The Ranger Pride
What's up at PISD
Ranger Pride
Welcome to The Ranger Pride blog, the official blog of Dr. Tim Little, Superintendent of Schools for the Perryton Independent School district.
Why the blog?
One of the most important things we can do as educators is question ourselves. What are we doing well, and in what ways can we do better? It’s called reflective practice, and it’s something that we encourage our teachers to do every day. One area that I think we can do better – I can do better – is to keep you – our community – up to date on what we are doing at Perryton ISD, because we work for you and your children.
This is a great time to launch this blog. We are about to embark on a journey to define what Perryton ISD will look like over the next ten years. We will be developing plans for instruction, curriculum, school safety, improving student achievement, hiring and retaining quality staff, technology, and school facilities. I know that the best plans are developed with the leadership and input of the entire community. I am asking you to be part of this process.
We’ll post a new blog entry every Friday, highlighting the great things going on in Perryton ISD and working to keep you informed about the conversations and plans that we are having about our district. Consider this an open invitation to part of that conversation.
#RPND #TheRangerPride
Serving English Learners
One of the most difficult challenges facing Perryton ISD is meeting the needs of our students who are learning English. That is approximately 1 out of every 3 students in our school district.
Does that mean that 1/3 of our students can’t speak English? No. It does not. Most of our English learners speak conversational English very well. What these students struggle with is academic English – the specific vocabulary used in their classrooms and on the state-mandated tests used for campus and district ratings.
Last year, the District brought in an outside consultant to review and make recommendations on the way in which we could improve our services for these students. We assembled a team of teachers and administrators to work on finding ways to improve our program, and these dedicated individuals have put in a lot of work this year to find ways to serve our students. This is their story.
The Team
The District has a dedicated team of teachers and administrators who meet with parents and students to review our current programs for English learners and to explore and guide the future direction of the program. The English Learner Team (sometimes referred to as the Title III team after the federal statutes that govern language acquisition programs) consists of the following individuals:
Todd White, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Angela Campbell, District Coordinator of English Learner Programs
Zully Herrera, Teacher (Perryton Kinder)
Diana Ramirez, Teacher (Perryton Kinder)
Teresa Bennett, Teacher (Wright Elementary)
Cinthia Medina, Teacher (Wright Elementary)
Lucy Cummins, ESL Teacher (Williams Intermediate)
Jaclyn Johnson, Response to Intervention (Williams Intermediate)
Dimitri Garcia, Principal (Perryton Junior High)
Leah Bicknell, Counselor (Perryton Junior High)
Staci Erickson, Instructional Coach (Perryton Junior High)
Erica Rosales, Teacher (Perryton Junior High)
Sonia Parra, Assistant Principal (Perryton High School)
Evelin Tarango, Spanish Teacher (Perryton High School)
Francis Zavala, Teacher (Perryton High School)
Blanca Arenivar, ESL Teacher (Perryton High School)
Luis Assad, Community Member
Perla Gonzales, Parent
Luis Estrada, Student
Cindy Garza, Student
Elisa Granados, Former Student
The Work
PISD faces a real demographic challenge. More than 1/3 of our students are English Learners, and those students continue year after year to be less successful than the rest of our students, yet we have continued the same instruction. For all of our students to be successful, we must find a better way. The need for a major change was detailed in an outside program review in the spring of 2019.
A committee was created to begin the work our students need and deserve to review our current practices and begin the process of developing an adequate plan to serve the students of Perryton ISD. Increasing academic outcomes for all English learners is the overarching goal. This goal was included in our 2019-2020 District Improvement Plan. Details of the objectives and the steps needed to accomplish those objectives can be found on our school website.
The committee has continued to grow as new challenges were identified. So far, the committee has accomplished the following:
Implementing Language Objectives on all campuses in PISD
Provide Sheltered Instruction training for staff members
Attended the Texas Title III conference in San Antonio
Developed staff development activities focused on increasing academic vocabulary
The biggest accomplishment of the team has been the development of a three (3) year plan for EL support. Within the plan, which was presented to the Board of Trustees in October, are the action steps needed to implement a viable dual language program within the district. Within five (5) years, PISD will have a successful dual language program implemented in grades PK - 5. Plans are already underway for dual language implementation in PK, K, and 1st grade for the upcoming school year (2020-2021).
So far we’ve accomplished three objectives towards our goal:
1. Our team visited one of the top Dual Language campuses at Humphrey’s Highland Elementary in Amarillo Texas.
2. We have reviewed our current teacher certifications for Dual Language and ESL certificates to determine what support and training our staff will need to implement the plan.
3. Analyzed the potential numbers of students that are EL students for the 2020-2021 school year to ensure that we are adequately staffed.
Soon we will be holding informational meetings at the Kinder and Wright campuses for teachers, and we will begin offering informational meetings for parents and community in the early part of 2020.
We are proud of the work accomplished by the committee and excited to build a successful dual language program for our students.
#RPND #TheRangerPride
Employee of the Week
Kat Broome works tirelessly on many projects at Perryton High School. She is always the “go to” person when anything needs to be done, and she always does it with a smile on her face. She is great for our school's morale.
This week, she worked on setting up the Veteran's Day program, helping with program designs and other needs. Since Kat began working here she has really energized the spirit of our students during pep rallies. She includes all sports and makes a special effort to recognize academic competitions.
#RPND #TheRangerPride
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