Lake Worth school board president Tammy Thomas apologized Tuesday night, her voice cracking as she sniffled and took responsibility for the decisions that led to the district’s state takeover. “The fault that the district is in lies in the hands of this board,” Thomas said. “We were slow, very slow, in appointing a new superintendent.” view article

The state of Texas is proposing a list of literary works, from nursery rhymes and novels to Bible passages, that would become required reading in all English classrooms statewide.  The list, the first of its kind in the country, sets mandatory titles for every grade from kindergarten to high school. The Texas Education Agency, which drafted the list that will be voted on next week, says the goal is to create a standard “literary canon.”  The genres vary, from fairy tales and picture books for younger students to historical speeches and full novels in high school. Ten excerpts from the Old and New Testaments are also included, such as “The Shepherd’s Psalm” for seventh graders and the Eight Beatitudes from the book of Matthew in the eighth grade.  view article

Carvajal Elementary School on the West Side will be shuttered at the end of the 2025-26 school year.  On Tuesday night, the school board for San Antonio Independent School District voted to close the campus, keep Carvajal’s school bond dollars in the community and prioritize students and staff in the transfer process “upon availability.”  Superintendent Jaime Aquino was not present at the meeting due to a previous engagement. SAISD Chief of Staff Toni Thompson took his place but did not comment during discussions. view article

Most teachers at Fort Worth ISD’s newly designated turnaround schools will earn a base salary of $100,000 next year.  Educators, principals and other staff at six of the district’s most struggling schools will receive bigger paychecks than their counterparts at other FWISD schools starting in August. Trustees approved the pay Tuesday as part of overhaul efforts aimed at jump-starting academic gains.  “We’re putting the best teachers at these schools,” Superintendent Karen Molinar told trustees. view article

The Lake Worth school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to not appeal a decision by the Texas Education Agency to take over the struggling district. Board members voted to not fight the TEA takeover and waived the school district’s ability to ask the State Office of Administrative Hearings to review Commissioner of Education Mike Morath’s decision to remove Superintendent Mark Ramirez and all current members of the school board.  Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article314393904.html#storylink=cpy view article

Houston ISD delays state requirement that would limit uncertified teachers   The Houston ISD state-appointed board of managers voted Thursday night to delay new state requirements that would have banned uncertified educators from teaching core subjects, including English language arts and reading, math, science and social studies, in public schools by the 2027-2028 school year.  Last summer, the Texas legislature passed House Bill two, which put limitations on uncertified teachers in core classrooms. Specifically, it requires reading and math teachers for kindergarten through fifth grade to be certified by this fall, and by the next school year, districts can't have any uncertified teachers for English, math, science and social studies across any grade level.  A recent study from the University of Houston reported uncertified teachers make up nearly 20% of the teacher workforce in Houston ISD. Uncertified teachers made up just .3% of teachers in the district seven years ago. view article

The Texas Education Agency will meet with the Lake Worth community Wednesday as the school district braces for a state takeover. The meeting is an opportunity for parents, teachers and the community to ask questions and learn more about the takeover. Marilyn Miller Language Academy is the campus that is triggering this state takeover. They have been rated an 'F' for five years. Under Texas state law, that rating allows the TEA to intervene. view article

Lake Worth families and residents can hear directly from Texas education officials about what state control of the 3,200-student district means for them at a community meeting Wednesday.  Texas Education Agency officials will outline steps for replacing the locally elected board; detail how those interested can apply for the board of managers; and answer questions about the intervention process. The meeting is 6-7 p.m. at the Lake Worth High School auditorium, 4210 Boat Club Road.  The meeting comes about a week after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Andrew Kim as conservator of the district. view article

POLLOK – Central ISD director of student services Bodavid Williford gave a report to the school board on the district’s 2024-25 Texas Academic Performance Report Monday evening. CISD received an overall accountability score of “C,” and its special education departments were determined to have met requirements. view article

Something clicked as I listened to former Louisiana state schools superintendent John White talk about how he built support for his controversial education reforms a decade ago.  It wasn’t just that he had taken the time to visit every parish to meet with teachers who were skeptical of the youngish outsider pushing tectonic shifts in rigor, quality and accountability.  It wasn’t how he gathered their input, enlisted them to review curriculum or helped assemble thousands for a state conference that still empowers teachers as leaders and evangelists for high quality in their own communities.   view article

