TCIS Network Newsletter

December 12, 2025

Success Begins with a Teacher

On behalf of the TCIS Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank you for the gifts you give to your students every day. You are the leaders, the planners of lessons, the mentors, the cheerleaders, and the caring hearts who are changing the world. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or support staff, you are an incredible gift to your students, their families, your community, and the world. As 2025 concludes, TCIS thanks you for bringing the gift of learning to your students and wishes you a joyful holiday season.

As TCIS continues highlighting the teachers honored at the Texas IB Conference 2025, it is with joy TCIS recognizes these teachers as representatives of the difference you are making.

Research on identifying learning loss over the summer has been predictable for decades. Studies have documented students’ achievement scores declining over the summer by about one month of school-year learning. Regression tends to be more significant for math than for reading. Additionally, learning loss impacts lower-income students to a much greater degree than the more affluent.

Your excellent work for Summer Boost 2025 is sincerely appreciated by everyone at TCIS. Summer Boost will be funded again for 2026 with the application date moved 6 weeks earlier. The tentative program dates will be June 1st through June 27th with the last day (Saturday) being a field trip. We will be working to secure attendance commitments from families much earlier this spring.

The Summer Boost program supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and local non-profits reached 34,513 students across 453 schools in seven U.S. cities this past summer. We were fortunate to have SAISD partner schools participated for the past two summers with TCIS having nine host campuses. The TCIS campuses exceeded the national averages for both reading and math in assessment score growth (pre- to post-test) and the percentage of students achieving basic or proficient levels.

The four-week program included over 900 students from 18 different SAISD and EISD campuses. We will continue to track the data of participating students longitudinally to determine the impact on their academic success. Here are some points to consider in planning for this coming summer:

How will students be selected? Summer Boost funds up to one-third of our students in rising grades first through ninth. Campuses have received allotments for each grade level. Selection priority is given to students most ‘at-risk’ that also demonstrate good attendance.

How will parents register? Parents will receive a flyer describing Summer Boost with a QR code to register on Qualtrics. The identified students will have one week to complete the application and make a commitment. After one week, the campus will offer open seats to other interested students. The flyers have been distributed to all participating campuses.

How will staffing be accommodated? Based on allotments and schedules, staffing allocations are determined for each campus. TCIS will provide campus allotments early in the spring to Heads of School. Teachers, administrative assistants, and instructional assistants will be selected by the campus principal. Preference will be given to staff at the home campus and those who worked last year for Summer Boost.

Any assistance in communicating with families will ultimately benefit your students. We will provide your campus with flyers at the beginning of the second semester to distribute to parents. A firm commitment to attendance will make Summer Boost successful in accelerating our TCIS students. We ask that campuses personally talk to parents about the program’s value and the importance of attending every day. TCIS’ goal is not only mitigating summer learning loss but to advance our students for a bright academic future.

On Tuesday, TCIS was able to bring in Dr. Stephen Davis, to present to over 45 campus leaders in EISD and SAISD. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing aspects of the presentation weekly to provide a snapshot of the session around prioritizing student-centered learning. Heads of School and other campus leaders are encouraged to share these concepts and adjustments in instruction to increase student success and achievement. This week we will be focusing on the main topic of why student-centered learning is important. He also shared practices from the book, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, that I will highlight in the weeks to come as well.

As educators and leaders, embracing student-centered learning is not optional—it is essential for fostering student engagement and achievement. Research and IB Standards emphasize that when students take ownership of their learning, they develop critical thinking, collaboration, and self-management skills. Administrators and campus leaders play a key role by creating conditions for teachers to implement these practices effectively, while teachers must shift from content delivery to facilitating inquiry and reflection. This is evident as we compare it to Distinguished and Accomplished teachers using TTESS evaluation.

Action steps include integrating structured discussions, formative assessments, and differentiation strategies. Encourage teachers to use open-ended questions, reflective tools, and collaborative learning structures. These approaches align with IB principles of inquiry, action, and reflection, ensuring students become lifelong learners prepared for global challenges. TCIS will be providing a copy of Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning to the first person to respond at each campus. Email dles.gonzales@texascis.org

TCIS has purchased ALL of the Lowman products currently available for you to use. They have moved to a new website. The old website is no longer connected to their database, so no accounts can be updated hence you not being able to reset your password. Therefore each staff member, new or prior to the campus, will need to follow the instructions below:

EVERYONE will need to create a new account and register by following the directions below.

Go to LowmanEducation.com
Click on “25-26 Library” in the top, right corner
Then click on the “Login” button
You can register with the Microsoft Outlook button
If you are unable to use Outlook, use Alternative Login (also using your district email)
You will need to click on “Register as a new user” (don’t skip this step or you will get an error)
Complete your profile to access your library of products.

If you have any questions, you can email support@lowmaneducation.com for customer support. They are very responsive.

This is a new website, so please have some patience. If you are not able to access items by Tuesday, August 19th, please let me know and I will work with you and Lowman to troubleshoot, but feel free to email their support team.