TALAS E-newsletter – March 7

TALAS Board Members and their districts in the News

Your new way to stay up-to-date with TALAS

TALAS Board President Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora – Tomball ISD LSC-Tomball, Tomball ISD and Harris County Public Library Partner on Tomball Community Art Showcase ISD Students Serve Up Mardi Gras Meal Artists of all ages in the Tomball area now have a way to exhibit their creative work. A new partnership comprised of Tomball ISD, Lone Star College-Tomball and the Harris County Public Library announced the launch of the Tomball Community Art Showcase. The showcase will exhibit visual and performing artwork created by students from Tomball ISD, LSC-Tomball and by local artists from the Tomball area. http://fatcatwebproductions.com/ThePaper_2014/md-thenews/content/lsc-tomball-tomball-isd-and-harris-county-public-library-partner-tomball-community-art

TALAS Board Member Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa quoted – Dallas ISD Texas Republicans Eye Cash Rewards for Districts For district administrators, just how much does money talk when it comes to boosting test scores? Texas Republicans are in the thick of designing a statewide funding formula that could answer that question in a very big way. Under a proposal being prepared by legislative leaders, the state would set aside $800 million annually to reward districts that have various strong outcomes. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/03/06/texas-republicans-eye-cash-rewards-for-districts.html

An opportunity for TALAS Members  Superintendent Search – La Joya ISD superintendent abruptly ‘retires’ after reaching agreement with school board Superintendent Alda T. Benavides abruptly “announced her retirement” Monday (February 25) after three decades with the La Joya Independent School District. Without any public discussion, the school board approved an agreement with Benavides on Monday night and announced her retirement. Lawyer Jaime “Jerry” Muñoz is assisting the La Joya ISD School Board in the search for a new superintendent. For more information on this search please contact TALAS Executive Director Stan Paz at stanmagoo2@gmail.com https://www.progresstimes.net/news/local-news/12547-la-joya-isd-superintendent-abruptly-retires-after-reaching-agreement-with-school-board.html

Study: Majority-White US Schools Get $23 Billion More Than Non-White In 1968, families of students attending Los Angeles County public schools took legal action against the state of California. They argued that the state’s funding system — which depended mostly on local property taxes — was unfair to students from low-earning communities. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/report-majority-white-schools-in-america-get-23-billion-more-than-non-white/4814678.html

TALAS Board Member Superintendent Roland Hernandez – Corpus Christi ISD District officials discuss re-drawing high school boundaries, concerns linger for Mary Carroll HS Corpus Christi school officials have listened to concerns about the location of the new Mary Carroll High School campus, but aren’t sharing details about what comes next, if anything. At a workshop meeting Tuesday, several board members with Corpus Christi Independent School District discussed scenarios for re-drawing the boundaries lines to relieve the overcrowding at Southside schools – namely Veterans Memorial High School. https://kristv.com/news/6-investigates/2019/03/05/corpus-christi-independent-school-district-new-mary-carroll-high-school-us-navy-school-boundaries-southside-growth/

TALAS Board Member Superintendent Jose Espinoza – Socorro ISD Socorro ISD Public Relations wins statewide award Socorro ISD has earned a top state award in communications. The Texas School Public Relations Association presented the district with the platinum award this year. The district says it’s the first El Paso Public Relations team to win this award, making it the highest awarded PR team in the area.  Read More

TALAS Board Member Superintendent Rick Lopez – Garland ISD Garland ISD staff goes the extra mile

The Going the Extra Mile (GEM) recognition is a district acknowledgement of those outstanding Garland ISD employees who display superior commitment, innovation, leadership, work ethic, accomplishments and/or initiative. Garland ISD GEM (Going the Extra Mile) Recognition is open to any GISD employee, and anyone can nominate an employee as a GEM. Those selected are notified and recognized at a GISD Board of Trustees meeting once a month. https://starlocalmedia.com/rowlettlakeshoretimes/news/garland-isd-staff-goes-the-extra-mile/article_ec1b0622-3aaa-11e9-9be0-ef83c0543548.html

ALAS Board Members Superintendent Paul Cruz and Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora In SXSW EDU panel, AISD superintendent calls for equity in education Austin Superintendent Paul Cruz joined other school leaders Wednesday to discuss persisting inequities in education during a South by Southwest EDU panel. The panel “Equality v. Equity: What’s the Difference?” examined disparities among school resources, discipline rates and opportunities for students. Cruz spoke alongside Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell and Tomball school district Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora. https://www.statesman.com/news/20190306/in-sxsw-edu-panel-aisd-superintendent-calls-for-equity-in-education

‌ Remember to SAVE THE DATE for the UT/TASA Summer Conference and the TALAS Pre-conference on Sunday, June 23 in Austin .

Meet TALAS’ Board Members

TALAS Board Member Dr. Robert Duron Superintendent, Associate Executive Director of District Services, TASB https://www.tasanet.org/Page/764

TALAS Board Member Dr. Xavier De La Torre, Superintendent, Ysleta ISD https://www.yisd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=6968

Mil gracias to our Bronce sponsors for their on-going support of TALAS!

‌ ‌