by Andy Welch
EduLege Extra Some of the timely issues that have been addressed in recent editions of EduLege
‘No patience for political games…’ That task force that Governor Abbott ordered to find solutions to the Texas teacher shortage has basically doubled its membership — after criticism that only two classroom teachers were part of the original 28-member group. The Texas Education Agency now says that the task force will include two dozen classroom educators, so the group includes an “equal representation” of teachers and school administrators. The original appointments consisted of 26 administrators — some of whom had never taught in the classroom. Zeph Capo, the president of Texas Federation of Teachers, called the makeup of the original task force “disrespectful and degrading.” But perhaps the most scorching public criticism came from high school English teacher Gabriela Diaz of Houston, a 16-year veteran of the classroom. “One week, Abbott is threatening jail time and the next he wonders why teachers are leaving in droves. He need only reflect on his agenda to understand why educators have no patience for political games right now,” Ms. Diaz wrote in an Op-Ed column in the Houston Chronicle. TEA announced that Dallas teacher Josue Torres will now serve as the chair of the task force and that the newly expanded group will be organized into several workgroups to address the different challenges contributing to the teacher shortages.
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Spring 2022 | www.TSPRA.org
