Brazos County Health District Director Dr. Santos Navarrette Jr. is set to retire after his successor is chosen by the health district board in January. 

The overview: Navarrette has served as health district director since 2018, after serving in various roles across Texas.

According to a news release from the Brazos County Health District, the district won the Local Health Department of the Year award from the Texas Association of City and County Health Officials for two years under Navarrette’s leadership. He also helped lead the Brazos Valley through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

College Station City Council member Bob Yancy, who is also a health district board member, said it was an honor to serve alongside Navarrette on the health district board.

“He built something durable here. The partnerships he strengthened, the programs he grew and the professionalism he brought to the District will benefit Brazos County for years to come,” Yancy said in a statement.

Stay tuned: Navarrette is scheduled to retire on Jan. 31, 2027.

College Station ISD and the BCS Chamber of Commerce will be hosting candidate forums in October ahead of Election Day, Nov. 3.

Chamber of Commerce forums: The chamber will host two public candidate forums at the Brazos Center, allowing voters to get to know their future city leaders. The first evening will feature mayoral and state candidates, and the second will include other city candidates from both Bryan and College Station.

• Oct. 13 and 19, 6-8 p.m.

• Free

• 3232 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan

College Station ISD forum: CSISD will host a forum at its administration building for its two trustee seats up for election. The current trustees for Places 6 and 7 are both running opposed.

• Oct. 13, 6-8 p.m.

• Free

• 1812 Welsh Ave., College Station

Bryan-College Station will host a variety of events in October and November. Activities include:

• Pumpkin Patch at Lake Walk

• Spirit of 150 Week

• OPAS presents: The Phil Collins Story

• Tee Off for Chosen

• American Patchwork Quartet concert

• Operation Short Legs

• Farmers Fest 2026

• 2026 Brazos Valley Fair & Rodeo

Texas school districts using the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum saw slightly better year-over-year achievement last school year than other districts, according to Texas Education Agency data released Sept. 30.

What's happening: During the 2025-26 school year, 619 of Texas' roughly 1,200 public school districts opted in to implement at least one of the three Bluebonnet curriculum programs—elementary math, secondary math and elementary language arts.

On this spring's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam, districts using the state-developed math materials saw student improvement that was 0.6 percentage points higher than students in other districts, while districts that implemented the reading materials performed 0.2 percentage points higher on the STAAR than other schools.

What they're saying: The TEA said the gains in student achievement an "encouraging sign of early progress."

Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, a statewide educator union, disagreed, calling the results "rather paltry."

"It may take a few more years to determine if this is a valid trend or simply an anomaly," Capo said in a statement.