Hallsville Independent School District

District Information

District Name: Hallsville Independent School District
District Address:  P.O. Box 810, Hallsville TX 75650-0810
District Phone: (903)668-5990
District Fax: (903)668-5979
Superintendent: Greg Wright
Deputy Superintendent: Paula Rogers
Deputy Superintendent Email: progers@hisd.com

Demographics

Number of Students:  4,270
Number eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch: 37.5 (1,116 students)
Percent of Limited English Proficient: 2% (85 students)
Percent of Special Education: 12%
Racial/Ethnic Percentages:

• White 87%
• Black 7%
• Hispanic 6%
• Asian/Pacific Island: 0.225%
• Other 37.5%

 

Schools in District:

Little Cats Learning Center (Pre-K, Head Start)
Hallsville Primary School (Grades K-1)
Hallsville Elementary School (Grade 2)
Hallsville Intermediate School (Grades 3-4)
Hallsville Middle School (Grades 5-6)
Hallsville Junior High School (Grades 7-8)
Hallsville High School (Grades 9-12)

 

Student Achievement Data:

Hallsville ISD is rated by the Texas Education Agency as a Recognized District.

The following charts demonstrate the percentage of students who met and exceeded state standards based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The 2009 data is based upon District Summary Reports as reported by the Texas Education Agency. The Texas Accountability System uses Mathematics, Reading/ELA, Science, Social Studies, and Writing on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to rate districts and campuses. All five of these areas are not tested each year.

Longitudinal Data:

	Math		Reading/ELA		Science		Social Studies		Writing
All Grades	District	State	District	State	District	State	District	State	District	State
2008-09	93	82	96	91	93	78	98	93	97	93
2007-08	92	80	97	91	85	74	95	91	96	93
2006-07	88	77	94	89	81	71	95	89	95	92

 

	Math		Reading/ELA
Grade 3	District	State	District	State
2008-09	91	84	96	93
2007-08	94	85	97	94
2006-07	90	82	98	94

 

	Math		Reading		Science
Grade 5	District	State	District	State	District	State
2008-09	98	90	94	89	99	84
2007-08	98	91	97	92	96	82
2006-07	98	91	95	90	84	74

 

	Math		ELA		Science		Social Studies
Grade 8	District	State	District	State	District	State	District	State
2008-09	96	84	98	95	89	72	100	92
2007-08	95	86	99	97	80	69	97	91
2006-07	88	73	96	89	82	67	95	84

 

	Math		ELA		Science		Social Studies
Grade 11	District	State	District	State	District	State	District	State
2008-09	87	81	95	92	94	85	99	97
2007-08	91	80	98	91	90	81	98	95
2006-07	80	79	92	89	80	76	95	93

 

As a Professional Learning Community Hallsville ISD has the goal of high achievement for all students. One of the measures of high achievement is our state accountability.

The district consistently scores above the state average in state accountability. The district also measures high achievement by our percentages of students achieving commended performance on state accountability.

Commended Performance:

Content Area	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
ELA/Reading	35%	42%	41%
Math	32%	37%	43%
Writing	33%	36%	37%
Science	13%	24%	34%
Social Studies	36%	42%	54%

 

 

Each Fall we measure graduates who have enrolled in higher education. Those percentages have increased each year.

Graduates Enrolled in Higher Education:

	Fall 2006	Fall 2007	Fall 2008
Total # Students	245	256	263
# Enrolled in Higher Ed	143	159	173
%	58%	62%	66%

 

 

The district dropout rate remains significantly below the state average.

Annual Dropout Rates by Grades and School Year:

	Grades 7-8		Grades 9-12		Grades 7-12
	School	State	School	State	School	State
2005-06	0.0%	0.4%	1.8%	3.7%	1.2%	2.6%
2006-07	0.0%	0.4%	1.8%	3.9%	1.2%	2.7%
2007-08	0.2%	0.4%	1.5%	3.2%	1.1%	2.2%

 

 

Please comment on any aspect of the data that you believe is particularly significant.

It is important to note that by all state accountability measures as well as other measures of high achievement that the district has had sustained high achievement since the implementation of PLC concepts (2006-2009). The district consistently exceeds the state percentage of passing TAKS at every grade level. During this time we have met AYP standards at every level, and been recognized as Title I Distinguished schools at our Title I campuses.

 

Please present additional information that indicates your efforts to build a professional learning community have had a positive impact on students and/or teachers.

