The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

This year, educators around the state are seeing normal PD schedules disrupted or challenged by COVID-19 restrictions. And many schools and districts are turning to remote PD for the first time.

Northwest ISD, a quickly growing district in Dallas-Fort Worth, has been using the Texas OnCourse Academy to provide virtual lessons to their college and career staff for the past couple of years. Here are some tips that they’ve utilized for implementing professional development along the way. Find more tips and tools like this in our new remote PD toolkit.

Many of your students have likely experienced changes to their personal and family income. These changes can affect expected family contribution, so your students may need help submitting a financial aid appeal during COVID-19. 

The college admissions process of 2020 will go down in history books. Campus visits have been canceled. Individual and family financial circumstances are up in the air. Many colleges have moved their admissions decision deadline to June 1. So how on earth can educators guide their students on how to choose a college during COVID-19? Read on for four tips below:

[UPDATED May 2021] College-bound high school seniors have a big transition ahead of them. In addition to choosing their college, they’ll need to keep track of financial aid deadlines, make housing plans, and schedule orientation. We compiled the top five ways high school seniors can stay on track through the end of high school and into the summer to have a stellar freshman year.

[UPDATED May 2021] The 2020-21 academic year has been unlike any other for students around the world. In particular, students making big transitions in the fall (like entering high school as a freshman!) are facing unique challenges.

Strengthen your online teaching abilities by learning from other educators! Lisa Shaw and Julie Stavropoulos share tips for teaching online during COVID-19 below. Lisa is currently Texas OnCourse’s implementation coordinator and formerly a CTE educator. Julie is currently Texas OnCourse’s curriculum and instruction writer and formerly an English teacher.