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Texas News
Brackett ISD Names Eliza Diaz as Lone Finalist for Superintendent
On July 13, the Brackett ISD Board of Trustees named Eliza Diaz as the lone finalist for the position of superintendent. Diaz currently serves as interim superintendent in Brackett ISD.

The Brackett ISD board is scheduled to vote to hire Diaz after the 21-day waiting period required by state law.
Seguin ISD Board of Trustees named 2022 Texas Region 20 School Board of the Year
The Seguin ISD school board on Friday learned that it was named the Texas Region 20 School Board of the Year for 2022!

Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Matthew Gutierrez who submitted the nomination says he was thrilled to learn the news and says there is no better board than the one here in Seguin.
At their first conference after the Uvalde shooting, school counselors grapple with supporting students in an age of mass violence
One session on school shootings at the American School Counselor Association’s annual conference in Austin this week drew a large crowd. It discussed the roles counselors play before and after such traumatic events.

All it took was the mere mention of Uvalde for Alma Rodriguez to start tearing up.

The El Paso native was among dozens of school counselors who packed a dimly lit room at the Austin Convention Center on Monday to attend a training session on school shootings that was part of the American School Counselor Association’s annual conference.
Immigrant Moms Get Rare Win in Long-fought Family Detention Case
The state Supreme Court weighed in on a fight to stop the state from licensing detention centers as childcare facilities.

Seven years ago, a group of formerly detained immigrant mothers, an Austin-based nonprofit, and a daycare owner teamed up to fight Texas’ handling of federal family detention policy. After a long series of judicial victories and defeats, they secured a rare and belated victory last month in the state’s highest court. 
Five takeaways from the House committee report on the Uvalde shooting
Among the findings: Police lacked clear leadership and basic communications, school doors were routinely left open and the gunman gave hints of his coming rampage.

A report released Sunday by a special committee of the Texas House provides the most thorough account yet of the May 24 Uvalde school shooting and the failures of law enforcement and other state and local officials. In 77 pages, it described how the shooter prepared and armed himself, how the school district fell short on campus safety preparations and how law enforcement moved too slowly to end a massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
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National News
Most Students Who Left College During COVID Want to Return — But Many Can’t
Brown: Money, stress and family & work obligations are keeping students from returning to college and earning their degrees, survey finds

Enrollment in colleges and universities continued its steep plunge this spring, down 4.7% from a year ago. The nation’s higher education drop is worsening — but not for the reasons you might think.

A newly released National Student Clearinghouse report shows total post-high school enrollment fell by about 685,000 students in spring 2022. In the wake of COVID-19 losses and disruptions, U.S. colleges and universities have lost 1.3 million students over the past two years.
Superintendents Like Their Jobs Despite All the Drama, a New Survey Shows
Despite a couple of years of pandemic upheaval, staff shortages, and political clashes, the nation’s school superintendents are feeling pretty good about their jobs.

As many as 87 percent of these district leaders feel their job is valued, and 85 percent “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they were satisfied with their jobs, according to The Fifth American Schools District Panel Survey by the RAND Corporation.

This finding comes even though 95 percent of superintendents agreed their job had gotten harder over the past decade, the survey found.
Poll: As ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Looms, 1 in 3 Educators Oppose Teaching LGBTQ History
A new survey finds stronger support for addressing the needs of gay and gender nonconforming students among teachers of color and younger educators

One out of three teachers doesn’t think the history and experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people should be taught in schools, according to a recent survey by Educators for Excellence. More than one-fourth — 27% — say their schools rarely or never meet the needs of their LGBTQ students, while 11% believe their school does not enroll any at all. 
College Board no longer disclosing AP test results by ethnicity, state
Before last year, anyone could publicly view scores broken down by certain demographics. Not anymore.

The College Board used to annually publish granular breakdowns of how students scored on its Advanced Placement, or AP exams. And Jon Boeckenstedt, vice provost for enrollment management at Oregon State University, would painstakingly download each data set to translate into a more digestible format on his admissions blog.

The testing provider’s reports represented an in-depth dive into the assessments, which can earn K-12 students college credit if they receive a high enough score.
‘Clock ticking’ on helping high schoolers recover from pandemic losses
Although students at all grade levels have been adversely impacted by the pandemic and need recovery supports, one education expert suggests school systems should pay special attention to high schoolers over the next five years as they prepare for graduation.

Limited research on secondary students shows pandemic-era setbacks for them in academic performance, school attendance and mental wellbeing. This indicates these older students need extra help and guidance, according to Robin Lake, director of the Center for Reinventing Public Education. 
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For 50 years, Curriculum Associates (CA) has been united around one common purpose: to make classrooms better places for teachers and students. In the years since, we’ve remained driven by this mission, introducing and then constantly improving innovative and exciting products that give every student the chance to succeed. We believe teachers are the essential glue between our programs and classroom success, so we strive to empower them with the tools and resources to accelerate student growth. Together with educators we’re making equitable learning programs a reality—raising the bar and making it reachable for all.