Texas
High-poverty schools struggle to earn Texas’ highest rating. Some in the Rio Grande Valley break that trend.
/static.texastribune.org/media/files/1bac163eb4efd4be5a6ece5f26116956/BISD%20BH-DC%20TT%2003.jpg "High-poverty schools struggle to earn Texas’ highest rating. Some in the Rio Grande Valley break that trend.")
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For years, critics of the state’s college rankings have complained that the system is rigged — that it favors colleges in richer Texas neighborhoods the place college students could not endure from the results of housing and revenue instability.
The Texas Training Company has dismissed this notion, mentioning that 18% of college districts with a excessive share of “economically deprived” college students earned an A ranking once they launched their first post-pandemic scores final month. Total, 33.1% of college districts acquired an A, an 8% improve from 2019, the final time the TEA launched these scores.
And a few districts that did nicely this 12 months even if lots of their college students come from poorer neighborhoods had been in eight counties within the Rio Grande Valley area: Brooks, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Starr, Webb, Willacy and Zapata.
In response to a brand new evaluation, 95% of 38 college districts and 10 constitution methods in what is named the Area One Training Service Middle space acquired rankings of both A or B, in contrast with 87% for college districts statewide. The area additionally had probably the most campuses receiving an A grade, in response to the Area One Training Service Middle, certainly one of 20 such facilities funded by state, federal and native governments that help native college districts.
“This area punches above its weight while you have a look at pupil demographics,” mentioned Daniel King, government director of the Area One Training Service Middle. “College districts [here] — just about throughout the board — have a ‘no excuses’ angle.”
Final month, the TEA launched its first college scores since 2019, which confirmed some enchancment regardless of the pandemic that pressured colleges to shut. These letter grades, the state’s accountability scores, are tied largely to outcomes of the State of Texas Assessments of Educational Readiness, or STAAR check.
State officers say the scores assist dad and mom resolve on a faculty or a district and assist maintain these districts accountable to oldsters and taxpayers. However critics of the rankings have complained that Texas colleges that serve poorer communities battle to obtain excessive marks on the state’s ranking system.
What stands out in regards to the Rio Grande Valley is {that a} majority of scholars in lots of college districts there are economically deprived, which means they qualify totally free or reduced-price lunch. In Area One, a pupil in a family of 4 folks with a complete revenue of $36,075 or much less qualifies totally free lunch in school. Districts such because the Brownsville, McAllen and Valley View districts acquired A scores, and Harlingen missed an A rating solely by one level.
Excessive-poverty college districts statewide had a median accountability rating of 83, however in Area One, Rio Grande Valley districts acquired a median rating of 87.9, in response to a Texas Tribune evaluation. The common for all college districts throughout the state was 86.3. The accountability scores are on a 100-point scale.
Superintendents, academics and public training specialists have a tough time pointing to at least one cause for the upper rankings in some areas, particularly since all Texas colleges are required to show the identical curriculum and administer the identical standardized checks.
However there’s a consensus that greater pupil achievement comes from a mixture of high-quality educating, emotional connections and the constant battle to take away outdoors components that have an effect on college students — resembling not having a meal. One metric of notice: College districts within the Rio Grande Valley rank among the many finest within the state for getting meals to low-income college students and households.
Edith Treviño, who taught in Area One for 25 years, mentioned what makes the distinction are the academics who present culturally related instruction. Throughout her time as a instructor, Treviño mentioned she and her friends would all the time attempt to incorporate a baby’s tradition or background right into a lesson.
“It’s simply this tradition of household,” Treviño mentioned. “That I’m right here to assist you. I do know your struggles, I do know your journey and I do know your ache. And we’re gonna get by it collectively.”
Superintendents within the Rio Grande Valley say they spend as a lot time addressing college students’ emotional and social wants as they do on tutorial progress.
J.A. Gonzalez, superintendent of the McAllen Impartial College District, which acquired an A and is 73% economically deprived and 93% Hispanic, mentioned he believes success doesn’t come solely from having the ability to train studying, math, social research and science at a excessive stage. Youngsters should be taught to be self-aware, construct robust relationships and handle troublesome conditions appropriately, he mentioned.
That’s why it lately turned a commencement requirement in McAllen ISD to go an emotional intelligence course, he mentioned. By the tip of the course, college students have extra perception and capability to self-regulate their feelings, motivation, empathy and social expertise.
“You begin to discuss in regards to the capability to self-regulate your feelings, you additionally begin to have conversations about the truth that life isn’t truthful,” Gonzalez mentioned. “You’re going to need to put within the blood, sweat and tears, so I believe our philosophy round our college students is to maintain them mentally powerful.”
