TALAS – Make 2020 the year you join!
Welcome back and Happy New Year!
Thank you for your on-going interest in TALAS. We are here to support you in serving Texas’ students and are committed to your success.
We’re looking forward to an amazing 2020 with you!
We’d like to share your good news.
Send announcements, new programs and all things Latinx to
TALAS News
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Harlandale ISD Trustees Select Gerardo Soto as New Superintendent
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The Harlandale Independent School District board wrapped up a year marked by leadership changes and questions about Texas Education Agency intervention Monday night when trustees voted unanimously to formally promote Gerardo Soto, the district’s executive director of operations, to superintendent.
The board voted to offer Soto an annual salary of $207,000. The contract, which was still being drawn up, will last 3 1/2 years, Soto said.
“I would like to thank the Harlandale ISD board of trustees for giving me this opportunity in leading this wonderful district,” Soto told the six trustees in attendance following their vote. “Our students are exceptional and deserve nothing but the best to excel in all they do. … Now we have to continue to celebrate our successes and face our challenges and will do so together.”
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Congratulations to Superintendent
Juan Cabrera on being named a finalist by the Dallas Morning News
When their communities were attacked, these superintendents stepped up. We name them finalists for Texan of the Year
Sadly, the horrific mass shootings in El Paso and Odessa this year once again reminded us of the sickness in our culture that too often results in gun violence.
But today, in the season of hope, we’re focusing on the grace, cooperation and healing environment that the superintendents of the El Paso and Odessa school districts created in their classrooms in the wake of the shootings.
For their efforts to address the trauma of the more than 90,000 students in their care, El Paso ISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera and Ector County ISD Superintendent Scott Muri are finalists for Texan of the Year.
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Tomball ISD’s Academy of Energy and International Business
to Open August 2020
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With an effort to implement new learning opportunities for students, the district has announced that the Tomball ISD Academy of Energy and International Business has been approved by the Board of Trustees at the December meeting. The Academy is set to officially open in August 2020 at BJ Services corporate headquarters.
The Tomball ISD Academy of Energy and International Business will become the first on-site learning opportunity of its kind implemented in the State of Texas and just the second in the nation. It will serve as a small learning community that will provide rigorous job-embedded programs of study coupled with an on-site corporate partnership that enhances the learning outcomes for students.
“In Tomball ISD, we understand and value the importance of a community partnership with BJ Services and thank them for making education a top priority,” Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, Superintendent of Schools said. “By implementing yet another innovative learning opportunity for our students, our commitment to offer real-world experiences coupled with our already-rigorous curriculum is of the utmost importance. We strive to challenge and inspire our students to dream big and explore new programs of study and we feel this Academy will help prepare our students for our global society. We are extremely excited about the future success of this new learning opportunity.”
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Sheldon ISD opens $146 million ‘crown jewel’ C. E. King High
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Sheldon ISD hosted a ribbon cutting event on Jan. 6 to welcome the community into the new C. E. King High School.
Built to provide an experience similar to a business or college atmosphere, the 580,000 square foot high school is built with an open, three-story design divided into three primary sections all connecting to one spine through the building.
“I believe that the community is going to recognize and be able to see the programs that we offer, the great common culture that we have here, and they’re going to want to bring their students here,” campus principal Keith Brooks said.
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Esports comes to Rowlett High
Esports is electronic gaming at a competitive level and is growing in popularity. In an effort to provide more science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) opportunities for students, Garland ISD added esports clubs to all seven of its high schools, as well as the Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center.
According to Coordinator of Technology Applications Jasna Aliefendic, there are more than 250 universities that give scholarships for esports. The district launched this initiative without additional funds, using only existing equipment on campuses.
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New Year, New Career Opportunities
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- Director of Development (App. Available Jan 17), Dallas
- Managing Director, Culturally Relevant Coaching (App. Available Jan 17)
- Managing Director, Leadership Development, Dallas
- Program Officer – New Sites, Houston
- Vice President of Program, Dallas
- Campus Leadership Program Director
- Leadership Coach/Facilitator
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We look forward to having you join us!
