Committee discusses Hays

ECISD Superintendent Hector Mendez told tri-ethnic committee members Thursday that the idea of making Hays Elementary an academic magnet starts with its 2008-'09 kindergartners.

Principal Jill Lankford, who filled the position left vacant by former principal Tisa Hawkins in June, talked about the school's development as an academic magnet.

As part of the Ector County Independent School District's consent decree to desegregate its schools, Hays is required to become a magnet campus by Aug. 25.

Mendez said officials are working toward a successful transition.

"I see it as a new beginning, and I hope you see it as that as well," he said.

Lankford told members the school will start the academic year with about 350 students, 45 of which are new incoming kindergartners.

Those kindergartners were tested on the same standards and assessment as students who qualify for enrollment at Reagan Magnet Elementary, she said. And the other students, from first to sixth grade, enrolled at Hays using other criteria like reading assessments.

Lankford said 250 of the 350 students enrolled were from the neighborhood, noting students with a sibling who didn't meet the qualifications were admitted on a one-year probationary status.

"We try not to split families up," she said.

She said 103 students who were at Hays in the 2007-'08 school year tested at the school but didn't meet the qualifications.

All the students' parents have been notified and advised of other campus options, Mendez said.

Mendez said the plan for Hays is for the school to build from the ground up, starting with its incoming kindergartners.

"We're trying to find the balance," Mendez said.

Lankford said she and ECISD administrators are looking into the school becoming an International Baccalaureate primary campus, feeding students into Odessa High's IB program, and establishing a pre-kindergarten unit.

She also plans to improve the school's reading instruction by introducing different learning methods.

"We're not teaching things in isolation," Lankford said. "We're helping kids make those connections."