Candidates spar over program evaluation
Longtime incumbent trustee Joe Adams challenged by George Scott in Katy ISD
George Scott’s campaign for Position 1 on the Katy ISD board centers on his claim that the district doesn’t sufficiently research programs’ effectiveness, but the incumbent, Joe Adams, says a track record of academic success proves they are working.
Scott, a former publisher and media liaison for the Harris County Appraisal District, believes trustees are not doing their job in holding Superintendent Alton Frailey accountable for implementing research on programs’ effectiveness.
Scott believes the district should analyze district efforts such as staff reading and writing workshops and district assessments that gather evidence of each student’s strengths and weaknesses. He also wants to study the effectiveness of instructional coaching positions for teachers and staff.
Scott said the district does not collect any data based on scientific observation and research to judge programs’ effectiveness, which, he said, could indicate how well programs work and thus ultimately benefit students.
Katy ISD spokeswoman Denisse Coffman confirmed
in an email that the district does not have a policy for general program evaluation and does not have a research department dedicated to program evaluations, though it does contract researchers when needed. Evidence is largely based on teacher and principal feedback, Coffman said.
She added that use of practices such as the instructional coach position have been “cited by a plethora of educational research as a best practice,” and that the district has councils made of district staff and administrators for other programs such as district learning assessments. The councils make recommendations for improving the programs as needed, she said.
Adams agreed, saying the proof of programs’ effectiveness lies in the success of Katy ISD, which this year was ranked as the best Houston-area school district by the review site “Niche.”
Adams said Katy ISD is regularly visited by representatives from other area districts because of the effectiveness of its programs.
Scott believes Adams, the longest-tenured board member with nine terms, should be leading the effort to hold Frailey accountable to start this research.
“In the business world, programs are routinely evaluated for — are the programs producing results? Why should public education exempt itself from the same standards?” Scott said. “I’m running against an incumbent whose leadership is sadly lacking. My goal is to work with the other six members of the board to show them that there is a better and more effective way to hold the superintendent accountable.”
Adams disagreed with Scott’s views on trustees’ roles.
“Mr. Scott has never been on the board before. There’s no way he understands if I’m a leader or not,” said Adams, a local business owner who has served on the board since 1989. “We are doing what the state law is telling us we have to do, which is to pass policies and to pass a budget.
“We would not continue to use programs if they weren’t effective, and we do evaluate our programs,” he said. “We absolutely hold the superintendent accountable and evaluate him on a year-by-year basis. We can always do better, and we want to be a better district than what we are now … but people desire to be like Katy ISD.”
Adams desires to push for his own new policies if re-elected, such as getting Katy ISD to become a “District of Innovation” through recently passed state legislation, House Bill 1842.
Districts with that designation can have less state-mandated curriculum and management and can develop a local plan.
That plan could include innovations in curriculum, instruction, governance and parent and community involvement. It also can lead to changes regarding the school day and year, budgetary issues and other topics.
The process of achieving the “Districts of Innovation” designation would be through a board resolution or petition from an district advisory committee, followed by a public hearing and a board vote.
Scott raised $1,335 for his campaign, of which $810 came from personal funds, according to a 30day report received April 7 by the district. He spent $1,163.69, mostly on online advertising.
Adams raised $2,450 — none coming from personal funds — according to his 30-day report received April 6 by the district. Adams had not spent any of the funds at that time. He said he plans to spend money on advertisements before the May 7 election.
Early voting began April 25 and will last through May 3. Terms on the board are for three years. Polling sites can be found on http://bit.ly/KISDPolls.