Hey y’all, happy Teacher Appreciation week!

I hope you’re finding ways to show the educators in your life how much you appreciate the work they do. If you’re still looking for ways to say “thank you,” here are some suggestions.

Before we get into this week’s edition, I wanted to share some news from last week that you may have missed: Fort Worth ISD is closing down a campus dedicated to immigrant students—despite public outcry—as part of the district’s state takeover. You can learn more about it here.

This week, we’ll take a look at the passage of Dallas ISD’s new bond package, see how students are fighting back against attacks on academic freedom at Texas Tech University, and dive into a new banned book for the month of May.

Our DFW Newsletter Editor Joi Louviere also sat down with a viral North Texas Kindergarten teacher who showcases her classroom activities and offers teaching advice on social media—you’ll learn more about her below.

If you missed last week’s edition, find it here.

Katie Serrano

DFW Political Correspondent, COURIER Texas

Voters approve $6B Dallas ISD bond

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All four propositions in the $6.2 billion Dallas Independent School District bond package passed with more than 70% of the vote during the May 2 local and joint election.

The proposal, which is now the largest in the state’s history, will be used to update campuses and upgrade equipment. Proposition A, the largest part of the bond, totals $5.9 billion and will fund the construction of 26 new schools, renovate buildings and playgrounds, increase security, remove the district’s 700 remaining portable classrooms, and invest in new transportation.

Despite the history-making proposal, a very small fraction of voters weighed in. Voter turnout in Dallas in May is typically low, and that trend didn’t change during this weekend’s election. Less than 8% of eligible voters showed up to cast ballots.

Heading west, two out of three Arlington ISD bond propositions passed. Voters approved nearly $470 million to allocate towards funding new schools, repairing and upgrading others, paying for new buses and safety and security items, and paying for new technology for teachers and students to replace out-of-date computers. But they rejected a third prop, which would have allocated $31.5 million toward athletic field and facility repairs.

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Here lies Texas Tech University

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A coalition of student activists are hosting a funeral for Texas Tech University this Thursday to highlight the on-going attacks against academic freedom the system is facing at the hands of Chancellor Brandon Creighton and the board of regents.

Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) and Raiders Against Censorship have described a shift toward ideological constraint rather than academic curiosity at TTU, and claim that “after prolonged death by a thousand cuts, the university and its spirit of academic freedom have passed away.”

Under an order from former chancellor Tedd Mitchell in 2025, the university system’s five campuses must “only recognize two human sexes: male and female.”

The order removed all transgender-related content from syllabi, prohibited the use of preferred names for students, stripped pronouns from email signatures, and banned LGBTQ+ flags on campus. It also sparked a campus-wide curriculum review and overhaul.

Creighton recently ordered the university system to cancel all academic programs “centered on” sexual orientation and gender identity.

He also played an instrumental role in banning all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on college campuses in Texas during his time as a lawmaker.

Learn more about the event

How one North Texas teacher became the internet’s favorite educator

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By Joi Louviere

North Texas kindergarten teacher Sonja White picks up her classroom’s Tiffany blue “tattletale telephone” at the end of the school day and presses play. One student scorns her classmate for being too loud, while another confesses their sadness over a friend not sharing with them. A third is revealed to have stuck their tongue out at a classmate.

It’s just a normal day in Kinder, White explains to her social media followers. She has about a million of them.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we spoke with White, an educator demystifying the kind of magic that only happens in classrooms and making the everyday work of educators visible online. The kindergarten teacher documents her work life to followers across various social platforms: She showcases her classroom activities, offers teaching advice and hacks, and shows the prep work behind over-the-top class parties earned from good behavior.

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🗓️Why Texas districts are extending their school year: Several public school districts are expanding their school years across the state through the Additional Days School Year program, which allows struggling districts to extend their calendar year by up to 30 days. (The Texan)

💰Second tier of applicants awarded private school vouchers: A lottery system awarded more than 53,000 additional students in the second priority tier private school vouchers. They are students from households with incomes at or below $66,000 a year for a family of four. (KXAN)

🧑‍🏫TEA investigation finds no violation at Houston-area high school: The Texas Education Agency did not find any evidence of wrongdoing after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asked the agency to investigate Bellaire High School after claims that teachers were “socially transitioning” students. (Houston Chronicle)

Throughout the month of May, we’ll be reading “The Testaments,” the sequel to Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which we read during the month of November.

Atwood wrote this follow-up over 30 years after “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I find it stunning that after all that time the story she continued to tell was (and is) still relevant.

This book was banned in Lamar Consolidated ISD in August 2024. It’s set 15 years after “The Handmaid’s Tale” and tells the story of life in Gilead—a totalitarian and patriarchal state—for three women: Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and Daisy.