One other key for fulfillment is just not placing limitations or decreasing a baby’s expectations simply due to their socioeconomic standing, Gonzalez mentioned.
“We focus actual onerous on closing the chance hole, which suggests we’re going to offer each baby a possibility to achieve their full potential,” he mentioned.
René Gutiérrez, superintendent of Brownsville ISD, mentioned his district paid shut consideration to college students’ well-being as they returned to high school after pandemic closures.
Ensuring college students, particularly high-needs college students, are emotionally nicely earlier than studying is vital to greater tutorial outcomes, he mentioned.
This 12 months, TEA scores had been completed in a different way than in earlier years. As a substitute of the standard A-F scores, which had been final given in 2019, the company gave solely A-C scores as COVID-19 continued to disrupt the final college 12 months.
A district or college that might have acquired a D or F as a substitute acquired a “Not Rated” label this 12 months. Colleges that ranked in these backside tiers may also be spared potential TEA sanctions through the 2022-23 college 12 months.
In previous years, Texas public colleges with excessive charges of economically deprived college students have struggled to obtain the coveted A grade that makes colleges aggressive. Texas colleges are funded based mostly on the variety of college students enrolled and the day by day attendance on campus. Colleges obtain a base allotment of $6,160 per pupil annually.
Throughout the state, information reveals that solely 18% of campuses labeled “high-poverty” acquired A scores. In Area One, about 35% of college districts thought of excessive poverty acquired A grades, among the many highest share within the state, in response to a Texas Tribune evaluation.
The TEA labels colleges as excessive poverty if greater than 80% of their college students are economically deprived. Texas has about 5.4 million college students in its public colleges, and 60% of them are economically deprived.
Out of the 8,451 colleges rated this 12 months, 564 campuses acquired the “Not Rated” label. Most of those campuses — 499 — serve college students who dwell in a number of the state’s poorest communities. Just one district Area One acquired a “Not Rated” label.
Final month, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath mentioned there are challenges for high-poverty colleges, however it isn’t unattainable for them to price greater.
“Poverty is certainly not future,” Morath mentioned. “The concept that is just a few form of ranking of poverty is fake. The query is how can we assist unfold what we determine as the simplest evidence-based practices in our colleges.”
King, the Area One government director, mentioned he believes that as a result of a major variety of college workers members within the area share the identical background as the kids, they will immediately join with the children, making it simpler for the kids to deal with studying.
In Area One, 96% of the coed inhabitants is Hispanic. A number of the college districts’ workers members within the Rio Grande Valley mirror the coed inhabitants, are youngsters of immigrants and have confronted a number of the similar financial struggles, he mentioned.
Chloe Latham Sikes, deputy director of coverage on the Intercultural Growth Analysis Affiliation, mentioned robust, numerous academics play an enormous function in good pupil outcomes, and the Valley has a pupil inhabitants that’s mirrored in its academics.
This has helped college districts within the area construct a powerful assist and help for twin language packages. The area additionally embraces the completely different cultures and backgrounds of its college students, she mentioned.
“When you could have a distinct group worth round college students who’re Latino, who’re talking languages aside from English then that may be a think about instructional outcomes,” Sikes mentioned.
College students from the Valley have outperformed college students elsewhere, too, in relation to greater training. About 23% of Hispanic college students full some type of greater training within the Valley area whereas solely 18% of Hispanic college students statewide do the identical, in response to the newest information from the Texas Greater Training Coordinating Board.
Final 12 months, the College of Texas Rio Grande Valley began overlaying full tuition and costs for college students whose households make $100,000 or much less. It represents a rise to this system’s revenue threshold, which began at $75,000 in 2019.
“What that displays greater than something is the worth system of the Rio Grande Valley,” mentioned Man Bailey, UTRGV’s president, throughout a Texas Tribune occasion in August. “We now have individuals who worth greater training, our communities, our college students, they usually’ve been terrific to work with.”
Alicia Noyola, superintendent of the Harlingen Consolidated Impartial College District, mentioned districts within the area which might be labeled as excessive poverty and are majority Hispanic excel as a result of they put most of their efforts into the wants of this particular inhabitants.
The district tries to offer garments and meals to college students who don’t have sufficient of both. For college students who can’t keep after college, the district has arrange tutoring facilities at condominium complexes.
“Economically deprived college students are our focus,” Noyola mentioned. “That’s what we do day in and day trip.”
Valley View ISD companions with a neighborhood meals financial institution to ship items to households all year long.
Noyola mentioned it additionally helps that loads of her district’s academics have lived in and know the group so nicely. It makes it simpler for a pupil to study once they know and might join with their academics.
