As National Teacher Appreciation Week comes to an end, we thought we’d highlight a Houston-based organization that’s maintained its mission to enhance early childhood education for nearly 40 years: Collaborative for Children.

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made a $3 million donation to Houston’s Collaborative for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to early childhood education.

The Department of Family and Protective Services is seeking public comments on its proposed rules to implement two important new laws that strengthen quality early care and education. The Department proposes eliminating a requirement that no more than half of the required training hours can be from self-instruction or online training. Classroom training provides a check to the misuse of online training that can occur if a student borrows the work of another or receives weak online training that does not require reading materials to answer the questions. Research has not yet documented the efficacy of online training for an adult population with minimal educational attainment. You can view the proposed rules at:http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/Child_Care_Standards_and_Regulations/comment.aspYou can submit your comments by Dec. 19 at MSC@dfps.state.tx.usPublic comments should include the following information: