ABC-7 Xtra Sunday – One-on-one with Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Texas Commissioner of Education was in the Borderland this week, and ABC-7 got the chance to speak with him about the priorities and challenges facing public education in the state.

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath gave the keynote address at the CREEED Education summit on Thursday, and ABC-7 Xtra host Andrew J. Polk interviewed him one-on-one about the plans and challenges ahead for students and school districts in our area and beyond.

While the agency doesn't directly make the decisions, it is in charge of implementing and enforcing the policies coming from the state legislature and board of education.

That includes stepping in when things go wrong at the local level - like with conservatorship, which the Socorro Independent School District just successfully exited.

There are more changes on the horizon as well affecting many layers of education, such as state testing, post-secondary education goals and adjusting what's included in the curriculum.

So what will it take to achieve those goals, and what will be the impact on students and schools in the borderland? 

This Sunday on ABC-7 Xtra, hear the full conversation with Commissioner Morath and how those issues affect students, families, schools and taxpayers here and across the state.

Tune in Sunday night at 10:35 p.m., right after ABC-7 at 10.