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HISD Superintendent Mike Miles' chief of staff Kerri Briggs is leaving her current role to pursue a new position at a Texas-based advocacy group. On Dec. 2, Briggs will take on her new role as the executive director of Educate Texas — a public school and higher education advocacy group organized under the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT). The CFT made the announcement last week on its website. view article
Former Round Rock ISD police chief Dennis Weiner is suing the school district, claiming they violated the Texas Whistleblower Act. This stems from an incident where a student was apparently sexually assaulted by another student on a school bus. view article
A middle school principal in East Texas has been arrested and charged with possession and promotion of child pornography. view article
Ferris ISD employee fired after inappropriate conversation with a student, officials say
An employee with Ferris ISD has been fired following allegations of inappropriate communication with a student, the district said Wednesday. Ferris ISD officials say an investigation was launched immediately after learning about possible inappropriate communication between an employee and a student. In a statement to WFAA, the district said the employee was fired after an internal investigation found wrongdoing. view article
Houston ISD changes campus leadership at Harvard Elementary, Pershing Middle School
Two new principals at Harvard were named in the span of a week, with the first backing out because of “bullying on social media,” according to the district. The previous campus leaders, Shelby Calabrese at Harvard and Alvin Goldman at Pershing, were placed on leave last month for reasons the district has declined to specify. view article
Hardin ISD middle school principal arrested on child porn charges in Liberty County
Investigators in Liberty County want parents to talk with their children after a middle school principal was arrested. Hardin Junior High School Principal Chad Barrett is facing felony possession/promotion of child pornography charges. He was arrested on Thursday. That district, just north of the city of Liberty, has an enrollment of around 1,300 students. view article
Fired special education aide charged with assaulting Woodridge Forest MS student with autism
A fired paraprofessionial in New Caney ISD, who was accused of assaulting a student with autism, has been charged with assault. Carson Martin, 24, faces two counts of injury to a child/elderly individual/disabled person, according to online Montgomery County records. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. view article
Three Fort Bend Independent School District staff members are reportedly on administrative leave as the school district investigates alleged misconduct. Fort Bend ISD parents are concerned after a principal’s email announced a staff member’s unexpected suspension. Now, they’re demanding to know why. view article
Substitute teacher shortage hits schools nationwide, Gatesville ISD seeks local support
Substitute teachers are in demand across the United States, and Central Texas schools are no exception. Gatesville ISD is now looking towards the community for help inside the classroom. view article
Amy Faulkner dedicated more than two decades to educating children, and was recently featured on 6 News' Taking Care of Teachers. view article
Former teacher accuses Wimberley ISD and Hays County leaders of framing him to end his career
A former Wimberley ISD teacher has filed a lawsuit, claiming he was framed by multiple school and law enforcement officials to end his teaching career. David Schachter, a teacher of 20 years, was arrested for misdemeanor offensive touching in September 2022. He claims he was then "maliciously prosecuted" for the offense in September 2023 before being acquitted by a jury. view article
Waco Independent School District has announced the new principal of University High School. According to the district, Dr. Qunisha Johnson will take over the position on Monday, Nov. 11, replacing Alonzo McAdoo, who accepted the role of Waco ISD Executive Director of Secondary Education. Johnson is currently assistant principal at University High, said Waco ISD, and has also served as associate principal at J.H. Hines Elementary and assistant principal at Midway Middle School. view article
Parents want answers after 2 Fort Bend ISD schools place administrators on leave amid investigation
Two schools in Fort Bend ISD have had to place administrators on leave, but the district won't tell ABC13 why. ABC13 obtained an email from one of the schools, Colony Bend Elementary, that was sent to the students' parents regarding the matter. view article
Interested in special career programs at Corpus Christi ISD high schools? Learn more here.
It's time for Corpus Christi ISD middle school students to pick their high school campus and programs. The Corpus Christi Independent School District is hosting a high school expo from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Carroll High School arena where seventh through ninth grade students and families can explore their options. view article
Houston ISD coach identified as ‘kingpin’, assistant principal charged in cheating scheme are out of jail
Two of the three Houston ISD employees who were charged in connection to a teacher-certification cheating scheme that allowed unqualified teachers to work in local school districts have bonded out of jail. Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School was identified as the “kingpin” in the scheme. He was released on a $150,000 bond. view article
A now-former Texas teacher was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, along with nine other sex crimes against a student, more than two years after he was allowed to resign while under investigation for the allegations. view article
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- One day after an alleged teacher certification scandal was announced in Houston, all charged suspects made their first court appearance on Tuesday. We continue to learn more about what unfolded as the Harris County District Attorney's Office confirms a statewide scheme was concocted to give hundreds of paying teachers a pass on their certification. We still don't know how many, if any, Houston Independent School District School teachers are among the more than 200 teachers who benefitted from this scandal and paid the $2,500 to get a pass on their certification. view article
‘I thought Mike Miles was the problem:’ Residents react to $1M Houston-based teacher-certification scandal
It wasn’t just any coach though, this was Vincent Grayson, who was nominated for High School Coach of the Year at the Houston Sports Awards and was said to have an impact on the basketball court at Booker T. Washington High School by leading their team to the first ever UIL state tournament in 2023. view article
A coach in the Mesquite Independent School District was arrested early Wednesday morning after police said he had an inappropriate relationship with a middle school student. According to the Balch Springs Police Department, Sergio Gonzalez is charged with child grooming, a third-degree felony. Police said Mesquite ISD notified them about a possible inappropriate relationship between an educator and a former student at A.C. New Middle School in Balch Springs. view article
