Coming: “TLSBA Talks” in October!

Dear Familia,

The Texas Latino School Boards Association (TLSBA) is pleased to announce “TLSBA Talks,” an incredible series of conversations for superintendents, school board members and educational leaders, which will kick off in October!

We were hoping to launch this series in September, but due to all the action of this month—with the annual TASA/TASB conference in two weeks and the annual conference of our nation’s only Chicano school boards association this weekend—various TLSBA Advisors had suggested that we instead launch this series on October 2. We’re excited and looking forward to this learning opportunity with you!

For the convenience of busy educational leaders, we will host our TLSBA Talks on alternating weekdays. The TLSBA is a TEA-approved provider of continuing education credits for school board members, so come, learn with us, discuss issues with other education leaders, and earn CECs! All CECs are free for TLSBA Advisors & members, and $50 each for non-members. Thanks to the generosity of our friends, the proceedings of this TLSBA Talks series will be published in book form in January 2024!

Here's our schedule of upcoming TLSBA Talks!

Monday, October 2 – Lingering Post-pandemic Effects on Latinx Students!
Tuesday, October 10 – Key Findings of 2023 STAAR Results for Latinx Students!
Wednesday, October 18 – The Implications of TxLege Special Sessions for Latinx Students!
Thursday, October 26 – The Effects of the Texas Teacher Shortage on Latinx Students!
Monday, November 6 – The Implications of U.S. “Culture Wars” on Latinx Students in Texas!
Tuesday, November 14 – The Best “Banned Books” for Texas Latinx Students!

Adelante marchemos unidos,

Dr. Jayme Mathias

TLSBA Executive Director

Annual MASBA Conference This Weekend!

The Mexican American School Boards Association, our nation’s only Chicano school boards association, will host its annual conference this weekend in San Antonio. This year’s conference will feature a district art contest for students. Here at the TLSBA, we have a fond spot in our hearts for MASBA. In fact, our TLSBA co-founders revived MASBA in the 1990s and led MASBA to its highest-ever achievements before the COVID-19 pandemic! We thank you in advance for your support of our nation’s only Chicano school boards association. You can find more information on their conference here.

Looking to learn more about MASBA? Check out Viva la Lucha, a 350-page history of the organization; Celebrating 50 Years of Closing Gaps, the proceedings of the 2020 annual MASBA conference; and MASBA’s groundbreaking work, Pandemic Public School Perspectives: The Response of Texas Education Leaders to Exacerbated Inequities. MASBA played an instrumental role in bringing together educational leaders amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic—something of which we can all be proud!

Looking for an excellent read? After the 2020 murder of George Floyd, MASBA also published Seats at the Table: School Board Members’ Perspectives on Race & Racism, a 225-page book that was featured as part of a keynote presentation at the annual TASA/TASB conference later that year. That work was inspired by the stories of discrimination faced by MASBA President Ana Cortez of the Manor ISD. To think that racism continues to affect such young people—including the students of our Texas public schools—should give us all pause. Check it out!

Check Out Our Latest TLSBA Books!

Have you seen the two latest works of the TLSBA?

The State of Texas’ Failure to Provide an Equitable Education to Latinx Students is a full-color, 350-page work that provides a sobering glimpse into pre-pandemic data of our Texas public schools, revealing the results of Texas’ failure to adequately invest in public education. The full-color bar charts on postsecondary success share an especially thought-provoking perspective on the ways in which Texas’ lack of PK-12 funding impacts the economic future of Texas. Great news: We’re sharing a free copy of this work with all member districts—so join the TLSBA today!

The Lies of Texas: The Continued Damage Inflicted by the “Texas Education Miracle” on Disadvantaged Students is a 115-page work written by former Katy ISD Trustee George H. Scott and published by the Texas Latino School Boards Association. This work chronicles three decades of public education accountability in Texas, which arose from a federal mandate requiring Texas to compensate children for past racial and ethnic isolation. This provocative work illuminates three state testing eras, concluding that state testing deceived Texans about their state’s fulfillment of its constitutional and statutory duty to close the academic achievement gap for economically-disadvantaged, at-risk students. What began as the attempt by political leaders to create a “Texas Education Miracle” to propel a Texas governor to the White House is now revealed as a deceptive hoax that has manipulated academic integrity for nearly three decades!

Spread the word and join us for the most unique event at TASA/TASB in two weeks!

On Friday, September 29, we’ll be hosting “Mariachi Under the Stars” from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Ferris Plaza fountain, one block from our conference hotel!

Many of us look for an opportunity to get some fresh air and stretch our legs after heavy vendor dinners at conferences: Join us after dinner as we enjoy the evening, dance to the music of the renowned Mariachi Arraigo de América—“the best mariachi in Dallas”—and network with other educational leaders who are serious about closing opportunity and achievement gaps for the 2.9 million Latinx students in our Texas public schools!

Sponsorship Opportunities at TASA/TASB!

Our TLSBA Board of Advisors will host its next meeting at TASA/TASB on September 29. Please contact us today if you’d like to sponsor that gathering and/or our “Mariachi Under the Stars” reception!

Join the TLSBA!

For this new academic year, we are offering individual memberships ($200) and district memberships ($1,000) as a way for you to support the research & resources provided to education leaders by the TLSBA. Membership is open to all friends of our Texas public schools. Everything is bigger in Texas: Our goal is to become our nation’s largest Latino school boards association this year—and YOU can help us reach that goal! Join the TLSBA or renew your membership today!

Support Our 200+ TLSBA Scholars in 2024!

In 2023, we provided over 100 scholarships to graduating seniors from our Texas public schools. See who they are! As if that weren’t enough, we have committed ourselves to providing 200+ scholarships to the graduates of our Texas public schools in 2024. That’s 40 times more scholarships than any other Latino school boards association in our nation! We can do this! ¡Sí, se puede! Donate to our TLSBA Scholarship fund today!

And please spread word of the online application for our 2024 TLSBA scholarships. All graduating seniors of Texas public schools are welcomed to apply!

¡Gracias! to Our TLSBA Sponsors

Please join us in thanking all who are supporting our 200+ TLSBA Scholars in 2024! Our TLSBA Sponsors are making an incredible impact on the students of our Texas public schools and all who serve them—and we are grateful! ¡Gracias!