ESCs Hide FREE Materials
In 2009-2010, the ESCs who own TESCCC received about $50 million to develop and present teacher training for science and ELAR TEKS. The first training sessions were offered in the summer of 2010. This was important because teachers would be developing their science and ELAR lessons around these new Texas standards called TEKS.
Few teachers attended the summer sessions even though a stipend was to be given to teachers attending. Why?
The answer is given in a report to TEA about the Rider 42 grant project below. Basically, the ESC made an effort not to announce this program. How could 20 different groups fail to advertise something so very important?
It seems that the ESCs didn’t do anything special to advertise these FREE TEKS Academies.
Remember: 2010-2011 was the first year that the TEKS were to be used and teachers were apprehensive about starting the school year “cold.” The ESCs had at least a year to work on developing the TEKS training for Texas educators and yet these ESCs did not notify educators that there would be free training in the summer of 2010. I keep thinking how much could be done with $50 million. Following is the very lame excuse given by the ESCs. ESC, which stands for Education Service Center is a misnomer.
During the summer of 2010, instead of promoting the Free TEKS Academies, teachers who serendipitous discovered that the academies were being presented attended, but many teachers were forced to attend CSCOPE training sessions. This is because the ESCs were selling CSCOPE and telling the public that schools had asked them to create the CSCOPE materials. If so, it was only because these schools were not offered the free TEKS academy materials.
I can testify to the fact that the Free Science K-4 TEKS professional development materials created by TEA and Region 4 are wonderful. In fact, to hide these free materials and sell CSCOPE materials is comparable of robbing children of food. The food in this case is their education. Yes, the ESCs have stolen the education away from Texas children.
I am preparing a series of articles that compare the Free TEKS PD Academy science lessons with comparable CSCOPE lessons. This will be information that parents can take to their superintendents and ask for an explanation.
See CSCOPE Hurts Children: Proof 1
Note: The ESCs were given a second chance to make amends. Yes, these same 20 groups were given another $50 million to develop TEKS PD for social studies as well as present the science and ELAR academies again. Yes, the ESCs knew this money was coming. Did they correct the error of not starting early to advertise the Free TEKS programs. NO! Same procedure–”If the teachers find out they will come.” Few teachers have attending these free programs and now the ESCs claim that there is no money for the Math TEKS. What! $152 million was allotted and there is no money for the math? What happened to all this money?
