From KWTX, December 7, 2021, by Katie Aupperle

Texas Education Agency Commissioner of Education Mike Morath visited Kendrick Elementary in the Waco Independent School District on Tuesday during his tour of schools across the state in an effort to observe teachers and students, review their progress and witness, firsthand, the impacts of the pandemic.

”It has been a very difficult time in education,” Morath said, “The disruption has been pretty massive for our families, for our staff, for our students.”

He is working with districts in hopes of combatting “COVID slide,” which refers to the backslide in educational growth that has happened during the pandemic.

“We have been focusing on overcoming that COVID slide,” said Waco ISD Superintendent, Dr. Susan Kincannon.

“Not just COVID slide, but low academic achievement in general. Opportunity Culture, revitalization of our libraries, a focus on effective literacy instruction are all things that are contributing to continuous improvement for our students.”

Dr. Kincannon says Waco ISD’s Opportunity Culture program includes mentoring for teachers to improve leadership.

The district also has added about $2 million in books throughout school libraries to improve literacy.

“Watching teachers work with the kids on reading rigorous material, engaging in a rigorous way,” Morath said. Read more…