The Texas Education Agency (TEA) continues to work with the Office of the Governor, Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to coordinate and plan the state’s response to COVID-19. TEA’s role in these efforts is to help coordinate the flow of information from the state to districts, help districts solve problems, and provide guidance that will aid in districts’ decision-making. TEA support resources are linked here.

New activities designed specifically for the 2019-2020 school year spotlight the 2020 Census and the importance of making sure everyone is counted, especially children. The decennial count impacts the federal funds that communities receive for special education, classroom technology, teacher training, after-school programs, school lunch assistance, and more.

Use activities for pre-K through 12th grade today to help your students, school, and community.

Download: Texas Social Studies Supervisors Association 

TEA Update

February 21, 2020

Hearts, flowers, and sweet treats -- must be time for TCSS's Spring Meet.  TCSS’s spring committee work session and executive board meeting will be held on Saturday February 22 in Austin at the Omni Southpark (4140 Governors Row Austin, Texas 78744).

All TCSS committees will meet for breakfast at 7:30-8am and then collaborate in work sessions until around noon. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The Executive Board meeting will follow lunch in the afternoon.  Committee members should RSVP with their committee chair by Feb. 14^th to ensure accurate meal counts.

Executive Board members, committee chairs, and committee members should make their own travel arrangements.  Committee members may receive reimbursement for up to $50 of their travel expenses not covered by other sources per policy.  Complete reimbursement forms with receipts are required.

Group discount available for Omni Southpark Austin Hotel reservations at https://tinyurl.com/yhjgsv2s  (phone: (512) 448-2222)  Note:  discount is through TSSSA conference block of rooms which they are working on increasing. 

This work session is an important time for committees to set goals and collaborate on action items which support quality social studies instruction across Texas.  All TCSS members are invited to add their voice and talents to the process. Committees are examples of the Power of Community in TCSS

If you are not currently a committee member but are interested in participating in the Spring Meeting, complete the TCSS Committee Preference form (also available at www.txcss.net on the advocacy page) and email the chair of the committee you are interested in joining to RSVP for the Spring Meeting Saturday Feb. 22.

From July 6-24, 2020, Duke University will host a NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers, "The Civil Rights Movement: Grassroots Perspectives."

This institute is designed by a collaborative team of scholars, veterans, and educators from Duke University, the SNCC Legacy Project (collaborators on the SNCC Digital Gateway), and Teaching for Change. Participants will learn the bottom-up history of the Civil Rights Movement and receive resources and strategies to bring it home to their students, so that they can see themselves in this history. Teachers will have the unique opportunity to learn from people who were key organizers in the Civil Rights Movement, and from leading scholars of that era. Teachers will receive a stipend of $2,700 in order to defray expenses.

For more information and to access the website, please visit https://sites.duke.edu/dukecrmsummerinstitute/. Any questions can be sent to allison.raven@duke.edu.

Quick Facts:

Dates: July 6 - 24, 2020 (3 weeks)

Location: Duke University, Durham, NC

Application Deadline: March 1, 2020 (notification date: March 27, 2020)

Grade Levels: 5-12

Stipend: $2,700

Greetings!

I have received an update to what is happening at the Bill of Rights Institute (BRI) and their 10th Period Webinar Series. The great news is that if you miss a webinar, you can find it on the BRI You Tube Channel! This week they are presenting a program about Marbury v Madison called: https://billofrightsinstitute.arlo.co/register?sgid=ed60f54d7eb54a4d8bb023df0d9ebb0b                                               To Register go to: https://billofrightsinstitute.arlo.co/register?sgid=ed60f54d7eb54a4d8bb023df0d9ebb0b  It is presented by Kirk Higgins and a special guest scholar on Wenesday, Nov. 13 at 4 PM Eastern Time.

 Teaching American History at TeachingAmericanHistory.org. The Teaching American History organization is offering a webinar on Saturday, December 7th at 11 AM. This free webinar is 75 minutes long and you can receive continuing education certificate for your time. The webinar is about Harriet Beecher Stowe, and will feature a panel of scholars in an online format with teachers from across the country. They will explore the life, ideas, letters and the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe. To register go to TeachingAmericanHistory.org or info @teachingamericanhistory.org. For more information about the 2019-2020 series, check out American Minds and Documents in detail.

