Strong Foundations Newsletter December - AP/ESC

Texas Education Agency sent this bulletin at 12/03/2025 04:00 PM CST

View as a webpage

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
Strong Foundations Logo

Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities (LASO) Program

December 2025

Strong Foundations Newsletter

Approved Provider
Kids learning on carpetgreen-blue gradient bar

Greetings!

Dear Approved Providers,  

Season's Greetings from the TEA Strong Foundations Team! It is hard to believe that it is December already. It is truly inspiring to see all the work that has been accomplished across both grants already. We hope that you continue to utilize the support available to you to ensure that the districts and teams you work with are getting the help that they need. Have a safe and wonderful December and do not hesitate to reach out if our team can help in any way. 

Take care, 

The Strong Foundations Team 

Milestones

Strong Foundations Planning Milestones

  • Instructional Framework is due this month! Milestone date is 12/12/25. If you need an extension, fill out the deliverable survey and indicate an estimated date of completion. 
  • Part C (June) Awardees have an adjusted timeline – Your framework is not due this month. See the adjusted timeline on p. 8 in the AP Playbook. Roadmap is due 1/16/26 and Framework is due 3/27/26. 

Strong Foundations Implementation Milestones

  • Mid-year step backs: In December and January, Implementation Advisors should be hosting their Mid-year step backs with each district to identify systems-level celebrations and areas of refinement and to identify high-impact action steps for IAs and school system leaders to increase FOI and progress measures. Find more information about this meeting including a sample agenda in the IA Playbook!  
  • Remember! After your team hosts a Mid-year step back, be sure to share the Self Assessment Qualtrics link with ONE leader from the district team so they can fill it out.

Reminders & Next Steps

Strong Foundations Planning Reminders:

  • LIFT LASO 4 Training Calendar – Check out the LIFT calendar to put holds on your calendar for essential trainings.  The LIFT AP Registration Portal will launch this month!  
  • Framework Coaching Sessions – These sessions are available throughout the framework creation process! Sign up to receive valuable feedback on a draft of the framework. You may also bring LEA leaders to the session. Calendly link to sign up. 
  • Cycle 3 AP Monthly Meetings (required) – Sign up for this cycle’s AP Monthly Meetings; the next one is December 12th  at 9:00 a.m. These meetings are required for all SF Managers and AP District Leads as they contain important info and learning opportunities to strengthen school system support. December’s meeting will be a repeat of breakout rooms from October’s session (Local Classroom Review, Bluebonnet Learning, EB Support, SWD Support) as well as a few new options. This time around there will be time for Q&A. Register with this link. 
  • (Optional) LEA CoP November - Encourage your LEA to join us for the next LEA CoP on December 4th at 11:00 a.m. December’s CoP will be a Choose Your Own Adventure format where leaders will rotate to various breakout rooms based on interest and need. Here is the link to register. 

Strong Foundations Implementation Reminders:

  • NEW: Assessment Guidance: We are excited to share a resource that we developed in response to all of your feedback. We have created one document where you can find information about the different types of assessments for Bluebonnet Learning for K-5 RLA, K-5 Math and Secondary Math. ​The document is divided into two main parts:​ 
    • Part 1: Outlines the purpose and assessment types for each of the content areas: including Bluebonnet Learning Foundational skills K-3, Reading Language Arts K-5, Bluebonnet Learning K-5 Math and Secondary Math.  
    • Part 2: Provides access and logistics information. ​

  • NEW: Provide feedback on Unit/Module Snapshots: To inform continuous improvement, TEA is looking for feedback on the Bluebonnet Learning unit/module snapshots. Please complete this ~5 minute survey by 5pm on Monday, December 15, and please share with other educators using the snapshots – we are eager for feedback! 
  • NEW: Spanish Pilot Office Hours: December 12, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. (Registration Link) Join us for our next Spanish Pilot office hours on December 12 from 9:00-10 AM. If you are supporting any districts who are piloting the Spanish Bluebonnet RLA and Math Instructional Resources, this is the space to come and ask questions and network with other APs. 
  • Reminder – Missing Exit Tickets: If you forgot to give an exit ticket, or someone’s information is not appearing as you anticipated on the SFI dashboard, please do not ask participants to re-take any exit tickets. Instead, reach out to our team and we will help you get participation appearing correctly on the back end. 
  • Upcoming Meetings:
    • Strong Foundations Managers:
      • Friday December 5, 9:00- 11:00 a.m. : SFM Monthly Meeting  
      • January 16, 9:00-11:00 a.m.: SFM Monthly Meeting  
      • CANCELLED: January 22, 9:00 – 3:30 p.m.: SFM January Convening 
    • Implementation Advisors:  
      • Friday, January 23, 10:15- 11:15 a.m.: Quarterly meeting (Required) 
    • Product Advisors:  
      • Friday, January 23, 9:00- 10:00 a.m.: Quarterly meeting (Required) 

Resources