In 2006 Hallsville Independent School District began to implement school improvement and the concepts of professional learning communities. The district began with goal setting and providing significant levels of training in school improvement research and strategies including PLC. District and campus teams have studied the work of Rick and Rebecca Dufour as well as the other leaders in the PLC initiative. The 90-90-90 research by Dr. Douglas Reeves and the research by Dr. Bill Daggett was also studied. The components of highly successful schools outlined in Dr. Daggett’s work were studied and incorporated into the district’s plans for improvement. As district and campus teams began to embrace this research, the district committed to sending both district and campus teams to multiple Professional Learning Communities conferences/summits. This year the district hosted Mike Mattos at a PLC Summit and trained additional 138 staff members. This annual PLC summit for district staff is now a planned goal for each year in order to continue to build and maintain capacity. District leadership is committed to being leaders of leaders and role models in the district functioning as a PLC. One district level Director has the responsibility of supporting the PLC initiative at the district and campus level as a stated part of her role and responsibilities. Each principal and director has a leadership coach that works with them in order to provide the support necessary to maintain a focus on continual monitoring of individual student success.

District and campus teams have developed their norms, mission, vision, values and goals. Norms are regularly reviewed. Principals have also developed norms for their district principal meetings. The district and each campus have SMART goals developed that guide their work. Each curriculum team at every campus uses the four questions essential for learning in weekly planning meetings that occur during the school day.

Hallsville ISD has also joined the University of Texas Dana Center Partnership for High Achievement. This partnership provides training for Math (K-12) and Science teachers (5-12) as well as district level administrators. This training is designed to model PLC concepts. Participants analyze data, create common lessons, review the results of those lessons, and then use those results to change instruction or design interventions.

A Balanced Literacy Coach/Trainer has worked with the district since 2006 to provide the training necessary to fully implement the concepts of Balanced Literacy. Since that time each campus K-8 has added both Literacy and Math Instructional Coaches. Hallsville High School has a Math Coach. Coaches receive direct training from our Literacy Trainer, Dana Center and Coaching for Results. This provides them the skills necessary to implement a coaching model with fidelity. Instructional Coaches work directly with teachers to provide training and support.

In grades K-12 teachers have worked collaboratively with the technology department to creatively integrate technology into instruction with the use of interactive white boards, texting, iPods, Nanos and Palm Pilots. This has been supported by an extensive training and support plan.

The Hallsville ISD Board of Trustees has received training in PLC concepts and fully supports the Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals that have been developed. They are partners in the district PLC initiative.

A PLC/SMART Goals Implementation Guide was developed at the district level and provided to each principal to provide guidance and support in the full implementation of PLC concepts. This guide includes helpful tools, forms and procedures for principals and other leaders to facilitate their work. Each campus principal is required to submit their plan for achieving his or her campus’s SMART Goals to the central office. This provides district administrators the opportunity to review and discuss plans with principals and provide the support necessary for success.

 

Please elaborate strategies you have found to be effective in the following areas:

1. Monitoring student learning on a timely basis.

All campuses are required to have planning time for teachers to meet as groups built into the school day. Teachers use lesson planning guides that are based on the four questions essential for learning: What do we expect students to learn? How will we know if they have learned it? What will we do if they have not learned it? And, what will we do if they already know it? All instructional planning meetings are centered around these four questions.

The district supported the curriculum-writing process by approving a guide that includes processes for both writing and revising curriculum on a regular basis. Curriculum teams from campuses perform this work and all curriculum is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. These guides are provided to all staff and promote equity between classrooms. They are essential to weekly instructional planning meetings. Curriculum writing is supported by the district curriculum department as well as consultants, and regional education service centers. The district’s recently drafted English Language Arts Curriculum guide was used as a model by the regional education service center for a product they are now selling to other districts.

Common Assessments are used by every grade and subject in the district as a primary manner of gauging student progress and assigning interventions for students. Benchmark testing, Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI), and assessment reports for individual students and groups of students generated by the district assessment coordinator are utilized for monitoring student progress. In addition to DRA and TPRI students in grades K-2 are monitored in reading and math weekly by charting and/or graphing their reading and math progress. Interventions can be added, changed, or adjusted very quickly to respond to student needs with our young students through this method of monitoring.

Every campus monitors student data trends with both individual and groups of students by having planning rooms that have data graphed and charted/monitored by teachers during weekly planning meetings. Campuses can do this electronically or in chart form. This provides the opportunity for teachers to discuss successful strategies and visually monitor trends that need to be addressed. This method of monitoring reinforces the district’s commitment to the success of every student.

Hallsville High School has a ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade initiative (NGI, Ten GI and Eleven GI) that identifies the 40 most challenged students as determined by a matrix at the beginning of each year. These students are assigned to teams who meet as a group and monitor their progress on academic, behavioral, and social indicators of success each week. This initiative started three years ago as a result of the district and campus research in school improvement strategies. As the original cohort of students has moved from grade to grade the initiative has progressed to the next grade. This initiative has proved very successful and has been a catalyst for change at our high school. Hallsville High School has adopted “High School +” as a motto to support the goal of preparing 100% of our students for college and career readiness.

As each campus has developed very comprehensive data monitoring systems that monitor student success in very short cycles the interventions offered to students have both improved in quality and increased in scope.

