Research has shown that while the number of school-age children has steadily increased over time, the number of qualified teachers available to educate them has not matched this need. This topical brief shows the percentage of public schools across the nation with teaching vacancies and summarizes strategies implemented in Region 5 Comprehensive…

Among the things that will be remembered about the year 2020 are phrases like "You're still on mute" and "Can I share my screen?" They are emblematic of how educators have been challenged to navigate uncharted waters of remote learning and overnight technological adaptation. To quote another phrase that will be remembered as a…

Entering the middle of the 21st Century, Texas has the ninth-largest economy in the world, whose success is powered by the increasingly educated workforce. Texans have earned more degrees, certificates, and credentials over the past decade than at any time in history, and Texas has outpaced every other state in growing undergraduate and graduate…

School shooting prevention has become a priority for educational leadership for nearly twenty years. The brutality and significant loss of life distinguish the attacks at Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School (Jonson, 2017). However, lawmakers encounter difficulty with the wide range of behaviors, program initiatives, and risk…

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced state and school leaders across the nation and around the world to immediately close school buildings, the lasting impact on students is increasingly evident: Months of online learning and limited in-person interaction with educators, coaches and mentors have led to gaps in learning, and unknown…

In this study, we describe a teacher educator's first experience implementing a service-learning project in a children's literature course in which pre-service teachers helped provide read-alouds for the local public library's summer reading program. We sought to examine the impact the project had on the seven participants. Data was collected…

The state of Texas requires that each district and campus write an annual improvement plan (Texas Education Code, n.d.b). Although this study was conducted in Texas concerning Texas districts and campuses, it would be reasonable to assume that most, if not all, of the other states in the U.S. have similar improvement planning processes. The…

Highlighting the work of the Texas Success Center, Dr. Luis Ponjuán discusses how he has collaboratively engaged with boards of trustees to develop equity-minded agendas to create spaces for brave conversations and help them use an equity-minded leadership approach toward student data for organization planning and change.

This study explored the perceptions of district superintendents in Texas and Arizona concerning the internship activities of superintendent candidates they supervised. Twenty superintendents agreed to participate in interviews. Five uniform questions were presented during the interviews. A qualitative analysis of interview responses is shared, and…

The use of social media in the classroom is growing throughout the world. In fact, social media is a part of the everyday life of both students and educators. The primary purpose of using social media in the educational setting is to enhance student learning; however, some teachers are reluctant to incorporate social media into their classroom. In…

Effective teachers can have a significant impact on student success; unfortunately, low-income students, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities are more likely to be assigned to unqualified, less experienced, and less effective teachers. Inequitable access to effective educators is one contributing factor that…

Across American higher education, institutional consolidations are on the rise. In particular, multiple state systems have proposed or completed mergers of regional universities and/or community colleges with the stated goal of increasing efficiency. Despite the high-profile nature of some recent successful and failed consolidations, there is…

This paper examines the effect of fall 2020 school reopenings in Texas on county-level COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Previous evidence suggests that schools can be reopened safely if community spread is low and public health guidelines are followed. However, in Texas, reopenings often occurred alongside high community spread and at near capacity,…

This study examines the structure of an enhanced advising program (EAP) through the perspectives of academic advisors. Utilizing a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with 12 primary-role academic advisors employed within an EAP at a large, urban community college in Texas. Thematic analysis of the interviews identified the…

As colleges focus more on centering equity in their structures, processes, and policies on campus, they are re-examining operations inside and outside the classroom. They are looking to better serve and support traditional community college students in creative and innovative ways. Deconstructing the semester structure changes how classes are…