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On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.

Strever’s sentences are punctuated with laughs when she recounts the story to

Paraprofessionals and school-related personnel are often overlooked because of their support roles. They are the last ones hired and often the first ones fired when budgets get tight. This certainly seems true right now as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in education funds, effective July 1, which has hamstrung summer school programs, hindered English language support, halted professional development this summer, and left before- and after-school programs in limbo for the coming school year.

Paraprofessionals are key employees in all these programs. For example, in Alabama

The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you the results of the EPAFT Trajectory Survey. 

This snippet in The Supe’s bio caught my eye, “she has El Paso ISD on an upward trajectory…”.   That does not jive with the employee exodus or discussions with members. 

So EPAFT ran a spot survey to gauge member agreement or disagreement.

Short Version:  The Supe or her biographer need to ‘put a little distance between fact and fantasy’, as the late great Jimmy Buffet would say.

Longer Version:

Strongly Agree – 1.63%; Agree - 0.54%; No Opinion – 4.35%;

Disagree – 38.04%

The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you today’s EPISD Tuesday Teacher Tracker. 

1.  The below are the number of empty positions being advertised by EPISD HR as of 7:00 AM January 23^rd, 2024. 

2.  Posted Teacher Openings:

            a.  Elementary (pK-5) – 111 Posted Openings, down 2 from 1.16.

            b.  Middle School (6-8) – 23 Posted Openings, down 2 from 1.16.

            c.  High School (9-12) – 22 Posted Openings, down 4 from 1.16.

            d.  Total – 162 Posted Openings, down 6 from 1.16.

            e.  Putting that in perspective, last year at this time

The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you Monday Bits and Pieces.  These are the information items of interest or alerts of importance.

1.  The EPISD January Board Meetings are scheduled for Thursday, January 25^th. 

The first meeting is at 2:00 PM and is a “Special Board Meeting” where the Superintendent’s contract and compensation package will be amended.  The rumblings are that it will be 10% to 15% raise plus perks.

The second meeting begins at 5:00 PM and is the “Regular Board Meeting”.  The agenda is very light on substance until you dig to the second and third levels and read

Two Year Temperature Check Question Eight Responses

Q8. If you could change one thing about EPISD what would it be? (150 character limit)

Below are some of the notable responses about changes other than the many of those about compensation.

· The reliance on unproven programs and initiatives that invariably damage teacher morale and student achievement.

· Follow your own policies.

· Meaningful lessons that are teacher created.

· Hire teachers instead of all the subs.

· Do what needs to be done so people would want to teach here instead of leave.

· The cronyism.

· SPED caseloads

Below are responses to Question Two which focused on initial expectations.  They were provided to the EPISD Superintendent Friday, before the E-mail went to members.  Her response - crickets

Q2 How have your initial expectations for the Superintendent compared to the reality of where the district is now? (150 character limit)

Below are some of the notable responses other than the many of those about compensation.

•    I wanted to believe her when she said she was listening to teachers and students regarding what they needed to be successful. It was a lie. 

•    I thought that as a former

The purpose of this E-Mail is to share with you today’s EPISD Tuesday Teacher Tracker. 

1.  The below are the number of empty positions being advertised by EPISD HR as of 7:00 AM January 16^th, 2024. 

2.  Posted Teacher Openings:

            a.  Elementary (pK-5) – 113 Posted Openings, down 4 from 1.9.

            b.  Middle School (6-8) – 25 Posted Openings, down 1 from 1.9.

            c.  High School (9-12) – 24 Posted Openings, up 4 from 1.9.

            d.  Total – 162 Posted Openings, down 3 from 1.9.

            e.  Putting that in perspective, last year at this time, there were