TALAS at Mid-Winter
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Saturday, January 25th
TALAS Mentorship Program
Austin Convention Center 10 AB
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
TALAS Affiliate Meeting
Austin Convention Center Room 8 A
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
TALAS & TABSE Joint Luncheon
Austin Convention Center ACC 8ABC
12:00 PM
Sunday, January 26th
TALAS Executive Board Meeting
1:30 to 4:00 PM Hilton Hotel Room 404 (Room adjacent to Texas Urban Council)
1:30 Lunch Served; 2:00 Installation of Officers;
Update of TALAS Vision Statement with Roz Keck
Past President’s Dinner Honoring Dr. Salazar-Zamora
Hosted by Rethink Ed and Renaissance Learning
7:00 PM (Venue Pending)
Monday, January 27th
TALAS Presentation – Exemplary Dual Language Programs: Dallas, Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio ISD’s
Ivonne Durant, David Kauffman, Laila Ferris, Olivia Hernandez
Austin Convention Center, 16 B
10:45 to 11:45 AM
TALAS Meet & Greet Four Seasons Hotel
5:00 to 7:00 PM
Hosted by Renaissance Learning, Naviance, Paxton Patterson, and Insight
Tuesday, January 28th
Second TALAS Panel Presentation – Advancing a Legacy for Latina Superintendents in Texas: Martha Salazar-Zamora, Celina Estrada Thomas, Veronica Vijil
Austin Convention Center, 17 B
9:00 – 10:00 AM
Third TALAS Panel Presentation: Education – Public School Transformation – Is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time! Martha Salazar-Zamora, Rick Lopez, Robert Bostic, Charles Dupre
Austin Convention Center, 13B
2:15 to 3:15 PM
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Explore Career Opportunities Today
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5 salary questions you must ask during a job interview
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When you’re hunting for a job and are in talks with hiring managers, one topic will always stand out: salary. It’s a loaded subject, so, naturally, there are a ton of questions you should consider asking about it. Here are five key salary questions you should keep in mind during the interview stage of the hiring process.
1. What salary range do you have budgeted for this position?
This is the most basic, useful, and versatile question you can whip out when the salary topic crops up. Not only does it put the onus on the employer to show their hand first, thereby giving you knowledge with which to frame your own asking price around, but it also shows you’re flexible.
Inquiring about a range shows you’re not married to one particular number and are open to negotiation. Herein lies the importance of semantics. A pro-tip from a Mac’s List article on this subject advises interviewees to be careful with their phraseology. For example, say “compensation” instead of “money,” since the former adds a layer of tact to your otherwise blunt, crassly capitalist question. Little tweaks like this can make all the difference in terms of how your question is perceived and responded to.
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The USA TODAY Network is launching a series on the Latino community in the U.S. called Hecho en USA, or made in America. Roughly 80% of all Latinos living in the U.S. are American citizens. But media coverage of Hispanics tends to focus on immigration and crime, instead of how Latino families live, work and learn in their hometowns. Hecho en USA tells the stories of the nation’s 59.9 million Latinos – a growing economic and cultural force, many of whom are increasingly born in the United States.
More Latino students than ever are trying to get their degree, but it’s fraught and costly
Record amounts of Latinos are attending colleges, but they’re intimidated by the cost, whiteness and bureaucracy.
The “F” grade came after several frustrating years. There was his commute to Northeastern Illinois University campus, which required him to travel 40 minutes each way by bus from his job at his parent’s corner store. He worked two other jobs, one where he sat behind a desk greeting students at the university and another at a video game store. The relationship he was in soured and he found himself obsessed with figuring out how to salvage it.
Years earlier, at his parents’ and teachers’ behest, he had worked hard to get into college, sending applications, essays and test scores to 10 schools. After he enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University, he participated in a university support program, Proyecto Pa’Lante, geared toward Latino students like him who needed help learning the basics of academic life, like which classes count toward degrees. But the program was only for the first two years of school. After that, Casimiro was on his own.
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We Learned About the Aztecs From Their Conquerors—But New Research Is Letting Them Speak for Themselves
With the U.S.-Mexico border a focal point of division in today’s American politics, it has become commonplace for one group of Americans to hurl insults at Mexicans and clamor for the building of a wall to keep them out, while another group insists on Mexicans’ goodness relative to others and reminds Americans that they have made invaluable contributions to the country.
Amid all this, it is easy to forget that migrations between today’s United States and Mexico once went in the reverse direction, that what is now Mexico City was once the Aztec capital — and that it was, without a doubt, the beating heart of North America.
Corn farmers had lived in central Mexico longer than anywhere else and, as a result, had developed a great civilization, complete with marketplaces, schools and running water. People as far north as today’s Utah had heard all about their marvelous and wealthy land, and whenever warfare or drought brought suffering, hundreds and even thousands of people would make their way south, hoping for a better life.
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Mil gracias to our sponsors
for their on-going support of TALAS!
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Midstate Energy and Urban Energy Solutions are award-winning energy service companies, within the VEREGY portfolio, creating pathways to eco-friendly building and system optimizations – with guaranteed energy savings.
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