Anastasia Goodwin

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Anastasia Goodwin |Elizabeth Sander

While Cy-Fair ISD's superintendent was one of the highest paid in Texas, the district has been able to keep its administrative cost ratio low compared to neighboring districts, leaders said at Thursday's budget workshop. The district expects a $50 million deficit for the next school year, but leaders have pledged not to make cuts and began discussions Thursday of how far to go into fund balance to be able to provide raises, stipends and reinstate some transportation routes, among other things.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Anastasia Goodwin |Megan Menchaca |Claire Partain

At a handful of Houston ISD high schools, less than 15% of students are meeting the state’s minimum reading and math benchmarks on certain national exams, reflecting long-standing educational inequities that have left thousands of graduates unprepared for success in college. According to district data, fewer than 5% of students at certain New Education System high schools historically meet minimum state math or reading standards on the SAT.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Anastasia Goodwin |Claire Partain

Atrayee Bhattacharjee's phone hasn't stopped ringing since she co-founded AP Tutors more than 25 years ago. Bhattacharjee created the Sugar Land-based company in 2000 after tutoring her daughter in some of her Advanced Placement courses. She and fellow co-founder Navin Aswal now serve more than 300 AP students, primarily from Houston, Fort Bend and Katy ISDs."At first, it was hard for us to decide whether that was due to the growth in the company ...

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Anastasia Goodwin |Edward McKinley

Texas leaders have gotten behind a school funding bill that sets aside more than $4 billion for ongoing teacher pay raises. Under House Bill 2, teachers with at least five years of experience who are working at school districts with at least 5,000 students would receive a $5,500 pay bump, while teachers at schools with fewer students would receive a $10,000 raise. Teachers with between three or four years of experience would receive between $2,500 and $5,000.

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Megan Menchaca |Anastasia Goodwin

Several Houston ISD high schools reported skyrocketing rates of graduates who earned industry-based certifications but failed to meet any other college readiness benchmark, which one expert says indicates schools may have been “gaming the system” to improve their state rankings Texas students can earn industry-based certifications from the Texas Education Agency’s approved list before graduating.