The Roar Report – LISD Targets Student Success

By Susan Bohn

Superintendent, Lockhart ISD

I wanted to share with you some information that I believe will help you understand and support your children’s academic progress this year. At Monday night’s meeting of the Board of Trustees, the district administration proposed, and the Board approved, student performance expectations for the 2017-2018 school year.

Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees, to establish a narrow focus, these expectations were developed this summer by the district leadership team, including district and campus administrators, after reviewing student performance data. The Board also reviewed student data and the proposed performance expectations in workshops prior to the start of the school year.

High performing school districts consistently set high expectations for all of their students

and their staff, and LISD has set high expectations. We are excited that our new targets push us to champion for all kids and set the bar high for the full range of learners in LISD.

Specifically, the targets are as follows:

Target # 1

Every student (grades 1-8) will make 1.5 years progress in reading.

Performance expectations: 20 point increase in percentage of students with 1.5 years of growth

Target #2

Every student (grades 1-8) will make 1.5 years progress in math.

Performance expectations: 20 point increase in percentage of students with 1.5 years of growth

Target #3

70 percent of students performing taking the English 1 STAAR EOC will perform satisfactorily.

Performance expectations: Percentage of students performing satisfactorily increasing from 46 percent (2017) to 70 percent (2018)

Next week, teachers will work with students from Kindergarten through those taking English I in high school to establish baseline data from which to track student progress. Once this baseline data is established, students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the Board will be able to track progress throughout the school year.  LISD will use a computer adaptive program to frequently, efficiently, and accurately monitor student progress in math and reading, at a minimum of every nine weeks.

Parents and guardians can expect to see frequent communication regarding the progress being made in math and reading for their child beginning in October, during parent-teacher conference day for elementary students.

Parents of secondary students will receive math and reading reports along with the standard report card at the end of each nine-week grading period.

All parents of students in First – Eighth Grades will receive this specialized report for each subsequent grading period at the time that they receive the standard report card. In addition to tracking these specific targets, we will monitor the growth of all students, Pre-K – 12 grade, in their other coursework to ensure growth and learning.  It is our goal and expectation that all students, regardless of their starting point, make measurable academic progress each year.

Thank you for partnering with us in having high expectations for the academic progress of your child this year.

As always, please reach out to your child’s teacher(s) if you feel like you don’t have a good understanding of your child’s achievement or growth for this year. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Susan.Bohn@lockhart.txed.net.