Karnack ISD recently celebrated Texas Public Schools Week with several districtwide activities for students on campus, including a Read All Day event. The celebrations lasted over a week as KISD hosted many different activities for students to participate for Texas Public Schools Week. The events brought students, staff, and faculty together to engage with one another as part of the festivities. On Friday, the KISD students were given the opportunity to participate in the Read All Day event. view article

Julius Gordon Obituary

March 1208:44 AM

 

Julius "Sonny" Webb Gordon was born on March 23, 1939, to Julius and Celia Gordon in Austin, Texas. Growing up, Julius loved playing in the creek behind his house. He also played basketball with a net hung from a tree, where he had to dribble uphill to score. His favorite subjects in school were biology, P.E., and lunch. Some of his favorite childhood memories were hunting and fishing with his father, where they would talk freely and frankly with each other. Julius graduated from "Old Anderson" High School in 1956. He then served in the Navy at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, for two years before returning to Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology from Huston-Tillotson College. Julius went on to earn a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and Guidance at Prairie View A&M University. He was initiated into the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in 1970. view article

An Edinburg student placed 1st place at the Regional Spelling Bee and advanced to nationals. Caleb Giuoco competed on Saturday at the Regional Spelling. Giuoco advanced to the National Scripps Spelling Bee where he will represent South Middle School. view article

The La Joya ISD board voted on February 28 to cancel the 2024 Superintendent’s Scholarship Golf Classic, at least in part because of ethical concerns. This year’s tournament would have been the 18th annual golf classic. “Ultimately, the decision reflects a strategic evaluation of the effectiveness of past fundraising methods and a commitment to activities that align more closely with the educational goals and values of this district,” CFO Ben Garza said of administration’s recommendation to end the fundraiser last month. view article

Fort Worth City Council member Jeanette Martinez had a question for kindergarteners sitting inside S.S. Dillow Elementary’s gym. “How many of you know how to ride a bike?” Martinez asked. Less than half of the class raised their hands. A new program in Fort Worth ISD will change that. Fort Worth engineering firm HDR donated $360,000 to All Kids Bike, an initiative that teaches students how to ride a bicycle during school hours. The program just started at S.S. Dillow Elementary, the first Fort Worth ISD school to implement the program, according to a district spokesperson. view article

Stephenville Independent School District seniors in the top 50 percent of their graduating class will continue to earn automatic admission to Tarleton State University, thanks to a three-year renewal of the district’s Distinguished High School Partners pact. As part of the program, Tarleton State also waives ACT or SAT requirements for students in the top half of their class and application fees for students who qualify. view article

Before getting a few well-deserved off days for spring break, several local high schoolers were putting in work as the Angelina County Drug-Free All-Stars concluded their annual Sticker Shock campaign in Huntington Friday morning. The event was a reminder of the consequences adults can face if they choose to provide alcohol to minors. They do this every year by putting stickers on various cases of beer pointing out what could happen if caught. Those punishments could include a year in jail, a $4,000 fine and a six-month driver’s license suspension view article

Another Texas county is taking drastic measures to prepare for an influx of skygazers coming to the state for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. On Friday, Travis County Judge Andy Brown issued a disaster declaration in anticipation of extremely large crowds, increased traffic, as well as a strain on first responders, hospitals and roads on the days leading up to, on, and the day after the once-in-a-lifetime event. The county is situated near the centerline of the eclipse's narrow path of totality. view article

Students at Bryan ISD’s alternative high school may have a new home as early as the fall of 2024. The principal at M.C. Harris school, Karen Kaspar, told school board members Monday (March 4) that 12 to 15 students are learning in rooms of a former hospital building that are one-third to one-half the size of a normal classroom. Administrators asked school board members to move M.C. Harris students to space in the former Milam elementary school that is not being used by BISD’s special education department. Associate superintendent Barbara Ybarra said staff at M.C. Harris and the special education department have been notified. Board member Mark McCall, who said he wants to ensure there are places for what he calls students in recovery to graduate, suggested moving M.C. Harris students to Bryan Collegiate High School and move Collegiate students to the RELLIS campus. view article

Ramirez is still receiving at least 50 packages every day from people as far as Japan, Netherlands and Kuwait.  Ramirez is still receiving at least 50 packages every day from people as far as Japan, Netherlands and Kuwait. view article

The Fort Worth Independent School District will combine two schools next year in an effort to trim its budget and adjust for declining enrollment. The plan calls for the consolidation of the Wedgewood 6th Grade campus with Wedgewood Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year. view article

