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School Survey
University Survey
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Nine small
districts in the Coastal Bend
region of South Texas are collaborating in AIMS PK-16: Aqua Dulce Independent
School District (ISD), Calallen ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Gregory-Portland ISD,
Kingsville ISD, Robstown ISD, Sinton ISD, Taft ISD, and Tuloso-Midway ISD. These
districts range in size from 5000 to less than 350 students. Six ofthe districts
are majority minority with Hispanic students comprising 57% of the total student
population for all districts (see
chart). All of the districts are very involved in professional learning for
teachers.
DISTRICT WEB SITES
Teachers
AIMS PK-16 will work with approximately 830 teachers, 39% of whom are minorities
(38% Hispanic). Currently, these districts employ only 10 uncertified teachers
(2%). This compares to the state average of 7% of the teachers not holding an
appropriate teaching certification. Of the certified teachers, 75% hold
bachelor’s degrees and 25% hold master’s degree.
Professional Development Needs
During the planning meetings, the schools and higher education
partners identified the need for professional development in several areas:
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Vertical alignment from kindergarten through higher education |
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Learner-center pedagogy, especially for students who will be
first generation college students |
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Strategies used with gifted and talented programs to be
applied to all students |
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Appropriate use of instructional technologies (i.e. graphing
calculators, CBLs, spread sheets) |
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Professional development for administrators so they will
better understand changes in the math classroom |
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Professional
development for counselors to better advise student course taking |
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Increased
math content for elementary teachers |
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Interdisciplinary alignment with other content areas,
especially science |
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Algebraic reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving
skills |
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Integration of Industry applications into mathematics content
to enhance relevancy |
Assessment and Accountability Systems
The Texas Education Agency has revised the state standards-based
assessment to more closely align it with the TEKS. A new criterion-referenced
test, Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS), will replace the current
criterion-referenced assessment, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), in
2003.
Public schools and school districts are held accountable for
their student achievement through the Academic Excellence Indicator System. This
system holds schools accountable for achievement of each subgroup. Districts are
rated Academically Acceptable if at
least 55% of the students in each subgroup pass TAAS. If at least 80% in each
student subgroup pass, the districts are
Recognized, and they are rated
Exemplary if at least 90% in each subgroup pass. All partner
districts were rated as Recognized during school year 2000-2001.
Policies
Each of the school districts have scheduled days during the school year for
professional development. Most of the districts have applied to the Texas
Education Agency to add more days for professional development; they have from
five to nine days for professional development, varying by district. Teachers
are also encouraged to attend additional professional development outside of
school time, usually during the summer. The teachers are rewarded for these
efforts on their annual evaluation, the Professional Development and Appraisal
System as well as with comp. days on specified district workdays. Further,
teachers certified to teach after August 2000 must have 150 clock hours of
professional development to maintain teacher certification.
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