The Ranger Pride
What's up at PISD
School Improvement and Perryton Junior High
NOTE FROM DR. LITTLE: I'm out of town for the Texas Association of School Administrators conference so, Mr. Garcia has taken over the blog for a week.
School improvement has a long history that goes back to Lyndon B. Johnson’s Bilingual Education Act of 1968 (BEA). This act provided financial assistance for the development of programs that address the needs of impoverished and limited English proficient students (Anderson & Boyer, 1970). BEA was our nation’s first attempt to tie funding and accountability to school improvement with regard to academic outcomes. Today, the Every Student Succeeds Act, formally known as No Child Left Behind, continues to require states to have accountability measures that improve instruction through quality, research-based practices (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). In Texas, the Texas Education Agency has adopted the A-F accountability system to assess teacher instruction and student learning outcomes.
The A-F accountability system measures schools in three domains. The first domain, Student Achievement, evaluates the performance of all students, in all subjects on both general and alternate assessments. The next domain, School Progress, measures campus outcomes in two areas. It assesses the number of students that grew at least one year academically. Then it also measures the achievement of all students with economically disadvantaged percentages.
The final domain is Closing the Gaps. This domain measures how a school is bridging the academic gaps between different groups of students. This domain uses race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other factors to determine the groups.
The A-F accountability system assigns a rating for each campus and an overall rating for each district. The letters A through D are passing scores that are assigned based on performance in each domain. When the school does not meet the minimum performance target of a letter D, the school receives a score of “F.”
In the 2018-2019 school year, Perryton Junior High received a “C” rating for Student Achievement. PJH also scored a “C” in Domain II. In the third domain, Closing the Gaps, PJH scored an “F.” PJH’s aggregate, academic scores were higher in 2018-2019 than the previous school year except for 7th-grade math and English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR). PJH grew in all areas at the “Approaches” level; however, the third domain only uses the “Meets” and “Masters” level to determine the rating. With a new focus and target goal, the 2019-20 school year has been about planning and collecting data.
This year, planning has changed to ensure that we are scheduling daily activities that require students to engage in critical writing and purposeful talk. Both of these student-centered actions tie directly back to our adopted teaching model, The Fundamental 5. We believe that students learn more when they are actively engaged in the learning process through dialogue and writing. Next, data-driven instruction is necessary at PJH. All grade-level teams use the TEKS Resource System to ensure that teachers are addressing the same state standards at the same time. When grade-level content teams are teaching the same standards, these teams can use resources like Measuring UP Live and DMAC to assess the students at regular intervals. At the end of each unit and every nine weeks, teachers administer a common assessment. Then the teachers and administrators hold a Data Dive meeting to identify areas of need and areas of celebration. These meetings allow us to collaborate and develop plans of action based on student needs.
What does it mean when a school is in “improvement required?” It means that we have to be thoughtful in how we approach student learning, be reflective in our teaching methods, and transparent in our teaching outcomes. PJH is required to regularly provide growth reports to the central office, Region 16, and TEA. The Campus Leadership Team at PJH is involved in every stage of the required improvement. The teachers and staff at PJH strive to improve performance at the “Meets” and “Masters” level. Everyone at PJH aims to support the mental health, physical health, social, emotional, and academic needs of all children in a positive way.
PJH wants to be transparent and keep you informed of the great things that are happening in your junior high. Please help us celebrate the successes that are occurring every day!
-Principal Garcia
-Editor Flaming
For more information on the accountability systems and scores, click the links below:
A-F rating information for districts and campuses: https://txschools.gov/
STAAR resources for parents administrators and the public: https://www.texasassessment.com/
Additional A-F resources: https://tea.texas.gov/A-F/
References
Anderson, T., & Boyer, M. (1970). Bilingual schooling in the United States (Vol. 1). Austin, TX: Southwest Education Development Laboratory.
U.S. Department of Education. (2014). Educational services for immigrant children and those recently arrived to the United States.
#kidsfirst
Employee of the Week
Congratulations to our Perryton ISD Employee of the Week; Rusty Janzen from the Legion of Superheroes in our Maintenance department
Rusty is a very dependable employee that is always here when he is supposed to be and ready to work. He works hard and does a great job of helping keep our grounds areas around the district clean and neat. He is always willing to lend a hand wherever needed and does it with a smile.
School Board Recognition Month
January is School Board Recognition Month. It's a time to show our school board members your appreciation for their dedication to the children of our community. It's often a thankless job, sometimes quite the opposite.
Board Members take the time to listen to the community as well as to be informed on all sides of the issues before them.
Our current PISD Board of Trustees members are:
President: Monty Kinnard
Vice President: Tyler Merkel
Secretary: Mike Heck
Members: Loyd Cator, Wes Beal, Joe Ogden and Richard Beyea.
Please take a moment to thank these gentlemen for the service to the school district and to the future of our community.
Your Opinions Matter
We want to hear from you. If you have an idea about something we can do better, or a question, concern, or suggestion, please leave a comment below, or send an email to tlittle@perrytonisd.com. Comments are not published to the blog, but we read and respond to every one. If you would rather speak to us directly, then please give us a call at 806-.435-5478.
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Perryton ISD
Email: tlittle@perrytonisd.com
Website: www.perrytonisd.org
Location: 821 Southwest 17th Avenue, Perryton, TX, USA
Phone: (806)435-5478
Facebook: facebook.com/perrytonisd
Twitter: @perrytonisd