DISTRICTS Texas AG asked to weigh in on PTA-funded staff at Austin ISD A state lawmaker is asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in on whether or not Austin ISD must accept money from parent-teacher associations (PTA) to fund supplemental staff members during the 2021-22 school year. State Sen. Larry Taylor is asking Paxton if House Bill 1525, an amendment that requires school districts to accept PTA money for those positions, should be recognized by the district this upcoming school year. Austin Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde has addressed the amendment in several meetings with PTA leaders. During those meetings, Elizalde said it would have no effect on AISD’s decision to not let PTA money fund staff positions. "Elizalde responded she would follow the law once enacted, but, because AISD's budget and staffing would be complete prior to the bill's effective date of September 1st 2021, the amendment would have no application to or bearing on AISD's decision to refuse to allow PTAs to fund the positions in the 2021-22 school year," Taylor wrote in his request.
KVUE
Kilgore College, Gladewater ISD launch CTE program partnership A new partnership between Kilgore College and Gladewater ISD aims to help East Texas students better choose their path after high school. Kilgore College is set to launch a new career and technical education program at Gladewater High School this fall, allowing Gladewater students as well as others from across the area to take a selection of core classes before they graduate. Gladewater ISD Superintendent Sedric Clark said the program will give students “lifelong, high levels of learning.” “For us, basically everything we do is rooted and grounded in what type of positive impact will it have on our students,” he said. “For our students who haven’t decided whether they’re going to college, having these skills from this partnership they can go straight to the workforce or further their education at Kilgore College, a four-year college or some other type of training.”
Longview News-Journal
Lumpkin to take over as Downing principal Just after spring break, Lindsey Lumpkin became an assistant principal at Edward K. Downing Elementary School. Starting off as an assistant principal, she will officially take charge July 1st, replacing Marcos Lopez, the campus’ founding principal. Lumpkin has been with Ector County ISD off and on for almost 12 years. Just after spring break, Lindsey Lumpkin became an assistant principal at Edward K. Downing Elementary School. Starting off as an assistant principal, she will officially take charge July 1, replacing Marcos Lopez, the campus’ founding principal. Lumpkin has been with Ector County ISD off and on for almost 12 years.
The Odessa American
FINANCE Beaumont ISD budget includes teacher, staff raises Beaumont school district trustees on Thursday approved a general budget of $173.4m for the 2021-22 year beginning July 1st, an increase of 1.6% compared with this year’s ending budget. The new plan brings $800 raises for teachers and “instruction coaches” as well as a 1% mid-point raise for other staff; a $500 increase to new teacher salaries and use of a federal COVID-19 grant over the next three years to make building improvements. A tax rate needed to support the budget won’t be set until certified property values are reported to the Texas Education Agency. The agency will then calculate the tax rate that would raise revenue coming into the district. The district's property tax rate currently is $1.22 per $100 of value, which covers maintenance, operations and debt service.
Beaumont Enterprise
College Station committee recommends $83m bond A committee has recommended the College Station school board ask voters to approve an $83m bond measure in November that would fund 26 projects throughout the district and would not increase the district’s tax rate. The projects would address multiple priority areas, including safety and security, deferred maintenance, transportation and land purchases. No new schools are included. Any decision to call for a bond election would come at an upcoming school board meeting. If the school board calls for the bond, four referendums will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot: a general proposal, a technology proposal and two athletic proposals – one for natatorium renovations and one for upgrades to the district’s largest athletic stadiums.
