By Dr. Scott Muri
Superintendent
Ector County ISD
As educators in Ector County ISD, we have a moral imperative to give our best each day to the children we serve. We haven’t always lived up to that obligation, but it’s a new day in ECISD.
Three years ago, we recognized we were in dire circumstances; we were not serving students the way they deserved. We had 16 failing schools, 350+ teacher vacancies, and a host of other opportunities for improvement. The ECISD Board of Trustees said “Enough! We must improve.” The district and community went to work on the creation of a strategic plan, and the district has effectively implemented that strategic plan for the past three years. This week, for the first time in our history, ECISD received a “B” rating from the Texas Education Agency. This rating, however, is only a small piece of a much larger body of evidence that indicates the district is making tremendous strides to meet our moral imperative to the children of Ector County:
- Overall academic growth has increased from 59/F to 85/B in three years
- The number of schools earning an A rating more than doubled from 3 to 7
- The number of B-rated schools doubled from 6 to 12
- In 2019, half of the schools were rated D or F, today half of the schools are rated A or a B
- 5 schools grew from an F to a B
- 18 schools showed double-digit gains
- 3 of our 5 high schools are rated A
- 5 of our 6 middle schools are rated B or C
- Kindergarten readiness increased by 13 points
- SAT scores increased by 40 points and performance is above the state
- STAAR/EOC scores improved in almost every area
- College, Career, Military Readiness increased by 7 points to tie the state at 63%
- Our graduation rate of 85.5% is the highest in over 20 years
- We have reduced teacher vacancies from 350+ to 58
I am extremely proud of the 4,200 members of Team ECISD for the incredible work they have done, in the middle of a pandemic, and the results they have achieved. The strategic focus of our team coupled with a commitment to continuous improvement resulted in a better learning environment for those we serve, our children. The evidence in clear we are a better school district today. I encourage you to thank members of Team ECISD when you see them. Whether teacher, bus driver, counselor, or principal, each and every member of our team deserves to be acknowledged for these accomplishments. We also recognize that we did not accomplish these results alone.
Thank you to the ECISD Board of Trustees for their unwavering support and encouragement. Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who gave their time to read, to mentor, or to support our students and staff. Thank you to the many businesses and organizations who partner with us in this work. Our staff feels your encouragement and thrives because of it.
None of this happens without a healthy partnership with our parents and families. Knowing how critical education is to your children’s future and the future of our community, you make sure your kids get to school every day on time, finish assignments and homework, and prepare themselves for their future after graduation. Thank you!
We also realize that hard work and improvement remain. Our commitment to you is to become a system of excellence. We will be bigger, bolder and better than we have ever been before. Why? Because our moral imperative as educators is to be our best each day for the children we serve. We will count on you partnering with us; we do this work together.