The Texas Education Agency has denied Beaumont Independent School District’s appeal and will move forward with a state takeover of the district, with Andrew Kim appointed as the new conservator. Kim said his focus will be on strengthening the district in partnership with local leadership. “I have spent my entire career focused on strengthening public schools and supporting the incredible educators who teach our kids every day,” Kim said. “As I step into this role, I am committed to working closely with district leadership and the community to establish strong systems that work for the students, staff and families of Beaumont ISD.” view article

A former El Paso ISD board of managers talks expectations and scrutiny ahead of the TEA takeover of Connally ISD following some campuses not meeting state testing standards in recent years. view article

Another North Texas school district is considering campus closures, this time in Arlington ISD, where Blanton Elementary School could close as soon as the end of this school year. District leaders say additional closures may follow. Blanton’s campus along South Collins Street on the city's east side is nearly 70 years old, and Arlington ISD officials said Thursday the cost of keeping the building operational continues to climb. view article

Faculty at Texas A&M University were told this week that roughly 200 courses in the College of Arts and Sciences could be affected by a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender, the implementation of which has already led administrators to direct a philosophy professor to remove Plato readings from a core course.  The changes are being made days before the semester begins and after some students have registered to attend.  The Texas Tribune obtained emails sent by college administrators showing the policy has already led to courses being cancelled or renumbered to remove them from core curriculum credit, with professors directed to alter course content or teach different classes. view article

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath has appointed a conservator to oversee the Lake Worth ISD after saying in December that the district suffered from a ‘chronic inability to support students.' The TEA said on Thursday that Andrew Kim, a former superintendent now serving as a co-conservator for the Socorro ISD in El Paso, has been appointed conservator to oversee the Lake Worth ISD's board of trustees, superintendent, and school administrators. Kim is expected to hold the position for approximately two years, during which time the district will be under the control of the Texas Education Agency. view article

Rabbi Gideon Estes vividly remembers the weird looks he got at his California public school when he skipped “See You at the Pole,” a student-led Christian prayer rally held on campuses nationwide.  The pressure to participate in a Christian, student-led event at a taxpayer-funded school is one reason why he joined a coalition of more than 160 Texas faith leaders who sent a letter to public school board members and superintendents opposing Senate Bill 11. view article

During the first of several planned community information sessions, parents challenged the district’s reliance on labor market data and warned of consequences for students and neighborhood schools. view article

A spokesperson with Connally ISD told 25 News on Tuesday the district will not be appealing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) decision to oversee the district following several district campuses not meeting state standards in recent years. Officials with the TEA also updating 25 News on Tuesday and said there is now new information at this time regarding future steps for the takeover. view article

Pearland ISD received the highest average Scholastic Assessment Score, or SAT, in the Houston area, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. The district outperformed all 24 school districts in Region IV, TEA’s service region that includes the Houston metro, across all SAT subjects, surpassing state and national averages. The district’s average score increased slightly from 1147 in 2023 to 1158 in 2024. view article

The Austin school district has not met minimum state exam standards for students with disabilities in the past four years, according to an independent review of the district’s special education programs. Stetson and Associates, a consulting firm, conducted a review of the Austin school district’s services for students with disabilities starting during the 2019-20 academic year, although the evaluation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a change in leadership at the district. view article

A Valley school district is working to convince parents that it’s safe for their kids to be in school. Officials at the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District say they’re working hard to help families feel more comfortable about students being back in the classroom. view article

The Waco Independent School District and its charter school partner, Transformation Waco, could see more than half of their students start the school year Sept. 8 via remote instruction, according to registration numbers provided by both entities. view article

Dallas ISD is in a precarious position when it comes to grading. About 86 percent of its student body is classified as economically disadvantaged, more than 25 percent higher than the state’s average. Its population of limited English speakers is almost half, more than double the state’s. There are significant challenges when it comes to making sure all of its students are receiving adequate learning despite the disruption from the pandemic. More than 12,000 hot spots were purchased for students who lacked access to internet. All of these things affect grading, especially when these kids don’t have a school to go to. view article

Lloyd Potter, researcher and director of UTSA’s Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research, is supporting local Head Start and Early Head Start programs toward being more effective. Potter has worked with the City of San Antonio’s Department of Human Services Early Head Start-Child Care and Head Start Programs, and with local nonprofit San Antonio AVANCE Inc. to better assess their programs to provide information about how they are meeting the needs of the children and families they serve. view article

