During the 79^th Texas Legislature, Third Called Session, 2006, House Bill 1 (HB 1) was passed, which amended the Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter 39, Public School System Accountability. Some of the HB 1 changes addressed the assignment of accreditation statuses to school districts and related accreditation sanctions and interventions. As a result, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) adopted rules to implement these changes. These rules define the accreditation statuses of Accredited, Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, and Not Accredited-Revoked and state how accredited statuses are determined and assigned to school districts. As a result of the statutory changes and the newly-adopted rules, an accredited status has been assigned to Texas public school districts for the first time in 2007-2008.

 A school district status of Accredited means that the TEA recognizes the district as a public school of the state that: (1) meets the standards determined by the commissioner under TEC,*39.071(b) and (c), and specified in commissioner rule at 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC)*97.1059, and (2) that it is not currently assigned an accreditation status of Accredited-Warned or Accredited-Probation. A status of Accredited-Warned means that a district exhibits deficiencies in performance, as specified in commissioner rule at 19 TAC *97.1055(b), that, if not addressed, will lead to probation or revocation of the district’s accreditation status.

 The status assigned to the Grapeland Independent School District for 2007-2008 is Accredited-Warned. The Grapeland ISD has been assigned an Accredited-Warned status due to the rating assigned to the district in the state’s Academic Accountability Rating System. Specifically, the Grapeland ISD was assigned a 2006 and a 2007 Academic Accountability Rating Of Academically Unacceptable.

 The district is taking the following steps to address the areas of identified deficiency.

1)      Purchased TAKS review and assessment materials from Buckle Down Publishing. Purchased additional licenses for study island to be used for assessment and review of TAKS objectives.

2)      Teachers have implemented TAKS extended program. Late bus provided by transportation department. Benchmark exams given to all students.

3)      Parent contact made by phone for all students who failed one or more core classes.

4)      Staff received training for C-Scope curriculum program and D_MAC TAKS data program.

5)      Principal and Assistant Principal met with all core subject teachers to explain use of TAKS/Benchmark data: Teachers then developed a plan on how that data would drive instruction in their class.

6)      Administrators increased number of walk throughs performed each week.

7)      Looked at all data from TAKS/Benchmark exams to assist with instructional decisions.

8)      Study Island TAKS preparatory program: Benchmarks utilized to assess student learning in TEKS/TAKS objectives.

9)      Use of Parent Portal through RSCCC.

10)  Mentor teachers and new teachers sign up for staff development for effective mentoring processes. Mentor teachers over-see scope and sequence of C-Scope use by new teachers.

11)  Use of DMAC to disaggregate data. Review student data with staff: Students assigned to extended day program to focus on objectives not mastered.

12)  Using data from Study Island, DMAC and benchmark exams to determine intervention needs: Formed remediation groups for TAKS extended days.

13)  Tutorials available everyday from 7:30-7:55 (secondary):TAKS extended for all math students. Pull-out program being developed for students who can not attend after school programs.

14)  Current 4^th grade classes were divided into additional sections for math and reading to provide more individualized instruction.

15)  Math vertical teams continue to meet monthly.

16)  An instructional aid has been scheduled into the second grade math classes to provide additional one-to-one instruction for students.

17)  Region VI Math Specialist observed math classes and collaborated with teachers regarding math instruction.

18)  Math teachers in grades 4-6 attended the Accelerated Curriculum for Math Workshop at Region VI.

19)  Members of the textbook committee attended the Math Textbook Fair presented by Region VI.

20)  Science teachers visited other science labs to look at best practices.

21)  An additional first grade teacher is on staff and has been assigned a mentor to ensure a successful transition of students into their new classroom.

22)  Study Island, Accelerated Reading, Accelerated Math, Essential Learning System Math Learning System, and learning.com are student remediation programs functioning at the elementary campus.

23)  Students and parents were invited to Meet the Teacher and Open House was conducted. Family Reading Night  scheduled in the library at elementary.

24)  Teachers provided staff development in Response to Intervention(RTI) by special education staff.

25)  Increase in attendance of African American students at elementary campus in before and after school tutorials.

26)  Additional individualized instruction and tutorials have been implemented for African American students struggling with math concepts.

27)  Purchased Multimedia LCD Projectors to improve effectiveness of C-Scope Curriculum for grade levels 3-6.

These are just some of the steps taken by the district to improve instruction and TAKS scores.

Under law, if the current accreditation concerns for the district are not addressed, the district may be assigned an accreditation status of Accredited-Probation or Accredited-Revoked. A not Accredited-Revoked status means that TEA no longer recognizes the district as a Texas public school. Districts with an accreditation status below Accredited also may be subject to additional sanctions as referenced in statute as referenced in statute and rule.

 For more information regarding the assignment of accreditation statuses to school districts, you may access the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/accredstatus/. This website will provide you with background information as well as links to the Texas Education Code and current commissioner’s rules related to accreditation.

 If you have additional questions regarding the assignment of an Accredited-Warned status to the Grapeland Independent School District, or if you would like additional information about the district’s ongoing improvement efforts, please contact Buddy Sumrall, 936/687-4610 or esumrall@grapelandisd.net.