Board studies scores, reviews preliminary budget

Albany ISD trustees looked at the comparisons of local and state STAAR and EOC test passing percentages during Monday night’s board meeting, and got a feel for how the district might end up in the state’s rating system, which will be released in August.

Interim superintendent Doyleen Terrell managed the session, with board vice president Robert Montgomery presiding in the absence of Betsy Parsons.

Outgoing AISD superintendent Shane Fields was present to work through the preliminary budget, which he is overseeing even though he has already begun his new duties at Region 14 Education Service Center.

Test Scores

District testing coordinator Leigh Lowe went over the district’s scores for the STAAR and End-of-Course tests, details of which were explained in an article in the July 5 edition of The Albany News.

She also presented the administration’s “best guess” for how the district will rank in the state rating, due out next month.

“We don’t know what to expect, because there are so many things that go into it,” said Lowe. “You get points for kids who master, points for academic growth, points for closing the gaps. This is the best we can predict in each domain.”

Lowe mentioned that the district as a whole does well in the “approaches grade level” classification.

“We need to really work on ‘meets standards’ and ‘masters standards’,” she said.

Elementary principal Jonathan Scott commented that he often finds himself consumed by the numbers, and has to remind himself that the students are at the core of the education system.

“There’s no doubt that the level of anxiety climbs at the end of the year when testing is going on,” he said. “I personally don’t think there’s much of a trick to testing well, except for the endurance that students have to have.”

Scott compared that endurance to an athlete’s training.

“You have to practice,” he said, “and one of the things we’re going to focus on is how to increase our students’ level of conditioning.”

Secondary principal Edward Morales agreed that the numbers can be overwhelming when you first start studying them.

“Obviously, we have some improvements to make,” he said. “We need to develop some continuity in some areas, and hopefully eliminate some anxiety.”

He stated that he is adding a STAAR period into the junior high schedule, which will be a time to focus on testing strategies and other techniques that should help students perform better.

Preliminary Budget

Fields presented very preliminary budget figures, although he doesn’t expect to have final valuations and calculations from the Shackelford County Appraisal District for another week or so.

Fields, along with AISD business manager Angelyn Faith, will work to finalize the document during August, with the required notices to be published during the month.

The board set an Aug. 31 morning meeting to adopt the budget.

Other Business

•The board discussed a time line in the search for a new superintendent, choosing to take applications during September, set up interviews by mid-October, and announce a lone finalist by Nov. 19, which is the date of the November regular meeting.

•The 2018-2019 student handbook for the secondary campus was approved, with a few minor changes, including the addition of vaping as a prohibited conduct. Also, if a student doesn’t meet attendance requirements, the district will not release a Verification of Enrollment and Attendance (VOE), which is needed to obtain a driver’s license.