Education
BY JAMES T. NORMAN
Education Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, such as information on new campuses, budget details and bond elections. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news. Show them your gratitude by supporting them. In this year’s edition, we have relevant news and material for Alvin, Friendswood and Pearland ISDs. In some of the stories, we hit on specific new changes going on with each district, while in others we branch out and look at certain issues and how they compare to both statewide and national trends. This year, we also are featuring a education-based business from Pearland, which recently opened up a second location in Manvel. As seen on the cover, we take an in-depth look into the ongoing teacher shortage in the state of Texas and how local school districts are being affected. While not shown to be a major problem locally, school districts in the Pearland-Friendswood area are seeing increased amounts of uncertified teachers and teacher turnover. Thank you so much for reading.
What's inside
Alvin ISD launching new esports curriculum for students (Page 14)
James T. Norman Editor jnorman@ communityimpact.com
Friendswood ISD makes changes to its student handbook (Page 15)
SMART Core Labs looks to make learning accessible for all (Page 17)
Local districts target mental health with ESSER funding spent Sept. 30 marks the deadline for school funding from the federal government related to the COVID- FISD ESSER funding
interventionists—have been incorporated into the district’s regular budget, said Stacy Guzzetta, executive director of student operations for FISD. Pearland ISD received $19.7 million across all three ESSER allotments, district data shows. The bulk of the money went to paying employees, learning loss and various student services. Neither district has any more funds to commit ahead of the September deadline, officials said. Diving in deeper Guzzetta said learning gaps stemming from the pandemic have been closed for the most part and are reflected in the district’s testing scores. However, officials said some students are still struggling with mental health issues. Guzzetta said while not a rampant problem at FISD, it’s still one the district is focused on. PISD Coordinator of Guidance Services Chen- dra Moore said school counselors have seen an increase in behavioral and mental health challenges in recent years. Issues include anger management, anxiety and depression. “The good news is that more parents and students are accepting support from school counselors and local mental health therapists,” Moore said.
19 pandemic to be spent, and school districts in the Pearland-Friendswood area have already allocated all the funds they each received. Meanwhile, both Pearland and Friendswood ISDs in the years since the pandemic continue to focus on the mental health of students. What you need to know Friendswood ISD received close to $2.9 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds, according to district documents. ESSER funds were federal dollars given to school districts in 2020 and 2021 across three separate allotments, also known as ESSER I, II and III. The funds were meant to provide relief to schools, support staff and students, and help schools open back up following the pandemic, according to doc- uments on the Texas Education Agency’s website. For FISD, the bulk of its $2.9 million, which all came from the third ESSER allotment, went to creating around a dozen new positions, includ- ing interventionists and instructional coaches, among others, according to the district’s website. Since then, nearly every position—except the five
Spending breakdown:
Math coaches: $780K
Interventionists: $632K
Total ESSER funding received: $2.88M
Indirect costs: $418K Secondary instructional coaches: $390K Instructional software: $245K College and career specialist: $222K DBC teacher: $190K
NOTE: ALL OF FRIENDSWOOD ISD’S FUNDING CAME FROM ESSER III. SOURCE: FRIENDSWOOD ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
PISD ESSER funding
Spending breakdown:
Staff and student programs for learning and emotional issues (ESSER III): $12.83M Staff and creating plans to open schools (ESSER II): $5.71M Staff and supplies to sanitize facilities (ESSER I): $1.18M
Total ESSER funding received: $19.7M
SOURCE: PEARLAND ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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PEARLAND - FRIENDSWOOD EDITION
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