The Eagle
LEGAL Third of educators support legislation restricting discussions on racism As questions over whether and how racism should be discussed in the classroom continue to dominate headlines across the country, a new national EdWeek Research Center survey found that about a third of K-12 educators support legislative efforts to restrict classroom discussions on the topic. The survey, completed last month, found that while 59% of participating teachers, principals, and district leaders believe systemic racism exists, 23% said they do not believe so. Educators interviewed by Education Week largely said the survey results matched their experiences in schools, many of which have historically excluded these conversations. Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who identifies as a 4th generation Montanan and has spoken out against critical race theory in schools, said in a statement that she and parents across Montana were “concerned that certain exercises and lessons based on critical race theory and similar ideologically driven teaching have the potential to discriminate against Montana students’ civil rights.” Nevertheless, its unclear to what degree K-12 educators are explicitly teaching the concepts of critical race theory, which originated from a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. “Those would have to be some pretty advanced kids to read through [Richard] Delgado or [Kimberlé] Crenshaw, or Derrick Bell’s work,” said Janel George, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Education Week
OPERATIONS Early grades make up big chunk of K-12 enrollment decline America’s public school system lost almost 1.3m students this year, according to an Education Week analysis of state data, a loss that was spread out across the nation, touching almost every demographic group and concentrated in lower grades. The near-3% dip in the 2020-21 school year was likely fueled by the pandemic and the unusual ways school districts delivered instruction this year, which involved frequent switching between in-person, hybrid, and glitchy remote learning. “When you already have pre-existing issues like poverty and the digital divide, and then you shut down the one place that is positioned to help close those gaps, you probably see that most districts have experienced an enrollment drop,” said Sharlonda Buckman, the assistant superintendent of Detroit Public Schools. “Most of our children work best in a school building with their teachers with all of the assets that position them to do well in their schoolwork.” Most of the nation’s enrollment drop took place in the early grades. At least four states lost more than a third of their pre-K students, the largest of which was Washington state, where pre-K enrollment dropped by 42% this year. Kindergarten enrollment also took a big hit, with almost 20 states losing 10% or more of their kindergartners during the pandemic, compared to the 2019-20 school year. In most states, parents are not required to send students to kindergarten, which contributed to the enrollment drop, said Erin Simon, the assistant superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District. “We know that showing up to kindergarten is a key year for laying the foundation for future success,” said Hedy Chang, founder of Attendance Works, a national initiative that advocates for better public school attendance. “It’s where kids have a chance to not only gain their basic academic concepts, but also, socialization and social-emotional development.”
Education Week
TECHNOLOGY Strategies to speed up computer science implementation As states implement computer science standards, developing a computer science teacher pipeline is a must for districts seeking to take steps to accelerate the process. In some instances partner organizations, like CodeVa in Virginia, for example, can work with schools to develop the pipeline, by working it into other subject areas, merging data science and social studies to allow students to look at history through a data-driven lens. Additionally, Hour of Code activities allow students to learn about coding through short, interesting activities, such as creating animation to illustrate a story.
K-12 Dive
TRANSPORTATION Copper Development Association launches Electric School Bus Coalition The Copper Development Association, a market development, engineering, and information services arm of the copper industry, has announced the launch of a new coalition dedicated to promoting the expansion of electric school bus fleets across the U.S. The Electric School Bus Coalition, a group of school bus manufacturers, NGOs and material providers, aims to drive adoption of electric bus fleets and the infrastructure needed to support them through education and actionable, market-driven policy development. “We’re honored and excited to support the transition to electric bus fleets, which will create jobs and infrastructure opportunities and highlight American manufacturing leadership,” said John Hipchen, director of energy and electrical systems at the Copper Development Association. “To reach these goals, we are calling for $25bn in federal grant funding (enough to replace 20% of the current diesel school bus fleet) as part of current infrastructure package negotiations.”
School Bus Fleet
Tyler ISD moves to fill bus driver vacancies Facing a bus driver shortage, Tyler ISD is working to promote the job opportunities and recruit people to fill a high number of vacancies. The school district started a campaign using catchy phrases on buses to encourage people to apply for the driver vacancies. The first round of buses with the recruitment phases will soon hit the streets. Phrases include: “What can yellow do for you?”; “Prime shipping on Tyler’s most precious cargo, children”; and “We want you to drive for the kids of Tyler.” Tyler ISD Executive Director of Communications Jennifer Hines said she hopes the campaign can bring awareness to the need for bus drivers. “My hope is people will see this and smile and maybe even laugh a little bit because it is based on some other popular campaigns. We’re hoping that this is something that will catch someone’s eye and they say something to a friend,” Hines said. “We hope to get this on 100 of our buses that will be traveling, not only through the summer but during the school year and even out of town on different trips.”
Tyler Morning Telegraph
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