CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Texas House Bill 1605 made some changes to the education system. Included in that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) was tasked the creating Open Education Resources (OER) Textbook.
The goal was to provide instructional, material to assist teachers with planning, while also creating a curriculum that could close the learning gap.
Last week, the textbook was released. It covers reading language arts and mathematics curriculum. State Representative Todd Hunter hosted a presentation Friday afternoon at the Ortiz Center, to show what’s unique about the curriculum.
It ties in local Texas history into many of it’s chapters. One Corpus Christi icon is the focal point in some teachings.
“This unit is anchored in the great Corpus Christian Hector Garcia. A war hero, a civil rights icon, a leader in medical practice," TEA commissioner Mike Morath said.
Hector P. Garcia’s daughter couldn’t be more thrilled that her father’s legacy will continue to influence the next generation.
“I want them to understand that there was one man who made a difference in the lives of so many thousands of people,” Cecelia Garcia Akers said.
This plan is optional for school districts to adopt. Morath said creating this is due in part to seeing a correlation between low reading levels and students from low-income families
“Kids need to learn how to decode the English language, phonics. They need to learn handwriting in print and in cursive. They also need to learn words, with growing levels of complexity as they grow up,” he said.
The window is now open for the state board of education to receive feedback on this plan.
If the TEA's plan goes accordingly, the state board will vote to pass it in November and it would be available to schools for the 2025-2026 school year.
If you’d like to see this new material you can click here.You can submit feedback on the textbook to the State Board of Education at the same website.
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