Star-Telegram
Editorial
September 2014

Recently, Education Commissioner Michael Williams suspended for one year the requirement for fifth- and eighth-grade students to pass the math portion of the STAAR exam before advancing to the next grade level. This move raised questions across the state as to why this was necessary.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) did not determine how the new math standards will be tested on the fifth- and eighth-grade STAAR math tests until spring 2014. Since these standards were late in being released, and the changes were significant, districts are now having to rewrite curriculum to address the changes and identify and purchase required resources to prepare students for these more rigorous standards. For example, in Birdville ISD, $138,000 was spent on graphing calculators required by the state for testing of eighth-grade students, and an additional $50,000 for math resources due to changes in the fifth-grade math curriculum. In addition to resources, substantial professional development for staff is required to completely implement the new math curriculum.

Given the timeline, the commission’s decision to suspend the required passing of the math portion of the STAAR for fifth- and eighth-grade students is appropriate. By suspending the passing standard for one year, school districts across the state are given time to develop appropriate curriculum, identify aligned resources, and provide necessary professional learning so that students are prepared to be successful.

Darrell G. Brown, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Birdville ISD

BISD is proud to announce it has five National Merit Semifinalists and nine National Merit Commended Scholars for the 2014-15 school year.

Nearly 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools across the country entered the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program last year by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors received the prestigious designation of becoming a semifinalist this year.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

BISD’s 2014-15 National Merit Semifinalists are:

Birdville High School
Erin Ruhlman
Lilly Clegg
Rebecca Hurlburt

Richland High School
Sean Murray
Mark Disalvi

National Merit Commended Scholars are:

Birdville High School
Alexander Healy
Seoyong Kim
Shiva Dheer
Andrew Haas

Haltom High School
Brian Fuller

Richland High School
Baylee Dawson
Steven Conner
Anya Kohnke
Lindsey Butler

The National Merit Scholarship Program will announce additional program honorees later this school year.

How does this bond address science
labs in the district?

Requirements set by the Texas Education Agency in recent years have made our science laboratories deficient in size, quantity and functionality. Because of the state requirements for science and math in high school, there are large numbers of students currently enrolled in these programs.

The Bond Planning Committee reviewed science laboratories at every level across the district focusing on:

• Safety equipment and supplies;
• Adequate space to safely store chemicals;
• Adequate lab/classroom space; and
• Functionality.

The 2014 final bond proposal includes:

• Adding safety equipment and emergency shut-off valves, where needed;
• Adds water and other utilities to meet current standards;
• Addresses state standards (compliance);
• Adds permanent science classroom additions at Birdville High School, Smithfield and Watauga middle schools and Watauga Elementary; and
• Adds modular science laboratories at all other middle schools, except North Ridge Middle School where lab space is sufficient, and Haltom High School.

[Tweet “How does #BISDBond14 address Science Labs?”]

Science Lab Recap

• Number of new science laboratories – 16 new science laboratories (six at Watauga Middle, six at Smithfield Middle, two at Birdville High, and two at Watauga Elementary)
• Number of renovated science laboratories – Two at Shannon
• Number of modular science laboratories – 26 (six at Haltom Middle, six at North Oaks Middle, six at Richland Middle, and eight at Haltom High)

The Texas Education Agency announced Friday, Sept. 12 that Birdville ISD received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under Texas’ Schools FIRST financial accountability rating system. The Superior Achievement rating is the state’s highest, demonstrating the quality of BISD’s financial management and reporting system.

The 2013-14 rating is based on data from the 2012-13 fiscal year. Birdville ISD received 70 out of 70 possible points on 20 indicators. The District has received a superior rating every year since the inception of the program 13 years ago. The rating system was established through the 76th Texas Legislature in 1999 to measure the performance of school districts’ financial resources. The rating system consists of the following objectives to …

• Assess the quality of financial management in Texas public schools;
• Measure and report the extent to which financial resources are allocated for direct instructional purposes;
• Fairly evaluate the quality of financial management decisions; and
• Openly report results to the general public.

Birdville ISD will hold a public hearing on the FIRST rating at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the BISD Administration Building.

“In 2014, the Texas Comptroller honored BISD with the Leadership Circle Platinum Award, which is the state’s highest award, for financial transparency,” Superintendent Dr. Darrell G. Brown said. “The Board is committed to continue a high level of transparency, which includes measures to ensure taxpayer trust.”

