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When Marshall ISD Superintendent Rochelle Langley first applied for the position, she mentioned the idea of transforming Price T. Young Elementary School into a fine arts academy, a trend that suited the longstanding history of successful fine arts in Marshall ISD.

In 2023, the school will be wrapping up its first year as one of only two fine arts academies in the East Texas area.

Langley is a Marshall native, and was well versed with the district’s record of excellence in the fine arts before stepping into the superintendent position. She stated that Price T. Young, of which 90 percent of its student population is considered low economic status, has historically been an underserved school in the area — and one that she hoped to bring new life to with the program.

“We didn’t want to just slap the name fine arts academy on it either,” said Bethany Venable, the school’s instructional coordinator for fine art and physical education. “We wanted the art to be fully integrated into the education of our student.”

The district officially made the switch in August 2022 and will be wrapping up the first year of its new program at the school in May.

The school offers its kindergarten through fifth grade students exposure to a wide variety of fine arts and class options to choose from, with all of its kindergarten through third grade students receiving instruction in music, theater and visual arts along with the traditional core classroom subjects.

When students reach fourth and fifth grade, they get to chose their own fine arts elective, including choir, strings, theater and more, as well as have the option to take either dance or PE as their physical education credit.

Not only does the school offer these additional courses though, but according to Principal Blake Langley, the school focuses on integrating the arts into all of its subjects, to engage students and inspire a passion for learning.

Venable said that many of the different subject teachers work together to integrate not only arts into their core classroom teachings, but work together to integrate the core subjects into all areas of the school day and combine lessons in different classes.

This, she said, allows students to understand a subject as a fully formed idea, rather than segmenting subjects between class periods.

“We don’t want to just teach our students how to know things, we want them to be good at learning, and to be able to think for themselves by the time they move onto junior high,” Venable said.

One example of how the fine arts academy works comes with the school’s second-graders, who are taught how to sight-read rhythms as part of their music courses. When those students are then exposed to the math concept of fractions, teachers utilize the student’s knowledge of sight reading to make fraction easier to understand, since students are already familiar with the concept in a different way.

“They can do fractions so much easier, because they were already doing them and they didn’t even realize that they were, that’s the true beauty of it,” Venable said.

Superintendent Langley said that research shows a clear link between students who are exposed to the fine arts at an early age and higher success rates in high school and in higher education.

So far, test results show similar progress for the school, which has not only received high rankings through the state, but according to Principal Langley, has shown a boost not only in student performance, but overall campus moral as well.

“The students are truly amazing, they really take a lot of pride in their school,” he said, “And for students who have never been exposed to what it means to be a good audience member, they are always polite, respectful and well behaved.”

Not only have students shown increased interest in the work they do, but Principal Langley said teachers have done the same, with both the theater and choir teachers coming together to create a new musical theater course to be offered at the school next year.

“We are just so thrilled at how the first year has gone so far, and we still have so much before the year is over,” Principal Langley said, “I can’t imagine what the future holds for us at Price T. Young.”

Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton beat his Democratic opponent, Rochelle Garza, winning a third term as the state's chief legal officer, according to results from the Secretary of State.

Why it matters: The attorney general's office doesn't oversee elections in Texas, but it’s in charge of defending and enforcing the state’s election laws and of bringing lawsuits, like cases that allege voter fraud.

The big picture: Paxton is a loyal Trump ally who tried to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in four states where President Biden won.

The intrigue: Paxton is facing securities fraud charges in a seven-year-old Collin County case and he's the subject of an FBI investigation after his former top deputies accused him of abuse of office.

Catch up quick: In September, Paxton allegedly fled his home to avoid being served with a subpoena in a lawsuit related to abortion rights funding, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.

What's next: Buoyed by his victory, Paxton will likely continue to push for work on voter fraud cases, fanning the flames of conspiracy theorists who believe that election fraud is deciding elections despite ample evidence to the contrary.

ROCHELLE, Texas – Five teachers at Rochelle ISD have been approved for the Region 15 Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) under House Bill 3.

Since being approved in 2019, the TEA and TIA have been providing funds to teachers who excel in their work within their low social-economic and rural school districts. Out of the 1,200 school districts in Texas, only 127 districts have teachers that were awarded under HB3 this year.

Those that receive this award are given one of three titles: Recognized, Exemplary, or Master.

Three of the six-man school’s teachers earned master teacher, two are exemplary and one is recognized.

Junior High mathematics teacher Kristi Lewis, Junior High science teacher Jamie Fields and High School English and Language Arts teacher Natanya Turk are all awarded and recognized as master teachers.

High school social study teacher Rex Ewert and third-grade teacher Angie King are being recognized by the TEA as exemplary.

