IDRA Newsletter
Stories include: Texas Higher Education Law Aims to Improve Outcomes for Students in Developmental Education; Three Guiding Principles for Removing College Readiness Barriers in School Policies and Practices; Texas Public School Attrition Study Highlights, 2018-19 – Attrition Rate Down to 21%, But Texas High Schools Lost Over 88,000 Students Last Year; and
Valued Youth Partnership Tutor on the Importance of Being Able to Ask Questions in School
We're Hiring!
Open staff positions include:
• Researcher and Program Evaluator
• Education Associate – Principal experience, English learner education experience
Consultant positions include:
• IDRA EAC-South Consultants
• Freelance Editors
Podcast
Classnotes Podcast (November 26, 2019). While the Chief Science Officers program is designed to support new student leadership for STEM, … read more
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Annual Report
As a community, we have made a promise to our children - a big promise to provide a quality public education so all children may find their fullest future and fulfill it.
IDRA's new publication, Keeping the Promise - Putting Children First, features seven case studies that illustrate how IDRA promotes leading-edge research, policies, and practices that secure real solutions to school inequity and achieves results for students.
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Testimony
In testimony before the Texas State Board of Education, IDRA National Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement Morgan Craven referenced several research studies showing the dramatic positive impact of ethnic studies courses, such as one where attendance increased by 21 percentage points! The board held a public hearing on a proposed new African American Studies course.
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eNews
The commission will update Virginia’s standards of learning to be more inclusive of African American contributions
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Infographic
See our new technical assistance package focusing on family engagement.
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Infographic
When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts raids in a community, students are deeply affected. Even the threat of a raid or news of one in another part of the country can have painful lasting effects. To help educators serving students affected by ICE raids, see IDRA's list of 10 strategies for schools.
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eNews
As schools are registering students for the new school year, IDRA released this new alert as a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all children. Not only should undocumented students not be discouraged from attending, they are required to attend school under the state’s compulsory education laws.
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Article
IDRA submitted the following letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs prior to the committee’s … read more
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News Release
IDRA and the Consulate of Mexico in San Antonio announce a new partnership to help Mexican and Mexican American families navigate the U.S. education system and learn about important educational opportunities in both countries. The program, called the Ventanilla de Orientación Educativa (VOE) and created by the Institute of Mexicans Abroad of the Government of Mexico, provides information on the civil rights of immigrant and English learner students, local educational services, and resources on how to access and succeed in college.
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eNews
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the addition of a question to the 2020 decennial census about whether or not respondents are U.S. citizens, a question that would have put education resources at risk for millions of Americans. In the case, Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court held that the Trump Administration’s decision to add the citizenship question “seems to have been contrived.”
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eNews
Fifty San Antonio students will serve as ambassadors to the science and innovation community this next school year. IDRA and the Alamo STEM Ecosystem launched the Chief Science Officers program here and will expand across Texas. The program empowers middle and school high school students to enrich school STEM culture and career awareness by bringing STEM/STEAM*-related opportunities to their schools and local communities.
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Data Dashboard
IDRA created this dashboard to show scenarios of how increasing the bilingual education allotment will impact schools within each Texas House or Senate district.
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Event Video
Grounded in our unique model of family leadership in education, the Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute is an event where families lead each other in advocating for equitable and excellent education in their communities. Watch the live stream video!
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Joint statement
IDRA and 14 other teacher groups, school administrators, school board members, and public education advocates have come together to support a legislative agenda that will increase the transparency and efficiency of charter schools in Texas.
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News Release
In an additional analysis to IDRA’s annual attrition study released in December, IDRA examined data from a national and statewide perspective on attrition rates of economically disadvantaged students and examined the issue in terms of school district property wealth.
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IDRA eNews
IDRA's latest annual attrition study found that the Texas high school attrition rate has declined from 24 percent last year to 22 percent in 2017-18 – the lowest rate in over three decades. In 1985-86, when IDRA conducted the state’s first attrition study, the rate was 33 percent and grew as high as 43 percent in later years. It has taken over three decades to improve by 11 percentage points.
At this pace, Texas will not reach universal high school education for another two decades and stands to lose over 2.3 million more students.
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Report
A new IDRA report outlines the contributions of IDRA's 15 years in teacher preparation through six multi-year Transition to Teaching grants, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. IDRA partnered with universities and more than 55 school districts across Texas to prepare a new generation of skilled, effective teachers to lead and innovate in schools that need them most.
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IDRA eNews
Study on the Impact of Texas' New Weakened Graduation Requirements in HB5 Released by IDRA
The class of 2018 is the first to graduate under the new graduation requirements put in place in 2013 by the Texas legislature. Many advocates raised concerns that lowering graduation requirements could possibly affect college readiness and preparation. With funding from the Greater Texas Foundation, IDRA conducted a mixed method study to examine the early effects of the new graduation requirements. See the study findings.
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IDRA eNews
Across the country, school doors are now open. Families have gathered supplies. Teachers have arranged their rooms. Principals have organized their staff. The sights and sounds are familiar, just like every year. But some things need to be different if we are going to better serve our diverse students and lead them to success.
See a few examples of our new and most popular packages:
• English Learner Literacy Coaching
• Instructional Strategies for Building Inferencing Skills
• Effective Dropout Prevention through the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program
• Use Semillitas de Aprendizaje™ to Support Bilingual Early Childhood Literacy Development
Contact
5815 Callaghan Road, Suite 101
San Antonio, TX 78228
Phone: 210-444-1710
Fax: 210-444-1714
