A Kemp ISD teacher was arrested for child grooming Sept. 9 by Kemp ISD Police. According to a statement from Kemp ISD Superintendent Dr. James Young Sept. 5, KISD Police and Administration were made aware of a concern regarding the actions of a Kemp High School employee. The district and administration immediately began reviewing and investigating an allegation of the employee engaging in inappropriate conduct. view article

Thomas Alter is the second professor in the state to be terminated for allegedly violating university policy after a video was posted on social media..  A Texas State University professor was fired on Wednesday after he was accused of inciting violence in a video of him speaking at a socialism conference posted on social media.  In a video circulated on social media platform X, Thomas Alter, an associate history professor, can be seen talking during a Zoom meeting as part of the Revolutionary Socialism Conference, an online meeting organized by several socialist groups. During his talk, Alter explains how he feels socialists in the United States can organize an effective party, and criticizes the Democratic Party, the Democratic Socialists of America, China and anarchists for their methods of organization. view article

Shelby Lashombe was reported for misconduct while at West ISD before joining Valley Mills ISD, but her victims reportedly were not students where she taught.  A Central Texas high school teacher and girls’ coach who was previously reported to the state for sexual misconduct was arrested for having sex with underage boys.  Shelby Dawn Lashombe, 25, was charged with one count of sexual assault of a child and two counts of improper relationship between educator and student—although Lashombe said the boys were not students at the schools where she worked.  Both offenses are second-degree felonies punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison. view article

Three charter school superintendents who are among the highest paid in Texas are overseeing some of the lowest-performing districts in the state, newly released records show. One of them is at risk of closure by school year’s end. view article

The Arp ISD Board of Trustees is seeking to fire an assistant principal accused of failing to report knowledge of a sexual assault of a child allegedly committed by her adult son. The school board voted Monday to begin the start of the termination process for Karla Florence, who was arrested in August and charged with Class A failure to report and Class B false report to a peace officer. view article

Fort Worth ISD’s Chief Financial Officer, Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, is leaving the district later this month to take on a new role as Director of Budget and Finance for the County of El Paso, the district confirmed Tuesday. The move gives her a chance to return to her hometown and contribute to the community in South Texas. view article

A Victoria Independent School District principal faces a driving while intoxicated charge after a single-vehicle crash Sunday night. Sarah Young, principal of Rowland Elementary School, was arrested following the accident on North Navarro, according to police reports. Officers administered field sobriety tests at the scene, which they say Young failed to pass. view article

School officials say the alleged victim is not a student in the district.  An unnamed South Texas school employee is on leave following allegations of “inappropriate” messaging with a child who is not a student in the district.  San Benito Consolidated Independent School District posted a statement to social media on September 6:    view article

Houston ISD has a new chief of human resources, the district confirmed Thursday. Chief of Human Resources Jessica Neyman was removed from her post effective Wednesday, and Deputy Chief of Human Resources Norma Castillo will serve as interim. The district did not comment on why the change occurred. view article

Two Durham Elementary teachers were removed from their classrooms and reassigned to "home duty" last week after Houston ISD made controversial curriculum changes at the campus. Angela Kelly, one of the two Houston ISD teachers who were reassigned, shared the reassignment memo with Houston Public Media. It doesn't include any details about the reasoning behind the personnel move, but Kelly said in an interview she was told at the dismissal meeting with the Durham principal and an HISD official "that changes needed to be made on the campus and that they needed to protect the culture." view article

A Houston ISD union president was reassigned to "home duty" with pay after an alleged "failure to follow campus protocols" and "repeated refusal to implement the HISD Curriculum and Instructional Model," according to documents from late August.   Houston Education Association President Michelle Williams will stay home during work hours and call in at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to report in and out of work. The third-grade Benbrook Elementary School teacher must be available to receive assignments by phone within the hour, according to the letter. The letter does not indicate an end date for home duty.   The district alleges Williams left campus without informing campus administration and did not sign out as required by campus protocols. District officials also allege Williams is not following the HISD instructional model, while Williams alleges HISD is asking her to violate special education laws. view article

Round Rock ISD welcomes Mike Brooks to the Bond team as the Executive Director of Bond Projects. He previously served the district as the Director of Maintenance. “I am honored to serve as Round Rock ISD’s new Executive Director of Bonds,” Brook said. “I’ve seen firsthand how well-planned and well-executed facilities projects directly support student learning and staff success.” view article

Educational aide Rebecca Ontivero is charged with a second-degree felony.  A teacher for Marfa Independent School District is accused of sexual misconduct with a student.  Rebecca Romijn Ontiveros, 25, was arrested and charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.  The offense includes sexual contact or sexually explicit communication with a student, regardless of the student’s age. view article

An Arp ISD elementary assistant principal and her son were arrested Monday following an investigation by the Arp Police Department. Police said Karla Florence was taken into custody and charged with failure to report and false report to a peace officer. Investigators say she failed to provide truthful information and did not meet her legal duty under Texas law to report knowledge of a felony offense while serving in her role as an educator. view article

The driver of the Leander ISD school bus that crashed earlier this month is no longer an employee of the district. A message sent to staff and families of Bagdad Elementary School on Tuesday said that the driver, Tim Gall, was cited by Texas DPS for failure to drive in a single land and improper use of a seatbelt, though the investigation into the crash found no criminal wrongdoing on Gall's behalf. The message then said that Gall "is no longer employed" with the district. view article