Dyslexia and GT teacher Karen McWilliams is noted as a recognized teacher as well.

“According to the state, the average school district has about 5% of their teachers recognized as master teachers under the bill,” said Rochelle ISD Superintendent Dave Lewis. “Rochelle ISD has 15% of its teachers recognized as master teachers this year.”

Each of these teachers will receive a $6,000 to $15,000 bonus in May for the next five years depending on their classification.

“We are very proud to have so many great teachers ranging in different areas of the school receiving this incentive,” said Lewis. “I think this helps show Rochelle ISD’s focus on all campuses, not just one.”

The Rochelle community including the administration, teachers and citizens helped come together to create a system to help reward teachers for their efforts as well as retain staff. Rochelle ISD had successfully entered into the TEA application process for TIA in July of 2020 after creating a plan that worked for the school and followed TEA guidelines. The 2020 to 2021 school year served as a year for data collection for the application. Teachers worked to fully master curriculum assessment, Student Learning Objections and remediation strategies so that administration could complete evaluations that met Texas Tech University guidelines. Texas Tech worked independently with Rochelle ISD to help evaluate the system the district put in place.

“All teachers deserved to be recognized for all their hard work,” Lewis said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit against the Biden administration over its guidance supporting emergency abortions in a move his opponent argues is "state-sanctioned femicide."

President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order that reaffirmed federal rules in place by the Department of Health and Human Services that say patients must have access to abortion in the event of a medical emergency. On Thursday, in response to the order, Paxton filed a suit arguing the president was "attempting to twist federal law to force abortions" in the state of Texas.

"SCOTUS returned the issue to states. TX law protects pre-born life. Biden's HHS is attempting to undo all that," Paxton said in a statement. "Not on my watch. I just filed suit. I'll ensure the left's abortion agenda can't reach TX babies."

Paxton's lawsuit, which calls Roe v. Wade a "terrible regime," argues that, through the use of the executive order, the Biden administration is attempting "to use federal law to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic." The suit seeks to allow Texas to disregard the guidance from HHS, allowing the state to determine what medical procedures are legal and allowable in their hospitals.

"This is state-sanctioned femicide that he is advocating for. He is advocating for the intentional killing of women," Rochelle Garza, a Democratic nominee for Attorney General and challenger against Paxton told MSNBC. "We need to vote him out before he turns Texas into a morgue and takes that nationwide."

Representatives for Paxton and Garza did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

"This is absolute extremism," Garza added. "Taking away rights from women like they did with the fall of Roe wasn't enough for them. Now they're going after all women."

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After a long and contentious campaign for Attorney General, no one would fault Rochelle Garza for taking a break to rest and rejuvenate. Instead, the civil rights attorney did the exact opposite and became the President of the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP).

TCRP, which was established in 1990, plays a crucial role in defending civil rights throughout Texas with a unique “community-lawyering” structure. They have five offices throughout the state and have been instrumental as a bulwark against a hostile state government. Last year, Mimi Marziani announced she was stepping down from the organization and a search committee was formed to locate a new President.

The Signal spoke with Garza, who officially started her new role on February 1. She said it was an “honor” to lead an organization that is at the forefront of voting rights, criminal justice reform, and ensuring that border communities are treated with respect. “I am incredibly proud to lead this organization and to make good on my campaign promises of fighting for civil rights in Texas, and building a Texas that is big enough for all of us,” said Garza.

Garza acknowledges that the structure of TCRP with its community lawyering model is “unique,” and provides a lot of opportunities to partner with groups like LUPE, an immigrant advocate network. Currently, TCRP is tracking over 700 bills in the Texas legislature.

Last week they were at the Capitol testifying against Senate Bill 147, which would prohibit people from Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China from purchasing property in Texas. According to Garza, SB 147 is a blatant “violation of our Constitution.” She also underscored how it would heighten anti-Asian and anti-immigrant sentiment at a time when AAPI communities have been particularly targeted.

During her run for Attorney General, Garza emphasized the importance of voting rights, and was forceful in her opposition against suppression bills like Senate Bill 1. Texas is already one of the hardest places to vote, and just one of a handful of states that has no online voter registration.

Now the legislature could pass another voter suppression bill that would make it a felony if somebody voted not knowing they were ineligible to do so. For Garza, that’s a step in the wrong direction. “We should make it easier to vote.”

The end of the legislative session is quickly approaching, and there are perhaps some special sessions looming beyond that. TCRP is committed to continuing their role as an advocate for a better and more hospitable Texas. With Garza at the helm, that role will continue to flourish. As for Garza, she calls herself an “eternal optimist” that believes a better Texas is possible. “We’ve got to fight for the Texas that we deserve.”