GISD approves improvement plans for GJHS, Elementary Schools

Targeted Improvement Plans for Graham Junior High School and Graham Elementary Schools were approved Wednesday by the Graham ISD School Board. This approval was a mandate required by the state for campuses identified with a label of Comprehensive or Targeted Support under the A-F accountability rating system.

GISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse said in the agenda item rationale Graham Elementary Schools would undergo the same steps as GJHS to include an implementation and study of the Effective School Framework and creation submission of a Target Improvement Plan to the Texas Education Agency. GJHS was the only campus who had the plan submitted to the state for approval, but both plans resemble one another, Cruse said.

“Last month, (Region 9 ESC Deputy Executive Director) Miki (Wesley) walked you through some components of the Graham Junior High plan and the elementary plan mirrors it very closely,” Cruse said. “Like I said, this has been submitted to the state. We had our meeting with a TEA representative, (Graham Junior High School Principal) Mrs. (Ginger) Robbins and I along with members of the service center. We made a few little tweaks that they asked to make and the reason we resubmitted it.”

In both plans it states the goals for making changes in the student groups and subject performance are addressing English language learner strategies in the classroom and Special Education student performances and supports. The plan continues and states each campus will monitor the subpopulations and know the student progress at each checkpoint.

Three focus areas were approved and the essential actions required are to develop campus instructional leaders with clear roles and responsibilities (focus area one), create objective-driven daily lesson plans with formative assessments (focus area two) and implement data-driven instruction (focus area three). Each campus created four cycles split in 90-day outcome goals the campuses are hoping to achieve by the end of each cycle for each focus area along with the student performance during the first cycle which had a grading window from Sept.30 through Oct.1 for campuses in Graham.

“Mrs. Robbin and I and Mr. (Robert) Loomis and I are going to the service center to learn what we have to do to do our reporting at the end of the first cycle,” Cruse said. “We do that Monday, and we already have a meeting scheduled for later in the month with our TEA representative to discuss our first cycle and this whole thing.”

Graham Junior High School Cycles

The GJHS campus set 90-day outcomes for each cycle, barriers to address during each cycle, district actions for each cycle and the theory of action on each focus area. Cycle two for GJHS and Graham Elementary Schools will run from December 2019 through February 2020, Cycle three will run from March 2020 through May 2020 and Cycle four will run June 2020 through August 2020.

Checkpoint one in the first cycle at GJHS measured students based on the percentage at the campus determined to be at proficiency, or Meets Grade Level on the STAAR exam. The goal for sixth grade Reading students is 35%, but were measured at 7% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for Sixth grade Math students is 33% and exceeded that goal at 37% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level.

The goal for seventh grade Reading students is 47%, but were measured at 15% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for seventh grade Math students is 41%, but were measured at 20% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level.

The goal for eighth grade Reading students is 53%, but were measured at 23% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for eighth grade Math students is 47% and were measured exactly at 47% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. Eighth grade students were also tested on Algebra 1 and the goal was 90%, but were measured at 64% at the Meets Grade Level.

Graham Elementary Schools Cycles

Graham Elementary School encompasses Crestview, Pioneer and Woodland Elementary Schools. The campus also has set 90-day outcomes for each cycle, barriers to address during each cycle, district actions for each cycle and the theory of action on each focus area.

Checkpoint one in the first cycle at Graham Elementary School also measured students based on the percentage at the campus determined to be at proficiency, or Meets Grade Level on the STAAR exam. The goal for third grade Reading students is 44%, but were measured at 17% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for third grade Math students is 47%, but were measured at 45% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level.

The goal for fourth grade Reading students is 43%, but were measured at 22% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for fourth grade Math students is 46%, but were measured at 31% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level.

The goal for fifth grade Reading students is 51%, but were measured at 30% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level. The goal for eighth grade Math students is 56% and were measured exactly at 32% at the campus at the Meets Grade Level.

For the full story, see the Saturday, Nov. 16 edition of The Graham Leader.