Hill Country News

Two local high schools ranked among the best in Texas

Westwood and Vandegrift high schools were named among the best public high schools in Texas in a recent education ranking published by education website Niche. Westwood came in at No. 8 and … more

Staff Reports | 9/24/21

LISD Board to discuss filling trustee seat at next meeting

Following the abrupt resignation of Trustee Jim MacKay, the Leander ISD Board of Trustees last week held a special meeting to formally accept MacKay's resignation and discuss options for filling the … more

Staff Reports | 9/22/21

Gov. Greg Abbott at a March press conference in Dallas.

Gov. Greg Abbott and local officials are fighting several legal battles over mask mandates. Here’s what you need to know.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is locked in several pitched legal battles with cities, counties and school districts over their bids to require masks in public schools. In a May executive order, Abbott … more

By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune | 9/21/21

Student teacher Karen Martinez-Calderon, left, fastens a face shield onto Anastacia Valdez after lunch at N.W. Harllee Early Childhood Center in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas on Friday, October 2, 2020. (Lynda M. González/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Hundreds of COVID-19 North Texas school cases were missing from state data. Here’s why

At first glance, the latest iteration of the state’s COVID-19 case tracker for Texas public schools might be cause for alarm. Case counts at a dozen of the area’s largest districts … more

Corbett Smith, The Dallas Morning News (TNS) | 9/20/21

How a Black high school principal was swept into a “critical race theory” maelstrom in a mostly white Texas suburb

It was June 3, 2020, and James Whitfield couldn’t sleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep for the last several days. As a Black man, the deaths of three Black Americans, George Floyd, Breonna … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 9/20/21

First draft of Legislature’s map of new State Board of Education districts shores up Republican majority

The Texas Senate on Monday released its first draft of a new map for the State Board of Education's 15 districts. It attempts to reinforce a GOP majority for the entity that determines what millions … more

By Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune | 9/20/21

Round Rock ISD wins round in court, looks to continue mask policy

A mask requirement was reinstated late last week after a court ruled that the Round Rock Independent School District could once again enforce its mask policy. Last week, a Williamson County … more

Staff Reports | 9/18/21

Students work at their desks at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos.

Texas schools have reported more coronavirus cases in less than two months than they did in the entire 2020-21 school year

Students in Texas public schools are facing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads, mask mandates are inconsistent and children under 12 cannot yet be … more

By Kalley Huang, Mandi Cai and Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 9/17/21

Texas A&M students gathered Tuesday to demand more mandatory COVID-19 precautions on the College Station campus. School leaders have said they’re limited in what they can require.

After Texas A&M student died from COVID-19, students and faculty rally for more safety precautions

The death of a 20-year-old Texas A&M University student from COVID-19 last week spurred fear, frustration and sadness on the College Station campus. In the days since the biomedical science major … more

By Kailyn Rhone and Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune | 9/17/21

RRISD names J.R. Hughes principal of Cedar Valley Middle School

J.R. Hughes has been named the new principal of Cedar Valley Middle School. Hughes has served as the assistant principal of Paetow High School in Katy ISD since 2020. During that time, he … more

Staff Reports | 9/16/21

RRISD names Heath Walz principal of Ridgeview Middle School

Heath Walz has been named the principal of Ridgeview Middle School. Walz has served as the associate principal of Cedar Ridge High School since 2018. During that time, he helped plan and assess … more

Staff Reports | 9/16/21

The Leander ISD Board of Trustees resolved to direct Administration to investigate additional COVID-19 mitigation resources, such as air filtration systems and outdoor lunch options.

LISD discusses additional COVID mitigation tactics

After discussion about COVID-19 safety measures on Thursday, the Leander ISD Board of Trustees resolved to direct Administration to investigate additional COVID-19 mitigation resources.The board … more

Lilly Chandler | 9/16/21

Leander ISD debt rating upgraded to “AA” by Fitch Ratings

Leander ISD received a bond rating upgrade from another major bond rating agency, marking the second time in the past five years that the district’s bond rating has been upgraded. Citing the … more

Staff Reports | 9/15/21

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman/TNS)

Texas AG Paxton sues more school districts that have incorporated masks into their dress codes

The Texas attorney general’s office filed even more lawsuits Tuesday against districts that require students to wear masks to school. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced … more

Talia Richman, The Dallas Morning News (TNS) | 9/15/21

Students backpacks sit in their cubbies at a Texas elementary school last month. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing several school districts that he says are defying Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates.

A Texas school district doesn’t require masks. The state is suing the district anyway.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has unleashed another wave of lawsuits against school districts over their masking policies — but one of them says it doesn’t even require face … more

By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune | 9/14/21

First day of school at Los Angeles Unified School District in Daniel Webster Middle School on Aug. 16, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Lawmakers rethink mask policies as more kids quarantine

Misty Russell, a mother of three, had just moved to Greenville, South Carolina, and was ecstatic for her 8-year-old daughter to attend school in-person in a new state and school district. But, after … more

Aallyah Wright, Stateline.org (TNS) | 9/13/21

A student’s school supplies on the first day of in-person classes in Texas in 2020. :

Texas sues six school districts that issued mask mandates in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order

For the first time in the Texas mask wars, Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing six school districts that have defied Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local masking orders. Paxton on Friday sued … more

By Joshua Fechter and Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 9/10/21

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf pictured July 2, 2021. (Tom Wolf/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)

Gov. Tom Wolf and teachers say kids are cool with masks: ‘It feels like an adult problem’

Wearing masks all day isn’t a big deal for Brooke Vaught’s 375 students. They compliment each other on their cool choices — bright colors, Batman, funky designs — they put them … more

Kristen A. Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) | 9/9/21

Tomas Garcia sits in his home with his dog, Patches, in Houston on Wednesday.

The pandemic’s toll on educators has made Texas’ teacher shortage worse

Toward the end of the last school year, Tomas Garcia made the difficult but, in his mind, right decision to leave teaching after 15 years. Like countless other educators, Garcia has loved the … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 9/9/21

The Texas NAACP and students have filed a complaint against UT-Austin over the continued use of the song "The Eyes of Texas."

Texas NAACP, students file federal civil rights complaint over UT-Austin’s ‘Eyes of Texas’

The Texas chapter of the NAACP, along with the civil rights organization’s University of Texas at Austin chapter and a group of anonymous students, has filed a complaint with the U.S. … more

By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune | 9/7/21

Sections

Services

Connect with us