TALAS E-newsletter – July 26

UISD saw new leadership positions filled Thursday that will ultimately help lead the district throughout the new 2021-22 school year.

The positions filled are the executive director for instructional accountability for curriculum and instruction, and the director of the Communications Department.

Christina Casanova takes the role of the former. A proud UISD educator for 28 years, she holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master Science Degree from TAMIU.

Midland ISD’s Family Service Center hit the road to surprise students who qualify as homeless with a gift before the new school year kicks off.

A brand new backpack is something every student looks forward to, but it’s something that wouldn’t be possible for some students without this program.

“This hot pink for Wesley?”

Students got backpacks filled with new school supplies, hygiene bags and even some lunch.

KFOX14 is hosting a roundtable on Wednesday, July 28 so the community can hear from education and health leaders before most area-school districts began the school year.

Most school districts have students returning for in-person learning on Monday, August 2.

The public is invited to join the roundtable and hear from our panelist about back-to-school guidance, and ask questions.

There is a lot of talk about the “great resignation.” It’s the latest, and highly questionable trend as some people feel its fine to abruptly quit without a new job lined up. The narrative, in part, is that people are quitting in alarmingly large numbers. The reasons range from they are fed up with their bosses, to concerns over the sudden surge in the Delta variant and the hunger to learn and do something new and different. 

If you are contemplating leaving your employer, and have already thought through this important decision, here is a classy way to tender your resignation without burning any bridges and maintain good relations with your former boss and coworkers. 

COVID-19 Transmission Risk During School Bus Transportation: “Universal testing and contact tracing revealed no transmission linked to bus transportation” in a new study in the Journal of School Health.

In a Thursday afternoon virtual session during the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ annual National Principals Conference, principals discussed strategies for promoting and leading a school culture focused on diversity and unity, as well as how to overcome problematic stances that may persist within buildings.

When teens and adolescents first became eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-May, demand for shots was like a spigot turned on full blast.

Now, the once-steady stream has slowed to a feeble drip.

Last week, only 315,000 youth rolled up their sleeves for immunizations, down from a peak of 1.6 million in late May, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics review of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

After announcing earlier this month that schools across the country should reopen for in-person learning regardless of whether they can implement all recommended COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the CDC has developed fresh guidance to help schools address the most important issues facing students and administrators after an unprecedented year spent learning remotely. COVID remains at the top of the list of concerns, but there are additional matters schools need to confront in order to transition successfully.

Last month, as her junior year of high school limped to an end, 17-year-old Gia Leon ventured back inside Odyssey STEM Academy in Lakewood, Calif., for the first time in months, hoping to find a better Wi-Fi signal than she could catch in her crowded home.