Twenty-eight Texas schools earned the 2025 Lone Star Ribbon recognition for their outstanding academic performance, including campuses from La Joya ISD, PSJA ISD, Roma ISD and Sharyland ISD. The newly formed Lone Star Ribbon program replaces the longstanding National Blue Ribbon program, which President Donald Trump axed last month in his latest move to reduce…

The Texas Education Agency awarded Pioneer High School the Purple Star Campus Designation (PSCD) — a recognition for schools with exceptional military support programs. State legislators created a law in 2019, encouraging districts and campuses to take specific actions in assisting military-connected students and their families to help ease their transition after relocating. Schools that…

Following consistently low or unstable state accountability scores, La Joya ISD placed Corina Peña Elementary and Dr. Javier Saenz Middle School in an academic program designed to accelerate student success. The Texas Education Agency released the 2025 district and campus accountability ratings last month. For the third consecutive year, Peña Elementary earned a D rating,…

The La Joya School District dropped from a B to a C in state accountability ratings, but seven campuses still achieved academic improvement. One of the district’s success stories is Camarena Elementary — the only campus at LJISD to maintain its A rating and improve the score between the last two school years. Camarena was…

The Sharyland ISD Board of Trustees added a year to Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard’s contract and included a raise that she opted to donate to the Sharyland Education Foundation. Howard’s amended contract extends to June 2028 and includes a 10% bump in pay, bringing her salary to $258,500 for the 2025-26 school year. Her original…

Sharyland ISD can once again boast an A in state accountability ratings for 2025. The Texas Education Agency recently released three years’ worth of accountability ratings following the dismissal of two lawsuits that stalled their release. The 2023 ratings became available in April, but TEA finally released the scores for 2024 and 2025 on Aug.…

After a year of development and community discussion, La Joya ISD revealed their five-year strategic plan, which will guide the district as it continues operations under the watchful eye of the Texas Education Agency. Superintendent Dr. Marcey Sorensen presented the details at the Aug. 13 school board meeting. “This was a labor of love because…

La Joya ISD plans to implement a pay structure for principals based on student achievement. With Texas creating the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) to help with retention and increase compensation, La Joya ISD wanted to offer a similar incentive to campus leaders. For the past year, La Joya ISD administration has been drafting the roadmap…

Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard completed her first full year with Sharyland ISD, and board members described it as fast-paced but a resounding success. The board and Howard have been open about the expectations they had for the superintendent when she joined the district — pay raises for everyone and equity for all positions. And with…