Applications are being accepted through Nov. 12 for TEA's TCLAS grant program, High Quality Afterschool Supports, which provides up to $500,000 in funding to pay for tutor and teacher stipends if a school district offers a high-impact tutoring program as part of its after-school program. Click here to read more.

Join TCTA staff attorneys at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, to get answers to your questions about planning and preparation time and extra duties. This free 30-minute session kicks off our new monthly webinar series, Tuesdays with TCTA. Click here to register for the Zoom session and submit your questions.

Mark your calendars! Tuesdays with TCTA will start at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month, giving members a chance to ask general questions about hot topics in education. Can't join us live? No problem. Sessions will be recorded so you can watch on demand later. Have an urgent issue? Call our Legal Department at 888-879-8282 to discuss your situation.

Are you a teacher with experience leading classroom conversations about controversial political or social issues? We’d like to talk to you for an article on the "critical race theory" legislation in the upcoming winter issue of The Classroom Teacher. Please email communications@tcta.org by Nov. 15.

Ramon Benavides, a biology teacher from Ysleta ISD in El Paso, was named the 2022 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year. He was also chosen to represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition. Jennifer Han, a fourth-grade teacher in McAllen ISD in the Rio Grande Valley, was named the 2022 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Both will be honored, along with the Regional Teachers of the Year, during the TASA Midwinter Conference Jan. 30-Feb. 2. Click here to read more.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children age 5 to 11 cleared its first regulatory hurdle this week, after a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted to recommend it for emergency-use authorization. The FDA is expected to make a final decision in the coming days. If approved, the CDC will issue guidance as early as next week about which children should receive the lower-dose shots and when.

In Texas, about 2.9 million children would be newly eligible, the Texas Tribune reported. The expanded pool would help the state move closer to achieving herd immunity. As of Oct. 25, 52.7% of Texans are fully vaccinated. About 83% of the state's population is currently eligible for vaccines.

Wondering if or when to get a COVID vaccine booster? Check out this guide.

Find the latest guidance in TCTA's COVID-19 FAQs for 2021-22. Members with questions or concerns about their district's pandemic policies should call 888-879-8282 to speak with a staff attorney.

Early voting ends Friday ahead of the Nov. 2 election. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters statewide can weigh in on eight constitutional amendments that address topics ranging from religious freedom to taxes to judicial eligibility.

Many local school districts are electing trustees Nov. 2 and a few districts also have bond proposals. Click here to see what's on the ballot where you live.

It's not too late to encourage your colleagues to join TCTA. Give them your member number and ask them to include it in the Take 2, Make $25 box on the application. You can earn $25 for every two eligible First-Time Active members who join by Dec. 31. Find all the details at tcta.org/take2.