COVID-19 Updates: Visit our Learning Goes On site for news and resources for supporting educators, families, policymakers and advocates.
IDRA Statement
Students pay the price as Texas leaders sit on federal funds
To address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government allocated billions of dollars for K-12 schools and colleges. It designated some funds for distribution by state governors and some for colleges and universities. But the bulk of federal emergency education funds are intended for K-12 schools via the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER).
Unfortunately, Texas leaders are choosing not to accept those funds, leaving schools without critical relief monies. Commissioner Morath reported recently that half of Texas’ students are likely to perform below grade level by the end of this school year (Morath, 2021). And Texas schools lost contact with 600,000 students since the pandemic began (TEA, 2020). Three out of four older students report struggling with mental wellness issues (Ramón, 2021).
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eNews
Each week, we are sharing the latest news about what's happening in Texas education policy and how you can make your voice heard.
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eNews
See the latest edition of IDRA's bilingual Learning Goes On – A COVID-19 Resource for Education, featuring stories on:
- U.S. Dept of Education Releases New COVID-19 School Guidance
- Join the "Digitally Divided, Community United" Campaign
- Elementary Teachers in Tennessee Explore Technology-Infused Project-Based Learning
- Upcoming Webinar: First Steps in Project-Based Learning
- Webinar Recording Available: Highlights for Creating a More Bilingual Texas
- New Podcast Episode: Connecting with Students in the Virtual Biology Classroom
eNews
IDRA hosts bilingual office hours to help families and community members submit public comments on Texas education policy
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Podcast
Classnotes Podcast (April 6, 2021). At the core of IDRA’s philosophy is the recognition that each student is a unique … read more
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Celebrate!
For almost five decades, IDRA has brought together schools, communities and families to ensure student success.
We rise to the challenge in times of crisis. When school buildings closed in the spring, IDRA immediately responded by developing the weekly Learning Goes On – A COVID-19 Resource for Education to give students, educators and policymakers real-time tools to minimize the disruption in instruction caused by the pandemic. And, as the nation seeks answers to racial injustice, IDRA built upon its decades-long work to bust the school-to-prison-pipeline and reimagine school safety. Give to IDRA today and double your impact by inviting your friends to donate too!
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IDRA Newsletter
In this issue:
- Mental Health Implications of Virtual Learning on Student Engagement
- Students of Color Deserve Culturally Responsive Instruction and Ethnic Studies
- Strategies for Engaging Students in Today’s Virtual and Hybrid Classrooms
- Classnotes Podcast Episodes on Student Engagement
- Student Researchers Collect Insights from Peers about the Pandemic’s Effects on Schooling
- Digital Divide Directly Impacted Student-School Engagement During COVID-19
- Recent News
eNews
All students deserve equitable educational opportunities that prepare them to access and succeed in college and beyond. The Texas Legislature is in a mad-dash through May, and IDRA has put forward bills in several of our core policy priority areas to ensure equity in public education. Below are the bills that our team at IDRA authored or created through collaborations with partner groups, based on our research, experience in schools, and discussions with students and families.
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eNews
IDRA co-authored a new report released today in partnership with Every Texan. The report, Creating a More Bilingual Texas, provides an overview of policies, history and current issues for emergent bilingual students and bilingual/ESL education in Texas. It also shares recommendations to address the ongoing challenges to achieving educational equity for emergent bilingual students.
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Help us spread the word!
Get info on openings:
Policy Communications Strategist
Education Associate – with experience with emergent bilingual education
IDRA EAC-South Consultants
Grant Writer Consultant
IDRA Summer 2021 Internship Program
eNews
Dee Howard Foundation Provides Virtual Tours and Curriculum for IDRA Texas Chief Science Officer Students
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eNews
IDRA & Texas A&M University–San Antonio Launch ‘VisionCoders™’ with $3.89M Federal Grant
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eNews
As Texas Legislature prepares to convene in January, IDRA is releasing a series of stories on our policy priorities. The latest edition focuses on:
- Texas Needs an Equitable Response to COVID-19 that Includes a Statewide Broadband and Student-Family Engagement Plans
- Remove Barriers to College for All Texas Students and Beyond
- Texas Must Prioritize Public Schools
eNews
IDRA advises incoming administration to focus on much-needed COVID-19 relief and policies that promote systemic educational equity.
