Dr. Mark Estrada Mark Estrada, Ph.D., superintendent of Lockhart ISD, has been named the 2021 Regional Superintendent of the Year by Education...
All Blog Posts
The Teacher Incentive Allotment is a big deal for Texas teachers and their students. Governor Abbott signed House Bill 3 into law in 2019. Included...
There are many changes to Texas student assessment for the 2021-2022 school year. This blog post will examine the known changes as well as some of...
Now that school is over for the year, what are some ways to keep our students enriched and still learning during the summer break? What are some...
Response to Intervention, otherwise known as RTI, is a critical and multi-tier way of identifying and supporting students with behavior or learning...
Career and Technical Education, often abbreviated as CTE, isn’t just an educational buzzword, it’s a vital part of setting up our...
HB 3906, passed in 2019 by the 86th Texas Legislature, requires that by the 2022-2023 school year no more than 75% of the items on STAAR tests be of...
Let’s be honest, it’s been a really hard year for most of us, and an exceptionally hard school year for educators. Educators have been on the...
Educators know the difficulties of the summer slide⏤the phenomenon where students lose significant gains in math and reading over the summer months...
What are the necessary considerations we should think about to help students reach academic automaticity? Should we drill, drill, drill? Should...
Turnaround schools are identified as underperforming schools that are in need of improvement. Being part of a turnaround program can feel a little...
Campus Leadership, Special Education
Three Things School Leaders Can Do to Support Special Education
Leading change and ensuring students on campus have what they need to be successful learners during the pandemic is a challenging charge. Within our...
TEA has released the Spring 2021 State Assessment Guidance document that offers districts and campuses flexibility on the administration of required...
Have you ever had a defeated feeling after you taught a lesson you thought was perfection, only to be met with blank stares and confusion from your...
When you get an email reminder from The Texas Education Agency (TEA) that your principal certificate is expiring soon, it can feel a little...
The STAAR Alternate 2 is the alternate statewide assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. This post will discuss a...
I remember being a young child watching Mr. Roger’s neighborhood on our family TV. We lived in a rural part of Texas and television reception was...
Formative Assessment is a teacher tool that’s sometimes overlooked but incredibly powerful tool. Formative assessments are a valuable piece of...
Each generation has their own defining characteristics, whether it’s the self-sufficiency of Baby Boomers or the desire for meaningful work...
Mindsets play an important role in our lives, especially when it comes to learning. A mindset is made up of the beliefs and thoughts that shape our...
“Homeless Liaison” may be in your job description – but do you know what it means? By law, every local education agency (school district or charter...
Students experiencing homelessness have the same rights to a free appropriate public education as their fellow classmates. They’re protected...
The parent-teacher conference is one aspect of education where most of us might say, “You never know what you are going to get.” But, it doesn’t have...
Since 2014, each school district must designate a Transition and Employment Services Designee, also called a “TED.” The requirements for TEDs are...
THE AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN NAMES ESC REGION 13 A WINNER OF THE AUSTIN TOP WORKPLACES 2020 AWARD We’ve been awarded a Top Workplaces 2020...
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines low-incidence disabilities as Section 1462(c): a visual or hearing impairment, or...
TEA has recently released guidance around the December 2020 STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) administrations. As a reminder, December EOC administrations...
In our unusual school year, teachers and administrators have more data to track and analyze than ever before. With virtual, face-to-face...
We all know, even with the best of intentions, teachers sometimes finish a lesson early and have unexpected time left. We also know administrators...
As remote instruction continues due to COVID-19, more and more school counselors are going to be participating in virtual school counseling. Just...
You’ve seen it before. A routine planning time becomes a 30-minute team venting session about a student, and ends without creating any real or...
Classroom Instruction, Distance Learning, School Communities
How Texas Teachers are Teaching During COVID-19
COVID-19 has changed the way teachers around the world are teaching. In Texas we’ve seen a rise in both remote learning and blended learning, with...
Classroom Instruction, Strategic Instruction
Active Engagement Strategies That Push All Students Forward
What if I told you that you can get all students, K-12+, to participate in a lesson through simple active engagement exercises? What if I told you...
Empathy is a word that we hear a lot these days, especially in counseling circles. However, even with the rise in popularity and the buzzword that...
Who would have thought we would ever need a Virtual T-TESS Rubric? It’s become the cliché phrase of 2020 repeated across every setting. “Who...
Self care is a crucial part of everyone’s mental health. It involves deliberate activities we practice in order to boost our mental, emotional...
Often times our schools don’t have mindfulness activities for kids in mind when they’re creating their curriculum. However academic...
Two Manor Independent School District school teachers have been named the 2021 Regional Teachers of the Year by Education Service Center Region 13...
Classroom Instruction, Early Childhood, Lifeskills, Special Education
Classroom Set-up During Covid-19: Creating and Implementing Routines
This morning I woke up, turned on the pre-loaded coffee maker, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, put on my exercise clothes, arranged the...
I have often thought about my what I learned my first year of teaching and what I would tell new to profession teachers or those who are preparing...
Technology is one of the many languages today’s kids and adolescents are fluent in! However, while our students are fluent in technology, they might...
As it has for the past few years, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has created optional online interim assessments for the 2020-2021 school year that...
Distance Learning, Lifeskills, Special Education
Top 5 Tips for Remote Learning for Students with Complex Disabilities
Remote learning for students with complex disabilities might pose challenges beyond what other students might face. These students need more...
Raise your hand if this is you: It’s Saturday. You hop in the car. You turn on your ignition. Ten minutes later, you’re at the grocery store. But you...
The role of a superintendent is complex. They are the face of a school district and serve as a liaison between their community and the staff in their...
COVID-19 can be scary and difficult for younger kids to understand. Kids generally aren’t used to wearing masks, socially distancing, and spending...
Classroom Instruction, Early Childhood, Lifeskills, Special Education
Classroom Setup During COVID-19: Using Picture Visuals
Hi there, friends. In the previous blog about setting up your classroom during Covid-19, we explored how to use floor tape to increase student...
Anxiety. I think it’s safe to say that most people, if they’re being honest, would say that they’ve experienced some level of anxiety the last 5...
Classroom Instruction, Distance Learning, Strategic Instruction
6 Remote Learning Strategies to Successfully Check for Your Students’ Understanding
Remote learning is the new norm for fall instruction, and with this new norm there’s going to be some growing pains. We’ve previously...
Classroom Instruction, Early Childhood, Lifeskills, Special Education
Classroom Setup During Covid-19: Floor Tape is Your Friend!
So, let’s be real for a second. We know that classroom setup during COVID-19 and that none of the instructional arrangements during COVID-19...