TALAS E-newsletter – January 20

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Superintendent Mark Henry closed Thursday’s raucous school board meeting by denouncing trustee Scott Henry’s racially divisive remarks and taking a stand for a diverse workforce, empathizing with those hurt by the trustee’s statements Monday with a heartfelt, personal testimony of his own evolution. 

His comments came at the tail end of the four hour meeting where a number of parents in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD voiced concern during public comments about the newly sworn-in Trustee Scott Henry, who ran for election with a goal to rid the district of so-called “critical race theory” with two other candidates, Natalie Blasingame and Lucas Scanlon. 

The success of our partnership—the Sol y Agua Research-Practice Partnership for Computer Science Education—between the El Paso Independent school district and the University of Texas at El Paso might well be defined by the fact that we have managed to move forward during the pandemic. Aimed at greater equity in computer science education, specifically for Latinx students, girls, and English-learners, our work to collaboratively develop and pilot middle school computer science curriculum that is bilingual and culturally responsive felt urgent until schools closed; until teachers worried about their missing students; until learning loss and testing pressures intensified; until substitute shortages and staffing changes shuffled plans; until team members fell ill and lost loved ones. And then, it wasn’t urgent at all.

When will this pandemic end? It’s the question on everyone’s mind as a new year begins with another Covid surge forcing educators and policymakers to scramble.

But what if it doesn’t end?

Pandemic-related school closures, which caused an alarming rate of learning loss among the country’s most vulnerable students, have prompted some administrators to reconsider the school calendar.

An earlier start date, a later end date and numerous, elongated breaks throughout the year could allow more timely remediation for children in need — and enrichment for those who are not.

Mentoring could be a key tool in K-12’s COVID recovery, particularly as evidence of the inequitable academic impacts of the pandemic mount.

More than 80% of teachers said mentors—trusted adults who get to know and support individual students—improve academic performance and also help students become more independent learners, according to a survey by Gradient Learning.

Over the past year, some parents and activists have attempted to ban books about race, gender, and sexuality from classrooms and school libraries, sparking national headlines and controversies.

A new, nationally representative survey of educators sheds some light on how common these book censorship requests are—and which subjects are most frequently challenged. The EdWeek Research Center surveyed 1,200 teachers, principals, and district leaders in the second half of December.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average superintendent tenure was about five to six years. But the ongoing health crisis compounded the academic, technological, economic and emotional challenges facing district leaders, with many choosing to step down or retire early as pressures mounted. 

This was perhaps highlighted no better than in the nation’s three largest school systems — New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago — which together saw a trifecta of superintendent exits by the end of May 2021.