If you’re gay and an elementary school teacher in Mansfield ISD, simply telling students about your partner or spouse could cost you your job.
THIS WEEK: If you’re gay and an elementary school teacher in the North Texas suburb of Mansfield, simply telling students about your partner or spouse could cost you your job. A two-time teacher of the year alleges that officials barred her from the classroom after she mentioned her wife in a get-to-know-your-teacher presentation to students. A parent accused her of pushing a “homosexual agenda” to young students, according to the lawsuit.
The Lede
The Time-Traveler’s Guide to the Lower Pecos
Hidden away on private land in Southwest Texas is some of the oldest and best-preserved prehistoric rock art in the world.
The Rock Art Rendezvous, hosted annually by San Antonio’s Witte Museum, offers three days of guided tours at a rotating lineup of the sites, granting rare access to one of the largest collections of ancient pictographs.
“Lower Pecos rock art is up there with the cave paintings of France and the rock art of South Africa and Australia. And so few people know it’s in our backyard!” said Bryan Bayles, director of White Shaman preserve in Comstock, Texas.
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Mother's Day
The Sisterhood
For 22 years, an unusual housing and support program has been quietly transforming the lives of young single mothers in Houston’s Third Ward.
Though Houston is often praised for its low cost of living, it has a critical shortage of affordable housing. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Houston metro area has only 19 affordable homes for every 100 low-income households — one of the lowest rates in the nation.
Enter the Young Mother’s Residential Program, which has been providing young single mothers with nearly free housing, subsidized childcare and community since 1996.
After Assata Richards, part of the 1996 pilot group, completed the program, she earned her Ph.D., founded a nonprofit and became a community leader in the Third Ward. “The program gave me the opportunity to be a whole human being, as a mother, as a woman, as a scholar, as a professional,” Richards said. “That’s the difference.”
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We're pleased to announce that the winners of the 2018 MOLLY Prize are Michael Grabell of ProPublica and Howard Berkes of NPR. For more on their series, "Sold for Parts," go here. There is still plenty of time to register for this year's MOLLY Prize dinner.
