Poteet ISD board hears ECHS presentation




 

 

During the regular meeting of the Poteet ISD board of trustees on Monday, March 22, there was a presentation on the Early College High School. The district developed this initiative in 2019 and has had great success with it. This program allows students to graduate from high school with up to 60 hours in college credits, effectively giving them the opportunity to graduate with an Associates’ Degree as well. They are partnered with Palo Alto College and there is no cost to the student to attend these classes, which will save them up to $24,000 for tuition, books and fees. The district covers the costs. Students are assigned a personal MAC Book laptop. High School staff members provide mentorship and tutoring, as well.

At risk and economically disadvantaged students are targeted for this program. Selection is based on an application, from which 25 students are randomly chosen, along with an additional five. Currently, there are 44 students, 26 are freshmen and 18 sophomores. Eighty-two percent are first generation to go to college. Classes include music, education, which is a PAC introduction class, speech, philosophy and psychology. More subjects will be added as the program continues.

The goal is for students to graduate with either an Associates’ degree or career certificates. To encourage the attendance for the ECHS, students are recruited before the eighth grade, with field trips that will expose them to career choices, such as the fire department, Toyota plant and college campuses.

New Business

Every year, the board has to approve the contract for the commodity or the cafeteria program. Rocky Wilson moved to approve renewal agreement; Margie Martinez seconded. Motion was approved unanimously with Yvette Navarro, Albert Garza and Jo Marie Cervantez voting for the measure. Cervantez attended the meeting over the phone, Navarro presided over the meeting. Diego Puente and Ronnie Ambriz were absent.

Another annual requirement for the board was the approval of instructional materials allotment and TEKS certification for the 2021/2022 school year. This also passed unanimously.

The trustees also approved the following unanimously: the District calendar, which is arranged so that school ends on June 2, with teachers working until June 3; cancellation and certification of unopposed candidates for the May 2 election for places 3, 4 and 5 and finally, the approval of Educational Service Center, Region 20, to provide professional development services as required for the Texas Reading Academies.

Campus Reports

Donisha Miller, Elementary Principal, reported that they have received consultation from Region 20 for math and reading professional development. Intervention for the students in reading and math is being instituted. They have also begun small group instruction which is proving effective. GT tests were given and two students qualify for the program. The reading and math assessment has been completed. There has been growth in both, but math is still low. Reading scores have increased.

The Intermediate Principal Tina Gillespie said they have completed the interim assessments of math and reading. Scores will be presented next month, since she has not gotten the results. Benchmark testing has shown that not much has changed from last year. Writing tends to be low at the fourth grade level, even statewide. A discussion took place on how long it will take for the students to recover from the lockdown, not only academically, but emotionally, socially and mentally. The state commissioner projects it may take from four to five years to get back what has been lost.

Julie Poth, Junior High Principal, reported that the interim test scores compared to 2019 STAAR tests show some dips, some growths. There will be targeted intervention in areas that need it most, such as science. Math has stayed fairly constant and there has been growth in the social sciences.

High School Principal Tony Dominguez said they are continuing with five classes per day, to reduce stress on both the students and teachers and allow the students to be more organized in their work. He discussed the accountability reports, which impact High School more than STAAR scores in assessing student achievement, graduation rate, closing the gap and the student accountability. Currently, there are 28 students taking college courses. Others are working on industry-based certification. Endorsements available are Culinary, Infotech, Cosmetology and Mechanical.

The Athletic Director reported that they will be having UIL Junior High track in Jourdanton on Friday. Varsity track will be next Wednesday and Thursday. They will be holding tryouts for seventh and eighth grade baseball and softball soon. Three local coaches from Pleasanton, Jourdanton and Poteet have established the South Texas Coaching Association to provide all-star games for the kids in the area.

The technology report was given to showcase the new 567 Chromebooks that will be available in classrooms by April 5. For the students under second grade, QR code cards have been printed to help the students log onto their computers with ease, which can save about 15 minutes of class time. There are 10 buses with wireless routers for the use of students.

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