Memorial services for Mr. Joseph William Sory, 75, of Henderson, will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 at the South Main Church of Christ with Bro. Bob Payne, Stanley Smith, and Robert Gill officiating under the direction of Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. Family visitation will be from 9:30 until service time at the church. view article

For the third time in the past several days, a current or former Houston ISD employee has been arrested on a child indecency charge stemming from allegations made by a student in early 2019.  In all three cases, HISD officials did not answer questions as to why the district’s police officers took about a year to arrest the staff members. None of the three arrest reports include information suggesting that district police uncovered new evidence that prompted the arrests. view article

Frisco ISD’s assistant principal of Taylor Elementary, Sallye Norris, has been named the Region 10 Assistant Principal of the Year for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, according to the FISD website.  Norris is in her 18th year as an educator, having taught every grade except for fourth before becoming an assistant principal. view article

The abrupt resignation last week of DISD’s chief internal auditor Steven Martin has created a cloud over the school district as it prepares to ask taxpayers for billions of dollars in what would be the largest school district bond in state history.  Martin had raised concerns that the school district potentially overpaid more than $330,000 for roofing projects at Dunbar Learning Center and Gooch Elementary, and that other contracts in the auditor’s hands could show substantially more overpayments. And in an unusual public appearance before the board’s audit committee days before he resigned, Martin alleged that he was being railroaded for speaking truth to power.  view article

Longtime Bryan ISD teacher Naveen Cunha was recognized as one of the best technology and engineering educators in the world.  The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) has named SFA Middle School’s Naveen Cunha a 2019 ITEEA Teacher Excellence Award winner.  Cunha coordinates the Odyssey Program, an interdisciplinary Bryan ISD program that combines advanced-academics science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  view article

POLLOK, Texas (KTRE) - A Central ISD coach has been named the Strength Coach of the Year for 2020, according to a post on the school district’s Facebook page.  “The National High School Strength Coaches Association (NHSSCA) announced Coach Seth Ford as the State High School Strength Coach of the Year for 2020,” the Facebook post stated. view article

To meet district growth, Leander ISD’s board of trustees will discuss a staff recommendation that LISD approve 169.5 new positions for the 2020-21 school year at its Feb. 20 agenda review meeting.  The estimated cost for 2020-21 is $9,252,517, according to LISD documents.   The position total is based on the moderate growth scenario in the demographer’s report, an annual study that gauges district demographic and enrollment changes. view article

Kevin Ozee stepped down as Athletic Director at Arlington ISD in 2017 to pursue a gas and oil business, but he had missed being around coaches and student-athletes.  On Monday, Ozee returned to the game as Burleson ISD approved the hiring for its next Director of Athletics during its special board meeting.  “We wanted the very best for our students, coaches and schools,” Burleson ISD Superintendent Bret Jimerson said. “We wanted somebody that would come in, build off what we’ve done and take it to a new level.” view article

James Hockenberry said he “stumbled” into education. Now, it is his life. “I love all things school,” the new Longview ISD assistant superintendent of human resources and community relations said. “I love the classroom. I love the extracurricular activities. I love the cafeteria. I love watching buses in the morning and watching buses in the afternoon.”  Hockenberry was hired by the district on Dec. 2 after Jody Clements retired. Hockenberry’s first day was Jan. 5. view article

The Dallas Independent School District’s chief auditor who accused the school board of trustees of deflecting financial problems by attempting to "investigate the investigator" planned to resign in late February, WFAA has confirmed. DISD Chief Internal Auditor Steven Martin defended himself in front of trustees at an audit committee hearing Tuesday when he was subject to a sudden peer review. view article

Dallas ISD Chief Internal Auditor Steve Martin resigned Thursday after just a year on the job and just two days after complaining publicly at a school board meeting. (See the letter below) Martin said Tuesday that an unscheduled ‘Peer Review’ of his work that Trustees were considering amounted to a lack of confidence. view article

