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‘Our kids always come first’: Borderland school districts welcome new principals |
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Becoming the school leader she didn’t have as a public school student. Leading her neighborhood students from grade school to high school. The thrill of opening a new, modern elementary school.
These are what motivates some Borderland educators who are becoming new principals this school year.
A total of 26 schools in the El Paso Independent School District, the Socorro Independent School District and the Ysleta Independent School District will have new principals, some starting on Monday, the first day of school in EPISD.
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How a Texas district extended the school year to improve achievement |
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The Aldine Independent School District has seen positive outcomes from a program in which four campuses have 210 school days.
Two schools in the Aldine Independent School District near Houston, Texas, went from lower performing school status to high performing ranking in reading and math achievement in 2021-22. Their school year spanned nearly a full year, at 210 school days.
Superintendent LaTonya Goffney credits that longer school year for such strong and rapid academic improvements. The schools’ switch from a traditional 180-day school year to one that starts in July and ends in June began amid the pandemic for the 2021-22 school year.
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Dallas ISD counselors get new training to help ease back-to-school fears |
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The largest school district in North Texas is working to make sure students feel safe when they return to their campuses.
A handful of Dallas schools start the new year on Monday. The rest start later in August.
The district has more than 400 counselors who’ve gotten new safety training.
It will be crucial for students who are anxious about returning whether it is because of the pandemic or recent school shootings.
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It’s not just COVID-19: Why Texas faces a teacher shortage |
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Over the last two years, Texas’ public education system has been through the wringer, from shifting to online classes and debates about making masks mandatory to the ongoing tensions over how race and sex should be taught in schools to, most recently, the renewed discussion over school safety in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde where 19 elementary school students and two teachers were killed.
Teachers have been at the front lines of all of these issues — and it’s taken a toll on them. Texas has long had a teacher shortage, but the consensus is that the pandemic has made it worse, pushing teachers to their limits and out of the job.
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Familiar racial disparities emerge in first month of COVID-19 vaccinations for the youngest Texans |
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Black toddlers and infants in Texas are being vaccinated against COVID-19 much more slowly than their white, Hispanic and Asian counterparts, according to state health data.
On the other end of the spectrum, 43% of the doses that have been administered to babies and kids who became eligible last month have gone to Hispanic children, state numbers show. And young Asian kids have received a share of the total doses that is nearly triple their share of Texans in that age group.
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Looking for a new opportunity? |
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Leadership opportunities available: |
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Take a look at who’s hiring: |
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Study says Latino students are responsible for the increase of underrepresented populations in higher education |
Racial and ethnic discussions have been taking over the media recently. Aiming to keep up with the changes, higher education institutions have been making efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as trying to increase graduation rates for students from underrepresented groups.
Analysis says historically marginalized groups are still underrepresented in this environment. Black, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islander people represent the worst academic outcomes in graduation rates. However, there is still a light of hope for the future. Projections say that by 2036 more than 50% of American high school graduates will be people of color.
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To Prevent Principal Exodus, New Partnerships Offer $20K Stipends, Therapy |
School leadership trainings, online communities and HBCU partnerships take root nationwide to recruit principals and prevent exodus
Free therapy and professional coaching. $20,000 stipends.
These are some of the incentives and supports aimed at preventing an exodus of principals and school administrators taking on pandemic stressors and the nation’s divisive climate.
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8 things to watch out for as you design culturally responsive teaching |
Help teachers reflect on the instruction they’re providing and better connect with students.
Many K-12 leaders are now doing the important work of infusing culturally responsive teaching and other equity-focused practices into their classrooms. Superintendents and their teams can tap into some fresh guidance in choosing new tools to make the curriculum relevant for all students.
The tools educators can use to evaluate culturally responsive materials are detailed in a new analysis by EdReports, the nonprofit that provides free reviews of instructional materials. The guidebook breaks down some of the challenges of reviewing resources that help teachers adjust their craft and their curriculum. One of the nonprofit’s goals is to help teachers reflect on the instruction they’re providing and better connect with students, says Courtney Allison, EdReports’ chief academic officer.
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Crystal Ball Predictions: What Will Education for ELL Students Look Like in 10 Years? |
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The latest statistics (which are 2 to 3 years old) show that English-language learners comprised 10.4 percent of the K-12 student population and that 64 percent of all U.S. teachers have at least one ELL in their classroom.
A few educated guesses of my own are that the ELL numbers could grow to 15 percent of the total population in 10 years and that at least 75 percent of all teachers could have at least one in their classroom.
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A ‘summer camp’ for teachers fills a gap in environmental education |
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Louisiana science educators get hands-on instruction on environmental threats to their state
In early June, a group of Louisiana educators spent a week in floating cabins on the west bank of the Mississippi River in the sweltering heat.
“Teacher summer camp,” Aimee Hollander, an assistant professor and director of Nicholls State University’s Center for Teaching Excellence, jokingly called it. “Because that’s what it felt like,” Hollander said. “Every day we went on a new field trip and we got to meet all these cool scientists and do and see the scientific phenomena in real life.”
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This Week’s Featured Sponsor |
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TALAS sponsors make this newsletter and other TALAS activities possible. Please support them. Click on the logo to learn more! |
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Sibme believes students learn best when teachers learn everyday. And we believe teachers learn best from one another. That’s why our software and services are designed to connect educators in cycles of coaching and collaborative inquiry around evidence from real classrooms and real students. It’s also why thousands of schools and organizations like HMH, ASCD, and Scholastic trust Sibme to be the place where educators set goals, track progress, and see real success.
Hank Brand – Vice President of Partnerships – 888.601.6786
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