Superintendent Search: Plains ISD Hires Leasor Crass to Conduct Search

Plains ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire Leasor Crass to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our search page as things progress.

Superintendent Search: San Saba ISD has announced a Lone Finalist

The San Saba ISD Board of Trustees has chosen Wayne Kelly, Superintendent of Agua Dulce ISD, as Lone Finalist for San Saba ISD Superintendent of Schools. Details and updates will continue to appear on our search page as things progress. 

Retirement reception planned Dec. 20 for Carthage ISD Superintendent Glenn Hambrick

Carthage ISD will host a retirement reception from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 20 for outgoing Superintendent Glenn Hambrick.Hambrick is retiring after eight years in the district at the end of January.  The reception will take place at the Carthage High School Performing Arts Center.The public is invited.

State panel suggests school finance overhaul

Directing more money toward schools educating poor children, updating outdated funding formulas and curbing property tax growth are among ways the state should overhaul its beleaguered school finance system, according to draft recommendations made by a state commission on Tuesday.  The final report from the Texas Commission on Public School Finance is due to the Legislature by the end of the month. The Legislature, in lieu of pumping more money into Texas classrooms, created the commission last year to develop ways to fix the way the state funds public schools.  The commission has spent the last nine months learning about the state’s complex funding formula, how to redirect money to districts that need it the most. The group also has studied how to drop property taxes, the main source of local revenue for schools, a goal some say runs counter to bolstering school funding. view article  

Preventive Law: Protecting Employee Data

We all know the importance of keeping employee information in a secure location, but did you know that you have the same responsibility to protect employee data electronically? In a recent case from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Dittman v. UPMC, the court found an employer has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to safeguard its employees' sensitive personal information stored by the employer on an internet-accessible computer system. The employees alleged that a data breach had occurred through which personal and financial information, including names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, tax forms, and bank account information of all 62,000 current and former employees was accessed and stolen from company computer systems. The employees further alleged that the stolen data, which consisted of information the company required the employees to provide as a condition of their employment, was used to file fraudulent tax returns on behalf of the victimized employees, resulting in actual damages. The court agreed with the employees and found that the company was negligent in protecting employee data.

New From TEA

• Applications Open for Joining the System of Great Schools Network 12/7
• Update to HHSC ‘Third Party Liability for SHARS Interim Claims’ 12/7
• Required Residential Facility Tracker Data Collection – Students with Disabilities 11/16
• Official Notification of the 2017–2018 Release of Final FIRST Ratings 11/16
• Statewide Indirect Cost Rate Proposal and Additional Costs Workbook Training 11/16

Another Texas school district may move to 4-day school week

Athens ISD announced earlier this month that it was considering cutting its school week from five days to four, according to a press release from the East Texas district wedged between Tyler and Waco.  Superintendent Blake Stiles unveiled the proposal at a district staff meeting Dec. 3 as part of a presentation on potential models for the 2019-2020 academic calendar.  If the district's board of trustees approve the change, the shorter school weeks would be launched as part of a three-year pilot  view article  

Courant exclusive: More than 1,000 pages of documents reveal Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza’s dark descent into depravity

Good read! - js - The extent of Adam Lanza’s abject loneliness, the intensity of his scorn for the world, his interest in pedophilia, his astounding list of daily grievances, the reach of his obsession with mass murder — some of the granular details of the Sandy Hook shooter’s last years have been elusive. Until now.  More than 1,000 pages of documents obtained by the Hartford Courant from the Connecticut State Police, including hundreds of pages of Lanza’s own writings and a spreadsheet detailing the gruesome work of 400 perpetrators of mass violence, bring into sharper focus the dark worldview of a 20-year-old who shot his mother four times as she slept and then killed 20 first-graders and six educators before killing himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. view article  

San Angelo ISD’s Communications Chief Derrick Jackson to Lead Denton ISD Communications Department

San Angelo ISD's Director of Communication, Derrick Jackson, has accepted a leadership position in the Denton ISD Communication Department. The Denton ISD school board met Tuesday evening and approved hiring Jackson to head their communications department there. Denton is a fast-growing suburban area north of Dallas where the I-35E and I-35W merge. "It was not an easy decision to leave my current position," Jackson told us. "I love this district and the San Angelo community and everyone that I've come in contact with has been nothing but outstanding to me and my family during our time here." view article  

Dallas Hits on Successful School Turnaround Model With ACE, but It Comes at a Steep Price. Could a Wider Expansion Across Texas Now Be Its Best Bet to Survive?

