Michael Williams to Head Texas Education Agency
Gov. Rick Perry is slated to name Michael Williams the new commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, a source close to the governor said Monday. Full Story
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Morgan Smith
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Morgan Smith was a reporter at the Tribune from 2009 to 2018, covering politics, public education and inequality. In 2013, she received a National Education Writers Association award for “Death of a District,” a series on school closures. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College, she moved to Austin in 2008 to enter law school at the University of Texas. A San Antonio native, her work has also appeared in Slate, where she spent a year as an editorial intern in Washington D.C.
Past Contributions
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![Education Commissioner Michael Williams, a former railroad commissioner, is shown at a TribLive event on Jan. 27, 2011.]()
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Updated: Back to School Explorer Data App
To mark the beginning of a new school year at many campuses across the state, we've added some new features to our comprehensive public education database, including maps of districts and campuses statewide and four-year graduation rates. Full Story
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Senate Hearing Tackles Vouchers, School Choice
In a preview of a likely battle in the upcoming legislative session, state lawmakers on Friday heard testimony on school choice programs, including vouchers that would allow students to use public money to attend private schools. Full Story
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Comparing School District Expenses Has Challenges
Because of the complexity of school finance, it’s tempting to turn to per-student spending to understand how well — or how poorly — a district is spending its money. But that approach has its perils. Full Story
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![Because of the complexity of school finance, it’s tempting to turn to per-student spending to understand how well — or how poorly — a district is spending its money. But that approach has its perils.]()
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In Hard Times, Staffing at Schools Closely Watched
How school districts manage personnel costs will be increasingly monitored as debate over efficiency progresses — as will the ways they have coped with the loss of roughly 25,000 employees they shed before the 2011-12 school year. Full Story
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A New Run at School Choice
Despite a half-hearted attempt at the end of the 2011 legislative session, the last real grasp lawmakers made at passing private school vouchers was in 2007. But that could soon change. Full Story
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Testing Firm Hits Back Against Claims of Flaws
After a UT-Austin professor's research suggested a flaw in the design of the state's standardized tests, an official with the testing vendor said the firm welcomes an "open dialogue" based on well-founded evidence — but not what he called "wild conclusions." Full Story
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SBOE Member's New Client Reveals Small World of Texas Politics
Thomas Ratliff, a lobbyist and State Board of Education member, has taken on exoneree Michael Morton as a client for the 2013 session. It's a decision that is sure not to warm the frosty relations between Ratliff and fellow SBOE member David Bradley. Full Story
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In Preparing Students for College, a Struggle
Less than one in two Texas students met the state’s “college readiness” standards in math and verbal skills on the ACT, SAT and TAKS in 2010. And although the data shows that something is not going right, pinpointing why is difficult. Full Story
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![LVN program student Brittany Richmond studies at Austin Community College before class.]()
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Summer Camp Focuses on Fight Against Abortion
A two-week summer camp outside of Bryan helps high school students learn how to become effective anti-abortion advocates. Counselors teach campers to adopt a gentler, compassion-based form of persuasion. Full Story
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![At Reveal, a camp in Bryan sponsored by Texas Right to Life, teenagers learn to become effective anti-abortion activists.]()
Credit: Ariel Min
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