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MISD taps former Bonham principal for School Leadership position |
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When it came to picking an executive director of School Leadership, Midland ISD Superintendent Stephanie Howard stayed close to home.
Howard named and the Midland ISD approved the selection of Tricia Teran as the person who will “supervise, monitor and evaluate the performance of principals and assigned support staff.”
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Three years in, Fort Worth ISD partnership with Texas Wesleyan shows promise |
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Five years ago, there was always a certain amount of chaos in the hallways of John T. White Elementary School, Julissa Gomez said. The school — which rated an F in the state’s accountability system — was short on supplies and equipment, and teachers didn’t have the support they needed, she said.
Today, the hallways at John T. White are mostly quiet, teachers have more planning time, and struggling children get more individualized instruction, Gomez said. The school received a B in the state’s latest accountability ratings.
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Educators, legislators gather to discuss changes to state testing |
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Thirty two questions.
The State of Texas apparently believes that’s all it takes to determine the success of the math curriculum for third graders and their teachers and the schools.
But teachers, administrators, students and parents know better, and the gathered Friday at the Harlingen Chamber of Commerce to make their voices known to legislators. They spoke of the unnecessary headaches and anxiety and disrupted lives resulting from the STAAR test.
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Shining a Spotlight on School Counselors |
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As a bilingual school counselor, I spent the past week talking with my elementary students about kindness and respect — helping them to show up for one another in supportive and caring ways.
I taught them about respect, even as I felt none myself. This week is National School Counseling Week, and I want to give you a taste of the important work of counselors in our schools. I also ask that you stand with us in demanding the salaries and the funding we need to do our jobs.
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Celebrating Bilingual Education Pioneer Al Ramírez, Thru Feb. 26th |
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The Museum of South Texas History presents “Alfonso ‘Al’ Ramírez: 100 Years of Legacy,” a spotlight exhibit highlighting the life of the former Edinburg mayor, now on display until Sunday, Feb 26.
In celebration of what would have been Ramírez’s 100th birthday, the exhibit will feature parts of the Al Ramírez Collection. A true renaissance man, Ramírez was a veteran of World War II, a champion for bilingual education and the first Mexican American mayor of Edinburg. He also ran a publishing company, Nuevo Santander Press. His family understood the significance of his contributions to the community and, over the years, donated a large collection of artifacts, documents and photographs.
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School Turnaround Leadership |
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The Charles Butt Foundation is sponsoring five campus leadership teams serving Texas public schools to attend the School Turnaround Leaders institute. This institute provides your campus leadership team the opportunity to develop or refine your campus’ targeted improvement plan or school turnaround plan to ensure buy-in and improve academic performance.
The 2023 session will be held from June 5, 2023 to June 9, 2023 with travel to Harvard on June 4 and return from Harvard on June 9.
Campus leadership teams applying for this Institute must currently be assigned to a school that received an overall D or F in 2019 and which did not receive a rating of A, B, or C in 2022.
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Achieving Excellence: Leadership Development for Principals |
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The Charles Butt Foundation is sponsoring thirty principals serving Texas public schools to attend the Achieving Excellence: Leadership Development for Principals institute. This institute will provide you the opportunity to strengthen your leadership and management skills and revitalize your personal vision of leadership. Participants will learn new methods for improving individual, group, and organizational performance.
The 2023 session will be held from July 9, 2023 to July 14, 2023 with travel to Harvard on July 8 and return from Harvard on July 14.
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The Garland Association of Latino Administrators is a group of dedicated leaders whose ultimate goal is to develop leaders to foster success for all learners. We know that sometimes all it takes to change the world is a little support. Since 2019, we have been determined to make an impact on our Latino communities. The core of our efforts is to bring our team’s fresh ideas and passion for the range of activities we’re involved in. Through all of our endeavors, we hope to display the conviction behind our beliefs. |
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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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Schools’ New Normal: Teacher Shortages, Repeat Meals, Late Buses, Canceled Classes |
From recruiting staff at the grocery store to launching onsite aftercare, schools are trying to adapt in their third pandemic year
In a school just east of Atlanta, students routinely miss 30 minutes of their 47 minute first period classes because of bus driver shortages.
Math workbooks at a Eugene, Oregon school arrived months into the semester, delayed by paper shortages.
Some 15 classes at one suburban New York high school were canceled last semester for lack of substitutes.
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Is a ‘DARPA for education’ finally happening? |
Advocates say new government funding is a down payment on long-awaited research and development arm of DOE
Hidden in more than 4,000 pages of the omnibus appropriations bill that President Biden signed in December is funding for a key education initiative that advocates have been pushing for decades.
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the Department of Education’s statistics, research and evaluation arm, received $40 million in new money for research and development, a portion of which must be used to “support a new funding opportunity for quick-turnaround, high-reward scalable solutions.”
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‘La Lucha Sigue’: Chicano Teachers Now and Then |
In the late 1990s, Nadine and Patsy Córdova made history in Vaughn, a small town in central New Mexico. They had been teaching at the local junior and senior high school for over 17 years when they were suspended for refusing to stop teaching Chicano History to their students.
The Córdova sisters had learned about the Chicano movement as adults. They read about the struggles Mexican Americans faced — and the fight for labor rights, land and a political identity in the U.S. during the 1960s and early 1970s. The movement changed how Patsy and Nadine thought about themselves and their history. And they wanted to share that with their students. “To me, I see knowing your history and being proud of your ancestors is like your suit of armor,” Nadine says.
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This Principal Uses Her Experience as the Child of Farmworkers to Support Students |
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Raquel Martinez thinks a lot about time.
The time of the day she schedules parent conferences. The time of year she holds open houses at Isaac Stevens Middle School, where she’s the principal.
For her, time is essential to how she shows respect for the community her school serves.
Many of her students’ parents are farmworkers—some of them migrant workers—who toil 12- to 14-hour days in apple orchards, and on cherry and potato farms in and around Pasco, Wash.
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Zen Dens and Peace Rooms: How Schools are Giving Kids Space to Reflect, Regulate |
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Students use calming rooms, which are typically voluntary & open to all students, when they are feeling anxious, agitated or just need some alone time
The Brave Room at Indian Hill Elementary School in Cincinnati has pillow chairs, a mini Zen garden and soft lighting. Every day, students stop in — some for a few minutes, others for a full class period — to use fidget toys, coloring books and kinetic sand, or just chill out.
“Our goal is that they use the room and then return to their academics more settled, ” school counselor Sarah Kellett said.
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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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As the 3rd largest educational architecture firm in the U.S., VLK is recognized for our leadership in designing transformational learning environments, facilitating engagement between students and teachers and supporting curriculum and instruction. VLK’s processes of VLK | CURATION®, VLK | LINK®, and VLK | LAUNCH® are the new paradigms aligning curriculum & instruction and design; long-range facility & bond planning; and participant based design. |
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