Silos Elementary School is a sprawling $43 million campus under construction on the slight ridge of a new subdivision in far west Bexar County. Medina Valley Independent School District, a mostly rural but rapidly growing district, plans to open its sixth school for kindergarten through fifth-grade students there in the fall. But the district’s plan for which students will attend Silos has Medina Valley parents questioning how those decisions were made and what to do about it. view article

The Laredo Independent School District’s Communications Department was recognized among the best in the State of Texas after winning two Best of Category Star Awards, five Gold Star Awards, five Silver Star Awards, and four Bronze Star Awards from the Texas School Public Relations Association. view article

School board trustees took action to remove the books from circulation for review following an audit by Citizens Defending Freedom Trustees in Princeton Independent School District have removed more than 100 “inappropriate” library books from circulation for review in response to concerns raised by public education advocates. Grassroots advocacy group Citizens Defending Freedom found the questionable titles through an audit of the school district’s libraries. Collin County CDF Education Division Lead Shannon Ayres exposed the content of some of the books at Princeton ISD’s February 26 school board meeting..  Ayres said CDF volunteers searched Princeton ISD libraries for 408 titles they believe violate standards imposed by House Bill 900, legislation that prohibits explicit or educationally unsuitable books in school libraries.  The audit found 148 of the titles in Princeton school libraries. view article

President Joe Biden used the term during the address in response to heckling by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia.   Texas Democrats were not thrilled with President Joe Biden using the term “an illegal” to describe an undocumented immigrant during his State of the Union address Thursday.  During the speech, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene heckled Biden to acknowledge Laken Riley, a Georgia student who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant, as he was discussing the border. Biden repeated Greene saying Riley was “killed by an illegal. That’s right.”  Democrats were not impressed, even if it was parroting Greene.  “It's dangerous rhetoric. And I think that the president is getting bad advice from his advisers and speech writers. That kind of rhetoric is  what inspired the people who killed Aaron Martinez,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said, referring to a North Texas man who was killed by his neighbor who repeatedly harassed Martinez’s family over their Latino ethnicity. Castro brought Martinez’s wife, Priscilla Martinez, as his guest Thursday. view article

For less than five minutes on April 8, parts of Central Texas will turn dark in the middle of the afternoon at approximately 1:36 p.m. The 2024 total solar eclipse is only visible in certain parts of the world, including in the Austin area. To celebrate this rare phenomenon, some Central Texas school districts are giving students and staff the day off. view article

Claire Hall, a special education teacher who is also a trained hair stylist, cut her student Mason’s hair in front of the class when he needed to get ready for a big event. NBC News’ Peter Alexander has more on the act of kindness and why it meant so much to Mason and his family. view article

Smith earned a Division I scholarship to the Miami-based school.  Skidmore-Tynan had a massive signing Wednesday as Chloe Smith is headed to Miami to play volleyball for Florida International out of Conference USA.  Smith racked up over a thousand kills in her career, but talked about wanting to give up on playing volleyball at the next level. But her perseverance lead to something big: a Division I scholarship. view article

An obituary is not available at this time for Julius Gordon.  view article

The 2024 primary election was a major success for school choice advocates in Texas. Several opponents of education reform lost outright, others went to runoffs, and still more were electorally weakened. Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and head of the American Federation for Children Victory Fund, released a statement touting six wins and four forced runoffs in the 13 races where his PAC was engaged. Throughout multiple called special sessions in 2023, the Republican-led House alternatively delayed and killed Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to create school choice in Texas. Ultimately, these efforts culminated with 21 Republicans voting for an amendment by John Raney (R-College Station) to strip school choice from an omnibus education measure. view article

The 2024 primary election was a major success for school choice advocates in Texas. Several opponents of education reform lost outright, others went to runoffs, and still more were electorally weakened. Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and head of the American Federation for Children Victory Fund, released a statement touting six wins and four forced runoffs in the 13 races where his PAC was engaged. Throughout multiple called special sessions in 2023, the Republican-led House alternatively delayed and killed Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to create school choice in Texas. Ultimately, these efforts culminated with 21 Republicans voting for an amendment by John Raney (R-College Station) to strip school choice from an omnibus education measure. view article

A Texas mother is facing charges after a drink she allegedly gave to her son to prevent bullying was consumed by a student at a school in San Antonio, sending the child to the hospital, police say. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says it responded to Legacy Traditional School – Alamo Ranch on Tuesday upon learning that the sick child was "given a drink by a classmate during P.E. class." "The drink provided was found to contain a mixture of lemon, salt and vinegar inside a sports drink bottle," police said in a statement. "Shortly after the child consumed the drink, he began experiencing nausea and a headache. view article

