The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

Teacher Tips: CTE Online Lesson Plans

Posted by Amanda Hernandez, Texas OnCourse on Apr 16, 2020 2:34:56 PM

Strengthen your online teaching skills by learning how to deliver CTE lessons at home.

For many career and technical education (CTE) teachers, the sudden move to online learning is particularly challenging. CTE, after all, is often hands-on in nature. Here, we gather updates, tips, suggested practices, and resources around CTE online lesson plans into one place. Use them to supplement official guidance provided by your school or district. Our hope is to help you strengthen your online teaching skills as they relate to delivering CTE instruction remotely.

Topics: Middle School, Jobs and Careers, Coronavirus, High School

TEA Accountability Score Updates: COVID-19

Posted by Rose Frezza, Texas OnCourse on Apr 15, 2020 4:48:00 PM

Understand how Texas accountability ratings are affected by COVID-19 this academic year.

You’ve likely seen the changes to the August 2020 accountability ratings, but in case you missed it, formal ratings for all Texas school districts will be labeled “not-rated” due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 emergency. College, career, and military readiness data will be reported only on TEA reports such as Texas Academic Performance Reports. It will not be used in ratings calculations for the 2019-2020 school year.

Topics: CCMR and Accountability, Administrators, Coronavirus

Helping Students with Special Needs during COVID-19

Posted by Texas OnCourse on Apr 7, 2020 5:29:46 PM

Each week, we share top COVID-19 education news and resources on Facebook Live.

Texas OnCourse has your latest updates on COVID-19 and Texas education.

This week we're covering:

Special populations, including helping students with special needs during COVID-19, along with military-connected students and English language learners
COVID-19 resources from Education Service Centers

Topics: Coronavirus

How to Communicate Effectively in Online Classes

Posted by Rose Frezza, Texas OnCourse on Apr 7, 2020 4:58:14 PM

As educators, we have the opportunity to get our students ahead when it comes to digital communication.

The current moment presents plenty of challenges as we figure out how to support, instruct, and counsel our students remotely. Among those challenges is how to communicate effectively in online classes. Fortunately, this is an obstacle that presents opportunities for growth and learning for our students, and ourselves.

Topics: Middle School, Coronavirus

District, Campus, and Classroom Practices for COVID-19

Posted by Leader Fellow Trisha Fiene-Spain on Mar 31, 2020 3:44:09 PM

As educators, students, and families, we have to stay connected and keep eachother on track with our goals.

As a high school counselor in Coppell ISD, the struggle to stay connected to my students has been very real these past few weeks. I haven’t seen my students since March 6, 2020, and I miss them something fierce. I know I’m not alone in that feeling.

Topics: Educators, Coronavirus

Self-Care for Counselors during COVID-19

Posted by Rose Frezza, Texas OnCourse on Mar 19, 2020 6:44:52 PM

Woman doing yoga with text tips for self care during a challenging time.

The COVID-19 pandemic is confronting all of us with challenges. In particular, the education system faces extraordinary difficulties. School closures and testing delays abound. And a ripple effect is impacting educators, students, and families in ways we couldn’t have anticipated.