Newly appointed Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles‘ first cabinet selections include a mix of HISD staff members, former employees of his charter school network, administrators from across Texas and educational analysts. Miles’ appointments, announced Monday, are among a bevy of changes to hit the 187,000-student district at the beginning stages of the state’s takeover. District officials have informed central office staff members that they need to work on Fridays during the summer, instead of the planned 10-hour days Monday through Thursday. And officials also released a timetable for staff reapplication process for 29 schools in the Wheatley, Kashmere and North Forest high school feeder patterns. view article

A Hidalgo County grand jury has no-billed Hidalgo ISD Athletic Director Monty Stumbaugh whose attorney describes an assault charge filed against him in March as a “political hit job” with no basis in fact. The news follows the decision of a grand jury last month to no-bill Hidalgo Early College High School Principal Rafael Tinoco, who describes his related arrest on a witness tampering charge as an “attempted political take-down” in a $20 million federal lawsuit filed in April, which was amended this weekend with additional exhibits. view article

Lake Travis Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a 3% raise for all regular staff in a school board meeting on Thursday. In a letter sent to the LT family, it indicated all salary adjustments will become effect in July, August or September 2023, depending on the calendar start date. view article

The Midland ISD board approved the hires of new principals at Jones and De Zavala elementary schools Tuesday night during a special meeting. Tanya Duewall will be the new leader at Jones Elementary. She replaces Angie Aron, who was named Texas Elementary School Principals and Supervisors Association's best elementary principal for Region 18 this past school year. view article

A one-time substitute teacher in Mesquite who allegedly encouraged students to fight in the classroom now faces criminal charges. According to reports, a Dallas County grand jury indicted 24-year-old Natally Garcia on four counts of endangering children. view article

Houston Independent School District’s new state-appointed superintendent, Mike Miles, unveiled how he and his team plan to grade principal effectiveness in the upcoming school year. Miles said he’s relying on four criteria: student achievement, quality of instruction, special education, and action plan. “That is a very specific plan that outlines five or six specific actions that principals need to take, this year, that will be indicators of success tied to those actions and they will be evaluated on,” Miles said during an announcement to news outlets. view article

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees approved a resolution Monday authorizing a one-time retention and recruitment supplemental payment to staff members. Trustees also approved the appointments of a new Chief Communications Officer and a new Chief Operations Officer, according to a news release. view article

MIDLAND, Texas — Midland ISD held a special board meeting on June 6 where they approved the new compensation package for district employees. The package provides general pay increases for all teachers and staff and will go into effect next school year. view article

V.J. Bunner has been named the new head baseball coach at Tyler Legacy High School, Tyler ISD announced on Tuesday. Bunner comes to Legacy after stints at Warren and Diboll, where he has racked up 130 career wins. “We are excited to have Coach V.J.Bunner take over our baseball program,” Tyler ISD athletic director Greg Priest said. “He has had great success in his young career, and I am confident he will be able to lead our program to championship levels.” view article

Newly appointed Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ first Cabinet selections include a mix of HISD staff members, former employees of his charter school network, administrators from across Texas and educational analysts. Miles’ appointments, announced Monday, are among a bevy of changes to hit the 187,000-student district at the beginning stages of the state’s takeover. District officials have informed central office staff members that they need to work on Fridays during the summer, instead of the planned 10-hour days Monday through Thursday. And officials also released a timetable for staff reapplication process for 29 schools in the Wheatley, view article

KILLEEN, Texas — The former Houston ISD police chief will be sworn in as chief of police in Killeen. Chief Pedro Lopez Jr. will begin his duties as the Killeen Police Department's police chief Monday after a nationwide search that started in December 2022. Lopez was chosen by Killeen's city manager at the end of April and councilmembers gave their approval in May. HISD has not said who will replace Lopez, but we're working to get that information. view article

