Round Rock ISD’s Accountability Rating and Accreditation Status has been restored by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after concluding their routine data review. The District’s Accountability Rating is “89 or a B”, and Accreditation Status is “Accredited.” view article

Counselors at Keller Collegiate Academy and Trinity Springs Middle School have been recognized for their outstanding service to students. The Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas, or CREST, award is given to counselors at schools by demonstrating continuous improvement, leadership and engagement, and the role of their school counseling programs in students’ academic, personal/social and career development, according to a press release. The award is sponsored by the Texas School Counselor Association—a division of the Texas Counseling Association. view article

The Texas Education Agency is assigning a conservator to oversee the Lancaster Independent School District over actions taken by the school board that the district admits violated Texas Education Code and the Texas Constitution. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath informed the district of the appointment of Dr. Carol Francois as the conservator in a letter dated Feb. 2 that was obtained by NBC 5 on Friday. view article

A group dedicated to helping students with disabilities get the services they need says one lawsuit and two years later the Austin Independent School District is continuing to violate state and federal law. Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) is an organization that represents and advocates for students with disabilities. They tell CBS Austin AISD is preventing thousands of students from receiving timely evaluations. As a result, these delays are causing thousands of students to miss out on crucial special education services. view article

A recent audit of the Valentine Independent School District found that a lack of oversight over the district’s finances resulted in roughly $165,000 in unauthorized transactions, plus instances of falsified documents, prompting an additional forensic audit and a criminal investigation by state and federal authorities. “There were numerous instances of unauthorized transactions, improper coding of transactions, altered documents, payments to fictitious employees and unauthorized withdrawals of the district’s funds,” reads the financial report, prepared by accounting firm Bolinger, Segars, Gilbert and Moss, the district’s accountants of several years. view article

Humble ISD trustees at their Feb. 21 meeting received a report from administration officials explaining how the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability ratings are calculated. In August, the district received a B for the 2021-22 school year with 82 out of 100 possible points, marking the first time the district received a rating in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. view article

High school senior Kenneth Haggerty has learned about the development and massacre of Black Wall Street, the in-depth history of prominent Black figures like Malcolm X and the influences of hip hop music. The Advanced Placement African American studies course he’s in encourages conversations, debates, collaboration and hands-on assignments on topics often left out in “the regular curriculum,” he said. view article

Spring ISD is home to one of the Houston area’s top-10 middle schools, according to the education nonprofit Children At Risk. Edward Roberson Middle School ranked 10th among the region’s middle schools in the Children At Risk rankings released last week for the 2021-2022 school year. view article

Southside ISD invites you to the 2023 Parent Symposium on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 at 5:30 at Matthey Middle School. You’ll be able to learn more about TELPAS, Reading & Writing Strategies, and more! There will also be student performances, giveaways, free vaccines, and refreshments. view article

Members of the Beaumont Independent School District school board have a clearer vision of how to improve the district's accountability score. The TEA released the 2021-2022 school year accountability ratings in August 2022. That was the first year accountability rating have been given since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas schools are rated on an “A through F” scale based on three criteria: students' achievements, school progress and closing the gaps. view article

After nine years under Texas Education Agency supervision, the Progreso Independent School District is independent again. The Texas Education Agency assigned a management team to Progreso ISD in 2014 after the FBI arrested the school board president, the mayor and two district administrators. Members of the management team, which included two conservators, had the ability to veto decisions made by the school board. view article

Magnet Schools of America, the national association for magnet and theme-based schools, recently recognized four Dallas ISD campuses. Among the four, three schools won the National Magnet School of Distinction award and one school was named a National Merit School of Excellence. To celebrate and officially recognize this achievement, the Magnet Schools of America’s 40th National Conference, hosted by Dallas ISD, will be held in April at Hyatt Regency Dallas. The purpose of the Merit Awards Program is to acknowledge schools that “demonstrate an exemplary commitment to academic standards, curriculum innovation, desegregation/diversity efforts, specialized teaching staffs and parent and community involvement.” view article

An unforgettable moment for DeSoto High School’s acapella choir director Pamela Dawson who won a Grammy award for her work in the classroom. Her choir students were by her side for her trophy unveiling. view article

The Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) presented Cedar Hill Independent School District with the TASBO Award of Merit for Purchasing Operations on Wednesday at its annual conference in San Antonio. “We are extremely honored to receive this award,” Cedar Hill ISD Chief Financial Officer Carla Settle said. “It’s a real credit to Caleb Pape, CHISD’s Director of Purchasing and Contracts, and it’s further proof that CHISD is an excellent steward of the community’s tax dollars.” view article

The Wichita Falls ISD school board received an academic update for Southern Hills Elementary and Kirby Middle School on Tuesday. Both saw improvement in the classroom but still need to see more to avoid repercussions. Southern Hills Elementary is in year one of improvement required status (IR) status. All of this is based on STARR test results, which determine grades every year for each campus statewide. view article

Families can learn more about pre-K programs in Corpus Christi ISD during a registration and information event Saturday. The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the CCISD Instructional Resource Center at 4321 Prescott St., will help parents register for spots in pre-K classrooms across the district. Other community resources will also be in attendance. view article

Disability Rights Texas sent a letter Thursday to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath calling for an investigation into the Austin Independent School District. The advocacy group said Austin ISD is violating federal and state law by failing to evaluate in a timely manner students who may have disabilities. The evaluations are used to determine whether students are eligible for special education services. “Until that evaluation is done, they receive no special education services," said Kym Davis Rogers, an attorney for Disability Rights Texas. "So they’re not getting anything they’re entitled to receive under the law.” view article

