blue Ribbon, Distinguished Honor Roll campus,” Vasquez told her students. “We reward students.
myrgv.comLa Joya ISD report details steps administration took amid corruption probe
The La Joya ISD Board of Trustees heard a report Wednesday on corrective action spurred by two administrators and two trustees pleading guilty this year in an ongoing corruption investigation in Western Hidalgo County.
myrgv.comCapital Highlights — Sheriff’s deputy dies in wildfires
An Eastland County sheriff’s deputy died Thursday as wildfires swept through several small Texas communities west of Dallas, destroying at least 50 homes and charring more than 54,000 acres as of Sund[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comOfficial: La Joya ISD may require TEA oversight due to federal probe
A state education board member said this week that the Texas Education Agency is exploring its options regarding possibly intervening at La Joya ISD as the district faces criticism over preparing to appoint, rather than hold an election, two trustees to seats vacated by previous board members convicted of federal charges.
myrgv.comOfficial: La Joya ISD may require TEA oversight due to federal probe
A state education board member said this week that the Texas Education Agency is exploring its options regarding possibly intervening at La Joya ISD as the district faces criticism over preparing to appoint, rather than hold an election, two trustees to seats vacated by previous board members convicted of federal charges.
myrgv.comConfronting a Teacher Shortage in Texas: Governor Asks Task Force for Answers
Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Education Agency to create a task force to examine the state’s teacher shortage problem. In a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath on Monday, Abbott said the task force should investigate why these shortages exist, recommend policy changes to the state education agency and consider more flexibility in […]
news.yahoo.comAbbott seeks task force to address teacher shortages in Texas schools
Governor Greg Abbott has sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency requesting a task force be created to address teacher shortages in Texas schools. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage of teachers around Texas. Several school districts in the Rio Grande Valley increased substitute teacher pay to get individuals in the classroom. In October 2021, the Brownsville Independent School District held a job fair to help fill some of those teacher shortages. Abbott writes “this task force should work diligently to ensure the best practices and resources of recruitment and retention are provided to districts to ensure the learning environment of Texas students is not interrupted by the absence of a qualified teacher.”
myrgv.comDistricts not applying for extra funds to help protect students who walk to school in high violence areas, TEA says
The Texas Education Agency says no school districts in the state have applied for available funds that would help with protecting students in high crime areas who walk to and from school.
Texas Education Agency surprises 17 TXST student teachers with $20,000 stipends
Texas State University students participating in the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) approved teacher residency program at Lockhart ISD were surprised with $20,000 annual stipends awarded during a special event on Jan. 18 at Clear Fork Elementary.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comPower struggle continues among South San ISD top leaders
South San ISD leaders held a special meeting Monday to discuss the possibility of placing the school Superintendent Marc Puig on paid administrative leave and asking the Texas Education Agency for a monitor, citing a conflict of interest with the recently placed monitor.
Texas schools can again set their own face mask rules after federal judge overrules Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act — freeing local officials to again create their own rules.
Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to develop standards to block books with "overtly sexual" content in schools
Abbott targeted two books that have been removed by schools recently that center on LGBTQ characters. One of the books includes a graphic illustration and the other includes depictions of sex.
Texas schools started year with record coronavirus cases, weekly totals on a decline
Nearly three months into this school year, the number of reported coronavirus cases among students has surpassed the total from the entire 2020-21 school year. Every Friday, the Texas Education Agency releases COVID-19 case counts for students and staff, as reported by the state’s school districts. Here is the latest situation for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 17:State data on school cases is incomplete and likely an undercount. Last year, school districts were permitted to require masks. Instead, school districts either used federal relief dollars or dug deep into their budgets to provide remote programming for families.
myrgv.comTexas schools report more COVID cases in two months than 2020-21 school year
Students in Texas public schools are facing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads, mask mandates are inconsistent and children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated against the virus.
myrgv.comCommunity oversight could play a role in solution as South San ISD board members, superintendent at odds
Dysfunctional school boards could impact district leadership in the future if the community and voters don’t take action to be involved and pay attention to who represents them on their local board.
Feds probing whether Texas' ban on school mask mandates violates rights of students with disabilities
The federal government is investigating whether the Texas Education Agency is preventing schools from serving students with disabilities by prohibiting districts from having mask mandates,...
sacurrent.comOPINION: Welcome change: Adding UIL adaptive sports opens opportunities to many
Amid the several controversial new laws enacted this year by the Texas legislature were some good bills that deserved, and got, bipartisan support. One especially welcome law that took effect Sept. 1, and originated in the Rio Grande Valley, expands school athletic programs to include adaptive sports for special-needs students.
myrgv.comPISD to require masks on campus, MISD to decide today – The Big Bend Sentinel
PRESIDIO COUNTY –– Late last week, the Texas Education Agency decided to temporarily stop enforcing Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order that bans school districts from implementing a mask mandate. Prior to the TEA’s aboutface, Texas school districts, in this most recent school year, could not mandate their staff and students wear masks, merely recommend they do so.
bigbendsentinel.comClassroom Confessionals: Parents at odds over whether to quarantine after exposure
As students have returned to in-classroom learning this fall in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, parents are facing a dilemma on whether or not they should quarantine their potentially exposed children and when.