Itasca ISD Superintendent Michael Stevens has been suspended, days after he was arrested and charged with online solicitation of a minor. The Itasca ISD Board of Trustees met early Monday morning and took immediate action to suspend Stevens. The board has appointed Keith Boles to serve as interim superintendent, starting June 6. Itasca ISD says Boles has previously served in the district as interim superintendent and "is known and respected by our community." view article

“The Board of Trustees met today to take immediate action to suspend Superintendent Michael Stevens from his role of superintendent of schools,” the board wrote in a statement, “The Board took this action in response to the arrest on Thursday, June 1 of Mr. Stevens.” view article

The future of an embattled teacher preparation company – which enrolls more educator candidates than any other program in Texas – will remain in limbo after a Travis County judge threw a curveball in the state’s plans. Texas Teachers of Tomorrow – also known as A+ Texas Teachers – is under scrutiny after failing to prove to state education officials that they had corrected long-standing operational problems. The Texas Education Agency recommended last year revoking the company’s accreditation, citing its failure to meet the conditions of an improvement plan. If their accreditation is yanked, the company would not be able to produce certified teachers. Before state officials can vote on the company’s future, both sides must present arguments before a judge in the State Office of Administrative Hearings. But now, that next step is stalled. view article

Two days on the job, and the new superintendent of the Houston Independent School District is already making big changes. Employees from more than two dozen schools just learned they will have to re-apply for their jobs. New Superintendent Mike Miles is calling his plan the "New Education System." view article

A coach at a San Antonio high school has been arrested and charged with having an improper relationship with a student, according to arresting documents. Authorities said the suspect is Alejandro Pena, who was a coach at West Campus High School in South San Antonio ISD. According to an arrest affidavit, a female student made a report to a South San ISD police officer. view article

London Ragland encountered setback after setback after enrolling at Texas Southern University as a transfer student in 2018: an unexpected change in her federal financial aid, a major health issue, the death of her father. TSU’s support and Ragland’s own persistence carried her through, and while she’s behind schedule, she is set to receive her diploma in 2024. Texas Southern leaders consider students like Ragland models in their efforts to increase retention and graduation rates – undertakings that seemed to be gaining momentum in the last two years but could now face setbacks after the recent resignation of the university’s president. view article

Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions. But those lofty goals crumbled in the end as clashing political ideologies, a fight over school vouchers and squabbles between the Texas Senate and House derailed bills that would have injected billions of dollars into public schools.  Instead, teachers are the only state employees who won’t receive raises this session. Bills that would’ve allocated funds to better prepare teachers and help keep them in the profession longer failed along the way — despite being prompted by the recommendations of a task force created by Gov. Greg Abbott to tackle teacher shortages. view article

A former O'Donnell boys basketball coach admitted on Tuesday to sending obscene text messages to a 14-year-old girl for a month last year. However, Nicholas Bueno, 27, continues to challenge the accusation that he was trying to groom the girl into a physical sexual relationship with him. view article

Employees working for the Canutillo Independent School District will receive a pay raise next school year. The Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday night approved a compensation package for the 2023-24 school year that includes a 5 percent salary increase for teachers and a 3 percent pay hike for all other employees. view article

Teacher and staff salaries in Hutto ISD will go up at least 3% across the board in the 2023-24 school year. The district board of trustees approved a compensation plan for the 2023-24 school year at a May 24 meeting. The plan includes 3% raises for all pay groups and adjusts pay scales for teachers and staff to align more closely with market standards. view article

On Tuesday, Shallowater ISD announced that it has hired a new Assistant Principal and Head Volleyball coach for the district. The district hired Kelsey Morris as the new Assistant Principal at Shallowater Intermediate and Levi Savage as the Head Volleyball Coach. Morris holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in educational leadership, both of which have equipped her with a deep understanding of effective teaching practices and the importance of student-centered education. view article

The Spring Branch Independent School District is hiring for the 2023-24 school year. The district needs teachers, librarians and counselors. Anyone interested can attend an in-person meet and greet to speak with principals and representatives from each of their campuses. view article

