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Texas News
Seguin ISD’s Dr. Gutierrez gets nomination for Superintendent of the Year
Seguin ISD’s top administrator has picked up a nomination for this year’s Texas Association of School Board’s Superintendent of the Year Award. Extending that nomination to Dr. Matthew Gutierrez was the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees.

Dr. Gutierrez says he was both surprised and grateful for the recognition.
Texas House votes to require panic buttons in every classroom and armed guards in every school
Lawmakers have said school safety is a priority this session, but it is still unclear whether they’ll listen to Uvalde families who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21.

The Texas House on Tuesday gave final approval to legislation that is calling for significant investments to beef up schools’ safety, including hiring at least one armed security officer at every campus, providing incentives for school employees to get certified to carry a weapon and installing silent panic alert buttons in every classroom.

House Bill 3, authored by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, passed 119-25. It now heads to the Senate.
Ex-MISD leader Angelica Ramsey hires six former MISD colleagues Tuesday
Former Midland ISD Superintendent Angelica Ramsey is putting the band back together at Fort Worth ISD.

On Tuesday the Fort Worth ISD board voted to hire Kregg Cuellar (deputy superintendent of Learning and Leading), Kellie Spencer (deputy superintendent of District Infrastructure), Miguel Serrano (executive director of Leadership — Secondary), Christin Reeves (executive director of Leadership — Elementary), Diane Lopez-Martinez (executive director of Math/Science and Professional Learning) and Woodrow Bailey (executive director of Compensation).  
‘We’re running out of room’ | Small school district west of SA growing faster than most in Texas
Rising enrollment in Medina Valley ISD isn’t slowing down any time soon, which is why district leaders are proposing a bond to fund a new school and more.

A school district just west of San Antonio is growing quicker than nearly every other district in the state.

Rising enrollment in Medina Valley ISD isn’t slowing down.
TASB Legislative Report – April 24, 2023
House preliminarily adopts school safety bills

The Texas House on Monday passed two bills to third reading regarding school safety. Both bills will need to go through one more round of voting before heading over to the Senate.

HB 3 (Burrows) requires school boards to determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each campus to include at least one on each campus. That may include peace officers, school marshals, and employees who have completed required school safety training.
Affiliate Feature
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National News
As Schools Brace for More English Learners, How Well Are They Being Served Now
Teacher staffing levels for English learners swing widely across the country and shortages abound, but appropriate class size can hinge on many things

Many schools across the country have seen their English learner population swell in recent years as immigration restrictions have eased and war, poverty and political instability continue to drive families from their homes. 

Some campuses could see those numbers rise further still: In May, a COVID-era policy known as Title 42, which kept millions of people from seeking asylum in the United States, is set to expire — a development that comes amid a crippling teacher shortage in parts of the nation. 
‘Small Actions Matter’: A Teacher Reflects on School Shootings Since Sandy Hook
One teacher recalls the emotion of teaching 25 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day of shooting

I teach middle school English at a small school in Connecticut. I’ve recently had my second child. My morning begins just like it does every other day: Wake early, often in the dark. Immediately feed both my 3-month-old and my 13-month-old. Guzzle coffee. Get myself and everyone dressed. Drop off my babies at day care. Jump on I-95. Drive 30 minutes to my school. Teach my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students how to craft topic sentences, where themes of injustice show up in To Kill a Mockingbird, and why knowing the parts of speech is actually important.
How one school gets English learners to read by third grade
At Frank Sparkes Elementary, words fly everywhere. On a recent Monday, kindergartners sang and danced as they learned about the silent e that changes other vowel sounds.

First graders asked how to spell words like “hamster” to finish writing sentences about how they wanted to spend their piggy-bank money. Third graders discussed out loud whether Oreo or Chips Ahoy cookies are best – the topic of their opinion essays.

Surrounded by almond groves in the rural town of Winton, about 10 miles northwest of Merced in California’s Central Valley, Frank Sparkes Elementary serves mostly low-income Latino students, and more than half are English learners. That’s not unlike many schools in California. More than 1 in 3 children enter school in California not yet proficient in English.
Lessons from a 9-Month Design Sprint in How to Link K-12, College & Work
Allan & Reyna: 12 teams are developing over 40 pathways in growing industries including health care, computer science, manufacturing and education

Three years after COVID struck, high school students’ pathways to postsecondary education remain at risk. Despite the clear importance of higher education for long-term economic stability and success, direct-to-college enrollment rates for high school graduates have dropped across the country, perpetuating inequities for students in poverty and those of color.
While ‘Diverse’ Books Remain Under Siege, a New Collection for Kids Celebrates Latino Stories
If a children’s book makes a splash on the news or social media these days for being under threat of bans from libraries, there’s almost a guarantee that the book deals with racially diverse characters, any mention LGBTQ+ issues, or both.

It’s in this environment that a new collection of books was recently released, one designed for elementary school classrooms. Each bundle in this new Rising Voices series, while differing somewhat depending on grade level, contains books created by Latino authors and illustrators.
Las Tienditas
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