Crime

SKULDUGGERY of the MONTH: DERBY DOWNER

(PHOTO: PEXELS.COM/POLINA-TANKILEVITCH) A porch pirate pilfered packages containing derby hats, water, hair clips, and pacifiers from a home in the 4300 block of Westway Avenue before 4:21 a.m. May 1.

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April 11

A porch pirate seemingly disguised as an Amazon delivery driver snatched a package that’d been delivered to a home in the 4300 block of Arcady Avenue before 6 p.m.

April 12

Reported at 10:26 a.m.: a pilferer picked packages containing household goods, a card case, and more from the porch of a home in the 4400 block of Purdue Street.

April 13

Another porch pirate pilfered three packages containing a $300 handcrafted Zippo lighter and a $150 multi-device charger from a home in the 4800 block of Auburndale Avenue at 6 a.m.

April 15

A rogue left several opened packages containing foam rollers, clothing, a replacement remote, and a lemon squeezer strewn about at Abbott Avenue and 4th Street around 6:30 p.m.

April 17

Reported at 6:40 p.m.: a smash and grab. A thief broke a passenger window of an Acura MDX in the

8400 block of Turtle Creek Boule-

vard and took a purse, pair of AirPods, an Apple watch, and $200.

April 21

Reported at 10:43 a.m.: Easy pickings. A crook got into an unlocked Cadillac Escalade parked in the 4600 block of Southern Avenue and grabbed a set of golf clubs, a deposit slip, and a card key.

April 25

A thief drove off in a Ford F250 from the 3600 block of Haynie Avenue before 2:13 a.m.

April 28

Reported at 2:02 p.m.: a porch pirate pilfered packages containing a Lacrosse rebounder, an Earth Day flag, and leggings from a home in the 3600 block of Euclid Avenue.

April 29

A crook took a Trek bicycle from outside a home in the 4400 block of Glenwick Lane at 6:41 p.m.

May 2

A crook got into a Maserati Ghibli and a Cadillac Escalade in the 3200 block of Drexel Drive, rummaged through them, and swiped a $500 pair of sunglasses from the Maserati and a bag containing a MacBook, a checkbook with five checks, and more before 8 a.m.

May 3

A prowler got into a Mercedes GLB250 in the 4000 block of Wentwood Drive and pinched $10,000 worth of jewelry, a pair of AirPods, $1,000, and more from inside before 4:30 p.m.

May 6

Lock your car: a ne’er do well took a wallet from inside an unlocked GMC Yukon in the 4000 block of Villanova Drive before 2:22 p.m.

May 8

How easy was it for a crook to drive off in a Mercedes S450 left parked outside Bistro 31 in Highland Park Village before 10:10 p.m.? The car was left unlocked with the keys inside.

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VIOLENT CRIMES

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UNIVERSITY PARK HIGHLAND PARK

Property crimes include burglaries, thefts, and vehicle thefts. Violent crimes include assaults and robberies. (SOURCES: HIGHLAND PARK DEPARTMENT

OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UNIVERSITY PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT, ILLUSTRATION: MELANIE THORNTON)

The edTPA exam requires would-be teachers to answer essay questions, submit sample lesson plans, record video of themselves teaching, and analyze student progress. (PHOTOS: PIXABAY AND COURTESY HPISD)

State Board of Education To Mull New Teacher Certification Exam HPISD’S Jean Streepey says change could address preparedness, retention

By Rachel Snyder

rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com

The State Board of Education will consider a new certification exam in hopes of better preparing new teachers and keeping them in the profession.

“We want to (staff) our classrooms with teachers who are well-trained and want to stay,” said Jean Streepey, a state and local leader.

The Highland Park ISD STEAM coach serves on the State Board for Educator Certification, which oversees public school educators’ preparation, certification, and standards of conduct.

“We know that teachers are the single most important factor in student outcomes,” Streepey said. When teachers come well prepared to teach, “everyone can work together for the benefit of the students.”

The 11-member board approved the adoption of the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment, also known as the edTPA exam, in an 8-to-1 vote on April 29, per the Texas Tribune. The test still needs State Board of Education (SBOE) approval before it’s officially adopted. The SBOE is expected to consider the issue in June.

The edTPA exam, developed at Stanford University, requires would-be teachers to answer essay questions, submit sample lesson plans, provide a video recording of themselves teaching in a classroom, and analyze student progress.

The new test would replace the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam, which consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, which Streepey said has a 90%+ pass rate. Streepey said edTPA is a more precise way of measuring an aspiring teacher’s effectiveness than the old PPR exam. “I’m a second-career teacher, and I depended on my preparation program,” Streepey added. She said she hopes better preparing new teachers will also help lessen the burden on longer-serving teachers, who help train and mentor new teachers. Streepey also serves on the state’s Teacher Vacancy Task Force, tasked with better understanding the staffing challenges in Texas public schools and making recommendations to address those issues. Launched March 10 with 28 members but only two teachers (including Streepey), the task force was expanded to include two dozen additional teachers after an uproar. However, critics

We know of the edTPA exam say it could create that teachers barriers to some are the teachers entering the profession besingle most cause of cost. The important exam has been scrapped in New factor in York and Washstudent outcomes. ington, two states where it had been Jean Streepey required, the Texas Tribune reported. If the State Board of Education adopts it, the edTPA exam would be an optional test alongside the PPR exam in 20222023 and required as a pass/fail exam in 2023-2024 before being fully implemented in 2024-2025.