KILLEEN, Texas – Killeen Independent School District Board members have approved Superintendent Dr. John Craft’s proposed compensation plan awarding teachers a six-to-ten percent raise.  The approved beginning teacher salary is $50,300 for the upcoming school year. These increases exceed the House Bill 3 requirements for compensation signed into law earlier this year by Governor Greg Abbott. view article

Abilene ISD teacher resigns after getting arrested during human trafficking investigation - ABILENE, Texas — An Abilene ISD teacher has resigned after getting arrested during a human trafficking investigation.  Jim Counts, a former teacher at Mann Middle School, submitted his resignation Wednesday after he was one of 12 men officially charged with prostitution in connection to an investigation that began in late 2019. Abilene ISD released the following statement regarding Counts’ arrest and subsequent resignation: view article

BURTON — Burton ISD trustees will hold a called meeting at 4 p.m. at the administration office, 701 North Railroad Street, for board training, including Team of Eight and Senate Bill 1566 accountability training before its regular meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m.  During its regularly-scheduled meeting, trustees will consider the proposed calendar for the school year 2020-21. view article

McFarland will replace Jeff Bright, who retired in December.  SAN ANGELO, Texas — George McFarland has been named as the San Angelo Independent School District's new assistant superintendent of business and support services officially replacing Jeff Bright, who retired in December.   McFarland comes to the SAISD with 29 years of educational experience serving as a superintendent, campus principal, athletic coordinator and classroom teacher. view article

Duncanville, which has reached the Class 6A Division I state title game during the past two seasons, was issued one-year probation and a public reprimand Wednesday by the University Interscholastic League.  The UIL State Executive Committee met Wednesday in Austin.  Duncanville’s punishment by the UIL is for a violation regarding the employment of coaches. In addition, Panthers head football coach Reginald Samples was also issued one-year probation and will be suspended for the first game of the 2020 Texas high school football season. view article

An El Paso educator has been approved by the Ector County ISD Board of Trustees as the new principal of Burnet Elementary School.  Executive Director of Leadership Alicia Press said Mayela Sanchez Serrano will replace Marissa King who is going to work in the district’s accountability department.  Press said Serrano was a principal in San Elizario ISD and currently runs education for children on the border.  She will start in the next two weeks. view article

Former Santa Rosa ISD coach Isaac Ruben Flores made a brief appearance in court in Brownsville on Wednesday.  Flores, 25, was indicted in May 2019 on one count of improper relationship between an educator and a student, two counts of sexual assault of a child, and four counts of delivery of a controlled substance or marijuana in three separate cases related to his relationship with a 16-year-old female student. view article

HUDSON, Texas (KTRE) - An officer with the Hudson ISD Police Department arrested a teacher’s aide on Tuesday in connection with allegations that she slapped a mentally disabled student’s face.  Lesa Langley, 44, was booked into the Angelina County Jail on a third-degree felony injury to a child/elderly person/disabled individual charge. She was released alter Tuesday after she posted bail on a bond amount of $3,500.  According to the arrest affidavit, Hudson ISD Superintendent Donnie Webb contacted the school district’s police department about an incident that allegedly occurred on the Bonner Elementary campus at about 1:05 p.m. on Feb. 3. Webb told the police department’s chief that a staff member had possibly assaulted a student during P.E. view article

Plano Senior head football coach Jaydon McCullough, who had coached the Wildcats the past 12 seasons, has accepted a new position within Plano ISD, the school district announced on Wednesday.  A Plano alum, McCullough has worked in PISD since 1993 and served as a longtime assistant on the Wildcat football program's coaching staff before being promoted to head coach in 2008. During McCullough's tenure as head coach, Plano qualified for the playoffs seven times, including area-round appearances in 2008 and 2009, and posted a 70-59 overall record. view article

Over 260 buses hit the streets every morning to take Killeen ISD students to school, but Special Operations Manager Deejay Jennings says it still isn't enough. "You have to look at having extra drivers in the event someone calls in ill," Jennings said. view article

An El Paso educator has been approved by the Ector County ISD Board of Trustees as the new principal of Burnet Elementary School.  Executive Director of Leadership Alicia Press said Mayela Sanchez Serrano will replace Marissa King who is going to work in the district’s accountability department.  Press said Serrano was a principal in San Elizario ISD and currently runs education for children on the border.  She will start in the next two weeks. view article

