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Texas News
UISD superintendent recipient of Tejano Achiever Award
The League of United Latin American Citizens Council #12 announced its selection for the Tejano Achiever Awards in the categories of educational leadership.

According to UISD, the district’s superintendent David Gonzalez has been selected as Tejano Achiever in the category of educational leadership for 2022.

Chairman of the Tejano Achiever Awards Banquet Ed Bueno and President of LULAC Council #12 Jose Gamez made a special presentation at the September Administrative Team Meeting.
Fort Worth ISD’s new superintendent talks priorities for first school year
Dr. Angelica Ramsey says her own history will help inspire her work to make the district better.

Dr. Angelica Ramsey said she’s excited about starting her new job at Fort Worth ISD and moving her family to Fort Worth, and about working with parents and teachers as they continue to prioritize student achievement.

Ramsey talked candidly about her life and starting the toughest job ever as an educator. 
Analysis: Texas & Tennessee Get Tutoring Right — and Model How to Expand it Nationwide
Sharma: A local focus, professional development, accelerated classwork and policies that keep costs down can help make tutoring programs a success

At the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year, I visited schools and districts in Tennessee that are a part of the statewide tutoring program, the TN All Corps. I observed many students and tutors working together in the pursuit of catching up in their math learning. At each I visited, I witnessed sparks going off. Kids were truly engaged in learning math. In the face of two-plus years of pandemic-era learning, this left me feeling hopeful.
Politics and pandemic are driving Texas teachers to consider quitting, survey finds
An online survey of 1,291 teachers by the Charles Butt Foundation shows more teacher dissatisfaction as Texas school districts scramble to attract talent.

Results from a new online survey of K-12 teachers in Texas, released on Thursday, shows most “seriously considered” leaving the profession this year, a 19% increase from two years ago.

For its third annual survey on teacher satisfaction, the Charles Butt Foundation last spring sent an online questionnaire to 1,291 Texas public school teachers who were randomly selected from the Texas Education Agency’s 2020 roster of teachers in the state. All of them responded.
Meet the 4 Texas Families Who Risked Deportation to Establish the Right for Undocumented Kids to Attend Public Schools
The incredible true story behind the Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe decision, as told in Jessica Lander’s acclaimed new book ‘Making Americans’

In Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggles, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education, award-winning teacher Jessica Lander takes readers on a poignant journey — told through captivating stories of the past, the present, and the personal — to understand what it takes for immigrant students to become Americans. 
Announcements
The Familia Reception
Hosted by MASBA and TALAS at TASA/TASB
Friday, September 23, 2022 • 5:30–7 pm
Lonestar E Ballroom, Grand Hyatt San Antonio Riverwalk

Open to all school board members, superintendents, and 2022 MASBA & TALAS sponsors.
Affiliate Feature
RGVTALAS, TALAS’ Rio Grande Valley affiliate, commits to continue TALAS’ mission to improve learning outcomes for Latino learners by providing leadership development, collective impact, advocacy, and a proactive voice for Latino and non-Latino leaders who have a passion for serving the fastest growing student population in the state.
Looking for a new opportunity?
Leadership opportunities available:
Take a look at who’s hiring:
National News
Advocates seek more resources for newcomer students from Ed Dept
A group of educators, researchers and advocacy organizations is asking the U.S. Department of Education to develop resources and supports for students new to the U.S. who are English learners known as newcomer students, according to a letter sent to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Aug. 31.

Among the requests are common data collection definitions, curriculum resources, professional development and a national conference that would build awareness and collaboration to provide supports for newcomer students. 
The ACLU’S Fight Against Classroom Censorship, State By State
The legal organization is opposing book bans and anti-critical race theory laws in 10 states, with the possibility of more lawsuits to come

A spate of policies banning books and tamping down teachings on race and gender proliferated nationwide in 2021 and 2022 — but are those rules actually legal? The American Civil Liberties Union has launched a multi-state effort to find out by challenging them in court.

The approach includes a mixture of lawsuits, public records requests and legal letters alleging the right-wing rules violate the First Amendment and other constitutional protections.
Cardona says states hiring unqualified teachers ‘a slap in the face to the profession’
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday said lowering standards and changing pathways to qualify educators is disrespectful to the profession. 

“Look, I’m all for veterans becoming teachers … but let’s remember, when the nation’s report card is showing that our students have dropped drastically, to provide educators who are not qualified or trained in the pedagogy of teaching is a slap in the face to the profession,” Cardona told reporters at “The Monitor Breakfast,” hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. 
5 ways to practice constructive dialogue in the classroom
The nonprofit Constructive Dialogue Institute shared a new back-to-school playbook that helps teachers facilitate tough conversations.

As society becomes increasingly polarized, the nonprofit Constructive Dialogue Institute has released a playbook to help educators navigate difficult conversations in the classroom.

The playbook shares five “familiar, but important practices” on constructive dialogue that teachers can put in place at the beginning of the school year, said Jake Fay, director of education at CDI. The organization defines constructive dialogue as a form of conversation in which people with different perspectives, beliefs and values seek new ways to interact with one another. 
Journalist Maria Hinojosa adapts her memoir for young readers
“I want them to see themselves and hopefully become journalists, at least some of them,” the “Once I Was You” author said.

Acclaimed journalist Maria Hinojosa decided to adapt her memoir for young readers after she thought about the size and scope of the U.S. Latino population.

“I was like, yeah, I don’t write for kids,” Hinojosa, 61, said. “But then you think about the ages — the median age of Latinos and Latinas in the U.S. — I have to be writing this book.”
Las Tienditas
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Walsh Gallegos Treviño Kyle & Robinson P.C. provides legal services to Texas school districts and related entities. With offices throughout Texas and also in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we have served districts across both states with prompt, efficient and reliable representation since 1983. Our attorneys serve as fierce advocates in the areas of employment, special education, constitutional law, civil rights, construction and business. We are innovators in client service and pride ourselves on practical, straightforward counsel. With Walsh Gallegos, you can be confident that your attorneys have the motivation and experience to protect and promote the best interests of your district.