Photographer Wenjing Zhang’s shot this portfolio on the campus of Harmony Charter School of Advancement in North Houston.
Public Education
Explore The Texas Tribune’s coverage of public education, from K-12 schools and funding to teachers, students, and policies shaping classrooms across Texas.
HuTube: The SBOE Debate on Islam in 70 Seconds
For our latest HuTube post, we picked out memorable testimony from Friday morning’s five-hour State Board of Education debate. SBOE members ultimately approved a resolution instructing publishers to limit a perceived “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks.
TribBlog: Islamapalooza
After a spring filled with bitter culture wars over textbooks, the Texas State Board of Education reopened the fight today with — what else? — a fight over alleged “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian” bias in Texas textbooks.
SBOE Will Vote on Sects Education
The State Board of Education is getting set to vote later this week on a resolution that would call on textbook publishers to avoid a “pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias” in Texas textbooks. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the matter may be more about symbolism than practical change.
TribBlog: Oprah Gives $1M to Houston Charter
Oprah Winfrey will give the YES Prep charter school network $1 million today. She will present the gift on this afternoon’s epsiode of her show, which explores the documentary film Waiting for Superman, according to a YES Prep press release.
TribBlog: American Grandstand
Members of the State Board of Education’s hard-right wing appear poised to inject themselves into the national fray over Islamic influence in America with a resolution warning textbook publishers that a “pro-Islamic/anti-Christian bias has tainted some past Texas Social Studies textbooks.”
Beyond the Bake Sale
With or without the controversial federal education funding that would come with Texas-specific strings attached, many of the state’s school districts are preparing for tough budgetary times ahead — and they’re getting creative about potential solutions. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
Guest Column: Stop Discouraging Innovation
We have thousands of great educators. We should set them free, allow them to be more entrepreneurial and hold them accountable for results. Instead, we make decisions in Washington and Austin that unfortunately have the effect of discouraging innovation.
Should Everybody Go to College?
Ask anybody — from the president of the United States to your high school guidance counselor — and you’ll probably hear the same, seemingly obvious thing: Higher education is the key to financial advancement. But is everybody going to college a realistic goal? And would the world really be better if we achieved it? Mose Buchele of KUT News reports.
TribBlog: The Bus Fuss
After a 2006 bus accident in Beaumont that killed two students and injured several more, parents and legislators successfully demanded the state finance seat belts in school buses. Today, four years later, the Legislative Budget Board finally gave approval for a grant program — but the rules the board set likely will exclude the Beaumont area from getting the money, even though the grassroots movement started there.