HUDSON, Texas — A former Hudson ISD teacher-aide was arrested last week for allegedly slapping a child on the cheek. According to the district, Lesa Langley, 50, slapped the 8-year-old child during a situation where the child was yelling flailing his arms to her. The district says Langley failed to obey the methods she learned in Crisis Prevention and Intervention (CPI) training. view article

John Horn High School teacher Greg Hill was recently named the 2020 International Educator of the Year (IEY) by the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth.  Hill has been with Mesquite ISD since 2001 and teaches AP human geography, world history and American cultural studies. For more than 20 years he has inspired his students to think beyond their hometown. view article

MARLIN, Texas (KWTX) The Texas Rangers are investigating the former superintendent of a struggling Central Texas school district, Department of Public Safety Sgt. Ryan Howard confirmed Monday.  “With the investigation being active, details cannot be released at this time,” Howard said in an email Monday. In August 2019, the Marlin ISD Board of Trustees voted to terminate Seatbolt, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave and was given the chance to resign before the termination goes into effect. He submitted his resignation on Aug. 8. view article

This is the second of a five-part series on The Answer Sheet this week about the stories we tell about teaching. All of them are being written by Roxanna Elden, who combines 11 years of experience as a public-school teacher with a decade of speaking about education-related topics.Her first book, the nonfiction “See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers,” is widely used for teacher training. Her debut novel, “Adequate Yearly Progress,” about a diverse group of educators in an urban high school, is on store shelves in wide distribution beginning this week. view article

PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The Plano City Council presented Dr. Myrtle Hightower with a key to the City at their meeting on Monday night.  She was designated a Plano Citizen Extraordinaire by the city council. view article

HOUSTON – More than 600 educators gathered at Space Center Houston to experience the 26th Annual Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC). The conference brings in educators from all over the world to learn from space professionals who live and work here in Houston. view article

A 67-year-old former Galena Park Independent School District school bus attendant was fired in January after being accused of touching a 13-year-old disabled student inappropriately, officials said. Sergio Lopez was charged with misdemeanor assault. Lopez worked at Galena Park ISD as a school bus attendant for five years. The assault charge was filed following an investigation by the district and Harris County Pct. 3 deputy constables. view article

Northside ISD is holding a job fair and looking to fill about 100 positions for custodians. The job fair will be held from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. next Monday, Feb. 24 at the Northside Activity Center on Culebra Rd. . The school district said there will be staff onsite to conduct interviews. view article

In 2017, Quarde Alfred was working his nightly shift as a Beaumont ISD janitor when he paused and walked to the front of the classroom he was cleaning.  “Nobody was in the building but me,” Alfred said. “I would literally stand in the front of the classroom like, ‘OK, class, this is what we are going to do today.’” view article

Longview ISD trustees Monday could approve using $175,000 of local and charter school grant funding for Montessori training.  The board is set to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Education Support Center, 1301 E. Young St. view article

For starters, I’d just like to say I think the Galveston Independent School District board of trustees and athletic director Walter Fortune made a superb hire to fill Ball High’s head football coach vacancy.  As an assistant on the football staff of North Shore High School for the past five years, the Tors’ new hire Sheldon Bennight has been a part of three state championship teams, so he knows what it takes to make an elite program. And after meeting with him last week, he comes across as a strong leader who will demand the best out of his student-athletes. view article

SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A Dulles High School coach is under fire after a video surfaced of him repeatedly using a racial slur in class.   In the video, the slur was uttered apparently in the middle of a heated discussion in a classroom about rap music.  The student who shot the video posted it on social media saying that the school needed to hire new teachers. view article

SAN ANTONIO – Somerset Independent School District officials are looking into the Teacher Incentive Allotment program to help teachers to earn more money and help attract and retain future instructors. The program is part of House Bill 3, which was enacted last year.  School districts can receive up to $32,000 per teacher, per year, based on several factors, including teacher designation, which is decided by the district based on a teacher’s qualifications. view article