9 minute read
In the Spotlight A look at this year’s Professional Awards recipients
ventilation, they say, are crucial until a vaccine is available.
Normally, this would be the lead item. But these aren’t normal times…
Advertisement
To the chagrin of a growing chorus of state legislators, parents, and educators, Texas students will still have to take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness tests next year—but Governor Abbott says 5th and 8th grade students will be able to advance to the next grade, even if they fail the state assessment.
The governor also said that Texas school districts and campuses would continue to receive A—F grades, based largely on students’ test scores, “albeit with certain adjustments due to COVID-19.”
The governor’s statement did not elaborate on what those adjustments would be.
Texas high school students must also pass a five specific STAAR exams in order to graduate. Abbott’s statement did not mention waivers for those students.
Governor Abbott suspended the 2020 STAAR testing regime in March, as Texas classrooms closed amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Education Commissioner Morath has lamented the fact that the state has lost its most important academic benchmarks for the 2019-2020 school year.
Other states are seeking permission from the US Department of Education to waive similar exams, something advocacy group Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment have asked of the Texas Education Agency.
“To judge a student in the middle of a pandemic just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do,” said Heather Sheffield, TAMSA president. “We should really be focusing on students’ health and their well-being right now rather than an A—F grade,” Sheffield said. Among the legislators who are calling for a full STAAR time-out next year is State Representative Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, who is in a tough race for re-election.
“Continuing the pause in testing will allow our public schools, administrators, and teachers to continue focusing on the health, safety, wellness and learning of our students,” Representative Meyer wrote to Morath.
Meyer, who serves on the House Public Education Committee, says that his office has been inundated with calls from constituents who are concerned about the added stresses the tests would place on their children during the pandemic.
A pair of researchers at the University of Texas College of Education also believe that the state should reconsider its decision to restart standardized testing in the upcoming school year, and instead, should use the pause to develop a more innovative and cost-effective testing system.
“As educational researchers and former school administrators, we recognize the inherent value of testing and maintaining a system of accountability,” wrote David DeMatthews and Lebon Daniel James III in the Austin American-Statesman. “If used appropriately, standardized testing data can help the state support and improve struggling districts and schools. Yet, the current testing and accountability system in Texas is costly and inefficient, and it has not led to narrowing achievement gaps.”
How to irritate an educator…
Particularly galling for many Texas educators has been the state’s “Do as I say, not as I do” behavior. As state officials push to compel teachers back to the classroom, the offices of the Texas Education Agency remain all-but-closed—with most staff working from home to protect their own health.
“Well, if it’s safe enough for students to come back, isn’t it safe enough for you to go back to work? And if the answer is, ‘No,’ then they need to reevaluate how they’re treating their students,” said Mario Piña, an eighth grade Austin teacher. “Student and teacher safety is Number One.”
Those sentiments prompted this widely circulated post on Facebook and other social media platforms:
More time for Early Voting…
Governor Abbott has extended the early voting period for the November presidential elections in response to COVID-19. These steps The governor says the early voting are good period will begin on October 13, and but nowhere end on October 30, giving voters nearly near good one more week than usual to cast their enough. vote before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3. Abbott is also allowing voters to turn in mail ballots in person on Election Day.
Democrats and voting rights advocates have pushed the governor and Secretary of State Ruth R. Hughs to do more to ensure people can vote safely in November’s presidential elections, when a massive turnout is expected. Those advocates said extending the early voting period was the least the Governor could do under the circumstances.
“These steps are good but nowhere near good enough,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas. “Other states are doing so much more, while Governor Abbott is doing literally the least he can. We need swift and decisive action from either the Governor or Secretary of State to avoid a complete meltdown at the polls in November.”
Zenén Jaimes Perez, communications director for the Texas Civil Rights Project said, “Now, let everyone vote-by-mail and make sure counties don’t have to shut down polling locations the night before election day because of a shortage of poll workers. Start recruiting now.”
A bright spot…
Texas’ all-important sales tax revenue actually increased slightly in July, when compared with to the same month last year.
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar reports that Texas collected $2.98 billion in sales tax revenue in July, or 4.3 percent more than in July, 2019. That revenue, which mainly reflects purchases made in June, was “better than expected, despite the high unemployment due to the pandemic,” Hegar said. “The increase was due to a surge in collections from the retail trade sector,” he said, noting that the sales taxes paid on e-commerce purchases “were up sharply,” as Texas consumers increased their online shopping during the pandemic.
