Commissioner's Blog

The U.S. Department of Education announced the recipients of the 2019 Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership. Two of our Texas principals received the national award, which honors school leaders who are committed advocates of education.

Congratulations to Rachel Ayala from Hubert R. Hudson Elementary School in Brownsville ISD, and Sandra Barrios from Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary School in Dallas ISD. You both exemplify the outstanding leadership we have throughout Texas.

On Aug. 15, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released accountability ratings for school districts and district charters. Multi-campus districts received an accountability rating using the new A–F scale. On that day, I commended the work taking place in high-performing school districts statewide.

On Aug. 15, the Texas Education Agency released academic accountability ratings for districts, charters and campuses across the state. And for the first time, ratings for school districts and district charters are on an A-F scale.

Texas students traditionally perform well on STAAR – this year is no exception. Most students successfully met grade level or achieved higher level performance on all five STAAR end-of-course assessments. The same can be said for students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 taking STAAR math and reading.

Since becoming Commissioner, I have worked with staff at the Texas Education Agency to establish four strategic priorities to guide and focus our work on behalf of the more than five million school children in our State. One of those priorities is doing all we can to recruit, support and retain teachers and principals.

As we begin a new year, we recognize the month of January as School Board Recognition Month as declared by Governor Greg Abbott. As a former board member, I know the vital role board members face in giving our kids the best education possible.

During my first month as Commissioner, I took part in the Texas Tribune’s Symposium on Urban Public Education. I sat down and visited with Evan Smith, Editor-in-Chief, CEO and co-founder of the Texas Tribune. I thought you might enjoy hearing our conversation from that day in El Paso: "http://www.texastribune.org/2016/01/23/video-a-conversation-with-mike-m…">http://www.texastribune.org/2016/01/23/video-a-conversation-with-mike-m…

Along with earning a basic accountability rating, districts and campuses can earn distinction designations. The commissioner discusses what those are and how they are determined in part three of his accountability primer.

Commissioner of Education Michael Williams provides a quick primer about state accountability ratings.

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed Senate Bill 925 which establishes literacy achievement academies to provide high-quality, face-to-face professional development to public school teachers who instruct students in kindergarten through third grade.