The Bastrop school district joined other districts across the Texas Tuesday night in calling for the repeal of a 2015 state law that would assign school ratings on an A through F grade scale.  view article

Longview ISD is giving teachers more than $720,000 in merit-based bonuses today as part of its Longview Incentive for Teachers Pay for Performance Award program. The teacher and campus personnel incentive pay is given as a reward for good performance during the 2015-16 school year.  view article

During the last several years, the San Benito School District has utilized social media to inform parents, students and the community about what goes on inside the many school buildings. Most recently, Celia Longoria, the district communications director, has started to implement more awareness about the districts and its happenings on Facebook, Twitter and online. view article

Austin ISD says they’ll be ready on Wednesday for students who learned their school, T.A. Brown Elementary, will not reopen after structural problems caused it to be unsafe. Saturday morning, district and school leaders sat down with parents to answer some of their questions. Students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten will go to Reilly Elementary just over two miles away and the other students, grades first through fifth, will go to the district’s Allan facility. view article

A meeting in Frisco on Thursday night could determine the future of several schools which are currently under construction. The school board is considering a delay in the openings of four new campuses: Memorial High School, Lawler Middle School, Talley Elementary School and Liscano Elementary School. The new campuses are all being built to ease overcrowding at other schools. Currently, they are supposed to open in the fall of 2017. view article

The people of America recently woke up to witness the independent spirit of the people of Great Britain. Despite the polls, the people voted 51.8%to 48.2% to leave the  [Education schoolkids] European Union and chart their own path. What were the issues that the Brits were upset about? The first thing I thought about the morning after was, we need a Brexit in education. view article

A new Judson Independent School District high school is on the verge of changing its name before it opens. Mackey High School opens in August and nine trustees from Judson ISD host a special meeting to vote on a name change. view article

Bonham ISD announced Monday they won't follow the new federal transgender bathroom policy. The superintendent told us there's no problem for transgender students at Bonham schools, but a former transgender student disagrees. view article

As the aftermath of the major April 18 rainfall event continues to wreak havoc in the Cy-Fair area, officials with Cy-Fair ISD have announced all schools and facilities will be closed through Friday, April 22. “School closure is not a decision I take lightly, but it is currently the best option for all our students and staff as we support those who have lost everything and ensure all buildings are safe for school,” CFISD Superintendent Mark Henry said in a statement posted to the district’s website. view article

Istation reports a study linking student results on Istation assessments with a high probability of passing Texas' standardized reading test. This study updates Istation's previous prediction band study completed in March 2014 that tracked student performance on Istation's Indicators of Progress (ISIP™) assessments and STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) scores. view article

Any Frisco ISD student who got a “hoverboard” for Christmas and wants to show it off at school is in for a rude awakening. The trendy mode of transportation will no longer be allowed on Frisco ISD campuses, the district announced Wednesday. view article

Some San Antonio students may have to wake up a few minutes earlier next school year. Parents can blame it on the politicians who passed a new state law changing the amount of time students spend in school. During the last legislative session, lawmakers approved House Bill 2610. view article

Arlington parents are hoping a few extra minutes in school every day will mean their students are out for summer break days earlier. The school district is about to lengthen its school days hoping to either provide a buffer in case weather-related school closures are needed or give everyone an early summer break. When kids go to school they’re literally on the clock. Their school year isn’t over until the school has clocked 17,600 minutes of student time. Arlington is hoping it can push all those minutes into a shorter school year. view article

A special board meeting for the Judson Independent School District is set to take place Wednesday night. On the agenda is the possibility of rescinding the name of Dr. Willis Mackey High School. The school was named after the district's former Superintendent who retired last year, and the topic has since been widely debated. view article

There is no replicating the classroom teaching experience, and having that experience should not be optional for public school superintendent job candidates. The State Board of Education is voting in Austin today on the states requirements for public school superintendents and is considering removing teaching experience from the list of qualifications. view article

Extending the student/teacher ratio for a few third-grade classes and approving a request made by the Texas A&M Agri-life Extension office were the only highlights during November's Plainview ISD school board meeting Thursday. With a unanimous vote, PISD trustees voted to approve an application for a waiver to exceed the ... view article

Six-year-old Harry Brown plopped down on the colorful rug in his kindergarten class and shook a clear little plastic container with two dice. He looked at the sets of dots facing up, added the two numbers aloud and pointed to the total number in Mandarin Chinese on his worksheet. view article

A MacArthur High School freshman said school officials overreacted and called police after mistakenly thinking a digital clock he rebuilt looked like a fake bomb. "They arrested me and told me I committed a crime of a hoax bomb - a fake bomb," he told News 8. view article