School officials announce that the Leander Independent School District bus driver involved in a rollover crash is no longer employed with the district. view article

Temple students and staff are now in their second week back to school. Before the school year started, Superintendent Dr. Bobby Ott told us 107 new teachers joined the district this year- a good amount of them are alumni! We caught up with two alumni teachers at Raye-Allen Elementary School. Alex Curtis teaches 5th grade English and is in her first year teaching. Pam Bulls teaches 3rd grade math and science and has spent more than 35 years educating. view article

Across Texas, 1 in 6 teachers didn’t return to teach in 2024-25. In Houston ISD, it was nearly 1 of 3. The state's largest school district had a turnover rate of 32.2% compared with the statewide average of 18.8% in 2024-25, according to new Texas Education Agency data obtained by the Houston Chronicle.  HISD's teacher turnover rate increased 12.5 percentage points in 2024-25 after a large exodus of teachers following the first year under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. Nearly a third of teachers who taught in 2023-24 did not return to teach in 2024-25, pushing the district's turnover rate significantly higher than the statewide rate. view article

State Ag employees told police they were wary of Sid Miller’s political consultant. Now he’s the agency’s chief of staff.  Todd Smith was Miller’s longtime political consultant when he admitted to soliciting bribes for licenses the agency typically issues for $100. Miller then put him on the payroll at $218,000 per year. view article

The Clint Independent School District on Thursday approved pay raises and a one-time $2,500 payment for qualifying employees during the upcoming school year. view article

Across the nation, school districts are having a hard time keeping and hiring bus drivers. One local school district, Comal ISD, is becoming greatly effected. As one of the fastest growing and largest districts in the San Antonio area, the district covers over 500 square miles in five different counties with over 27,000 students attending. view article

Brenham ISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Eliot Allen has accepted a position with a new school district. Brenham ISD announced this (Thursday) afternoon that Allen has been selected as Director of Athletics for Bastrop ISD. He will begin his new position next week. view article

A longtime Lake Highlands High School resource officer has died due to complications from COVID-19, the Lake Highlands Advocate reported. After experiencing breathing difficulties from the illness, Chris Gibson went to a hospital Sunday morning and died shortly after, the report said. Gibson, known as “Gibby,” made a lasting impression on his colleagues and people he knew and worked with in Richardson ISD schools and the Dallas Police Department, according to the report. view article

They say participation is strictly voluntary, but the Fort Worth Independent School District is offering a one-time $500 incentive to employees who get fully vaccinated against COVID. Administrators say the money is an ‘effort to provide safe and healthy environments for students, staff and visitors’. view article

The Victoria I.S.D. Board of Trustees has approved the hiring of Anita Taylor as the new Executive Director of Strategic Planning and School Improvement for the district. The Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability (CIA) department underwent a restructuring that consolidated positions resulting in creating the Executive Director of Strategic Planning and School Improvement. The total number of positions within the CIA department has decreased, allowing for efficient departmental workflow. view article

When Midland ISD leaders approved the salary schedule earlier this month, they increased a starting teacher’s salary that was the highest in the region. The starting teacher at Midland ISD during the 2020-21 school year made $56,500. That was the highest of all districts in a report that the district offered the Reporter-Telegram. Other districts included Ector County ($54,250), Andrews ($53,500), the entire El Paso region, Amarillo ($50,258) and Lubbock ($45,000). view article

Katy ISD’s Mayde Creek High School Principal, Ronnie Edwards was appointed as the District’s new Assistant Superintendent for School Leadership and Support. view article

East Texas Now host Jeremy G. Butler was joined by Longview ISD human relations director, Shalona McCray, and multimedia director, Elizabeth Ross, speaking about their upcoming job fair. McCray called the CareerFest a “job fair with a little more flair”. view article

Students at Eanes ISD’s Cedar Creek Elementary School will begin the 2021-22 school year with a new principal. The EISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved Laura Coaxum as the CCE principal during an April 27 board meeting. view article

A Garland ISD employee is on administrative leave after allegedly taking photos of a female elementary school student while she was in the restroom. The incident reportedly took place during the week of March 29 at Abbett Elementary, according to an email sent to parents on Thursday, April 1. view article

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD has lost the beloved leader of its fine arts program. David Zahrndt, 46, who was director of fine arts for the district, died March 6, according to the district. “This past weekend, GCISD Director of Fine Arts David Zahrndt passed away unexpectedly,” the GCISD tweeted last Thursday. view article

Longview ISD assistant principal earns state honor

March 1108:25 AM

 

Longview ISD's Mrs. Christi Coleman has been named 2021 Region VII Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). Mrs. Coleman is in her 26th year in education and truly has a heart for her students and colleagues. As a teacher, she taught on the elementary and junior high levels, as well as special education. "This award is truly a testament to the hard work and dedication of the professionals that surround me, along with the great things that are taking place to help students at Hudson PEP," she said. "I am incredibly grateful to work with students and staff who inspire me and I am proud to be part of the Hudson PEP family." view article

Bryan ISD's Board of Trustees have approved a one-time $500 supplement for their salaried employees. Teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses, administrators and professional staff receive their pay bonus on their Dec 15 paycheck. view article

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A Hill Country Middle School teacher in the Eanes Independent School District got a special sendoff Thursday afternoon. Pam Fletcher-Friday has taught theatre at the middle school for more than 30 years. She’s preparing to retire soon, so the district wanted to honor her with a parade. view article