Fort Bend ISD officials released findings from its latest Climate & Culture and Student Engagement surveys, revealing a mixed picture of progress in employee satisfaction and student engagement—but also a slight decline in parent satisfaction since 2023.

The online survey took place from April 28-May 12 with nearly 50,000 respondents including parents and guardians, district and campus staff and students.

Breaking it down: Employees showed a higher satisfaction in school climate across all categories compared to parents, with the highest disparity being a 17-point gap in safety and behavior trends, though Chief of Organizational Development Stephanie Williams said both groups rose 3% in the category.

Williams said parents reported a 3% to 8% drop in satisfaction compared to 2023 across several school climate dimensions compared to previous years, citing concerns including: 

• Lack of consistent communication regarding student progress
• Need for access to higher quality learning experiences
• Overcrowding and facilities

National burger chain Five Guys is now open at The Grid bringing its made-to-order burgers, hand-cut fries and customizable shakes to the  former Texas Instruments campus in Stafford.

What’s on the menu: The restaurant uses fresh ground beef, prepares ingredients by hand daily and cooks its fries in 100% peanut oil, according to the website. There are no freezers on-site, reflecting the brand’s focus on freshness.

Offerings include:

• Burgers with hand-formed patties and unlimited toppings
• Fries, which could be served Cajun style
• Shakes with a vanilla base and a variety of customizable mix-ins
• All-beef hot dogs, served split and grilled
• Sandwich options including BLTs

• 11123 W. Airport Blvd., Ste. 100, Stafford

Out of five state finalists from across Texas, Lamar Consolidated ISD’s superintendent was named the 2025 Texas Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards on Sept. 12.

The big picture: LCISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens was selected for the award by a TASB committee, citing his innovative approach to learning, teacher support and his philosophy of using public education to change generations, according to a Sept. 12 news release.

Looking back: Nivens previously earned the Region 10 Superintendent of the Year award in 2019, while serving as Community ISD’s superintendent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Community Impact reported. He has been in the education sector for 29 years, according to the release.

How it started: Nivens was named Region 4 Education Service Center Superintendent of the Year in June and chosen from Region 4's service area, which includes eight counties and 47 school districts.

Across the state, most school districts and campuses maintained or improved Texas Education Agency A-F accountability scores between the 2023-24 to 2024-25 school years, and the Houston region is no exception. 

Within districts in Community Impact’s Greater Houston coverage area, Willis and Houston ISDs saw the largest increases across all categories that make up the overall score, per data released by the TEA on Aug. 15. 

The bigger picture: The data showed that since 2023-24, the number of schools that received an A rating across Greater Houston grew from 21.9% to 26.9%, while the number of campuses rated F shrank from 6.4% to 2.6%.  

Going forward: House Bill 8, which was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 4, would eliminate the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test and replace it with three shorter tests taken at the beginning, middle and end of each school year.

Education in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, may become more accessible for Texas public school students this school year.

What happened: Officials from national education nonprofit Learning Undefeated and the Texas Education Agency celebrated the opening of eight new mobile STEM labs at a Sept. 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony in Austin. The TEA-funded labs are expected to visit 270 school districts across the state in the 2025-26 school year.

Notable quote: “In an ever-changing world, access to STEM education remains critical to help prepare our students for career pathways and lifelong success,” said Alejando Delgado, TEA deputy commissioner of operations.

The overview: Learning Undefeated built eight new mobile STEM labs after receiving a $3.5 million grant from the TEA, according to Learning Defeated information. The organization opened its first mobile STEM lab in Texas in 2020.

The nine regionally-based labs will now visit elementary and middle school campuses across the state’s 20 educational service center regions. Kindergarten through eighth grade students may participate in a variety of STEM activities to learn engineering design.