In the spring, fifth-graders across Texas took standardized tests to measure their comprehension in reading and math, just like they do every year. But when the scores came back for 2018, the Dallas Independent School District saw something highly unusual: Students at Blanton Elementary, previously one of the lowest-performing schools in the city, had outscored their affluent fifth-grade peers in neighboring Highland Park ISD. Blanton, where 91.7 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, is one of Dallas ISD’s Accelerating Campus Excellence — or ACE — schools, where teachers with strong performance records are recruited and paid more for longer hours and then supported by extra counselors and strategic administrators. view article  

Kingsville welcomes new KISD superintendent

Prior to Monday evening’s regular school board meeting, a welcome reception was held for new Kingsville ISD Superintendent Elida Bera at the district’s central office.  Bera was officially hired as the district’s superintendent during a special meeting of the KISD Board of Trustees in late November, taking over the position from Interim Superintendent Rudy Calderon, a former KISD administrator who was appointed after the district’s previous superintendent, Carol Perez, accepted a superintendent position with Mission Consolidated ISD in late July. view article  

KIPP to Open Its Second High School for Fall 2019

KIPP Texas plans on opening a new high school in San Antonio next school year.  The public charter school network said KIPP Somos Collegiate will open with a 160-student ninth-grade class and add a grade each year. The school will open at 731 Fredericksburg Road, just east of Beacon Hill Academy, but will eventually relocate to a permanent facility. While no location is finalized, the school will likely stay within Loop 410 on the Northwest Side, the school's founding principal said. view article  

School District Increases Security After Students Find Ways Around Computer Firewalls

More schools are placing technology in students hands to help them succeed. The iPads and Chromebooks help prepare students for the work force, but also force them to confront the dangers of the internet is well. Like most young people, Breshard Roberts and Vincson Haynes are always on their phones. “I have an iPhone and I have a game phone,” said Roberts. “A game phone is a regular phone but just with games on it.” The students have one phone for social media, a second phone for games and a Chromebook for academics assignments. view article  

Aransas County ISD approves design for new Ellen DeGeneres-funded gym

In April, Ellen DeGeneres announced on her television show that she was helping donate $1 million to Rockport-Fulton High School. According to district officials, that money will go toward building a new competition gym for the students. The design for the new gym has just been approved. Hurricane Harvey destroyed two gyms that Aransas County ISD students used. After the storm, the girls volleyball team at Rockport-Fulton High School played out of town or shared their gym with others. view article  

Florida massacre commission considers school safety plans

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — There were plenty of missteps in communication, security and school policy before and during the Florida high school massacre that allowed the gunman to kill 17 people. Now, the state commission investigating the shooting will consider a long list of recommendations addressing these problems statewide. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission will consider proposals Wednesday and Thursday, including whether to arm trained, volunteer teachers; making it harder for outsiders to enter Florida's nearly 4,000 public schools; mandating armed security on all campuses with explicit orders to confront shooters; view article  

Gov. Greg Abbott’s proposal would provide more tax relief than new school funding

An early estimate shows Gov. Greg Abbott's proposal for a school finance fix would provide three times more dollars for property tax relief as it would additional money for school districts in 2020.  That gap would widen to five times more by 2021, costing the state an additional $3 billion over that time period, according to a Texas Education Agency estimate released Tuesday during a meeting of the state's school finance commission.  In raw numbers, estimates show Abbott's proposal would give taxpayers a break of $992 million in 2020, which would increase to $3.7 billion by 2023. It would provide $301 million additional funds for school districts in 2020, a figure that would drop to $74 million by 2023. view article  

La Vernia ISD trustees: .We support Dr. Lovette’

The La Vernia Independent School District board of trustees has reinstated Dr. Trent Lovette as district superintendent. After trustees emerged from an executive session Dec. 4 lasting almost three and a half hours, trustees voted unanimously to support a motion by school board Vice President Ryan Doege to reinstate Lovette, effective Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. Approximately 25 members of the La Vernia community, who had waited for the closed-door session to end, cheered and applauded the action. view article  

Vidor Superintendent releases statement on threatening graffiti

A picture of graffiti found in a bathroom at a Vidor school raised concerns with parents for the safety of their children. Vidor Superintendent Dr. Jay Killgo, Ed D released this statement concerning the issue:  view article  

Waxahachie ISD trustees hear update on school safety; approve superintendent search firm

The Waxahachie ISD Board of Trustees selected a search firm to aid in the quest for the next superintendent, heard various academic reports and reviewed financial and human resource audits on Monday.  To begin the meeting Lee Auvenshine, WISD Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources and Legal Services, provided an updated list of drug offenses this school year. He reiterated the implementation of the WISD 2018 safety and security plan that was adopted on Aug. 6. Auvenshine shared there have been 13 drug offenses this school year with two at Waxahachie High in September, three at WHS and one at Coleman in October, five at WHS and one at Coleman in November and one at WHS in December. view article  

Independent Investigation Findings To Be Revealed at Krum ISD Meeting

The findings of an independent investigation into the grading scandal at Krum ISD will be released at a meeting Wednesday night. A law firm was hired by the district to investigate concerns of alleged grade tampering or an unfair grading scale. The school board's agenda for Wednesday shows trustees will hear the report in a closed session and a public presentation will follow. view article  

South Carolina: School districts use tablets to eliminate snow days

Some school districts in South Carolina no longer have snow days. No matter what the weather, officials say the students will continue to learn. view article  

Former Krum school board member earns national air traffic control award

Phil Enis and two of his co-workers were recently honored by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association for their quick thinking in an emergency landing situation last year. Enis, a former Krum school board president, served on the board for 16 years and works as an air traffic controller in Fort Worth. He and co-workers Thomas Herd and Hugh Hunton won the Archie League Medal of Safety Award for the southwest region at the NACTA banquet in Las Vegas in October. view article  