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eNews
Texas A&M University-Commerce and IDRA are partnering to create a trailblazing collaboration to increase access to higher education and provide students with insight into influencing educational policy and legislation. As part of the agreement, IDRA will provide the curriculum for an online elective course on social justice through policy. The doctorate-level course will be offered through the A&M-Commerce Department of Educational Leadership in spring 2021. The course will be based on a curriculum designed for the IDRA Education Policy Fellows program, a nine-month initiative designed to give real-world state policymaking experience to advocates familiar with communities of color in Texas.
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eNews
As students continue to struggle with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDRA delivered computers generously donated by Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages to students in the South San Antonio ISD. Arca Continental delivered the laptops to the Consulate General of Mexico in San Antonio on October 30 to work with IDRA to facilitate distribution to students in an area hard-hit by the digital divide.
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eNews
IDRA begins its first Education Policy Fellows Program. Five fellows will gain real-world advocacy experience and training during the 2021 Texas legislative session, because we know state policymakers can make stronger education policy decisions by working with advocates of color who are connected to impacted communities.
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News Release
Recommendations Informed by IDRA’s Framework for Culturally Responsive Education
This week, the Virginia Commission on African American History Education released its final report, developed with support from IDRA over the last year, to revise curriculum standards and teacher training so the state’s history courses better reflect the contributions of Black people. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam established the 39-member Commission in August 2019 and asked the IDRA EAC-South to assist the Secretary of Education and Virginia Department of Education in facilitating the Commission’s meetings in collaboration with the commissioners.
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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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eNews
Now more than ever, reconnecting with students is critical. IDRA can help! The IDRA Valued Youth Partnership is a research-based, internationally-recognized dropout prevention program that has kept 98% of its tutors in school. See our new video and news about how we are preparing modifications for the new school year due to COVID-19 precautions. Join the VYP school-family-community partnership. Because when you do, every student can go beyond!
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eNews
IDRA is excited to announce our partnership in launching the Early Childhood English Learner initiative. IDRA will serve as a steering committee co-leader with Texans Care for Children; Dr. Dina Castro, UNT Denton; and Texas Association for the Education of Young Children.
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eNews
Amidst the collective demonstrations demanding justice all over the country and the world, IDRA stands in solidarity with all who declare that Black Lives Matter. We express our sympathy for the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and all others who have lost their lives as a result of racialized violence and systemic oppression in the form of police brutality. As an organization committed to promoting educational equity, IDRA recognizes the experience of young people of color, and especially Black youth.
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Media Release
IDRA’s Texas Chief Science Officer students shifted their work to enrich a STEM culture despite school closures. This year, more than 100 teens in San Antonio and Houston served as their school’s Chief Science Officers, learning leadership skills to carry out their own on-campus projects and advocate for student voice in STEM. But school closures threatened to derail their plans. Innovative by nature, these students took up the challenge.
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Media Release
IDRA launched a partnership with two community-based organizations in the Texas Rio Grande Valley to help Spanish-speaking families navigate virtual classrooms while schools are closed due to COVID-19.
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Media Release
Through its Ventanilla de Orientación Educativa (Window to Education), IDRA launched a portal this month with bilingual materials and videos for families. The materials provide 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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Media Release
For many years before the COVID-19 outbreak, IDRA has worked with schools and communities to close digital divide for the most vulnerable students. With assistance from San Antonio Area Foundation and the United Way of San Antonio this week, IDRA will provide its popular Semillitas de Aprendizaje bilingual storybooks to families in Edgewood ISD and Southwest ISD who have no access to online education.
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News Release
Multi-sector Coalition Cautions Leaders to Distribute Emergency Funds Equitably.
The Texas Legislative Education Equity Coalition (TLEEC) sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, and Commissioner of Higher Education Harrison Keller, urging the leaders to distribute and monitor federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds equitably.
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Statement
In the wake of the current public health crisis, IDRA is committed to the well-being and health of our staff and the students and communities we serve.
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Infographic
See our new technical assistance package focusing on family engagement.
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Contact
5815 Callaghan Road, Suite 101
San Antonio, TX 78228
Phone: 210-444-1710
Fax: 210-444-1714