The Texas Education Agency states the proper course of action on the duty to report after the two final City View ISD arrests were made on Feb. 9 in regards to failure to report sexual misconduct charges. “The T.E.A. is aware of the situation and is currently reviewing the matter to determine the appropriate next steps,” Senior Media Relations Coordinator Melissa Holmes said. view article

In a couple of months, students across Texas will be taking the STAAR Test. Leaders at Burkburnett I.S.D. would like the state to put less emphasis on the annual standardized test. The state legislature is now meeting in Austin, Dr. Brad Owen, superintendent of Burkburnett I.S.D., some of the board of trustees, and other educators do not want to get rid of the STAAR test, but want the state to focus on it less when it comes to measuring a student’s academic readiness. view article

The Abilene ISD has rolled out a plan to change grade configurations beginning with the 2024-25 school year, going from three levels to four. The plan would be separate fifth-graders from the elementary level and sixth-graders from the middle-school level. The new configuration would be: kindergarten to fourth; fifth and sixth; seventh and eighth; and the final four grades still in high school. view article

The Abilene ISD has rolled out a plan to change grade configurations beginning with the 2024-25 school year, going from three levels to four. The plan would be separate fifth-graders from the elementary level and sixth-graders from the middle-school level. The new configuration would be: kindergarten to fourth; fifth and sixth; seventh and eighth; and the final four grades still in high school. view article

Hutto ISD students have largely grown across all subjects this school year, according to the district's middle-of-year academic data. The data—which measures elementary students' academic performance at the middle of the school year compared to the beginning—went before Hutto ISD trustees for review at a Feb. 9 board meeting. Across most subjects and demographics, more students were meeting or exceeding grade level benchmarks at the midway point of the 2022-23 school year than at the beginning. view article

After losing four days' worth of classes because of winter storms, the Round Rock school district is looking to ensure it meets requirements for state instructional minutes. The district has two bad weather days built into its academic calendar. It will need a waiver from the Texas Education Agency or make up the other two days lost due to the ice storms and any other future bad weather days. view article

Houston ISD has walked back a series of high-profile decisions after backlash from the community, a red flag experts say could indicate inadequate community engagement as the school system attempts to operate under the looming cloud of a potential state takeover. view article

On Thursday afternoon, dozens of parents, educators, and students held a news conference opposing the state’s takeover of the Houston Independent School District. “We don’t need a state takeover, we need support,” said Ruth Kravetz, co-founder of Community Voices for Public Education. view article

Organizers will rally outside Houston ISD's administrative offices tonight to protest the push by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to take over the school board. Catch up quick: The agency initially tried to take over the board in 2019 over years of poor test scores at Wheatley High School, per Houston Public Media. view article

As the Houston ISD board of trustees mulls over new trustee district boundary maps, a coalition of community advocates have released proposed maps they say better empower immigrant communities in the district. The redrawing of boundary lines, also known as redistricting, takes place once every 10 years following the release of new census data. view article

A letter from TEA asserted that the agency’s monitoring revealed several problematic incidents, including “multiple instances of corporal punishment and/or threat of corporal punishment,” “use of force beyond what is reasonable and necessary, and restraints that do not protect the health and safety of the student, including one known restraint incident that resulted in physical injury.” view article

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be … teachers. Wait. What? OK, that’s not how the song goes, but that’s how it feels in Texas these days. Who will teach and mold doctors, lawyers and cowboys? An annual education poll by the Charles Butt Foundation found the share of Texans who want their child to teach in public schools dropped 10 points this year to 39 percent. view article

A Texas state lawmaker filed a bill Wednesday aimed at replacing the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test in schools. State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-TX), who represents Collin County in District 66, announced Wednesday he had filed House Bill 680 because he is "concerned about the accuracy and validity of STAAR tests after reviewing a study by The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas at Austin." view article

Earlier this month, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Texas Education Agency potentially taking over the Houston Independent School District, which educates almost 200,000 students and has 276 school campuses. view article

Fort Worth ISD students will not take sex education this school year after the superintendent told parents she is scrapping plans to adopt a controversial curriculum that the district appears to have purchased last year for nearly $2.6 million. Superintendent Angélica Ramsey made the announcement at the end of her weekly newsletter sent Jan. 27. She told parents the district is restarting its curriculum adoption process. For nearly a year, administrators planned to re-adopt instructional materials from California-based HealthSmart. view article

The Texas Education Association (TEA) reports Kingsville ISD’s dropout rates are higher than the state or regional average. The TEA reports 84% of Kingsville students graduated or earned a GED in 2021, compared to the state average of 94%. So, the HMK Care program was born, and students said its providing a much needed option from traditional school. view article

About halfway into the first 90-minute class period of the day, students at Mendez Middle School get up and change classrooms. Some of the students easily grasped the class’s learning objective – identifying metaphors – and moved on to another room to tackle their next assignments. But for the students who scored low on a five-minute assessment in the middle of the period, they spent the next 45 minutes getting more instruction on metaphors. view article

In February, Round Rock ISD will hold a public hearing of its annual report, a large component of which is the recently released 2021-2022 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR). The TAPR compiles a wide range of information on student performance in each Texas school and district. Performance measures include the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results by grade, subject and student group; dropout and attendance rates; college, career, and military readiness; and participation in college admissions tests. view article