Stephanie Heinchon

Despite ongoing attacks from anti-public school advocates, I remain steadfast in my commitment to championing public education. Abandoning this cause would be a disservice to the dedicated educators I represent and those throughout our state. Public schools are the cornerstone of our communities, offering inclusive and equitable education to all children. It’s disheartening to see misinformation and attacks aimed at undermining these vital institutions. Now, more than ever, we must unite to support our public schools and the educators who tirelessly work to nurture and educate our future generations. Together, we can ensure that every child has access to quality education and uphold the principles of fairness and opportunity that define our democratic society. #txed

Teachers who are passionate, on the ball, sometimes outspoken and have high expectations in the classroom, also have the same expectations of their leaders. Effective leaders embrace these staff members because they know together they make each other better! Iron Sharpens Iron

Leaders: Mingle before you mandate Listen before you lead Interact before you implement Connect before you comment Feel before you fix Know before you notate Ask before you act Belong before you begin Relate before you resolve It's not about you, it's about others.

Low achievement? Fix Tier 1 High misbehavior? Fix Tier 1 Low morale? Fix Tier 1 High burn out? Fix Tier 1 Low growth? Fix Tier 1 High stress? Fix Tier 1 Low engagement? Fix Tier 1 When will we get so sick of the ups and downs to design a high quality Tier 1 for learning?

For a team that uses the Dripping Springs name and colors, it’s unacceptable that they cheer for the team that is playing the “REAL” Drip team. Lack of class and poor parenting!!! There is only ONE Dripping Springs lacrosse team!!! @asher_nolting

When schools require teachers to offer retakes & accept late work, they ALSO need to provide teachers the extra time those requirements take.

WHY ARE TEACHERS LEAVING THE PROFESSION? •Inadequate preparation for new teachers •Increasing student misbehaviors with little to no accountability •Lack of parent support •Lack of district support •Exorbitant class sizes •They are worked to the bone with no extra/overtime pay •Low salaries •Standards are a moving target •Teach to the test philosophy •Their time isn’t respected •Better opportunities elsewhere 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 #𝐄𝐝𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭

Tossing around the idea of a free 1 hour webinar around Tier 1 learning & how to impact it. Would you be interested? RT if you think others would be, too.

I met Albert before the school year started. I was moving some things into my office and I saw him shooting hoops by himself on our playground. He approached me and asked if I was the new assistant principal. I introduced myself and shook his hand. He then asked if I would play HORSE. I thought about the long list of things I had to get done and how far behind I was already, but I quickly decided that HORSE with a student trumped everything on that list. While playing basketball, he asked me several questions and literally spoke for 20 minutes straight without taking a breath. He was funny, interesting, and seemed very intelligent. When we finished playing, he thanked me for spending the time with him and he walked home. I went back in the building and started to tackle the many items that were on my long list of things to do. A few weeks later we had some back to school IEP meetings. One of them was for a student named Albert. I pulled the file so that I would be prepared for the meeting. To my surprise, this was the same Albert that I played basketball with a few weeks prior. He had a list of a dozen school suspensions, at least six DSM diagnosis listed, and was assigned to the self-contained classroom for 85% of the day. Something did not add up. The parents did not show up for the meeting but gave permission to conduct the meeting in their absence. This was the first IEP that I had ever attended where there was not one positive word spoken about this student. Even when they asked for any strengths, nobody around the table could share any. I spoke up and said that based on my 20 minute encounter with him I felt he had several strengths: a good outside jump shot, excellent communication skills, an inquisitive nature, and a big smile. I looked around the table and everyone stared at me like I was either crazy or talking about another student. The school year started with a bang. Albert became upset in class and ran down the hall and straight out of the building towards his home. I managed to catch-up to him before he crossed a major street and I convinced him to walk back to the school and into my office. Albert was crying and obviously frustrated. He said that everyone in the school was mean to him and that they all thought he was a bad kid. In my head, I thought that he was exactly right—certainly based on the IEP meeting participants. We had a nice talk and Albert seemed to calm down. I asked if he would like to join me outside for a game of HORSE. He gave me a strange look, but then said, “Are you sure?” I told him definitely and he enthusiastically agreed to play. Once we were outside, Albert asked if he was going to be suspended. I told him that we would forget about this one, but that if there was a next one, he would be sent home. We discussed some better choices for next time, as running out of the room and building was a real safety issue. I stressed that I wanted him to be safe, because I liked him, cared about him, and did not want anything to happen to the school’s best basketball player. He smiled at me and asked if it would be okay if he could come to my office when he got upset, instead of running out of the building. I told him that was a great idea. We played basketball for a bit and decided that it was time to go back inside to prepare for lunch. Albert turned his head, looked me in the eyes and said that this was the nicest thing that anyone at school had ever done for him. Albert kept to his word. There were several other times that he got upset and frustrated, but instead of running out of the building, he ran to my office, sat in a corner, and cooled off. Each time it would take a few minutes before he was ready to talk and process what happened. Albert never got suspended that year and staff regularly shared some positives about him. Amazing what one small act of kindness can do to help a student be successful. Join us at the “Maslow Before Bloom” Facebook group; Facebook.com/groups/maslowb…

Teachers: Share your valuable insights regarding this meme shared by @BoredTeachers. Your thoughtful contributions are greatly appreciated.

Great reminders, not just for those beginning a new job, but also those, like me that are in year 10. Thanks for the throwback! @Joe_Sanfelippo

We are looking for life changers to join our TEAM! ⁦Apply now or feel free to share w/educators who would make a great addition to our Walnut Family! @utexascoe⁩ ⁦@sehdtamu⁩ ⁦@TXSTCOE⁩ ⁦@BaylorSOE⁩ #iamwses #iamdsisd

Districts, when you have an effective principal, leave them in their school. Give them a multi year contract and let them be amazing. They bring consistency, support, high expectations, improved morale, and appreciation to their staff. This creates a culture of excellence.

The commissioner of education gets a raise from $220,000 to $325,000. Teachers get $0 despite Abbott’s task force recs. TEA adds hundreds of employees. ISDs get no increases to the basic allotment and lots more rules and regulations to implement without sufficient funding.

How is it that a state with the 10th largest economy in the world and 2nd largest in the nation ranks 42nd in per pupil spending and 28th in teacher pay?! Yet the Governor seeks to further take resources from #txed for a political agenda and is threatening spending millions on a special session in September. Doesn't sound democratic. The fight is far from over. The committee has until Saturday to vote out #SB8. Keep those letter and phone calls going. #txlege

In Texas, we walk every day in the crosshairs sanantonioreport.org/mass-shootings…

Teachers Aren't Burnt Out. They Are Being Set Up to Fail edweek.org/teaching-learn…