Hillsboro ISD is moving to a four-day school week for the 2024-2025 school year. The Hillsboro ISD board of trustees approved the four-day school week calendar Monday. District officials say they hope the change will help them attract teaching candidates. "Ensuring the best teachers for our students is paramount. The adopted calendar provides our dedicated staff with an additional planning day, fostering an environment of continuous improvement,” said Hillsboro ISD superintendent Darrell Brown in a statement. view article

Spring Branch ISD’s school board will hold a meeting on March 25 to consider removing former Superintendent Duncan Klussmann’s name from a district building weeks after he questioned the board’s financial decisions to close two campuses and cut librarians in an effort to accost a $35 million budget shortfall. view article

Newly-obtained documents shed light on what happened leading up to a faith-based film crew’s visit to a Keller ISD school. Keller ISD confirmed that on Feb. 9, then-school board trustee Sandi Walker let an Evangelical film crew into Central High School without district permission or parental consent. During the film crew’s visit, students were filmed and interviewed for an upcoming documentary: ‘God, Jesus, Trump.’ view article

A high school play that was canceled at a Keller ISD school is back on. The decision to bring it back comes nearly a week after a show of support for the play from students and staff at Timber Creek High School. After a heated Keller ISD board meeting last week, theater students at Timber Creek HS didn’t hear anything from the district, so they assumed they may have lost this battle. view article

Fort Worth ISD is closing the Wedgwood Sixth Grade campus in May because running the school is too costly as enrollment declines, according to district officials. The sixth grade campus will be folded into Wedgwood Middle School, which is 1½ miles away, starting in the 2024-25 academic year. The consolidation marks the first school closure since the district shuttered Como Montessori School in 2022. view article

When Keller ISD closed the curtain on Timber Creek High School’s performance of “The Laramie Project” students brought their concerns to the board. Their voices were “censored,” they said during a Feb. 24 board meeting, and the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten and tied to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998, “deserves to be told.” view article

Lamar Consolidated ISD officials are proactively planning for what a demographic firm projects will be decades of “hypergrowth” by opening nine new schools in the next two years. A January report from demographer Zonda predicted the district will receive an average of 2,135 new students annually for the next decade. LCISD is the fastest-growing school district in the Houston area, surpassing local districts with 3,818 new home starts and 4,110 home closings in 2023, according to the report. view article

The Bryan ISD Communications Team recently attended the annual Texas School Public Relations Association conference in Sugar Land. They shared all of the great things happening in Bryan ISD and came back with more than a dozen silver and gold certificates and two “Best Of” medals. view article

Nominations for the second class of the Northwest ISD Athletics Hall of Honor, a program created to recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to school programs in the district, is now open through May 1. view article

BRYAN, Texas — Bryan ISD is preparing the next generation of students who want to pursue a career technical education through its CTE program. Students are hard at work, building up their futures at the Bryan Career and Technical Education Complex (CTEC). Maxine Kalil is a sophomore in the Bryan CTE program. “How to use these machines like manually, the lathe and the mills,” Kalil said. “Recently, we learned how to how to do the CNC application of that, which is the computer numerical control.” view article

The Village Market at Jacquet Middle School in Fort Worth's Stop Six neighborhood will serve families fighting food insecurity.  A ceremonial ribbon cutting and school band performance kicked off the grand opening of the Village Market at Jacquet Middle School on Tuesday morning. The market opened in the Stop Six neighborhood school to fill a need.  "There's a food desert in these areas," Zenobia Hood said. Hood is the Director of Parent Partnerships at Fort Worth ISD. "That's the reason why we work with the Tarrant Area Food Bank. We select the markets by zip code and see which areas are most in need."  Stop Six neighborhood, where Jacquet Middle School is located, has the highest level of food insecurity in Tarrant County. view article

HILLSBORO, Texas — The Hillsboro ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the move to a four-day school week for the 2024-2025 school year on Monday, March 5. Superintendent Dr. Darrell G. Brown says it is important for the school district to hire the most qualified teachers. However, since 2020, the number in highly-qualified applicants has diminished. Brown says it is their hope that this new adoption will bring in more of those special applicants. view article

Faith Snapp has never let her blindness get in the way of pursuing her dreams. A 22-year-old Texas native who is legally blind, Snapp was accepted into the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine, FOX 26 Houston reported. "My entire life, my family has raised horses and goats for as long as I can remember," Snapp shared with the news affiliate. view article