On Aug. 14, Birdville ISD’s Board of Trustees unanimously called for a bond election to be held as part of the general election on November 4. BISD voters are being asked to consider a $163.2 million bond program that was developed with extensive community input by a diverse group of citizens from all parts of the district. The program approved by the Board includes safety and security upgrades at every campus; science lab renovations/upgrades; rebuilding North Richland Middle School, The Academy at West Birdville Elementary School and Birdville Elementary School; renovations and upgrades to facilities across the district; and technology upgrades to address instructional requirements and obsolete equipment districtwide.

The Board also embraced several best practices for the impending November 4 bond election. These procedures are intended to ensure greater transparency, higher standards of disclosure, and fair polling practices. This comes after consulting with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Secretary of State, elected officials and community groups.

“We are pleased to take a leadership position and continue our commitment for transparency to our taxpayers,” said Board President Cary D. Hancock. “The District is addressing needed solutions while being prudent, as our community justifiably desires.”

As part of the best practices embraced by the Board, BISD will maintain their standard of not issuing bonds for items past their projected useful life. This ensures BISD will continue to repay bonds for items such as technology in five years or less. It has long been BISD’s practice to repay all other bonds in 25 years or less. In addition, BISD does not plan to issue Capital Appreciation Bonds.

As part of the embraced practices, methods used for early voting locations will also change. The District will not offer branch or “rolling” polling. Only early voting locations provided by the County will be available to voters. During early voting, BISD voters can vote at any early voting location in Tarrant County. However, on Election Day, voters can only vote at their designated precinct.

To learn more about the upcoming bond election, visit www.BISDbond14.net.

Today, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced the 2014 district and school accountability ratings under the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests. Birdville ISD and all 31 district campuses earned a rating of Met Standard, the highest rating available in this second year of the newly revised state accountability system.

“I am proud that the district and every campus earned a Met Standard rating under the state’s new and more rigorous testing system again this year,” Superintendent Darrell Brown said. “I believe this is a reflection of the continued hard work of our students and staff. Congratulations to the students, staff and community.”

To receive a Met Standard rating, the district and elementary and middle schools had to meet target scores in four indexes, while high schools were evaluated only on indexes 1, 3 and 4.

• Index 1 – Student Achievement, evaluates performance on STAAR across all subjects and all student groups at the satisfactory performance standard.
• Index 2 – Student Progress, evaluates the academic growth of students in reading and math from 10 student groups, including seven race/ethnicity groups, English language learners and special education students.
• Index 3 – Closing Performance Gaps, evaluates two levels of performance of students who are economically disadvantaged and, as applicable, students from the two lowest performing race/ethnicity groups from the prior year.
• Index 4 – Postsecondary Readiness, evaluates student performance in all tested grade levels against standards to be in place in 2016 (Level II final). High schools and districts are also evaluated on graduation rates, the percentage of students graduating on Recommended and Distinguished/Advanced plans, and on a postsecondary readiness indicator based on TAKS performance.

Additional distinction designations were also awarded in 2014 to campuses in seven areas: academic achievement in reading/ELA, academic achievement in mathematics, academic achievement in science, academic achievement in social studies, top 25 percent in student progress, top 25 percent in closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness. Distinctions are based on comparisons between individual schools and a 40-campus group with similar student demographics. Overall, 26 of the 31 BISD campuses received at least one distinction and two campuses received the maximum possible: Foster Village and Green Valley elementary schools. A total of 77 distinctions were awarded to campuses across the district, up from 36 in 2013.

Additional academic highlights from 2014 include:

• BISD STAAR scores exceeded the state average in every subject area in grades 3-8, with the exception of one area.
• Third-grade students exceeded the state average on the STAAR math test by seven percentage points and by six percentage points on the reading test.
• Fourth-grade students exceeded the state average on the STAAR math and reading test by four percentage points and by three percentage points on the writing test.
• Fifth-grade students scored four percentage points above the state average on the math test and seven percentage points above the state average on the reading and science tests.
• Sixth- and seventh-grade students exceeded or equaled the state in all areas, except in sixth-grade reading, where they were one percentage point below.
• Students taking the eighth-grade math test exceeded the state average on the STAAR math test by 10 percentage points.
• Eighth-grade students also exceeded the state average on the STAAR reading and social studies tests by four percentage points and the science test by six percentage points.