Message from the TAAE President
Dear TAAE Members and Non-Members,
Welcome to the Texas Association for Alternative Education. TAAE is a professional organization of choice, discipline, public and private, and correctional administrators and educators who are dedicated to offering specialized educational opportunities for our members. We all know that Alternative Educators play a very important part in an at-risk child’s life and developmental processes. I am honored to welcome each one of you, members and non-members, to our organization. If you are not a member, please consider joining to be able to participate in the many opportunities that the organization offers.
This year is a very special year because of legislation. As Alternative Education educators, it is imperative that we stay focused and continue to fight for our students. All districts are facing major budgetary challenges, but alternative education must continue to strive to meet the educational, emotional, and social needs of our students. The number of at-risk students continues to rise and most often it is our campuses that are meeting the needs of these students. While others often fail these students, we focus on their successes. We must collectively and individually stay abreast of legislative and individual district dialogue and decisions so this can remain the case.
As president, my main focus will be to increase our membership. With an increase in membership, we can offer more activities and learn from others. Each summer the organization has a summer conference where brainstorming and listening to others allows everyone to grow. A bigger and better conference gives more campuses the opportunity to be a “Showcase School” and share with others in the state the phenomenal opportunities they are providing to their students. The organization also presents two graduating seniors with scholarships to any continuing education program. There are several committees that you can participate in to help TAAE be the best! Please help me with the focus of growing our membership by reaching out to other districts and encouraging them to join.
I want to thank all of those that attended our conference this summer in Houston. We learned, we celebrated and had two days of being around others that have the same interests as we do. The conference committee will soon be working on next year’s conference to make it great again. I sincerely hope that each one of you has a great beginning to the 2025-2026 school year. Keep fighting for the kids we serve each and every day. They need us as much as we need them. Here’s to the 36th year of TAAE!
Dwana Finster
TAAE President 2025 - 2027