The Texas Education Agency has appointed Eva Beles, Mt. Pleasant ISD’s Director of Bilingual and ESL Education, to serve on the Spanish Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review Committee for Kindergarten through Second Grade.
“This committee will review the current TEKS and make recommendations to the State Board of Education for updates and revisions,” explained Dr. Judith Saxton, MPISD’s Director of Communication. “The TEKS determine the curriculum for Texas public schools. Her work on this committee will potentially have an impact on all elementary schools in the State of Texas.”
Beles said she is honored to be appointed to this committee. “I am honored to be asked to represent our District and have the opportunity to collaborate with other bilingual educators in the process. Serving on this committee allows our students’ academic needs as well as their language acquisition needs to be addressed and to be a priority in the development of the standards.”
Mike Lide, MPISD’s Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, echoed Beles’ concern that MPISD student needs be addressed.
“Our District needs to have a voice in the development of the standards, especially the standards that have a direct impact on the largest student group we serve,” Lide said. “Having Mrs. Beles on this committee means that our students will have someone with their best interests in mind having a voice in developing the standards they will be taught.”
Lide believes that Beles’ years of experience in the classroom and her own experiences as a bilingual learner will be an asset in the TEKS Review process.
“Eva’s personal experiences as a bilingual learner have helped her have a deep understanding of the needs of our students,” he said. “Any time something is being developed that will have an impact on our students, we want to have a voice in that process. The worst thing we can do is stay silent and allow outsiders who do not understand our students decide what they think is best for our kids.”
Judd Marshall, MPISD Superintendent of Schools, said it is “great honor for Mrs. Beles and for our District to have her serve on the state TEKS Committee. She is an outstanding educator, and we are so happy she is a part of the MPISD family. Mrs. Beles is a tremendous asset to our district, and she works hard for all of our campuses to ensure the successes of each student.”
Beles was born in Honduras and moved to Sulphur Springs when she was 13. She graduated from Como-Pickton CISD and earned her bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Education from Texas A&M Commerce.
Beles first joined Mt. Pleasant ISD in 2002, teaching at Frances Corprew Elementary for three years and at Annie Sims Elementary School for four years. She was named the Annie Sims, MPISD and Region 8 Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2009.
She left MPISD to teach at Como-Pickton for two years to be closer to home, then spent two years at Mt. Vernon working with the dual language program before returning to MPISD in 2014.
Eva’s husband Leonard is the Director of State and Federal Programs for the Region 8 ESC. They have two children, Andrea and Sidney.