Every week brings more evidence that John Frossard gets it. In ways big and small, the new superintendent of the Beaumont ISD is doing one thing after another to help turn around the district. The latest example came last week, when Frossard brought in Larry Bell as the keynote speaker for the teacher in-service convocation. "Keynote entertainer" might have been more accurate, and not in a bad way. Bell - part preacher, part comedian, part singer and part dancer - energized and motivated BISD teachers to do their best this new school year. Frossard has known Bell since both were teachers in northern Virginia years ago. view article

The Killeen Independent School District board of trustees and the community seem to be at odds over an issue involving $10,000 and the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Killeen ISD pays $10,000 annually to the chamber for membership dues for 11 administrators. Board president Terry Delano brought this fact to light at a July 27 workshop meeting. view article

The Killeen Independent School District board of trustees and the community seem to be at odds over an issue involving $10,000 and the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Killeen ISD pays $10,000 annually to the chamber for membership dues for 11 administrators. Board president Terry Delano brought this fact to light at a July 27 workshop meeting. view article

Northside ISD will cap attendance at Taft High School because of overcrowding in the area. Northside ISD said about 200 students will have to enroll at Brennan High School, which is roughly four miles from Taft High School. view article

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We want to give our kids the best education possible. Textbooks are a huge part of that, but are we giving them the best and most accurate books?  According to an article in the Washington Post, the new history textbooks are downplaying the role of slavery as a cause of the Civil War. They don't mention the Ku Klux  Klan or Jim Crow. Why not? It's part of the history of how southern states teach history according to University of St. Thomas professor Lisa Mundey. view article

The National Weather Service is predicting that severe weather caused by Tropical Storm Bill will hit the Houston area. School district and local officials are taking precautions, announcing closures and cancellations. view article

After 24 hours of uncertainty, Lloyd Treadwell officially accepted the interim superintendent job at Alvord ISD. The school board approved his hire with a 5-0 vote Monday night, but Treadwell's availability was uncertain due to another job opportunity on the table. He accepted the Alvord post Wednesday. Moving forward, Treadwell understands his role as a caretaker until the permanent hire is made, but he is happy to be in Alvord. view article

The Willis ISD board approved an adjustment to salary pay scales for teachers and district staff Tuesday for the 2015-16 school year. There will be a $1,580 pay increase for all teachers, while the starting pay for teachers with a bachelor's degree will be $44,000 – a $1,000 increase over the 2014-15 school year. view article

Last week's news that students at a middle school in the McKinney ISD were asked to leave for wearing 'Gay is OK' t-shirts in support of a bullied classmate points out the glaring lack of LGBTQ-specific anti-bullying and anti-harassment protections for public school students across North Texas. Now that the school year has ended across the region, the time is now to make changes and improve protections for LGBTQ students view article

State Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne, characterized the recently wrapped 84th Legislature as productive generally speaking, albeit a bit of a learning curve from his standpoint. “I worked with [members of the Texas Legislature] 20 years ago in advisory roles,” Burns said. “But it's different being on the other side of that desk for sure. Of course, I'm sure each session is always different from the next as well and you never know what to expect.” view article

Letzny Leyva's inspiration started in high school. As a senior at Veterans Memorial Early College High School she was introduced to Blanca Davila, then a student ambassador. Leyva credits Davila for pushing her to complete the necessary paperwork for college. Leyva was inspired then to give back to the program. view article

And so another school year comes to an end, marking a perfect time to honor all the hardworking teachers who gave it their best. But I'd like to honor one teacher especially — one who isn't just ending a school year but also a 34-year career in public education. That would be the teacher I'm married to. view article

The end of the 84th Texas Legislature is the day free market folks in Texas look forward to every two years. There are fewer opportunities to block progress when they are not in Austin. Taking a macro view of this session's fiscal outcomes, it was largely successful with passage of a conservative budget and historic tax relief. view article

A special night for special people is how Sheldon Harrison described Friday night's commencement ceremony for Karnack Junior and Senior High School as he addressed the 2015 graduating class - the last class to graduate from the soon-to-be closed sc view article

Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” As the Socorro ISD superintendent, my first goal was to build a unified team that would work together to ensure globally competitive graduates. view article

Spring Independent School District launched its summer reading program recently at the Chick-fil-A on FM 1960 with hundreds of families attending. “We know May is a busy time for families and we want to make sure that everyone in our district has an opportunity to participate in Slide into Summer Reading,” said Lupita Hinojosa, Spring ISD academics chief. “This program will continue throughout the summer, so families who weren't able to attend the launch can still get involved.” view article