Greetings!
As we approach the end of the calendar year, we extend heartfelt thanks for all your dedication and hard work in improving educational outcomes for students and ensuring they have equitable access to high-quality instructional materials.
This is the season of cooler weather (we hope) and also LASO! The best source of general LASO information is the LASO Cycle 3 website. Here are some important upcoming LASO 3 dates:
- Application Deadline: December 13, 2024, 5:00 PM
- Tentative Award Announcement: February 20, 2025
Continue reading for the latest information and updates from our team. Please reach out with any needed support or questions.
The Strong Foundations Team
Milestones
Past Due Action Items
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Action Plans: Submit the completed action plan to your approved provider.
Action Items
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Professional Learning and Flexible Supports
- Plan with your approved provider (Product Advisor) for the delivery of professional learning and flexible support for district and school leaders, coaches, and teachers.
- Connect with Implementation Advisors (IAs) to schedule mid-year step-back meetings to analyze successes and plan for systemic adjustments.
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Collaborate with Implementation Advisor to conduct Observations and Learning Walks
Reminders & Next Steps
Special Populations Needs Assessment:
Your insights are important! The Texas Education Agency invites educators supporting special populations to complete a brief feedback survey to share your needs, challenges, and perspectives. Your input will directly inform the development of programs and resources designed to support you, your schools, and your students.
The survey is open until January 7, 2025, and takes just 15 minutes to complete. Together, we can create solutions that truly make a difference. Select the survey that most accurately represents your role.
We encourage you to share this information broadly within your district and throughout your network as we seek to hear from a representative sample of educators across the state. Thank you for partnering with us to enhance education across our state!
Special Populations Needs Assessment: Focus Groups/Interviews
The Texas Education Agency is seeking educational leaders to participate in focus groups and interviews to share their experiences, challenges, and ideas around the topic of instructional resources and practices for students with disabilities and emergent bilingual students. Your valuable perspectives will shape programs and resources that directly support educators, schools, and students across the state.
This is your opportunity to influence decisions that matter most to you and your community. Sessions will be scheduled at your convenience and will take approximately 15 minutes. Sign Up to Participate. Help us build better programs—together!
Reminder: Upcoming Leader Community of Practice (CoP) Opportunities
The SFI Implementation Team is excited to announce the opportunity to join a community of practice for leaders to collaborate, reflect, and share experiences. Sign up for Leader CoP Sessions and please invite other district and school leaders who would like to participate.
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The SFI Executive Leader CoP sessions provide collaborative learning for district executive leaders implementing HQIM. It is a platform for leaders to engage in short bouts of new learning from a featured keynote speaker, while also experiencing focused small-group discussions.
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Executive Leader CoP Sessions
- January 9, 2025, 9:00–10:30 a.m. - Aligning Educator Experience, Selection, Support, and Collaboration to HQIM (Talent Management focus)
- March 13, 2025, 9:00–10:30 a.m. - Focusing on Continuous Improvement and Sustaining Implementation
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The SFI School Leader CoP sessions allow school and program leaders to continuously improve HQIM practices on campus while building their capacity as instructional leaders. Leaders who attend these sessions will foster resiliency in their schools as they are equipped to support the strong continued use of HQIM for students. Each session will be delivered twice to provide flexibility in the leaders’ attendance.
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School Leader CoP Sessions:
- February 18 and 20, 2025, 10:00–11:30 a.m. - Sustaining the Change and Synthesizing the Learning
HQIM Learning Labs
Spring dates are on the calendar! Spots fill up VERY fast, so please sign up soon! A couple of notes regarding Learning Labs:
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Filling out the form is a request for a visit. Visits are not guaranteed, and are dependent on group size, district capacity, etc.
- If you sign up for a visit, be sure that you are in frequent conversation with the Innovator district if changes need to be made.
Engagement Opportunities
We are always looking for ways to connect with our partners in the field!
From site visits, to review opportunities, to focus groups, there are numerous ways to connect with TEA and support the field of education. If you are interested in participating in an engagement opportunity, sign up by clicking the button below.
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