For some students and families, pandemic schooling has been unimaginably difficult. Other students, however, may have thrived off of this model. Moving forward, as online instruction becomes a more visible part of our educational system, it is essential that we find policies – at both the district and state level – that ensure our virtual schools are high quality.

In the eleventh episode of Intersect Ed, part of our legislative agenda series, we debunk the myth that school choice does not exist in Texas public schools.

Our 10th episode of Intersect Ed, part of our legislative agenda series, examines the imperative to invest in and improve the teacher workforce in Texas. In this episode, you will hear from Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on increased challenges facing schools due to the pandemic; financial investments in how the state develops teachers; and the need to shift cultural perceptions of one of our most valuable professions.

In our ninth episode of Intersect Ed, we hear directly from superintendents and educators who are working daily to ensure every student across Texas is connected to their school.

We’ve said since the beginning that the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation Poll is for everyone. It is for educators, researchers, lawmakers, and communities. It represents the voices of all Texans about an issue that impacts all Texans. It is Texas’ poll. The eighth Intersect Ed podcast episode features education experts from a variety of fields reflecting on the Foundation Poll data and how it impacts their work.

In our seventh episode of Intersect Ed, which is part of our legislative agenda series, we explore why pre-K is more powerful than ever — for all the research-based reasons we’ve touted for more than a decade, combined with the urgency of closing pandemic learning gaps and supporting the state’s economic recovery.

In our sixth episode of Intersect Ed, we take an up-close dive into what “hold harmless” really means for school districts across the state and what effects schools will immediately feel if it expires.

In our fifth episode of Intersect Ed, we want to give you a landscape view of what school budgets look like for the upcoming school year and how the economic recession may impact school districts in the 2021 Texas Legislative session.

In our fourth episode of Intersect Ed, we’re giving you the opportunity to be a fly on the wall for two fascinating group conversations as school leaders from across the state planned, prepared, and reimagined school for the 2020-21 school year.

In our third episode of Intersect Ed, we will hear from several members of the Class of 2020 in Houston about how school closures and emergency remote learning impacted their final semester of high school. School leaders and educators will also share the ways they tried to help these seniors navigate their final days of high school in the midst of a global pandemic.