Luis Garcia, a instructor at Valley View ISD, mentioned he’s been on the district for 15 years and believes what makes the scores nice is consistency from academics. In his district, academics keep for some time.
“It turns into extra like a household,” Garcia mentioned. “We don’t quit. We don’t give up, and also you do it with pleasure and care.”
Disclosure: The College of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no function within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full listing of them right here.
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Isabela Ocampo Restrepo
is an engagement fellow who works on the Audience team to find creative ways to interact with the Tribune’s readers. She previously was an audience engagement intern at the Austin American-Statesman and a social media intern for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. She was raised in Medellin, Colombia, speaks Spanish and English fluently, and is getting her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Texas Democrats are starting to sound like the little boy who cried “battleground state,” after yet another election cycle where they shouted from the rooftops that Texas should be viewed as capable of going blue and then drastically underperformed expectations.
President-elect Donald Trump won Texas by 14 percentage points over Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday — a surprisingly wide margin that bested his 2020 and 2016 performances in the state. Texas has for decades reliably gone for the Republican presidential nominee, but Democrats have been heartened that for the past several election cycles, the margin had been steadily narrowing.
The party’s Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, out performed Harris but still lost to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by 9 percentage points, according to unofficial results published by The Associated Press. That’s more than three times the margin that Beto O’Rourke lost to Cruz six years ago, and a wider loss margin than a majority of polls put the race in recent months. It also came after Senate Democrats and other national party officials visited Texas and invested in Allred’s race, citing him as one of the best chances to flip a seat in the upper chamber to protect their majority — which they lost on Tuesday.
The minority party also lost ground in the Legislature where Republicans now control 88 seats in the House and 20 in the Senate. And in South Texas, Republicans made historic gains in the predominantly Hispanic region that has reliably supported Democrats, and they lost their challenge to retake a South Texas congressional seat the GOP had won in 2022.
“This to me is a complete disaster. They underperformed everywhere,” said Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas San Antonio. “They are disorganized. They are a party in the wilderness.”
State Democrats have been especially hopeful since 2018 — after they rode a blue wave down the ballot off of O’Rourke’s history-making Senate run. That year they flipped Texas House districts, local government seats and state appellate courts. Republicans still controlled the Legislature and occupied every statewide office, but Democrats saw that year as the beginning of a new era.
It led to high hopes in 2020, when Democrats fell far short of their goal of flipping the Texas House blue. And then again in 2022, when O’Rourke ran for governor and lost by double-digit margins to Gov. Greg Abbott. That was a midterm election where Republicans underperformed nationwide — everywhere, that is, except for Texas and Florida.
Republicans on Tuesday night relished running up the score against their political foes. Gov. Greg Abbott’s top political adviser pointed at a potentially larger problem for Democrats going forward: How will they get donors to continue funding their campaigns after losing again?
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“So do you think national Democratic donors will ever believe these Texas Democrat grifters again?” Dave Carney said on social media.
Soul searching
Democratic operatives were left licking their wounds Wednesday morning on numerous debriefing calls to figure out what had gone wrong Tuesday.
Among the issues they identified: a national red wave that delivered massive wins for Trump as well as GOP control of the U.S. Senate; a lack of infrastructure and coordination between federal and local campaigns across the state that left Democrats underperforming at every level; and a refusal to acknowledge the increasing realignment of parts of the electorate that were previously the core of the Democratic base, namely working class voters and Latinos.
Ali Zaidi, a Democratic political operative who ran Mike Collier’s campaign for lieutenant governor in 2022 said many in the party are rooted in a “pre-2012” belief that an increasingly diverse Texas would lead automatically to Democratic gains. But many voters of color this cycle cast their ballots for Republicans, like Latinos in South Texas.
Zaidi said Democrats need to either adjust how they connect with Latino voters in the state or look for votes in other places.
“Campaigns are not magical things that change how people feel about the world,” he said, adding that campaigns need to meet people where they are. “If an electorate is no longer a reliable electorate for you the answer as a campaign is to find a new electorate that works for you.”
Several Democrats said the catastrophic election, not only in the state but around the country, should compel the party to do some serious soul searching on what their message should be. Matt Angle, a veteran Texas Democratic operative and director of the Lone Star Project, expressed frustration that the party focused more on what drove the base than kitchen-table issues that were actually on the minds of many voters, such as the economy.
“One of the things that annoys me a lot of times about Democrats as progressives [is] that they say we need to decide what we stand for, and we need to then go push that on voters,” Angle said. But “we need to find out where voters are and meet them where they are.”
