Jurors on Thursday found two former Longview ISD educators guilty in the abuse of students in a J.L. Everhart Elementary life skills classroom. Former J.L. Everhart Principal Cassandra Renee James and former Curriculum Coordinator/Assistant Principal Linda Kay Browne Lister were both found guilty of injury to a child charges. view article

A Gregg County jury sentenced two former Longview ISD principals to probation for their roles in abusing elementary students with disabilities. Cassandra Renee James, 51, of Hallsville, and Linda Kaye Lister, 63, of Longview, were found guilty of injury to a child Thursday after a three-day trial in the 188th District Court. view article

A lawsuit has been filed against a former McKinney ISD athletic trainer who was accused of grooming, sending inappropriate messages, and sexually assaulting a student. The lawsuit also accuses the school district of allowing the 14-year-old victim to be alone with 35-year-old Lindsey Post. view article

The Lubbock Independent School District Board of Trustees announced two district-level leadership hires and recognized more than 100 students for their excellence in music, athletics and career and technical education during their meeting Thursday, Feb. 26. view article

The trial of two former Longview ISD educators accused of involvement in the alleged abuse of students in a J.L. Everhart Elementary life skills classroom continued Wednesday. Former J.L. Everhart Principal Cassandra Renee James and former Curriculum Coordinator/Assistant Principal Linda Kay Browne Lister each face 16 counts of injury to a child and one count of abandonment or endangerment of a child. view article

A former substitute teacher at the Point Isabel Independent School District was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison on over 20 counts of child pornography-related charges, court records show. Leif Ericson Varnum secretly recorded kindergarten students while they used a classroom restroom with the door open, according to a statement from Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz. view article

Celina ISD announced the hiring of a new athletic director after the previous AD, Bill Elliott, retired amid the investigation into his son's arrest on numerous sex crime charges. Brent Whitson, who previously was the athletic director and head football coach at Denison High School, will begin the role on March 23, the school district said in a press release view article

Garrison ISD announced Monday night the hiring of Kerry Therwhanger as its new athletic director and head football coach. Therwhanger takes over for Brandon Alvarez, who left to join his father, Jack, at Center in January. view article

The Pearland High School teacher is under police investigation for alleged inappropriate behavior with a student.  Police are investigating the allegations.  “The Pearland Police Department is aware of the recent allegations involving a teacher at Pearland High School,” the department stated in a news release. “We are currently conducting an investigation to determine whether a criminal offense has occurred. At this stage of the investigation, no charges have been filed.” 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

view article

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

The union for Austin Independent School District employees is asking the district and the state not to send employees back to school buildings in August. Union members say it is unsafe for employees and children to be in classes together. During an online news conference Wednesday, Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said the union is asking AISD to commit to online learning only for the first nine weeks of the semester, while monitoring Covid-19 cases in the city. He also asked that increased pay for employees like cafeteria workers and other support staff continue. view article

Third grade teacher Skylar Slaughter and seventh grade teacher Zelma Nico are the elementary and secondary “Teachers of the Year” for 2020-21 in the Port Arthur Independent School District. Slaughter is an English and language arts, or ELAR, teacher at Staff Sgt. Lucian Adams Elementary and Nico is a math teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. view article

The Georgetown ISD board of trustees approved the hiring of Sue Harrison as the new director of human resources for the district Feb. 18. Harrison previously served as human resources coordinator for Round Rock ISD as well as a variety of human resource roles in public education and for communications industry companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Sue also previously served as a campus administrator and assistant director of staffing for RRISD, according to a news release. view article

The principal of Early College High School is under fire. Veronica Coss has been placed on administrative leave over reports of discrimination. Former staff member Stephanie Martin stood in front of the Round Rock ISD board members last week detailing the harassment and disparaging comments she said Coss has made toward students. “The following are things I personally heard her say If I shared everything it would take a longer time than I am allotted here,” Martin said. “Immigrants don’t teach their kids how to behave, we need to ween 504 children off their accommodations, ADHD kids just need to exercise.” view article

Belinda George, the Homer Drive Elementary School principal who breaks out her pajamas every Tuesday night to read a bedtime story to her students via iPhone video, will be featured on Good Morning America Friday morning. It's the latest media exposure for the Beaumont educator since she was featured in an Enterprise last month. view article

A Coppell ISD middle school teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with a student was arrested Monday on campus, officials say. The Dallas County Sheriff's Department arrested Julie Jenkin Brewer, 45, about 3:30 p.m. at Coppell Middle School West in the 2700 block of Ranch Trail in Dallas. Officials had received a complaint about alleged inappropriate text and social media messages between Brewer and a student, Sheriff's Department spokesman Raul Reyna said. view article

Midland ISD has announced the new principal for Scharbauer Elementary Deanna Flader, a former elementary teacher and assistant principal for Midland ISD will be the principal at Scharbauer Elementary starting in the Fall. view article

The Texas school district where eight students and two teachers were fatally shot last month has implemented security measures increasing the number of police officers and guards on campuses. The Santa Fe Independent School District said the increased security presence began Wednesday at the district's four schools southeast of Houston. view article

Enrollment in the Austin Independent School District has been on a six-year slide with no end in sight. Consequently, the number of teachers has been steadily decreasing. During the same period, however, the number of administrators, the highest paid group of professionals in the district, has held fast, while their average base salaries have increased by 32 percent since the 2011-12 school year. view article

The Houston ISD has announced the appointment of Joseph Williams, a 22-year veteran educator, as the new principal of Wheatley High School. The district said in a news release Tuesday that Williams is "known for transforming underperforming schools into thriving campuses." Wheatley High is in improvement-required status because it has not met state standards for six years, the news release said. view article