The 91st Annual Dayton Rotary Club Awards program for Dayton ISD employees was held Friday, May 26, at the Performing Arts Center at Dayton High School. This event is an opportunity to say “Thank you” and “Well done” to the teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and support staff who made the school year go smoothly for Dayton ISD students. view article

All but five of the 111 Fort Worth ISD employees who were given three resignation options have reapplied for jobs in the district, records obtained by the Fort Worth Report show. The employees were told to submit their plans for next school year under Fort Worth ISD’s district program change in March. While there are enough openings in the district for all of those people to remain employed by Fort Worth ISD, many are not at the same level of their previous jobs, because some positions were consolidated, Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said. view article

All but five of the 111 Fort Worth ISD employees who were given three resignation options have reapplied for jobs in the district, records obtained by the Fort Worth Report show. The employees were told to submit their plans for next school year under Fort Worth ISD’s district program change in March. While there are enough openings in the district for all of those people to remain employed by Fort Worth ISD, many are not at the same level of their previous jobs, because some positions were consolidated, Superintendent Angélica Ramsey said. view article

Even with summer vacation on the minds of teachers and students, Beaumont Independent School District administrations are working hard to fill more than 70 opening teaching positions before the fall. BISD will host "Success Express Thursday" throughout the month of June to give Southeast Texas educators a chance to learn about available opportunities and connect with the district's hiring managers. view article

The Gadsden Independent School District secured millions of dollars to fund school resource officers for the district with the help of the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office. The district secured $3,000,000 in funding after the sheriff previously said that is what the district needed to secure the SROs. view article

Last week, Little Elm ISD announced two new leadership roles at the district. Mickey James will serve as the Executive Director for Construction Services, and Kristi Roberts will serve as Executive Director for Special Populations. Mickey James has spent the last year as a contract manager with Dallas ISD and before that, he was the Construction Manager for Frisco ISD for six years. He has served in a variety of roles related to construction including construction coordinator at McKinney ISD from 2012 to 2015 and project manager at the University of North Texas for a year. view article

Makalani Jones, 49, a former music teacher at Alice W. Douse Elementary School in Killeen, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, and is awaiting extradition to Texas after he was arrested in North Carolina on May 22. The Killeen Independent School District Police Department is working with the Killeen Police Department to investigate the allegation. view article

Navasota ISD has announced more salary increases for the 2023-2024 school year. This time, it’s for the district’s support staff. Instructional aides, secretaries, LVNs, maintenance personnel, and child nutrition staff will receive an 18% salary increase for the upcoming school year. Cindy Martin is the administrative assistant to the assistant superintendent of operations and is excited to be a part of that group. view article

The grand jury of the 93rd District Court of Hidalgo County has dismissed all charges against Rafael Tinoco due to insufficient evidence supporting any criminal wrongdoing, according to a news release. Tinoco is the principal at Hidalgo Early College High School and was accused of tampering with a witness in an alleged assault case involving Athletic Director Monty Stumbaugh. view article

The Arlington Independent School District will give all of its workers pay raises in a few months. On Thursday, the school board approved a 4% salary increase for the next school year. Teachers, librarians, and support staff will all see bigger paychecks. view article

Northside Independent School District is investigating allegations that a teacher at Hobby Middle School told two students to "go back to Africa" after they failed to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. School district spokesman Barry Perez said a teacher at Hobby has been placed on administrative leave "pending completion of an investigation into allegations presented by a student." view article

Three more senior staff members at Houston ISD are departing their high-ranking posts at the district as the Texas Education Agency prepares to appoint new leaders to govern the largest school district in Texas. Police chief Pedro Lopez Jr., chief of schools Denise Watts and chief talent officer Jeremy Grant-Skinner will leave the district this month or next, according to public records. Watts’ last working day is June 14 and Grant-Skinner’s is May 31, according to resignation forms obtained through a public records request, which show that both submitted their resignation in April. view article