The Austin Blueprint After One Year A report to the AISD Board of Trustees The Austin Blueprint Initiative Dr. Darlene Westbrook, Chief Academic Officer Claudia Tousek, Director Austin Blueprint Initiative Department September 22, 2003

Elementary Schools Edward L. Blackshear Ms. Sylvia Segura Pirtle Thomas G. Harris Mr. Ron Gonzales Oak Springs Mr. Gilbert Hicks Mary Jane Sims Ms. Texanna Turner-Grady 2

Middle Schools J. Frank Dobie, Dr. Celina Estrada-Russell James E. Pearce, Mr. Ron Bolek 3

Background On April 22, 2002, the AISD Board of Trustees directed the Superintendent, Dr. Pat Forgione, to develop a plan to address chronically low performing and underachieving schools beginning with the 2002 –2003 school year. 4

Criteria for School Selection  Status in the state accountability system  Performance over time  Current student performance 5

Additional Resources for Blueprint Campuses Resources Math coach  Reading teacher  Permanent subs  Lead teacher stipend  Open Court  Materials, books, etc.  Staff training  Additional AP’s (3)  Additional Parent Sp.  $2,024, $480,063 6

Clear Expectations  Non-negotiable expectations for principals, teachers, parents Professional staff compacts: 100% Parent/teacher/student compacts: 80% 7

Experienced Staff  Successful, recognized principals  Leadership of a master principal  All teachers experienced, certified (July 2002) 8

Intensive Training  Ten days of training in July, 2002  A cadre of six permanent subs  Foundations Discipline Management training 9

Focused Instruction  Required curricula  Extended time for literacy and math  Extended day/time tutorials 10

Increased Parent/Community Involvement  Increased attendance at parent functions  RGK Foundation Grant  Michael and Susan Dell Foundation Grant  Communities in Schools case-managed services 11

Parent Surveys  Blueprint results compare very favorably with District results.  Percentage of “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” responses were primarily in the high 80% to high 90% range. 12

Student Achievement  Benchmarks, 6 or 9-week, and weekly assessment tools  Ongoing assessment data reviews  Improved student academic performance  Improved attendance 13

Blueprint Progress: State Assessments  All Blueprint schools demonstrated gains, when comparing TAAS 2002 to TAKS 2003, based on TAAS TLI = 70 Equivalents for Reading and Math (English). 14

Blackshear 15

Harris 16

Oak Springs 17

Sims 18

Dobie 19

Pearce 20

Blueprint Third Graders Demonstrated Progress in Reading = Results = Results 21

No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)  Under the new accountability standards of the No Child Left Behind federal education reform legislation, all Blueprint Schools met the AYP for performance in Reading and Math. 22

No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in Reading Blueprint School Gain 2002 to

No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in Math Blueprint School Gain 2002 to

Gains in District Rankings  The Blueprint Schools are no longer the lowest-ranked schools in the district. 25

Attendance  Attendance gains at Blueprint schools were higher than the district average. 26

Source: preliminary district calculations 27 Preliminary Blueprint School Attendance

Blackshear Highlights  96% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 4 th grade Writing  100% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 4 th grade Writing for African American students 28

Harris Highlights 29  91% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 4 th grade Writing for Hispanic students  50% of students passing Writing received score of 3 or 4 on the composition portion of the test

Oak Springs Highlights  100% classroom teachers returned to campus in 2003  87% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 3 rd grade Reading 30

Sims Highlights  91% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 3 rd grade Reading  Gains in district ranking from 2002 TAAS to 2003 TAKS at higher TAKS standards 31

Dobie Highlights  90.2% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 8th grade Social Studies; equal to district average  No teacher transfer requests for

Pearce Highlights  82% passing rate on 2003 TAKS 8th grade Social Studies compared to 40% TAAS rate in 2002  65% fewer discipline referrals; 70% fewer tardies 33

Major Challenge  Creation and implementation of consistent systems and procedures 34

Lessons Learned  The power of synergy: Changing the paradigm of principals working in isolation to that of principals working as a team with a focused leader 35

Next Steps:  Pearce and Dobie as part of Middle School structure under Dr. Gordon  Elementary Schools: Four Blueprint Schools and six Focus Schools 36

Sharing Best Practices  Small cadre of principals working together  Impact across district Language Arts IPG’s Writing Camps 37

The Austin Blueprint Schools