Elizabeth Sander

3 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Elizabeth Sander

Humble ISD school board president Chris Parker, pictured here in January, was confirmed last week to have won her bid for re-election after an election recount requested by her challenger reflected the race's initial results. Still, election challenges may loom if the opponent, Natalie Carter, goes forward with an official election contest.

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 | Elizabeth Sander

Many Houston area districts saw  after an appeals court judge overturned an injunction on school district letter grades,Four school districts in the Houston area, however, managed to keep their high rating for the 2022-2023 school year. Article continues below this adWhile the average grade for Houston area districts was between a B and a C, Barber’s Hill, Devers, Friendswood and Tomball ISDs were A-rated in the 2022-2023 school year, and the year before.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Elizabeth Sander

At the 400-student Houston Quran Academy in Katy, students’ STAAR test results are so important they are posted on the wall near the entrance right beside Arabic Quran verses and the school’s mission, which all students are required to memorize. While Texas’ nearly 300,000 private school students are not required to take the state’s standardized test, Houston Quran Academy is among a handful of private schools that elect to administer the test annually.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Elizabeth Sander

While Texas does not require private schools to administer the state’s standardized test, almost 6,000 private school students at 21 campuses statewide took the test last year. Just under half of the private school campuses that administered the test were in the Houston area and the majority were Islamic schools. While most of Texas' 9,000 private schools in Texas are Christian, only three of those administered the STAAR, according to Texas Education Agency data analyzed by the Chronicle.