Belton ISD board adopts five district key progress measures, sets critical‑thinking target
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Summary
The Belton ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt the district—s key progress measures for 2025-26, including a target to raise observed student critical‑thinking indicators from 47% to 55% and an 80% staff professional‑learning participation goal.
The Belton Independent School District Board of Trustees on Monday adopted a set of five district key progress measures (KPMs) for the 2025-26 school year designed to translate the district—s goals into measurable work.
The board voted 7-0 to adopt the measures after presentations and discussion by district staff. "We believe that they represent the highest leverage work for the 25, 26 school year in each goal," said Dr. Morgan, who led the KPM presentation.
Why it matters: The KPMs translate broad goals into specific, time‑bound targets the district will use to prioritize staff time, budget and program development. They will guide planning for curriculum, professional learning, student supports and future accountability reporting.
Most important items: The measures approved include: increasing the percentage of students demonstrating critical thinking (with emphasis on asking questions and evaluating arguments) from 47% to 55% by May 2026; achieving 80% staff participation in creating and pursuing professional‑learning goals aligned to the district—s leadership definition; establishing at least one new strategic partnership for each campus/department; implementing Hope Squad at 100% of eligible campuses with trained students/advisors and at least one campus event by May 2026; and putting teacher incentive allotment (TIA) systems of support in place across 100% of designated campuses.
During discussion board members and staff emphasized that some measures are leading indicators intended to improve long‑term academic outcomes. Dr. Morgan said the critical‑thinking metric is a leading measure to help push students toward higher performance on state assessments: "This...came out through our root cause analysis that that's one of the greatest challenges." Gabby Nino, who briefed the board on classroom observation results for critical thinking, added that observable evidence has improved this year but that student‑generated questioning and evaluation remain the biggest areas of need.
Board members asked for clarification about how the measures relate to state accountability. Staff cautioned that state rules are evolving: Gabby Nino and others noted the district is planning around House Bill 3 goals but that pending legislation (referred to in the meeting as House Bill 4) could change state accountability and require committee review. On the teacher incentive allotment, staff said validation is not automatic: outside validation (noted in the presentation as performed by a university partner) compares teacher‑level evaluation data and student outcomes and some districts require more than one year of data before being validated.
Formal action: Trustee Norwood moved adoption; Trustee Preston seconded. The motion passed 7-0.
What's next: Staff said approval begins a year of implementation planning, data system design, development of exemplars and professional learning, and progress monitoring. The board discussed refinements to presentation order and branding (several trustees said goal numbering should not be read as priority ranking).