Police have arrested a former Mesquite ISD coach on felony charges of child grooming. Sergio Gonzalez, who was hired by the district in 2004 and worked at A.C. New Middle School in Balch Springs, was taken into custody at his residence at about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. view article
New Caney ISD paraprofessional fired, accused of assaulting non-verbal student, district says
A special education aide in New Caney ISD has been fired after he was accused of assaulting a non-verbal student. Denise Gomez told ABC13 that her son, Max, came home twice in October with bruises on his chest. She said a district police officer looked at security video and saw the assault. "I didn't want to believe it. Me and my family didn't want to believe it," Gomez said. "I knew he was scared to be there." view article
What to know about the HISD staff at the center of a statewide teaching certification cheating scandal
Three Houston ISD employees face criminal charges for allegedly running a teacher certification cheating ring, certifying more than 210 teachers with more than 430 bogus certification tests. All three HISD employees are on paid leave effective Monday, the district's Chief of Communications Alexandra Elizondo said this week."HISD was made aware of the investigation into an alleged cheating conspiracy shortly before arrests were made," the district commented Monday. "Any educator who engages in conduct of this nature abdicates their responsibility to our students and to our staff and represents a complete betrayal of the public trust. HISD will cooperate fully with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement as the investigation progresses. All three of these employees have been arrested and will be receiving notifications relieving them of their duties effective immediately." view article
Leander ISD will distribute around $5.5 million in one-time payments to thousands of staff members. The district’s board of trustees approved the payments at an Oct. 24 meeting. How it works In December, full-time employees will receive a one-time payment of $1,000, while part-time employees will receive $500 payments. These payments, which LISD has also distributed in previous school years, are intended to reduce turnover and retain staff while improving employee morale, according to district documents. view article
Texas State professor accused of ‘electioneering’ after asking students for their vote
In the race for judge seat in the 483rd District Court, incumbent Tanner Neidhardt, who was appointed to the office by Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2022 and became a Texas State University adjunct professor in 2023, emailed his students and hundreds of others from his university account asking them to vote for him, according to screenshots and copies of the emails obtained by the American-Statesman. Chevo Pastrano, an attorney retained by Alicia Key, who is challenging Neidhardt in the race, emailed Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse to accuse the incumbent of "electioneering" with university resources, a potential state law violation. Pastrano also alerted the university police and Hays County district attorney's office. view article
5 arrested in $1M teacher certification cheating ring led by Houston ISD basketball coach
Five people are facing criminal charges as part of a $1 million teacher certification cheating ring that allegedly put teachers without proper credentials working in area school districts, the Harris County District Attorney's office announced Monday. Harris County District District Attorney Kim Ogg said at least 400 tests were taken and at least 200 teachers were falsely certified through the ring. The investigation found the cheating activities stretched back to at least May 2020, during the pandemic. At least two customers who gained certification through the ring were determined to be sexual predators, officials said. view article
Three Houston ISD employees are among the five people charged in connection with a scheme to help hundreds of people cheat on state teacher certification tests, Harris County prosecutors said Monday. Prosecutors said longtime Booker T. Washington High School boys basketball coach Vincent Grayson led a cheating ring in which people typically paid about $2,500 for help fraudulently obtaining a teacher license. As many as 400 people might have illegally obtained a teacher certification in Texas since 2020 through the cheating ring, which netted the organizers about $1 million, prosecutors said. view article
McKinney ISD is pleased to announce that longtime McKinney ISD educator and instructional leader Judy Mercer has been named the district’s new director of professional learning. With 27 years in education, including 24 in MISD, Mercer brings experience at both the elementary and secondary levels to her new role. Mercer’s extensive teaching background in MISD includes time at Walker Elementary and Bennett Elementary. In 2010, she moved to the secondary level as a classroom teacher at Cockrill Middle School. But, for the past 8 years, she has served as an instructional coach and Reading/Language Arts department chair at Cockrill, and she has served for 6 years as the school’s MTSS coordinator. view article
Normangee ISD employee fired over allegations of inappropriate touching and Snapchat misconduct
Normangee ISD has terminated an employee initially placed on administrative leave over allegations of inappropriate behavior with a student, according to new documents released Friday. To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, KBTX has decided not to identify the employee involved until formal charges are filed. view article
The Leander Independent School District’s Board of Trustees will meet Thursday night to consider giving its staff a one-time, $1,000 bonus, according to the board’s meeting agenda.The recommendation comes from Leander ISD superintendent Dr. Bruce Gearing, and is backed by the ISD’s chief financial officer and its interim chief human resources officer. view article
‘Loved her kids, like every great teacher does’ | Salado Elementary Teacher Dies in Car Crash
Salado ISD is mourning the tragic loss of second-grade teacher Kimberly Kosh-Ruiz. Known as "Kim" to the community, she was killed in a car crash on Wednesday evening. Thomas Arnold Elementary School's Kosh-Ruiz, a Killeen resident, was rushed to Baylor Scott & White emergency room for treatment, but died because of her injuries. view article
Within the span of five months, four employees working for the El Paso Independent School District police department have been arrested for various charges. The four employees are: view article
North Texas Teacher Arrested for Sexual Relationship With Former Student view article
Mom Milytza Guzman alleged teacher Lisa Cantu abused her 11-year-old special needs daughter. view article
Carroll ISD teacher accused of alleged sexual relationship with student, police say
A Carroll ISD middle school teacher is on leave after being accused of having an improper relationship with a former student, the district says. The district said Keller police arrested 45-year-old Carroll Middle School teacher Angela Barnes without incident following an investigation into claims she'd been involved with a minor last summer. view article
Mom Milytza Guzman alleged teacher Lisa Cantu abused her 11-year-old special needs daughter. view article