Superintendent turnover: Frenzy of moves as school year ends – By Matt Zalaznick, District Administrator
Superintendent turnover is not slowing down even as many districts wind most other school activities down for the year.
Plenty of sitting and former superintendents have landed new jobs in recent weeks. Danielle Cook, the former superintendent of Randolph Academy Union Free School District, was picked as the new leader of the Frewsburg Central School District in New York. “The rural community circles around its school to ensure every student has a sense of belonging,” Cook said of her new role.
Also in New York, Tammy Mangus has been chosen to lead the Cassadaga Valley Central School District after having previously been the superintendent of the Monticello Central School District. Kent DeKoninck, who served eight years as the superintendent of Greenwood Community Schools and was Indiana’s 2021 Superintendent of the Year, now leads Southwest Allen County Schools.
Teri Staloch, who led Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools from 2015 to 2022 and is currently an educational consultant, has been named superintendent of Robbinsdale Area Schools in Minnesota. In Southern California, Superintendent Jason Johnson is moving from the Hermosa Beach City School District to lead the El Segundo Unified School District. Johnson also spent several years at Redondo Beach USD and taught middle school special education at Los Angeles USD.
Texas education leaders unveil Bible-infused elementary school curriculum – By Pooja Salhotra and Robert Downen, The Texas Tribune
Elementary school curriculum proposed this week would infuse new state reading and language arts lessons with teachings on the Bible, marking the latest push by Texas Republicans to put more Christianity in public schools.
The Texas Education Agency released the thousands of pages of educational materials this week. They have been made available for public viewing and feedback and, if approved by the State Board of Education in November, will be available for public schools to roll out in August of 2025. Districts will have the option of whether to use the materials, but will be incentivized to do so with up to $60 per student in additional funding.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the materials are based on extensive cognitive science research and will help improve students’ reading and math scores. In 2019, less than half of students met grade-level standards for reading, and that percentage has declined since the pandemic, based on state standardized test scores.
The new materials have prompted criticism, though. The education news site The 74 first reported the redesign on Wednesday and included excerpts of lesson plans with biblical references. They also reported that a New York-based curriculum vendor, Amplify, opted out of bidding on a contract after the state sought to insert biblical materials, but not other religious texts, into the curriculum. The state education agency rejected those claims, saying multiple religions are included throughout the curriculum. Because of Texas' size, textbooks that are developed for its schools are often used in other states.
Senate advances legislation allowing schools to hire part-time teachers without certification – By Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin
The New Hampshire Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would allow school districts to hire part-time teachers – without the need for a State Board of Education credential.
House Bill 1298 would allow teachers working fewer than 30 hours a week who pass a criminal background check to be hired and teach without the credential. But the bill would prohibit teachers whose New Hampshire education credential has been revoked from teaching under the new category. And it would require them to adhere to the state code of conduct and code of ethics for teachers.
Supporters say the bill would address persistent teacher shortages in the state and allow for school administrators to find more innovative solutions.
“This goes back to whether or not you trust your local school board to hire and retain people who work in that system and (are) able to provide a service to the school,” said Sen. Tim Lang, a Sanbornton Republican, speaking at a Senate Education Committee meeting earlier this month. “Who may not be a certified teacher but teaches a great business accounting class … or an art teacher, or a P.E. teacher – bringing in a football coach to teach P.E.”
Federal money helped Louisiana schools expand summer school. What happens when it’s gone? – By Ashley White, NOLA.com
Federal pandemic funding has allowed school districts to bolster summer school programs to address learning loss.
But as the federal aid expires this year, districts are considering how — or if — they can maintain those summer-school enhancements.
“Money’s not the answer to everything,” said Angela Henry, the executive director of elementary curriculum and instruction for Caddo Parish Schools. “But the funds have certainly allowed us to do things that we were not able to do before.”
The district dedicated $19.4 million, or nearly 9% of its COVID funds, for summer school programs. The extra funding allowed the district to address pandemic-related learning gaps, across “all students and all subjects,” rather than just focusing on reading and math skills, Henry said.
