August School Board Meeting Recap

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING | AUGUST 27, 2024

PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE

The meeting opened with pledges of allegiance led by students from Jane Long Elementary.

RECOGNITIONS

Approximately 330 MISD students and staff were recognized for achieving great things over the past month. Students recognized included AP Scholars, AP Scholars with Honor, and AP Scholars with Distinction, an All-American athlete.

MISD staff who were recognized included campuses with the highest achievement, growth, and double-digit gains related to accountability, teachers who received the Education Foundation AP Score Incentive, transportation employees who received the safety incentive, and the MISD Office of Financial Services.

DISTRICT REPORTS

BOND 2023 UPDATE

The board heard an update on the project progress of the 2023 school bond that passed in November.

Topics included:

• Project progress on the new elementary school, elementary school safety and security updates, and the site improvements taking place at Midland Freshman High School.
• For the new elementary school, site work is complete, sub-slab utilities are in, and the gradebeam foundations and slab will be poured soon.
• Cabling for the elementary school safety and security package has been pulled in 14 of 26 schools, with South Elementary in progress.
• At Midland Freshman High School, the tennis court slab has been poured, track curbs are complete, and the base material is in the final grading stages.
• An update was given that included information about the recent defeasance that took place in August and saved taxpayers over $35 million.
• Community Engagement initiatives that have taken place over the past month, including campus project signs, press releases, and information related to the naming of the new elementary school, were presented.

HUMAN CAPITAL MONTHLY REPORT

The district reported a teacher fill rate of 98% and highlighted efforts of the Human Capital and Talent Development teams along with Principal and Campus Principals for implementing effective recruitment and retention strategies. The district remains committed to ensuring that every classroom is led by a qualified educator.

The district's success in reaching a 98% teacher fill rate and hiring 264 new teachers, 73% of whom are certified, can be attributed to its strategic staffing initiatives.

Strategic staffing initiatives that were discussed included being a District of Innovation, Associate Teachers, and Opportunity Culture.

The district has surpassed the state and region in hiring of certified teachers. MISD uses a District of Innovation (DOI) model that is afforded by the state. All DOI teachers possess a bachelor's degree, and of those hired in MISD, twelve are recipients of the Teacher Incentive Allotment, which provides highly effective teachers the ability to earn additional income.

The second strategic staffing model discussed was that of Associate Teachers. Associate Teachers require a minimum of thirty college hours and are supported by a supervising teacher who is certified.

Finally, Opportunity Culture, a program that allows the district's most effective teachers to extend their reach and potentially earn stipends from $8,000 to $17,000, was presented. This budget-neutral strategy is funded by reallocating resources from vacant teaching positions.

Internal and external recruitment have been highly successful over the past year. 

External initiatives include hiring international teachers and focusing on recruitment efforts at Texas Tech University, Sul Ross State University, and The University of Texas Permian Basin.

Eight DOI teachers have become certified teachers; thirteen associate teachers became DOI teachers; five transferred from substitute teachers to certified teachers, and three transferred from substitute to associate teachers. These internal development pathways are key in supporting grow-our-own strategies.

Growth opportunities for pathways to teaching include the Region 4 Alternative Certification Program, Registered Apprenticeship Program, Teacher Residents, and the CTE Education and Training Pathway.

Looking ahead, the next steps include a recruitment plan adjustment, program growth and expansions, and a targeted focus on the substitute pool.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

The Executive Directors of Teaching and Learning gave a departmental report over the work it leads in Midland ISD. The Teaching and Learning Department supports the delivery of instruction and utilization of curriculum resources, such as tier one and supplemental resources intended to provide enrichment and intervention for students in math, RLA, science, and social studies.

Initiatives aligned to the Strategic Plan and Board Goals were presented. Board goals closely align with the Student Experience, professional learning encompasses Grow and Develop Staff, and parent and community communication targets Engage and Act.

Projects in progress for the Teaching and Learning department include vertically aligned curriculum resources and instructional frameworks and improving K-12 Advanced Academics opportunities.

2023-24 STAAR ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS

The district presented an overview of accountability ratings focusing on campus data and the district that have been verified by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Due to the impending legal implications surrounding the release of accountability ratings, TEA is prohibited from issuing 2024 A-F Accountability ratings until the court issues a follow-up order that will follow a hearing on September 16.

Changes to the accountability system were presented and included an overview of the updates made to the changes in calculations and grading.

A summary of changes from 2022 to 2024 for changes for district ratings was also presented. In 2022, ratings were based on the performance of the district's students on each indicator and measure; however, in 2024, district ratings were calculated based on proportional weighting of the scale scores of each campus in the district.

Historical accountability ratings were also presented. Since its inception in 2019, districts have only been given two years of official ratings. Districts were not rated in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19, and in 2023 and 2024, districts have yet to receive official ratings.

Through its internal calculations, the district projects a total of 4 campus A's, 11 B's, 11 C's, 7 D's, and 5 F's. The district is projected to have improved from a projected D in 2023 to a projected C in 2024.

Next steps in the quest to improve student outcomes include the creation of action plans, aligned professional development, and the implementation and monitoring of these action plans.

ACTION ITEMS

ACADEMIC UPDATE

The board voted to approve the report on Goal Progress Measures GPM 5.2 (Students earning six or more credits in their first year of High School, GPM 5.3 (Students earning six or more credits in their second year of high school), and GPM 5.6 (Students scoring 3 or higher on AP Exams.)

The district is pleased to report that it met or exceeded all three goals.

Next steps include a focus surrounding the Strategic Plan and include a focus on the Student Experience through supporting transitions, credit protection by six weeks, credit recovery, flex academy, and enrichment intervention. In the Grow and Develop staff pillar, TLAC strategies will be implemented, increased parent communication will be provided, and a focus on expanding Opportunity Culture to allow the district's most effective teachers to extend their reach

CONSENT AGENDA

ADJUNCT 4-H TEACHERS

A resolution was approved allowing for Adjunct 4-H Teachers. The resolution allows participating MISD students to have approved absences for certain activities associated with 4-H. Midland County Extension Agency staff members will be awarded faculty status through MISD. These adjunct faculty members will receive no compensations, salary or remuneration from the district and shall remain and employee, in good standing, of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING SERVICES - ELEM. PROJECT 8

The board approved the district's recommendation to approve MWM Architects for architectural and engineering services for planning, design, and construction for Bush, De Zavala, Santa Rita, and Scharbauer elementaries.

MWM was recommended based on their firm's qualifications, knowledge of the district, prior and current quality work for the district, and familiarity of existing campuses. They were selected from the previously approved pool of vendors that provide architectural and engineering services.

NEXT MEETING

The next regular monthly meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. September 17, at the Bowie Fine Arts Academy auditorium, located at 805 Elk Ave. (Enter from "A" Street.)

LIVE STREAM

Please remember that our meetings are streamed live and archived at midlandisd.net/stream. You can view meeting agendas here.