However, revenue collections from other major state taxes were still significantly lower last month. The oil production tax, for example, was down 40 percent from the same month last year, the comptroller reported, while the hotel occupancy tax was down 42 percent from July 2019. The natural gas production tax, meanwhile, was down 71 percent from July, 2019.
Hegar warned that the positive news from July sales tax collections could be short lived, because certain federal unemployment benefits related to the pandemic expired at the end of July.
“With about 1.3 million Texans with continued claims for insured unemployment and another 184,000 receiving benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in June, it's likely that consumer spending was significantly supported by enhanced benefits provided by the federal CARES Act and related legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
Sales tax revenue is easily the state's largest source of funding and is the driving force to the legislature’s budget-writing process. State legislators will be facing a herculean task when they write a new twoyear state budget in 2021, because of declines in revenue, brought about by the coronavirus and the plunge in Texas oil and gas production.
Long-time TSPRA member Andy Welch, the retired Communication Director for the Austin Independent School District, compiles and writes two issues of EduLege every week during the school year, copies of which are typically distributed by the state TSPRA office to members on Mondays and Thursdays. That schedule is altered for holidays, and for winter, spring and summer breaks—and when he needs the occasional day off.
Email any questions, suggestionss or concerns to Andy at andywelch1@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @welch_andy.
In the Spotlight
Meet this year’s Professional Award recipients.
by Tracie Seed
Award sponsored by O’Connell Robertson
Despite the name of her award, Rookie of the Year, Kelsey Purcell, communication specialist at Friendswood ISD, is no newbie to communications. With a degree from Midwestern State University, she is set to earn her master’s degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications this December from Webster University. While at Midwestern, Purcell says, “I wrote for my school newspaper, produced a short documentary, wrote a memoir titled Refuse to be Silenced, and interned with a local digital marketing agency and the Alvin ISD Communications Department.”
While Purcell says her time in the school communications field has been a short two years, it’s not hard to see that her success has shone brightly. Her newsletter won Best in Category in 2020 TSPRA Star Awards and her #ChallengeAccepted video series has garnered tens of thousands of views. “The video series features our Superintendent accepting a challenge from our students, and it can be anything!” she says. “This year, we’ve had everything from softball to special Olympics to math facts to a bake-off against culinary arts. These videos are great PR for our Superintendent, they highlight the talent of our students, show off our amazing organizations/ teams/programs and are a huge hit with our community.”
A self-proclaimed storyteller, Purcell also launched a weekly Student and Staff Spotlight, which highlights district community members. She says, “[They] do not have to be a star athlete/coach or make straight A’s, rather, the articles simply show that everyone has a story…I love hearing about and telling people’s stories - everyone has one!”
BRIGHT IDEA School PR Happy Hour; Erin McCann, CPC, Crandall ISD & Justin Dearing, Carroll ISD
Award sponsored by Huckabee
Talking is a big part of school trying to provide for that adds value to their communications, just ask Erin McCann, CPC daily work.” and Justin Dearing, both of who host PR Happy Hour podcast. These 20-minute (give Director of digital media and marketing at or take) episodes come out twice a month, are Allen ISD, McCann has worked in education available nationally and are downloaded more for more than 13 years, with six years in than 200 times each. school PR. “I didn’t know it was possible to genuinely love work until I found my way Dearing, assistant director of communications to school PR. I love what I do!” she says. for Carroll ISD, taught video production and Also a NSPRA “35 Under 35” recipient, radio broadcasting for seven years prior to McCann, also earned her Certified Public entering the school communications field. Communicator certification in 2019. As for In addition to the Bright Idea award, Justin winning the Bright Idea Award? McCann says, was the recipient of NSPRA’s “35 Under 35” “Winning this award means so much to me. recognition. “Winning the Bright Idea Award This project started as a shared passion to for School PR Podcast was very special to me. continue networking and great conversations This is an idea that I had quite some time ago while growing skills in audio production. The and to see it come to fruition and also be as fact that so many people are connecting with successful as it has been very fun. I appreciate our work and that our peers selected us to win that people see the need for a continuation of this award is the highest level of validation.” the great conversations that happen at TSPRA and NSPRA and think that the avenue we are
continued on pg. 24