For years, Stephens Elementary School in Aldine ISD has been defined by the challenges that it faces rather than its academic successes. Nearly 90 percent of its students are considered economically disadvantaged by the Texas Education Agency. Nearly half are English language learners. And to state education officials, the school was failing academically. view article

A fifth grade Lumberton Independent School District student reported "vulgar" language in the STAAR reading test last month, according to information from LISD.  view article

On Nov. 9 Hays CISD released the draft of its innovation plan, which must be approved by the board of trustees in order to receive a district of innovation designation. If approved, the district would be able to make changes to the academic calendar and to exempt some Career and Technical Education instructors from teacher certification requirements. The district of innovation designation was created by the Texas Legislature in 2015 as a way to give independent school districts some of the flexibility that charters schools have under state law. While becoming a district of innovation can allow for numerous exemptions to curriculum or logistics requirements, the most-used exemption is the one that allows schools to start earlier in August. view article

Some Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District students will have the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and an associates of science degree. At a recent school board meeting, the administration provided the board with information on a pilot initiative in partnership with Lone Star College CyFair, the College Academy, which will provide 2017-18 freshman students at Cypress Lakes High School with an opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma and an associates of science degree. view article

At the center of our district’s Learning Model, one of our Guiding Documents that directs all we do in LISD, is “focus on student learning.” After all, the whole reason our district exists is to provide an education to the children in our boundaries. While our teachers and staff have done an outstanding job over the years working to foster a challenging, supportive and effective learning experience, we recognize the benefit of taking a step back every so often to ensure our many educational pieces are creating a cohesive puzzle. Our last official audit was conducted nearly 20 years ago under Superintendent Tom Glenn. Since then, we have experienced incredible population growth in our area, as well as great strides in the teaching and assessment arenas.  view article

Perhaps one of the most striking characteristics of the new Crosby High School is the flood of natural light flowing throughout the building. Windows line the hallways, classrooms, offices, cafeteria, library and other rooms that would traditionally be encased in brick and mortar. The new Crosby High School opened in August 2016. It was a part of the $86.5 million bond passed in May 2013, which incorporated the high school, stadium renovations and the new baseball and softball complex. This year's freshmen students may not have anything to compare the new high school to. But, as its inaugural school year draws to an end, some may wonder what the new building looked like through the eyes of those who did walk the halls of the former Crosby High School. view article

While Jacksonville Middle School recently was identified by the Texas Education Agency as a “struggling” campus, local officials took corrective measures long ago, ensuring that things were quickly back on tract, according to schools superintendent Dr. Chad Kelly. “During the 2014-15 testing year, we received a score of less than 50 percent in social studies in eighth grade – I think it was 46 percent,” Kelly recalled. “We met all criteria last year, but even if we meet it this next year, we are still on list (according to TEA rules). We are penalized for the next two years (because of the one particular score) even though we did make corrections … you are on the list for three years.” view article

This spring, high school students throughout the U.S.—including those at Cy-Fair ISD—will be introduced to an entirely redesigned SAT as the College Board, a nonprofit organization that designs and administers the SAT, has drastically changed one of the most popular college aptitude tests in the country. Beginning in March, students will take a redesigned SAT that, according to the College Board, does away with the difficult vocabulary section and adds in more straight forward questions based on real-world college and career concepts. view article

Officials with the Texas Education Agency confirmed Thursday that the troubled La Marque school district has lost its accreditation and will be annexed by another district. In a letter addressed to the Board of Trustees and La Marque ISD, Commissioner of Education Michael Williams says the school district will be closed, effective July 1. He cites the district's rating of "academically unacceptable" for 2011 and a rating of "improvement required" in the state of Texas' academic accountability rating system for 2013 and 2014. view article

The La Marque Independent School District will officially be no more. The Texas Education Agency informed the La Marque ISD school board that the district will be annexed by another district after failing to meet standards for academic and financial accountability, TEA spokesperson Gene Acuna said. view article

Marlin Independent School District Superintendent Michael Seabolt said during Tuesday’s board of trustees meeting that he thinks Commissioner Michael Williams will decide before the end of 2015 whether the district should stay open. view article