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Texas News
San Benito board taps Servellon for superintendent finalist
SAN BENITO — After a month-long search, the school board’s majority has named interim superintendent Theresa Servellon as its finalist for the superintendent’s job.

Now, state law requires a 21-day waiting period before she is “officially named superintendent,” the district posted on its Facebook page.

“The lone finalist named exemplifies the qualities needed in our district,” board President Ramiro Moreno stated.
Texas School Ratings Up from 2019, but Those in Poorer Neighborhoods Still Lag
This year’s TEA ratings were done differently than in previous years

The Texas Education Agency on Monday released its first public school ratings in three years and despite pandemic interruptions, the number of schools that received the highest rating increased.

This year, 27.9% of 8,451 schools evaluated received an A rating. Another 46.1% received a B, 19.4% received a rating of C and 6.7% received “Not Rated” labels. Not all schools and districts are rated because some are alternative education programs and treatment facilities.
Spring ISD’s first Hispanic female superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa Off to a Great Start
History maker Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, new Spring HISD Superintendent, opened the school year by visiting several schools to welcome students back to class.

“I am so very proud to be here.“ Dr. Lupita Hinojosa continued, “I am just so very proud, and it is on my parents’ dreams that I stand here before you as the super-proud superintendent of Spring ISD.”

Officially beginning her new role on Feb. 1, the first Hispanic female superintendent in the district’s history revealed her strategic plan, Every Student—Every Teacher—Every Day, at the district’s Convocation.
Texas border crackdown is disproportionately targeting Latino drivers, data show
NBC News data analysis shows big jumps in citations in Latino-heavy border counties where troops have been deployed.

The web of state highway troopers that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has woven at the border has ensnared local drivers pulled over by officers searching for smugglers and people who’ve slipped across the border.

Abbott’s election-year attempt to thwart illegal immigration, called Operation Lone Star, has vexed some residents in small towns and counties where the number of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers has increased along with citations of drivers.
Victims and survivors of Uvalde shooting to file $27 billion lawsuit
According to the attorney representing the families, the suit will go after law enforcement agencies and a gun manufacturer.

Some families affected by the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde will soon be plaintiffs in a $27 billion lawsuit against several law enforcement agencies and a gun manufacturer, as reported by KSAT.

The class action lawsuit, which is being filed by California-based civil rights and personal injury law firm Bonner & Bonner, will claim that the victims, survivors and their families’ 14th Amendment right to life and liberty were violated, attorney Charles Bonner told KSAT.
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National News
Biden’s Move to Cancel Student Debt a Boon For Many Teachers, Child Care Workers
President’s canceling of $10,000 in debt for most borrowers will aid many educators. Half of teachers who took loans still owe an average of $59,000

The federal government will forgive $10,000 in debt for college loan borrowers earning under $125,000, President Joe Biden said in a long-awaited announcement Wednesday. Pell grant recipients are eligible to see $20,000 of their debt wiped out. 

Biden, who made student debt relief part of his presidential campaign, also extended a COVID-related pause on student loan payments through the end of the year.
Department of Education Makes $8 Million in New Grants Available to Help Colleges Strengthen and Diversify the Teacher Workforce
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced a new $8 million grant competition aimed at increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce and preparing teachers to meet the needs of our most underserved students.

Named for Augustus F. Hawkins, the first Black politician elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from west of the Mississippi River, the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) program supports comprehensive, high-quality teacher preparation programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).
Principals Traumatized by School Shootings Release Guide to Recovery
Nearly two dozen educators offer lessons they wish they had known before their schools became crime scenes

Shortly after the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School that left 13 people dead, then-Principal Frank DeAngelis got a phone call. On the other end of the line was a school leader from Kentucky who had endured a shooting of his own just two years earlier. 
I Lived In a Shelter As a Child. Schools Must Better Understand Homeless Youth
For students lacking housing, schools are often more than a place of learning — but also a place of security, nutrition and support

I have experienced being hungry and homeless. I lived in a homeless shelter with my grandmother until I was 18 months old. We would eat breakfast early, then leave the shelter during the day and there were often times we did not have food until we returned in the evening. 
30 Exciting Hispanic Children’s Books
Check out this list of 30 Hispanic Children’s books that are listed below. Books ranging from topics such as family, identity, and travel are just the tip of the iceberg as you read through this extensive list. You will find books that will support the topics you are discussing either in class or with your children. There are a lot of lessons to be extrapolated from these stories and the main characters solve their problems and feel big feelings.
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