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A teacher with the Bastrop Independent School District resigned after he was arrested in North Texas and charged with online solicitation of a minor, according to the district. James Austin Byrd, 42, who taught at Cedar Creek High School, was arrested on Dec. 27, according to a North Richland Hills Police Department spokesperson. view article arw

Midway Independent School District returns from holiday break next week without its longtime spokesperson as the district’s communications director. Traci Marlin resigned last month after nearly 14 years with the district to take a position with Huckabee, an architectural firm with several Texas offices. view article arw

According to Nederland ISD, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Monte Barrow has announced his resignation. Nederland ISD says, "NISD would like to thank Coach Barrow for his many years of service to the district and wishes him success in his future endeavors. In addition, NISD would like to thank Coach Barrow for his commitment to all NISD Athletics." view article arw

Affordability has been a chief topic of concern in the housing industry for the past several years, and the lack of affordable options in the state of Colorado is pushing that state’s school districts into action. Leaders in Colorado districts are entering the housing market in a variety of ways, including engaging in partnerships with developers, constructing tiny homes and even becoming landlords, according to a story published by the Denver Post. view article arw

Public schools got little help from lawmakers this year to address the state’s chronic teacher shortage, so they’ve turned to other creative solutions — like leaning on cultural exchange programs to recruit international teachers.  Like many Texas school districts, the Aldine Independent School District near Houston has struggled to find teachers to fill its open positions, with local, state and nationwide searches yielding limited success.  So the district expanded its search parameters. Since last year, Aldine ISD has recruited 76 teachers from Colombia, the Philippines and more than a dozen other countries through Teach USA, a cultural exchange program that connects teachers worldwide with Texas public schools. view article arw

Jeffrey Oster leads his AP government class in a debate on the electoral college in December. Oster has been a teacher for 25 years and works at V.R. Eaton High School in far north Fort Worth. AMANDA MCCOY amccoy@star-telegram.com Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article282579883.html#storylink=cpy view article arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

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 arw

In order to meet increasing demands, the Little Elm ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of three special education paraprofessionals. During Monday’s board meeting, Cortney Clover, executive director for special populations, said the student population has increased, driving the need for more special education teachers. The new staff members come with a $90,000 price tag. view article arw

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 arw

The concerned citizens who spoke at the DeSoto school board meeting Monday in defense of football coach Todd Peterman numbered only four, because reports that the board might vote against his return began circulating just an hour and a half before the meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. view article arw