Students with disabilities file federal lawsuit against Texas Gov. Abbott, TEA over mask mandate ban
Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit on behalf of 14 child plaintiffs saying the ban violates federal anti-discrimination law under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Texas Education Agency releases new COVID-19 public health guidelines for school districts
The TEA released new health guidelines for schools more than a week after legislators sent a letter to Gov. Abbott and Commissioner Morath, urging them to reconsider mask mandates in schools and funding for virtual learning due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
With school openings near, parents and teachers say state leaders have stripped them of weapons against COVID-19
Public health experts and medical professionals are sounding the alarm over the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19. The governor has stood firm on his ban against masking mandates in schools.
Texas educators worry bill limiting the teaching of current events and historic racism would “whitewash history”
Texas educators say they’re concerned they won’t be able to have open conversations about what’s happening in the world if the Texas Legislature approves a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom.
Pay for some Texas teachers will top $100,000 in bid to aid poorer schools devastated by COVID-19
A new incentive program will increase pay for teachers facing some of the greatest challenges in helping students catch up from the pandemic. It relies on more than standardized test scores to measure performance.
New Braunfels ISD and Comal ISD diverge on mask mandate as politics, science clash
AdIn New Braunfels ISD, which serves more low-income and Latino students, the school board opted to survey parents, resulting in a vote to keep the school mask mandate. One Comal ISD board member, Marty Bartlett, cited the arguments of well-known conspiracy theorists and vaccine skeptics who say masks are government overreach, not sound science. His margins were widest in the rural areas in Comal ISD and smaller in New Braunfels ISD. The two districts, both headquartered in New Braunfels, the largest city in the county, have subtle but important differences: New Braunfels ISD is majority students of color (54%) to Comal ISD’s 48%; 38% of New Braunfels ISD students qualify for free and reduced lunch, while 30% qualify in Comal ISD. His comment — and the feedback from Hennessee’s and York’s districts — suggests the tension between conservative and ultraconservative viewpoints exists not just between New Braunfels ISD and Comal ISD, but within Comal ISD as well.
San Antonio Teachers Go Door to Door as Kids Disappear From Remote Classes
Teachers from Rawlinson Middle School in San Antonio go door to door to find students who have stopped logging in for class during the COVID-19 pandemic. They knock until someone answers, and talk to sleepy kids and overwhelmed parents about how to stay engaged during remote learning. (The 74)Since the beginning of the school year, a squad of Rawlinson teachers have visited around 100 homes. Two teachers volunteer, they set a date, and the school hires substitute teachers. The Rawlinson visits combine visits with a tool the study labeled “strong”: reminders to parents about the importance of attendance, consequences of absenteeism, and how many days the student has missed.
KSAT Kids: Texas teachers can get COVID-19 vaccine; San Antonio’s ‘Youth of the Year’; teach moon phases with Oreos
Hello parents, teachers and students! Are you ready for spring break? I know I am, and I bet you all will be excited when that bell rings later today. You’ve all earned some well-deserved time off.
School districts can determine mask policies, can’t mandate vaccines, Texas Education Agency says
Now, the Texas Education Agency has issued new guidance in response to Executive Order GA-34 . AdTEA officials said the governor’s order does not take away the agency’s authority to implement operational requirements for public schools. Under the new guidance, schools should continue to require masks for anyone over the age of 10, but local school boards have the authority to modify or eliminate the policy. TEA officials also responded to the news that educators and school support staff are eligible for vaccines effective immediately. AdTeachers will not be required to get the vaccine at this point and school districts cannot mandate that employees get vaccinated, TEA officials said.
Texas school boards don't have to require masks, education officials announce
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas TribuneMasks are still required in Texas public schools unless local school boards decide to make them optional, the Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday. The guidance follows an announcement from the Texas Department of State Health Services that school and child care staff are now eligible for vaccines, effective immediately. Some of the state’s largest urban and suburban school districts, including Dallas Independent School District and Northside ISD, said they would keep the mandate in place. About 56% of Texas public school students are attending classes in-person, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told state lawmakers this week. Some school districts now face challenging decisions, with their communities deeply divided over how school officials should be responding to the pandemic.