The Texas Comprehensive Center's mission is to increase and strengthen the knowledge, skills, and resources needed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the statewide system of support to assist districts and schools in meeting the goals of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

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…at the State level

Rapid Response Service

The Texas CC provides prompt responses and research-based information to address specific policy and NCLB implementation questions posed by TEA staff. This service is designed to assist them in addressing queries from policymakers or school district personnel, as well as to help inform them on aspects of their own work. Periodically, briefing papers will be published on the Web site to highlight selected responses.

Texas Focus Archive

The center's newsletter, Texas Focus, was published to provide timely and relevant information regarding the work being done by the Texas CC and by the content centers that complement the regional comprehensive center network. The newsletter also highlighted news from the U.S. Department of Education and links to NCLB information on the TEA Web site. The final issue of Texas Focus was published March 31, 2009 and will be replaced with briefing papers on selected topics related to NCLB and school improvement. All issues of the newsletter are available for download from the archive.

Technical Assistance Sessions

The center provides logistical support, facilitation, and resources for TEA staff and its infrastructure for school and district support to collaborate on development of plans or products that address a specific need. Texas CC staff work directly with TEA staff and staff from the educational service centers (ESCs) to facilitate implementation of NCLB provisions.

Annual Texas Forum

The Texas CC conducts an annual forum to address key NCLB-related topics for the appropriate staff of the ESCs, TEA, the School Improvement Resource Center (SIRC), and the Statewide School Support/Parent Involvement Initiative. This forum is designed to increase understanding of priority issues and share information about how Texas is addressing problems and challenges related to NCLB implementation. It also provides a venue for updates on federal guidance and information from other states regarding their practices related to this guidance, as well as an important opportunity for networking.

Texas Action Group

The Texas CC and TEA joined together in an effort to increase collaboration among the entities of the statewide system of support and to increase coherence in the support provided to districts and campuses. Representatives from two statewide programs—the Texas School Improvement Resource Center (SIRC) and the Title I Statewide School Support/Parental Involvement (SSS/PI) Initiative—and from two ESCs were invited to attend quarterly meetings. At the meetings, the participants work on issues related to supporting Texas schools in need of improvement. Meetings are planned and facilitated by members of the group so that the representatives from each entity can share projects on which they are working and receive feedback from other participants. Discussions focus on finding ways for members to avoid duplication of efforts, in addition to increasing the alignment and effectiveness of the work of all those involved.

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…at the Regional level

Instructional Leadership

The Texas CC conducts training-of-trainers for the state's 20 regional educational service centers (ESCs) to build staff capacity to assist districts and schools in improvement efforts. Trainings include providing guidance on

• conducting comprehensive needs assessments,
• developing plans to reach goals by addressing identified needs,
• selecting and implementing research-based instructional materials and approaches,
• monitoring activities designed to improve student outcomes, and
• collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the impact of efforts on student achievement and to inform decision making.

School Support Team Training

The Texas CC worked with TEA to create a manual to be used by ESCs statewide in training school support teams (SSTs) (outlined in Public Law 107-110, Section 1003). Texas CC staff hosted a training-of-trainers on using the manual and continues to provide support to ESC staff who train the SSTs to work with Title I schools. The manual is available online for ESC staff who train teams at either the regional or district level.

Instructional Practice

The center provides training-of-trainers for ESC specialists to assist high-need schools in selecting and implementing research-based instructional materials and approaches. It also assists specialists with training in monitoring implementation of activities designed to improve student outcomes, particularly for English language learners, special education students, and students at risk of failing to complete high school.

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Web Based Resources

Database of Identified Resources

The Texas CC maintains a searchable database of information about and links to resources addressing a range of school improvement and instructional content areas for closing the achievement gap among different groups of students. The database also includes emerging strategies for increasing high school completion and encouraging post-secondary education, in addition to resources on English language learners, scientifically based research, teacher quality, leadership, and family engagement.

Database of Resources from Texas CC Training Sessions

The Texas CC maintains a database of materials used for training sessions (except for some materials for which copyright restrictions apply). The database is searchable by training event, topics, or document title.

Podcasts of NCLB Update

The Texas CC Web site hosts an archive of the weekly NCLB updates from TEA's Division of NCLB Program Coordination. The archive includes all podcasts delivered since January, 2008; the podcasts are also available on iTunes.

Events Calendar

Information about upcoming events—local, state, and national—of interest to TEA and ESC staff, state educators, and school and district administrators is available on the Texas CC Events page. Contact shirley.beckwith@sedl.org if there is an event that is particularly relevant to this audience.

 

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The Texas Comprehensive Center is housed at SEDL in Austin, Texas. Our partners include the Texas Education Agency, the Regional Education Service Centers of Texas, and the Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations.