TALAS E-newsletter – March 22

Kaye Rogers’ phone began to ring and her inbox filled with questions about virtual learning before Texas schools shut down because of the coronavirus.

School leaders from across the state sought advice on teacher training, how to transition curriculum and what pitfalls to avoid as students began learning from home.

“I could not be more happy for Mrs. Patterson,” said Sheldon ISD’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. King Davis. “It is bittersweet news for us in Sheldon, but what a tremendous gain for Crosby ISD.”

Patterson joined Sheldon ISD in 2017 as the Director of Professional Development. During her tenure in Sheldon ISD, she additionally served as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Chief Academic Officer and most recently Deputy Superintendent of Academics. Her path in education started in Crosby ISD as a teacher, and Mrs. Patterson also served the district in the role of principal.

Between the challenges of remote learning and the struggles some families face trying to make ends meet, an alarming trend has developed in many local school districts – rampant absenteeism.

Northside ISD is taking a novel approach, altering its former rigid style of dealing with truancy by adopting a more collaborative style. Now they are working to help families get back on their feet by connecting them to a variety of services.

San Antonio resident Mike Nguyen is afraid to be outside these days. Earlier this week, he was driving with his colleague when they pulled over to help someone pick up boxes, but he froze up when they parked the car on the side of the street.

He couldn’t leave the car. It’s not that he didn’t want to help. It was the death threats he had received recently that kept him in.

Working as a school nurse is “not just ice and boo-boos.”

That’s how Marisa Thomison, a nurse at a Hutto Independent School District elementary school, explains her profession, which has become a crucial component of public health during the pandemic. At Veterans’ Hill Elementary School, she manages students’ medical histories, administers medications, provides health education and tries to keep COVID-19 from spreading widely among students and staff.

Kacey Musgraves ascended the star-shaped stage at NRG Stadium, where the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo convenes every year. Bathed in purple light, the East Texas–bred country musician began a song her audience likely wasn’t expecting: a twangy take on Selena’s smash hit “Como La Flor.” Watching the performance on YouTube, the viewer can barely distinguish Musgraves’s voice from those of thousands of ebullient fans scream-singing along to the chorus, “Ah-ah-ay, ¡cómo me duele!”

Not everyone is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), but virtually every workplace professional manages projects—whether big or small—at some point in their career. The unfortunate truth is that even if you don’t carry the title “project manager,” professionals of all backgrounds are frequently expected to successfully manage projects on time and within budget. Indeed, project management isn’t just for project managers. Particularly for those thrust into this demanding role with higher visibility or higher budget projects, the thought of managing them without the traditional project management background can be more than a little intimidating. Indeed, those without formal training are most likely to fall victim to these five tragic newbie project manager mistakes.

Three feet of social distancing is sufficient in classrooms as long as students wear masks, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance announced Friday.

But 6 feet should be maintained between adults and students, in common areas and during activities such as singing or exercise, the CDC said. In situations where community transmission rates are high, the guidance said middle and high school students should be kept six feet apart unless they are taught in small groups. The update also removes a recommendation that schools place physical barriers between students.

The House on Thursday passed an immigration bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of “Dreamers” and passed another bill to allow green cards and overhaul protections for farmworkers.

The first bill, dubbed the American Dream and Promise Act, would provide a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, and those granted temporary protection from deportation. The measure passed 228 to 197, with nine Republicans voting in favor of the measure.

As America reels from its latest spate of deadly hate crimes and racism, the California State Board of Education on Thursday approved the nation’s first statewide ethnic studies curriculum for high schools, saying the teaching of discrimination and oppression has never been more important.

As the winter turns to spring and pandemic learning reaches its one-year mark, something like a return to normal, in-person schooling is becoming a reality in communities across the country. While a striking amount of uncertainty remains, experts largely agree on one thing: Pandemic education has exacted the greatest tolls from the children of historically marginalized groups. It also appears that English learners are being particularly adversely impacted by Covid-era schooling.

U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán is continuing her climate efforts in Congress as the new Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Climate Change Task Force. In the last year, Barragán introduced or co-sponsored a number of climate-focused bills, often rooted in racial equity.

Latino representatives were among the most active climate advocates in 2020, as data continues to show that the crisis is and will continue to affect BIPOC demographics the most, whether it be via a refugee crisis or those already in vulnerable positions within the country.

That’s right, Oscar’s real name is actually Emilio.

When it comes to the Academy Awards, there’s nothing more iconic than the actual Oscar award. That’s right, it’s not Björk’s swan dress or Jennifer Lopez’s beloved pink gown, when people think of the Oscar Awards it’s always the rip-chested statue with broad shoulders and muscled legs. The art deco god that everyone in entertainment dreams of one-day holding: the Oscar award.

But, as familiar as he may be, it turns out we don’t know Oscar very well.