Dear CREST Members,
Below you will find an update regarding the ELA TEKS revision process. Our eight
literacy organizations expected to give presentations at the Wednesday, November 18th
SBOE meeting to share our feedback about an unofficial rough draft of the revised
TEKS; however, we did not receive a rough draft since the second writing session
concluded the Saturday before the SBOE Wednesday meeting. TEA staff indicates that
a rough draft will be ready for review around December 15th. Upon receipt, the officers
of our eight literacy organizations will meet to review and provide feedback to the TEKS
Writing Review Committees. We will send you an email when that rough draft is
released, post it on our CREST website at http://www.cresteducator.com/teks-revisionparticipation.html, and provide you with directions for sending your feedback to us
before we meet with the other ELA organizations. We expect the timeline to be short;
we do hope many of you will be able to respond.
The timeline for the ELA TEKS process has changed. When the SBOE meets on
January 27-29, there is a possibility that the Board selected experts will speak to share
their review of the unofficial draft. The TEKS Writing Review Committees are scheduled
for their third work session in February. It sounds as if we will receive the official First
Reading of the ELA TEKS at the April 6-8 SBOE meeting with Second Reading and
adoption at the July 20-22 SBOE meeting. CREST will again ask for your input when
the First Reading document is posted.
Please let your voice be heard as we begin the process of reviewing the revised TEKS
and consider the two opportunities below:
1. Webcast of the SBOE Meeting on Wednesday, November 18th: The link and list of
speakers is provided below. It would take a little over an hour of your time to listen to
all components of Item 10. Please do. It will provide you with valuable background
information. I’m so sorry that I don’t know how to send you the exact URL linked to
each speaker. Please follow the directions in red after the URL link in blue.
Item 10 - Update on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review: This
item provides the opportunity for staff to present an update on the review of the
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Statutory authority is the Texas
Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025. COMMITTEE –
DISCUSSION, SBOE - NO ACTION
http://www.adminmonitor.com/tx/tea/committee_of_the_full_board/20151117/3/
Select Part 3. Fast forward the bar to 1:48:02 and select play. It begins with Donna
Barorich’s introduction to Item 10 and call for the first speaker.
Time: Presenter: Topic(s)
Forward to:
1:48:02/3:07:56 - Vivian Lee Davis with Divine ISD: handwriting, spelling, phonics
2:00:58/3:07:56 - Ellen Riojas-Clark retired from UTSA Bilingual Ed.: handwriting,
spelling, writing, ELL students
2:09:08/3:07:55 - Richard Gentry: spelling, handwriting, phonics
2:17:45/3:07:55 - Diane Miller with UH Downtown: Results of TCTELA Phone
Interviews and TEKS Forum Process
2:25:33/3:07:55 - Victoria Young: Moderator of TCTELA TEKS Forum
3:04:47/3:07:55 - End
2. TCTELA has created a forum monitored by Victoria Young and Diane Peterson
(President-elect of TCTELA):
The English Language Arts Reading (ELAR)/Spanish Language Arts Reading
(SLAR) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are currently undergoing
revisions by educator workgroups under the direction of the Texas State Board of
Education (SBOE) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The Texas Council for Teachers of English Language Arts (TCTELA) has created an
online community (TCTELA TEKS Forum) in order for stakeholders to discuss and
exchange ideas on the ELAR/SLAR drafts created by the workgroups. TCTELA
commissioned the research team of Victoria Young, formerly of the Texas Education
Agency, and Diane Miller at the University of Houston-Downtown. The Texas
Association for Bilingual Education (TABE) has also partnered with TCTELA in the
forum. Laurie Weaver and Judith Marquez from the University of Houston-Clear
Lake will serve as SLAR discussion moderators. Moderators will guide the
conversation, share your opinions with the SBOE and TEA, and inform the
organizations of trends. After the forum is closed, the University of HoustonDowntown will use the data for research and publication to share our statewide
collaborative effort.
We are fortunate to have the support of SBOE Chair Donna Bahorich and the SBOE
as we seek input from Texas educators who best understand the influence and
impact of TEKS standards in our classrooms.
“We are so excited to have a virtual opportunity to work with ELAR and SLAR educators
across the state in an effort to collect feedback on the initial draft of our TEKS revisions. Collecting
this input is vital to helping our appointed workgroup participants and, ultimately, the State Board
of Education ensure our ELAR/SLAR classroom standards are the best in the country.” - Donna
Bahorich, SBOE Chair
The forum is open now. You can join us by logging onto http://community.tctela.org.
Discussion will begin mid-December and will continue through January. TCTELA's
goal is to gather voluntary comments of Texas' ELAR/SLAR teachers, parents, and
community members and to provide these comments to the SBOE and the TEA.
Trends from the forum discussion will also be shared at the TCTELA Annual
Conference on January 22, 2016. We look forward to a transparent, engaging
discussion on the first draft. Please join the discussion and share the link with your
colleagues.
Sincerely,
CREST BOARD