In grades 3-12 students meet with staff to plan for their own learning and set mastery goals for themselves. Students are involved in understanding and reviewing their progress on common assessment and benchmark scores as well as setting goals for improvement. Progress is charted throughout the year based on these meetings. This has helped tremendously in students’ understanding the purpose and need for interventions and has shown overall improvement in student progress. The superintendent, deputy superintendent and principals have groups of students that they meet with to review progress as teammates with teachers and other staff members.

2. Creating systems of intervention to provide students with additional time and support for learning.

The district has focused its efforts on creating a systematic intervention process (RTI) that works hand-in-hand with our Professional Learning Committees (PLC) initiative. RTI and PLC are not separate processes in the district. It is one cohesive system that is designed to provide students with the time and support necessary to be highly successful.

The systems that are in place to design and monitor student interventions are:

- Weekly curriculum meetings at every campus’ addressing the four questions essential for learning.

- Student intervention teams at every campus. These teams monitor students who have formal intervention plans.

- Each campus has teams (i.e., pyramid meetings. family meetings, pod meetings, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh Grade Initiative Teams, campus data meetings) that regularly meet to review the progress of students.

- The district has a four-tier intervention process.

Tier I: Classroom Teacher Intervention
Tier II: Targeted Small Group Intervention
Tier III: Intensive, Prescriptive, Individualized Intervention
Tier IV: Consideration/Testing to gain more in-depth evaluation data and determine if there is a need for services via Special Education.

All students at all campuses have systematic interventions offered to them in order for them to receive the necessary time and support to be successful. All interventions are available to every student based on their identified need. The district is committed to providing services to students with disabilities in an inclusive setting. A full continuum of services is offered while every effort is made to offer instruction in the general education setting. A very comprehensive co-teach support model is utilized at every campus. This allows a certified special education and general education teacher to partner and provide services to a classroom of students and allows the students with disabilities to have the support they need while being instructed with on-grade level curriculum. This model is supported with a comprehensive training and consultation program for staff.

Research based interventions include:

- Reading Recovery
- Literacy Groups
- Imagination Station
- Leveled Literacy Intervention
- Behavior Assistant Inclusive Support Model
- Flexible Scheduling
- Targeted Small Group Tutorials
- Voyager
- Motor Labs
- Reading, Math, and Science small group supplemental tutorials
- Learning Centers Based small group instruction
- Grand Central Station
- Read 180
- School-wide Content Mastery
- Male and Female Adult Mentoring Programs
- Lunch Bunch Tutorials for Intentional Non-Learners
- Homework Club
- Credit Recovery
- Student Mentoring Program
- Double Time Classes
- Technology-based Science tutorials
- Read Naturally
- FastMath
- MTA
- Algebra I Rescue
- Transition program for incoming Jr. High and High School Students

 

3. Building teacher capacity to work as members of high performing collaborative teams that focus efforts on improved learning for all students.

Hallsville ISD is committed to working as a Professional Learning Community. We subscribe to the concepts of “Learning by Doing” and know that as educators we are on a continual path of learning and improvement.

At the district level, this commitment includes on-going comprehensive training in the concepts of Professional Learning Communities. All district level administrators and teams of teacher leaders from every campus have received both formal training through their attendance at several PLC Institutes as well as informal training from book studies and presentations by staff members. The district has a commitment to maintaining this initiative through on-going training for both new and tenured staff members. The district maintains a very extensive library of PLC training resources for book studies, training and presentations during each school year.

All planning meetings and lesson planning in the district are centered around the four questions essential for learning”. Our plans and responses to these questions lead to the continual improvement of instruction as well as interventions. Each campus is required by the district to schedule collaborative planning and data review meetings within their school day. Each campus has modified their schedules so that 45 minutes to one hour weekly is dedicated for common planning.

Teachers and administrators review, chart, and respond to student data on a regular basis. Every campus has data meetings either weekly or bi-weekly. These meetings and the responses to the data have led to teachers working with a greater degree of collaboration and responsibility for “all students”, not just “my students.”

This work is supported by campus level instructional coaches, team leaders or department leaders, as well as district-level support.

Please see the statements from each principal regarding the implementation of PLC on their campus.

Testimonials read by teachers to their campuses are also attached.

 

List awards and recognitions your district has achieved:

- Texas Education Agency Recognized District
- Texas Education Agency Exemplary Elementary School (2 years in a row)
- Texas Education Agency Exemplary Intermediate School (2 years in a row)
- Texas Education Agency Exemplary Middle School (2 years in a row)
- Texas Education Agency Exemplary Junior High School
- Texas Education Agency Recognized High School
- Title I Distinguished Campuses for all eligible campuses two years in a row.
- Hallsville ISD has met standards for AYP every year.
- Campuses have received Gold Performance Acknowledgments from the Texas Education Agency each year since 2007.