Renew your membership today!
TASA’s online Member Services Center is the place to go to become a member of TALAS. Please read these step-by-step directions or contact Debbie O’Donnell at 512.852.2108.
Texas News
YISD wins district of the year for English learner achievement
The Ysleta Independent School District took top honors as the 2021-22 Large District of the Year at the annual conference of the Texas Association for Bilingual Educators.

Several Ysleta ISD schools and teachers were also recognized for outstanding work in significantly improving English language development among bilingual students.
PSJA Schools Recognized at Bilingual Education Conference
Several Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA ISD) schools were recognized for their efforts in promoting a high-quality dual language education during the 2022 Texas Association for Bilingual Education’s Annual Conference held Oct. 13-16, 2022 in Houston, Texas.  

First established in 1972, TABE pursues the implementation of educational policies and effective bilingual-bicultural programs that promote equal educational opportunity and academic excellence for Bilingual/ESL students. 
Dallas ISD Works to Recruit Black and Latino Male Teachers
You’ve heard schools talk about the dire need for teachers. Dallas ISD is actually narrowing its focus a bit more with a need for minority male teachers.

No matter where you go, walk into a classroom and the teacher often looks the same. They’re typically women and not often minority even in schools where the students are minorities.

“Roughly about 2% of teachers nationwide are minority males,” said Steven Jackson, Director of Recruitment for Dallas ISD.
EPISD earns an A rating for fiscal management by state
The Texas Education Agency this year gave the El Paso Independent School District’s (EPISD) financial management and reporting system an “A” rating — the highest given by the state. 

El Paso ISD earned a Superior Achievement rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or FIRST, based on data collected and reported during the 2021 fiscal year, which is the latest reporting year.
What do Texas families and policy makers need to know about NAEP scores?
The Nation’s Report Card provided a sobering look at pandemic recovery

Hours after the release of sobering new test scores, Texas’ top education official was clear: Students still have a ways to go to rebound from the pandemic’s devastating impact on learning.

“While we are largely recovering from the effects of the pandemic in reading, much work remains in math,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said.
Affiliate Feature
The Garland Association of Latino Administrators is a group of dedicated leaders whose ultimate goal is to develop leaders to foster success for all learners. We know that sometimes all it takes to change the world is a little support. Since 2019, we have been determined to make an impact on our Latino communities. The core of our efforts is to bring our team’s fresh ideas and passion for the range of activities we’re involved in. Through all of our endeavors, we hope to display the conviction behind our beliefs. 
Looking for a new opportunity?
Leadership opportunities available:
Take a look at who’s hiring:
National News
Arriving in Numbers, Newcomer Students Face Multiple Hurdles in U.S. Schools
Districts’ failure to quickly enroll and assess young immigrants can cause lasting educational, emotional damage

A child who does not speak English is made to enroll in school online — in a language they don’t understand.

A young Ukrainian refugee is told district staff won’t translate records from home, delaying their start date.

A newcomer student sits idle for weeks because they were not assessed for placement.
E-rate survey points to early signs of the homework gap closing
More than three-quarters (78%) of school and library E-rate applicants agree or strongly agree that insufficient internet access at home is a significant problem in their community, according to the 12th annual E-rate survey released Thursday by Funds For Learning. That’s an 8 percentage point drop from the previous year, leading to speculation that the homework gap may be starting to close.

The survey also found an overwhelming 98% of schools and libraries want network security included in the E-rate program, which the Federal Communications Commission oversees. The program — now in its 25th year — provides significant discounts for school internet connections and telecommunications infrastructure, although not for cybersecurity support.
Districts Are Ditching COVID Dashboards. Here’s Why
As school districts return to an environment that more closely mirrors pre-pandemic classrooms and turn away from COVID-19 mitigation strategies like contact tracing and quarantines, many have also discontinued online dashboards tracking the prevalence of the virus in their schools.

Many districts early in the pandemic developed online tools with information about the number of reported cases—sometimes school-by-school—and quarantines. They often used the information to aid urgent decisions about whether to close schools or initiate mask mandates and to help in contact tracing.
How one small town is teaching English to kids of immigrants
A northern Alabama community with large numbers of Hispanic immigrants is using federal COVID-19 relief money to fund an experiment to better serve students who are still learning English

As part of an exercise to help the class learn English, a third grader pulled a block from a Jenga tower and read aloud a question written on one side. “Where,” the boy read, then slowly sounded out the other words: “Where would you like to visit?”

“Disneyland,” one student said. “Space,” another classmate chimed in. “Guatemala,” said a girl with a bright blue bow.
Gracias, México, for color TVs
Credit Mexican engineering and entrepreneurship for developments that led to the color television, oral contraception and finding a way to help mend the ozone layer.

The contributions helped modernize how we could see the world; improve women’s health and expand women’s roles beyond the home; and identify dangerous emissions and how to reduce them.

In 1940, a 23-year-old Guillermo González Camarena patented a chromoscopic adapter with which black and white cameras of the day could capture color.
Las Tienditas
This Week’s Featured Sponsor
TALAS sponsors make this newsletter and other TALAS activities possible. Please support them. Click on the logo to learn more!
Day in and day out, we work hand-in-hand with school administrators, staff, and communities to meet the goals of their bond programs by creating quality learning environments that best prepare their students for the 21st century workforce. Our program and project managers bring decades of experience managing and planning K-12 bond programs of all sizes using technical processes and procedures designed for every project phase — from project conception to completion. Complete, turn-key program management services put you in good hands and free you to concentrate on what you do best — educating your students.