Finally, in today's Dallas Morning News (Nov. 9, 2019), there was an article about U.S. civil rights landmarks. If you are wondering about somewhere to go over Spring Break or next summer, here are a few places to check out: National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama (EJI.org); Alexandria, Virginia has many museums but the Donald W. Reynolds museum and Education Center (visitalexandriava.com) was featured in this article; Martin Lother King Jr. Memorial is in Washington, D.C. (nps.gov/mlkm/panyourvisit); Natches, Miss. for another view of the ever unwinding story of slavery and African American history (visitnatchez.org); The National Civil Rights Museum, Mephis, Tenn. (civilrightsmuseum.org). A personal note about Tennessee, they have many battle sites and museums to check out.

Have a good week!

One more opportunity:

The Bill of Rights Institute has a webinar series called the "Tenth Period." They have been releasing new videos each Monday through out this semester. Two weeks ago, now, the video was Homework Help Series on Landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases: Roe v. Wade. They examined both sides of the case and then questioned what happened. 

For more information go to: www.communications@myBRI.org. There you can also subscribe to the YouTube Channel for the Bill of Rights Institute.

Enjoy!

Hello!

I have been busy learning many new things about my revised teaching position at Richland College, but you have also been on my mind. Our greatest opportunity for professional growth will be in Austin at the combined NCSS/TCSS conference November 21-24. I hope you have checked it out and signed up to come! I look forward to meeting and seeing you all there!

So what else is there that is available?

Teaching American History will have a webinar on Wednesday, November 20, 2019. It will be about the Webster-Hayne Debates. It is free! Also by attending the 60 minute webinar you will receive a continuing education certificate. For more information go to  TeachingAmericanHistory.org 

Be sure to continue to check the Institute of Texas Cultures Education at www.texancultues.com especially if you live in the San Antonio area. On November 10th, from Noon-4 PM there will be an american Indian Cultures Family day and it is FREE! On the 16th there will be Teaching Folktales; again Noon-4 PM but with a cost of $10-$15.00 and CPE credits.

Finally, be aware of what is happening with the Texas Alliance for Geographic Education which is now part of the Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education. Texas State University is offering a Master of Applied Geography (Geography Education) that will be 100% online. 

So much is happening that will build your education expertise! Let us know what you are discovering as well that can be shared with your fellow members!

See you in Austin!

Today I want to give a shout out for

#newsengagementday

On Tuesday, October 1, 2019, everyone is encouraged to read, watch, like, tweet, post, listen to, or comment on news, and learn news reporting principles.

This year will be the 6th News Engagement Day and I really encourage you to get your students participating in this annual event. Democratic, republican government is dependent on citizens being informed. Today our students have easy access to news, but they need the skills to evaluate the news more so than ever.  Social studies is where students learn these skills and the news should provide relevance for social studies topics.

Super busy teaching those TEKS. We know that, so how about posting a news story and have students comment about the story in their notebooks. Further the activity by having students' get their parents to comment and students respond to that comment. You could do this to observe News Engagement Day or on other periodic occasions, especially when a news story particularly connects to the content you are studying.  Here is a resource created to introduce students to news literacy.  I also encourage you to check out Media Wise and Stanford History Education Group. The two have teamed up to create lessons about evaluating online news sources. The lessons are supposed to be available this fall. Additionally, the two groups have collaborated with John Green from Crash Course to create a video series on navigating digital information.

News Engagement Day and teaching digital literacy provides an opportunity for collaboration with the other subject areas. Let your colleagues know about these resources, especially your librarian.

My colleagues and I used to joke about, "What do you think math teachers discuss at lunch?" Probably the news was our guess, since we thought current events would be more intriguing than parabolas. Basically, social studies topics like economics, government, geography, etc. would be involved in their discussions. This may or may not be true. We just believed that social studies, including the news is engaging for everyone.

Renee Blackmon

TCSS Curriculum Liaison