Programto aid struggling campuses

Fort Bend ISD trustees fund efforts to help low-performing elementary schools

Fort Bend ISD trustees have unanimously approvedspending about $900,000 for new jobs and teacher stipends for a planned program to help two struggling elementary schools.

This was the final step be- fore district officials can arrange staffing for the $2.1 million pilot program, Educators Dedicated to Growing Excellence, scheduled to begin in the next school year. The program will operate at two low-performing campuses that will be selected in comingweeks from a list of struggling schools.

The district will spend about $1 million at each campus for staffing and an afterschool program that provides a snack, homework help and dinner.

“We believe a million dollars to do something like this at (each of the) two schools is well-spent because, obviously, whatwe’ve beendoing at those schools has not been effective,” Superintendent Charles Dupre said. “Sometimes true equity meansyouprovidewhat is needed.”

Sugar Land resident Vanesia Johnson, a social worker who advocates for equal treatment of students through the social welfare organization Citizens Advocating for Social

Equity, said the trustees’ action was “a glimmer of hope.”

“What I liked was the actual discussion the board members had, that they were processing this as an equity moment for the district,” Johnson said.

Fort Bend ISD has 19 elementary schools with enough low-income students to qualify for extra federal funding.

Two of those — Ridgemont and Briargate — did not meet Texas Education Agency standards last year, and the feeder pattern for those campuses lead to a middle school and high school that have had problems meeting the standards.

District officials will announce the two pilot campuses in the next few weeks. The district has already narrowed the list of candidate schools to about 10 out of its 46 elementaries.

The new positions include teachers for special education and physical education and a district-level teacher whowill help with instruction.

The stipends included a $3,000 sign-on bonus to the campuses’ principals and a $1,500 retention bonus to someteachers.

The board also approvedadditional stipends and two parent-coordinator positions to be funded by grant or federal money.

These stipends include an additional $15,000 per year to experienced teachers at the pilot campuses whose job will include serving as mentors to peers.

“This is ensuring that some of our students most in need have the very best teacher in front of them, as well as the services and supports that they need,” said Assistant Superintendent Anthony Indelicato, who presented the program to the trustees for the first time onFeb. 28. A new teaching model

Onekey aspect of EDGE is that it would changehow teachers instruct.

Each grade level at the pilot campuses will have one very experienced teacher, several teachers who are less experienced but still high performing and at least one newteacher who district officials identify as having great potential.

These teachers will workin a team.

Instead of exclusively using a traditional classroom format, with one teacher responsible for 22 students, the instructors would share students, dividing them as needed by learning style or subject strength.

The district’s goal is to have the less-experienced teachers learn from the seasoned one.

The result would be that students would be taught by every teacher in their grade-level team.

Among the experienced teacher’s responsibilities would to analyze student data to find more effective ways to teach.

Newer teachers at EDGE campuses would also get additional staff development days and have an additional $500 included in their salary for this extra time oncampus.

Teachers at the chosen campuses won’t be guaranteed jobs there next year and will have to reapply for the school year. The district will give teachers who are not selected, or opt not to be, a position at a different school.

Fort BendISDwill likely interview and select staff for the EDGEcampuses by early June.

Despite the emphasis on changing instruction, no teachers were included on the committee that designed EDGE. It wasmade up of district leaders from 13 departments, including departments that regularly receive teacher feedback, such as curriculum and teacher development. A 10-hour school day

Another key part of EDGE will be after-school care called ClubEDGE.

Details of Club EDGE are being developed, but students could spend after school hours partici- pating in clubs or getting help with homework. A snack and dinner would be included, district Assistant Superintendent Mike Foust said.

“There’s so much value in the whole picture,” school board president Grayle James said.

About half of the money for the program on each campus will go to Club EDGE. District officials plan to decrease Club EDGE’s cost through volunteers and community partnerships and grants, something that Johnson said is important to making the parents and students at those schools feel like part of the program.

Johnson and Ilene Harper, the former assistant director of student support services and cultural diversity at Fort Bend ISD, both attended the meeting to show their support for EDGE.

Harper want the teachers hired at each campus to have track records of working well with lowincome, minority students.

But the steps so far have been in the right direction, Johnson said.

“We don’t know what it’s going to look like, but that it’s really bold, courageous and brave,” she said of the planned program.