An update on Ector County ISD’s strategic plan was presented during the board of trustees workshop.
The Tuesday evening meeting went into detail about growth on the Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP, tests, graduation rates, postsecondary enrollment and more.
After an executive session, the board approved hiring Brandon Reyes as executive director of operations. He
was the school nutrition director.
The goal for the graduation rate was 84 percent and the actual rate for 2020 was 84.7 percent.
The graduation rate in 2016 was 87.6 percent; 84.3 percent in 2017; 83.7 percent in 2018; 83.3 percent in 2019; and 84.7 percent in 2020.
The district also started a To and Through Department to get students to and through postsecondary education. The goal was 50 percent in 2020 and ECISD is at 51 percent.
Some of the things the department does is help students fill out college applications, empower career exploring with Naviance, FAFSA/TAFSA workshops and college fairs; course planing and meeting graduation requirements with Naviance; the Optional Flexible School Day program; social and emotional learning; professional learning communities; and personalized professional learning.
The completion rate is 29 percent for the class of 2015. Superintendent Scott Muri said it was 6.5 percent for the class of 2012.
Ways to help are FAFSA/TAFSA renewals; stop out interventions; healthy and streamlined communication with local colleges; and alumni access to track progress with Naviance.
For school connectedness, the baseline was 59 percent. The goal was to increase it to 60 percent. The district wound up at 57 percent.
School connectedness is the belief haled by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals.
Ways to improve this are social and emotional learning with 7 Mindsets; National Board Certified teachers; Opportunity Culture; personalized professional learning; developing choice schools; Blended Learning; and the trusted learning environment seal.
Jessie Garcia, in the Talent Development Department, talked about what they support such as personalized professional learning; talent pipelines; career pathways and professional learning; personalized professional learning.
Garcia said one way to look at that is coaching and another is mentoring.
On attendance, the district is using the communication software KiNVOLVED; added four more social workers bringing the total to four.
Trustee Delma Abalos said it would be good to find out what the social workers have done to help the students return to the classroom.
Muri noted the importance of attending school in person and said there are also acceleration plans.
To qualify for virtual school, Muri said, you have to pass the STAAR or end of course exam and have good attendance.
Many students were out because they were sick with COVID or exposed to it and had to quarantine.
Muri said it could take three to five years for students to catch up.