A PRINCIPAL ASKS… TEACHER NESTS

Back when I was a teacher, I seem to remember big discussions along the lines of removing “teacher nests.” I want to share some information with my teachers about this very thing. I figured I’ll go straight to the source to help frame a compelling argument.  I’m wondering if you had any research or visuals that might be helpful in refreshing my memory? view article  

Arati Singh wins at-large seat on Austin school board

Education program designer and evaluator Arati Singh on Tuesday night won the Austin district at-large school board seat with 60 percent of the vote, easily outdistancing her opponent, policy adviser Carmen Tilton.  In final but unofficial totals, Singh won with 15,256 votes, or 60.4 percent, to Tilton’s 9,989 votes, or 39.6 percent.  Singh, a former teacher and a longtime district volunteer, becomes the first Indian-American to be elected to the Austin board. A daughter of immigrants, Singh was born in New Jersey and has lived in Texas for 19 years.  Singh said on election night, she was surrounded by friends she’s known for decades and other supporters she just met three weeks ago who rallied behind her campaign.  “They believed in me and my message of bringing equity and excellence to the school district,” Singh said. “I couldn’t be more proud.” view article  

Talk of more S.T.E.M. programming to come to West Texas schools

SAN ANGELO — The agency tonight and elect officials need to hear from our parents as far as the needs and concerns as so when the legislation meet in January whatever new legislation is passed it will benefit our kids here in San Angelo and West Texas,” David Walker said.Christoval ISD has been selected as one of the school districts that has S.T.E.M programing in their curriculum and has since seen tremendous success. view article  

Controversial Virtual School Operator Pivots to Job Training

Repost! - K12 INC., THE controversial for-profit virtual charter school operator, plans to pivot its entire platform to career education and has laid the groundwork to offer the new programs in 40 states over the next three years.  "This is a pivot, absolutely," says Kevin Chavous, president of academics, policy and schools at K12. "We were the first ones to do the online education in a big way. Now, this is a pivot where we have a laser focus on academics and student growth, but the corresponding focus on [career] gives kids more opportunity than they otherwise wouldn't have. view article  

Superintendent Search: Yorktown ISD is Searching for a New Superintendent

The Yorktown ISD Board of Trustees is searching for an outstanding, qualified administrator to lead the school district. Details and updates will appear on our search page as things progress.

Superintendent Search: Hull-Daisetta ISD Hires New Superintendent

The Hull-Daisetta ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire Tim Bartram, Superintendent of Aspermont ISD, as the district’s new superintendent for Hull-Daisetta ISD Superintendent of Schools. Details and updates will continue to appear on our search page.

Superintendent Search: Point Isabel ISD Hires TASB ESS to Conduct Search

Point Isabel ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our search page as things progress.

Superintendent Search: Spring Hill ISD Hires TASB ESS to Conduct Search

Spring Hill ISD Board of Trustees voted to hire TASB Executive Search Services (ESS) to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Details and updates will appear on our search page as things progress.

Brazos ISD says employees can be armed

In a unanimous decision earlier this month, the Brazos ISD school board authorized “certain trained and qualified employees to carry or possess firearms on campus.” The district has about 760 students from pre-K through high school and their campuses are in Fort Bend and Austin counties, but not within city limits, making them an extended distance from city police officers who could respond to a campus incident, said Superintendent Brian Thompson. view article  

Retired teachers learn of great strides at Stockdale ISD

Stockdale Independent School District Superintendent Daniel Fuller and Technology Director Billy Polasek reported on progress toward goals set and goals met. These include a savings of $100,000 in electrical costs in the past 11 months, an increase in career and technology classes from 17 offerings to 34, and fiber optics that have increased Internet speeds and capabilities. Stockdale ISD’s bond issue passed, which means even more goals can be met, such as classroom and gym improvements, security measures, and air conditioning for buses. view article  

New High School to open in Rockwall County

At its annual State of the School parent meeting last Monday, Providence Academy announced its plan to launch its high school in the 2019-2020 school year beginning with ninth grade. Located in Rockwall County, Providence Academy is a fully accredited Christian Classical University-Model® school housed at Chisholm Baptist Church that currently enrolls students in grades K-8. “It has always been our vision that Providence Academy would grow to include the high school grades,” said Head of School Alissa Mauldin. “Our plan is to introduce ninth grade for 2019-2020 and then add subsequent grades each year.” view article  

McDade ISD launches satellite in Florida

McDade ISD middle school students traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to launch their satellite they had designed and built. The students, teacher, administrators, and parents flew into Orlando on Monday, excited about the launch the next day. They discovered the launch was going to be delayed until Wednesday. The satellite was loaded aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS 16 Dragon Rocket on December 5 and headed toward the international space station. The rocket was loaded with the McDade Bulldog Satellite, other satellites and supplies for the International Space Station. Over 6000 pounds of supplies and satellites were launched. view article