Chad Wilbanks, a Republican strategist and former Texas GOP executive director, said the Democratic party is out of touch with the state because they care more about “political correctness” than what voters are telling them.
“They have lost the battle of ideas,” he said. “In Texas, we want a secure border, we want to feel safe in our homes and in our schools. That’s important. [And] inflation plays a major role.”
But even if Democrats were to coalesce behind a persuasive message, the state party faces the challenge of not having the long-term infrastructure to support their candidates running for statewide office. Years of neglect in the decades since the party lost control has left much of its functions outsourced to outside groups, including activist organizations and super PACs, Angle said.
Without a leader Angle said there needed to be an “alpha” elected official to lead the effort as Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen did when he was in office, to coordinate the disparate efforts working to elect Democrats. Allred began to fill that role during the campaign, heading the first Senate-led coordinated campaign in Texas in decades, which consolidated resources up and down the ticket.
The Texas Majority PAC, which is backed by billionaire George Soros, was among the groups that also tried to fill in this cycle and help coordinate Democratic efforts. The group spent more than $600,000 in Cameron County and $700,000 in Hidalgo County – both of which are located in the Rio Grande Valley and were flipped by Trump at the top of the ticket in a stunning upset.
Katherine Fischer, the group’s deputy executive director, said Tuesday’s results were “devastating” and not the results Democrats had wanted. But she found a silver lining in the party’s ability to hold on to the seat of U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, in Hidalgo County, through coordination with the congressman’s campaign and the local party operations.
Fischer said her group will pick apart the election and issue a report but given the margin of victory for Republicans, it’s hard to pinpoint what Democrats could have done to change the outcomes.
“You lose by 10 or 15 points or something shifts by 20 points, [and] there’s no amount of strategy that can combat that,” Fischer said. “There’s some major issues within the Democrat party writ large that we need to reckon with like how voters perceive the Democratic party and how that perception has come to differ so wildly from reality and what we do to recover that.”
Fischer said her group always envisioned its project being one dependent on multiple cycles. The PAC is focused on continuing to build out sorely needed Democratic infrastructure for years to come, she said, acknowledging there are no easy answers from this cycle.
Democrats in Texas often bemoan the lack of investment from the top of the ticket in the state, which is largely written off as unwinnable by national groups. Tides changed this cycle, as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Majority PAC invested over $15 million in Allred’s Senate race as election day approached. National Democratic groups also invested over $1 million in protecting Vicente’s congressional seat.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, said it’s not enough to plead for a massive influx of cash at the last minute.
“Texas needs long-term paid organizing efforts like in other battleground states, where we communicate those everyday, working people issues to disaffected voters, and I think it gives us a lot to learn from this election,” Casar said. “Because a strategy where we’re just trying to persuade a small number of voters on television cannot compete with the kind of on-the-ground organizing efforts that Republicans have put in.”
Luke Warford, a former strategist for the Texas Democrats who now runs a fund to create party infrastructure, said the party needs to invest in candidate recruitment, staff training, communications and how to successfully target voters — all things the Texas GOP excel at.
“If we do that and still lose, then we need to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Fischer said Democrats needed to be honest with donors about the election’s results but also communicate a long-term plan.
“I hope donors who gave to the Allred campaign or to any other project in Texas understand their dollars were not wasted and most states don’t flip over night,” she said. “They don’t flip in one cycle or two cycles, it takes time.”
Texas Democrats aren’t counting themselves out yet. They plan to be back in the spotlight in 2026 when Sen. John Cornyn’s seat is up for reelection, along with statewide elected seats like governor. “If history is right, Trump will have done enough to upset enough people,” Angle said. “You know we shouldn’t look forward with dread. We need to have real clear eyes and really accurately assess what happened this election, but to be hopeful moving forward.”
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Donald Trump wins presidency, AP projects
The FOX 4 News team announces Donald Trump has won a second term as president, the Associated Press projects. Multiple swing states voted red to confirm his historic comeback as president.
Donald Trump won Texas early in the night on his path to winning the presidency.
Analysts gave little hope of Texas turning blue in the presidential race on Election Night, and they were right.
According to unofficial vote totals, Trump earned 56.3% of the vote in Texas. His opponent, Kamala Harris, won 42.4%.
Harris won just 12 of Texas’ 254 counties, including Harris, Dallas, Travis and Bexar counties.
Trump flipped many of south Texas counties that he lost in his 2020 race against Joe Biden.
AP estimates show Trump won 57.7% of Starr County in South Texas, along the border.
He is the first Republican presidential candidate to win the heavily-Hispanic county since 1892.
Trump lost Starr County to Hillary Clinton by 60 points in 2016.
Texas has not voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
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