Texas
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath likes what he sees at local elementary school
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath gets a look at learning in Wichita Falls ISD.
The state’s top education official visited Southern Hills Elementary School on Tuesday to see kids learning with new material.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath wanted to see how it was going in classes using reading curriculum Wichita Falls ISD paid for with the help of state funding.
“I had a great visit at Southern Hills Elementary and was able to witness curricular and instructional improvements initiated by the district firsthand,” Morath said in a statement Tuesday. “I saw kids reading Shakespeare and learning about the war of 1812 — all indications of a robust learning environment.”
Southern Hills, Booker T. Washington and Burgess are among three WFISD elementary schools implementing Amplify Texas.
A grant of about $500,000 helped the district furnish the reading curriculum, approved by the Texas Education Agency, to campuses that feed into Kirby Middle School.
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The commissioner, members of his team and representatives from Region 9 Education Service Center toured Southern Hills Tuesday morning.
“During his visit, Mr. Morath commended the school for their dedication and the incredible efforts of our teachers and leadership,” WFISD officials said in a Facebook post.
Morath discussed the curriculum with Dr. Donny Lee, WFISD superintendent, and Southern Hills Principal Amanda Garcia.
School Board President Katherine McGregor and Place 2 Trustee Diann Scroggins were among those at the school Tuesday morning for the commissioner’s visit.
WFISD is expanding the Amplify Texas curriculum to Scotland Park, Zundy, Fain, Cunningham and Franklin elementary schools with the help of a $430,000 grant from the James N. McCoy Foundation.
Morath’s next stop Tuesday was Region 9 ESC where he was expected to speak to superintendents.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.
Texas
Longhorns Daily News: Texas baseball’s Dylan Volantis named SEC’s Co-Pitcher of the Week
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced on Monday that Texas baseball pitcher Dylan Volantis will share this week’s Pitcher of the Week award with LSU’s Zac Cowan. From Texas Athletics’ announcement:
“Against No. 10 Mississippi State, Volantis registered a co-career-best 12 strikeouts and scattered three singles across six scoreless innings. After the Bulldogs notched a two-out infield hit in the first, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound left-hander retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced. Volantis capped off that stretch by punching out the side on only 10 pitches in the fourth. Overall, the Thousand Oaks, Calif., native threw 107 pitches, which marked the most by a Longhorn this year. In Texas’ 3-1 victory, the Longhorns totaled 19 strikeouts, tying their most in a nine-inning game in program history.“
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NEWS ACROSS LONGHORN NATION AND BEYOND
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What a ride it’s been for these seniors.
Texas
‘Muslim only’ event at taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark gets major splash back: ‘Should we expect a Christians only day?’
A taxpayer-funded Texas waterpark is getting splash-back for a “Muslims only” event next month after a local Islamic group rented out the facility.
A flier for the DFW Epic Eid event on June 1 noted three times that attendance was strictly for Muslims — and modest swimsuits are required.
“Seems like a civil rights violation,” one outraged commenter said.
“Should we expect a ‘Christians Only’ day?” another commenter asked.
Radio host Dana Loesch asked, “How is a taxpayer-funded, city-owned entity allowed to discriminate against non-Muslims at a public water park?”
After the backlash, the organizer of the event, Aminah Knight, told The Post that she is backtracking on how she is advertising it — “to make it clearer that this is a modest dress-only event centered around celebrating Eid.”
The third-annual event is being held at Epic Waters in Grand Prairie, outside Dallas, a massive, 80,000-square-feet indoor waterpark opened in 2017 at a cost of $88 million.
The park was funded by a 0.25% sales tax residents approved at the ballot box in 2014.
The FAQ for the event says “the entire waterpark has been exclusively reserved for Muslims.”
Although the event website says men and women will not be separated during the event, it notes “we ask all attendees to uphold Islamic etiquette just as they do in other mixed gender spaces,” and encourages all visitors to follow a “modest” dress code and lower their gaze around members of the opposite sex “to help preserve a spiritually mindful and welcoming atmosphere for all.”
The website offers suggestions, including an entire “what to wear” section of the site, complete with purchase links for modesty-approved swimwear for women, girls, boys and toddlers.
Event tickets are being advertised for $55 a pop, or $65 with food included, all of which will be certified halal, according to the flyer.
Also advertised is a private prayer room, which will be available between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the night of the celebration.
A new flier for the event — released on Monday — removed the worlds “Muslim only” and replaced it with “modest dress only” and added the line “come and celebrate Eid with us, all are welcome!”
Knight told The Post that she did not mean to exclude non-Muslims in organizing the event.
“The core intention behind this event is to create a space where individuals and families who value modest dress and a modest environment can come together and feel comfortable enjoying a recreational space that often doesn’t naturally accommodate those preferences,” she said.
“While the event is rooted in celebrating Eid within the Muslim community, the guiding principle for attendance is the modest dress code.
“Guests are expected to follow that guideline; such as burkinis for women and swim trunks with shirts for men.”
Knight said the park regularly rents out the space for private events, and that this event is no different.
A spokesperson for the water park said the event is “not hosted or organized” by Epic Waters, and that it makes its space available for rent to a variety of groups, including faith-based orgs like DFW Epic Eid.
“These groups regularly book our venue for birthday parties, celebrations, youth events, corporate programming, and other activities, including full-park buyouts for large-scale private or ticketed events. As with all rentals, the hosting entity, not the waterpark, determines the event’s programming,” the spokesperson said.
Texas
Spencer Torkelson’s home run lifts Detroit Tigers past Texas Rangers, 7-1
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer and the Detroit Tigers pulled away to a 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday night.
Torkelson had gone five games without a homer after tying a franchise record by homering in five consecutive games.
Kevin McGonigle had two RBI singles and Matt Vierling added a two-run double for Detroit, which has won all five of its home series. Hao-Yu Lee chipped in a run-scoring single.
Tyler Holton served as an opener and retired two of the three batters he faced. Brant Hunter (4-0) tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter tied his career high with 10 strikeouts. He lasted 6 2/3 innings and was charged with five runs.
Leiter struck out six of the first eight batters he faced. He didn’t allow a baserunner until he issued a four-pitch walk to Riley Greene. Torkelson fell behind in the count 0-2, then clubbed a hanging slider over the left field wall to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.
McGonigle’s line drive single in the sixth knocked in Jake Rogers, who led off the inning with a liner that bounced past center fielder Evan Carter for a triple.
Texas scored in the seventh on Kyle Higashioka’s RBI groundout. The Tigers then scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Vierling’s two-run bloop double.
Up next
The Rangers begin a three-game road series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01) will start for Texas.
Tigers ace LHP Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70) will start the opener of a three-game home series against Boston on Monday.
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