tcta.org |
September 28 , 2007 |
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| State to pay for required educator fingerprinting | ||
TCTA applauded the state’s top leaders for requesting of the Texas Education Agency’s acting Commissioner Robert Scott that TEA pay for state-mandated fingerprinting of current certified educators. Pursuant to a letter signed by Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, funding for the new law is being sought directly from the Texas Education Agency’s budget. Senate Bill 9, passed during the 2007 session, requires national criminal background checks, including fingerprinting, for all employees and certain other individuals who will have direct contact with students. We have confirmed with TEA that the agency has agreed to pay for the fingerprinting as requested. It is our understanding that TEA will post a letter to this effect on its website. Read more…
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| TEA announces new, easier way for special education teachers to meet NCLB highly qualified requirements |
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When Congress reauthorized the federal Individual with Disabilities Act in 2004, the Act included new flexibility for certain special education teachers teaching core academic subjects to meet the federal NCLB Act's highly qualified requirements. The flexibility options allow secondary special education teachers who teach core academic subjects on an elementary level exclusively to children who are assessed pursuant to alternate achievement standards to be considered highly qualified if they meet highly qualified requirements for elementary teachers. The highly qualified requirements for elementary teachers are (a) passing the appropriate elementary certification test, or (b) the additional option for experienced teachers of meeting elementary HOUSE (High Objective Uniform Standard of Evaluation (HOUSE). Read more... |
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Teachers deserve a “Thank you” for improved national scores - Texas students rank well |
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Texas teachers and students have earned the right to be proud of their performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The NAEP measures students' progress in various subjects in 4th, 8th and 12th grades. Fourth and eighth grade students in Texas performed better than the national average on the 2007 reading and math NAEP, as reported in "The Nation's Report Card." Texas was one of only four states in the nation that made gains in all content areas on the 2007 8th grade math NAEP and one of only six states making gains on the 4th grade reading NAEP. Take a closer look ... |
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| Five new language certifications approved for Texas educators | ||
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Beginning in October, Texas educators can become certified to teach Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Vietnamese. "These five new certificates were created to be responsive to the needs of multicultural communities and to prepare students for increasing globalization of the economy," said Karen Loonam, director of Educator Standards at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Read more... |
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| Attorney General Abbott launches school safety initiative to protect Texas students | ||
Many of our members were fortunate enough to attend a mini-conference on school safety led by Curtis Clay of the Texas School Safety Center at the TCTA Annual Convention last March. We received many comments on the powerful presentation that will now be available to schools through the Attorney General's office. The TxSSC is working with Attorney General Abbott to promote new safety measures designed to protect students from school violence. The TxSSC, created in 1999 in the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy, provides schools with research, training, and technical assistance to reduce youth violence and promote safety in Texas schools. The Office of the Attorney General has committed to provide all Texas public schools with an interactive DVD and CD-ROM, "School Safety: Saving Lives When Seconds Count." There are additional training materials, a School Safety Guide, and access to a teen-targeted website with safety information for students. Read more... |
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| Congratulations! | ||
13 Wichita Falls CTA members win West Excellence in Teaching Awards This unique award presented by the West Foundation honors dedicated teaching and stresses good character, positive attitude and dedication to the job. More than half of the twenty award winners are members of the Wichita Falls chapter of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association. The West Foundation presented 20 awards at a banquet on September 25. Read more... Ysleta and Keller teachers named 2008 Texas Teachers of the YearFor the second year in a row, teachers from the Ysleta and Keller school districts have been named the Texas Teachers of the Year. Read more... |
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| Protecting you, protecting your identity: All You Need. | ||
TCTA is pleased to note the addition of identity theft coverage to the professional liability insurance coverage provided to members for the 2007-08 membership year at no additional charge. Read more about this exciting new feature… |
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| Copyright © 2007 Texas Classroom Teachers Association®. All rights reserved. The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is an independent association for Texas teaching professionals, which was founded in 1927 and has over 50,000 members across the state. TCTA is based in Austin and is the only statewide teacher association that limits Active membership to those directly involved in classroom teaching or teaching support. For more information about TCTA, please visit our Web
site at www.tcta.org. |
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