NEWS

Social Studies TEKS Review Process

For those educators interested in participating in the review of the Social Studies TEKS,
TEA has not yet begun the nomination process for this subject area.

Please monitor the following website for information and timelines regarding the nomination process for social studies committees: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/

An agenda item regarding the TEKS Review process is scheduled for the July SBOE meeting.
DIVERSITY CONFERENCE


Pflugerville ISD, in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, is hosting its second annual Diversity Conference, on July 23, 2008, at Hendrickson High School and there is no charge. The conference is open to any educator who would like to attend.

Interested participants should contact Sara Lucas, Pflugerville ISD Social Studies Coordinator, K-12, to find out details of the conference. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., and the conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Message from Joe

Spring, 2008:

There are great things taking place in social studies classrooms all over Austin ISD. I want to congratulate social studies teachers who were selected as their individual campuses’ Teachers of the Year. You can learn more about these candidates when you visit the middle and high school home pages. I also want to bring to your attention new teachers who were selected as their schools “Teachers of Promise.” We are really excited about having such innovative and enthusiastic new teachers in our social studies community and look forward to their exciting work as they continue to grow as experienced social studies teachers.

As you prepare for the summer, be sure to explore the website for professional development opportunities. The Social Studies Team, ESC Region XIII, and other professional organizations have developed a wide variety of trainings addressing both social studies content and instructional strategies. We were excited about hosting the nation’s first TCI Academy in April andcongratulate the cadre of nearly 50 secondary social studies teachers who were part of this training. At the middle school level, we will be making revisions to the six weeks tests this summer. Information was shared with your department chairs at their last meeting so be sure to let them know if you are interested in being part of the revision teams that will be meeting in mid to late June.

I also want to make sure that we recognize students who participated in several academic competitions that involve social studies. Students from Akins and McCallum High Schools participated in the regional competition of Citizen Bee. Congratulations to these students and their teachers Linda O'Neal and Jim Furgeson.Students under the guidance of Elizabeth Roussos at Crockett High School took the first three places in the district-wide U.I.L. Social Studies competition and advanced to regional competition in Huntsville. Congratulations to the seventh grade academic team from Small Middle School and their sponsors Debbie Hair and Chris Davis for winning first place at the Texas Quiz Show regional competition on April 12. They advanced to the state competition. I also want to wish the 12 students from O. Henry and Fulmore Middle Schools the best of luck as they advance to the state competition for National History Day on May 3 and 4. We invite you to the Bob Bullock Museum on these two days to see these students in action.
Social Studies
In the News

Introducing New Civics Curriculum Website

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaks about the unfortunate effects of NCLB and her new venture as Web-Designer...
(read more)

As we prepare for the 2008-2009, I want to thank all teachers who responded to the TEKS Revision survey developed by TSSSA and TCSS. These organizations are currently compiling this information into a formal report that will be delivered to the State Board of Education. I urge all of our social studies teachers to join these two organizations. Go to the “Professional Organizations” link found under the “Resources” tab and then go to the links for TSSSA and TCSS, where you can download membershipapplications. Remember, TSSSA is for both social studies supervisors and teachers. We hope you will join us at the state and national conferences for both of these organizations in the fall. These will be taking place in San Antonio and Houston in October and November.

I am also asking our teachers to submit model lessons for your specific grade level that can be added to the pages of our Instructional Planning Guides. We will be enhancing our IPGs in the near future and want to make the best lessons that you have available to all of our social studies teachers.

We all have learned so much about the political process as a result of theexciting things that are taking place in the Presidential primaries. I will also be sending your department chairs more information on the 2008 Presidential election as the general election approaches this fall.Austin ISD will be participating in a national mock election, and we will be getting some great activities to you during the summer and early fall. If you have any great lessons to share on the election, send them to us electronically so that we can make these part of our lesson bank. I also want to commend a large number of social studies teachers at all grade levels for their work in instructing students about the recent March 4 Texas Presidential Primary. It was great to see mock elections, debates, and development of candidate posters in so many classrooms and to have some of our older students actually shadowing poll workers on March 4. Austin ISD social studies teachers and their students have definitely set the standard for voluntary civic participation.

The Social Studies Team wishes you and your students the best of luck on TAKS. We are definitely looking forward to high success rates that will get our schools to the “Recognized” and “Exemplary” levels on the state accountability rating system.

Joe