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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

A former high school principal in Katy ISD is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old student earlier this month. Mayde Creek High School assistant principal Adrian Lee Berg has since resigned following the Oct. 3 incident and is charged with injury to a child. view article

Parents accused a gym teacher at Brentwood STEAM School of Innovation of bullying and assaulting their 11-year-old daughter, and the outcry on social media drew a crowd to the next Edgewood Independent School District board meeting. There, the rally on behalf of Angelann Carrasco, the daughter of Carolann Reyes and Angel Carrasco, came up against board rules that limit public comments to items on the meeting agenda. A few speakers tailored their remarks to student mental health to castigate the gym teacher alleged to have grabbed Angelann by the arm for wearing a plain T-shirt rather than the required collared school uniform shirt. view article

20-year-old Malachi Knight Boyle says he's the victim mentioned in court documents that spell out what happened on September 27 at Bryan Tigner's apartment. Tigner is an assistant principal at Westbury High School, which is where Boyle says he met him a couple of years ago while in his senior year. view article

Katy ISD Superintendent Ken Gregorski has named Kathryn Leeper as the new principal of Faldyn Elementary at 25615 Clay Road in Katy, the district announced in an October 8 press release. Leeper will officially assume the role on Tuesday, October 15. Leeper has nearly 20 years of experience in education, serving as a classroom teacher and in several leadership positions, including campus and district administrator. She has extensive experience leading professional development, coaching educators to reach their full potential and employing student data to affect change. view article

The principal at Houston's ISD's Harvard Elementary School in the Heights has been ousted, leaving the school community in shock six weeks into the new school year. In a letter to Harvard families, HISD Lead Senior Executive Director Ray Winkler wrote, "I am writing to inform you that Dr. Shelby Calabrese has been put on administrative leave pending investigation, effective Oct. 7, 2024." Calabrese has been the principal at Harvard since June of 2022. Before Harvard, she was the assistant principal at Port Houston Elementary School.   Shelby Calabrese was put on administrative leave, according to Houston ISD. In a letter to Harvard families, HISD Lead Senior Executive Director Ray Winkler wrote, "I am writing to inform you that Dr. Shelby Calabrese has been put on administrative leave pending investigation, effective Oct. 7, 2024." Calabrese has been the principal at Harvard since June of 2022. Before Harvard, she was the assistant principal at Port Houston Elementary School.   Harvard Elementary is Houston's oldest school and celebrated its 125th birthday last September. The school had a rough start to the school year, suffering through air conditioning issues that caused extreme heat in the classrooms. view article

The Vernon community is mourning the loss of a beloved school district instructor who passed away suddenly on Sunday, Oct. 13. Vernon ISD officials said in a Facebook post that Gayla DeHoyos joined the district as a substitute teacher in 2002 and became a full-time faculty member in 2013. She was the ISS instructor for many years before becoming the librarian. view article

An Evans Middle School teacher has been placed on administrative leave following reports of disciplinary action that resulted in several students receiving burn injuries. Lubbock ISD administration is aware of the incident and fully investigating the allegations. According to Lubbock ISD, the teacher directed a group of students to do “bear crawls” on the outdoor track, with high temperatures heating the track. This resulted in multiple students being burned. view article

The Lubbock Independent School District on Friday said multiple students at Evans Middle School received burn injuries on their hands after a teacher made them perform “bear crawls” on a hot outdoor track as a disciplinary method. A statement from Lubbock ISD said the teacher has been placed on leave pending an investigation. See statement below. view article