NREA recently released it's report, "Why Rural Matters", and here are a few graphics and information from that report.

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/the-state-of-rural-schools-in-charts-funding-graduation-rates-performance-and-more/2023/11

Great article in the WSJ recently, great job Brandon and Cushing ISD!

https://www.wsj.com/story/in-texas-rural-school-districts-have-helped-kill-school-choice-bills-c78a0014

Please check out the newly-released report, Why Rural Matters, an effort taken on by our national affiliate, NREA.  

https://www.nrea.net/why-rural-matters

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGwHpPGSdbVSDGfSLjRTQDqWgCP

Check out the Resources, News, and Updates from our partners at NKH.  They have provided over $250,000 in Food Service Grants to Rural School Districts in the last three years.  Thank you, NKH!

Check out this resource article from our Partners at NKH...

https://bestpractices.nokidhungry.org/resource/breakfast-after-bell-myths

Check out the Resources from Dairy MAX...

https://nutritionnow.schoolmarketaccess.com/

Looking to be an exhibitor at the Spring Conference in Georgetown?  Here's the link!

https://events.esc13.net/ruralschools/exhibitors/

https://donate.seedmoney.org/

Please copy and paste into your browser. 

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/30/private-school-expansion-texas-vouchers/

Please copy and paste into your browser

https://jklivinfoundation.org/

Please copy and paste link into your browser.

https://www.greenlightsgrantinitiative.org/about-us/

Please copy and paste the link into your browser.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently announced they are postponing the public release of the most recent A-F Accountability System, which is heavily weighted on the STAAR test results. It’s not clear that, if the in next month, they are going to manipulate the test scores to make schools look bad or worse. The original release that was scheduled for late September, was the “bad”. Bad, in that TEA was intending to take unprecedented measures to manipulate the data so that some districts wind up with a lower accountability rating even if their students scored the same or better on a particular campus. “Worse” could be that TEA has another month to manipulate the data to make even more campuses and districts look like they’re failing when they’re not.

The purpose of an Accountability System should be to give the public and taxpayers a clear picture of how their tax dollars are being spent in terms of student achievement. Their proposed methods are convoluted and will not accurately reflect the results of the state assessments. That’s why you have Districts suing TEA right now, and rightly so. I rate TEA’s A-F Accountability System an F. Also, why can’t the TEA propose an accountability system that isn’t based almost completely on one test? There’s a lot more that goes into student achievement than just a one-time, high stakes test.
So why would the TEA be a party to the crime of ignoring the successes of public school districts? Simple politics. The TEA Commissioner is appointed and allowed to stay in office at the whim of the Governor. The Governor wants to spend public dollars for private schools. The rhetoric, though wrong and harmful to the students of this state, has to be that schools are failing and need another option paid for with public dollars.