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District reports mid‑year reading and math gains; staff flag unfunded early‑reading screener and coaching needs
Summary
Lewisville ISD’s student learning presentation showed mid‑year gains in early‑childhood reading and math and described increased targeted coaching; staff noted the district pays about $500,000 for the Istation early‑reading and math platform, a cost not covered by the state.
District curriculum leaders told the board the mid‑year student learning checks show progress in early‑childhood reading and math and described expanded targeted coaching for teachers, while noting a significant cost for the district to operate required screeners.
Dr. Fitzhugh, the district’s student learning chief, accompanied by Karen Spalding and other learning‑and‑teaching staff, presented mid‑year Istation and district formative results that generally showed growth from fall for early‑childhood reading and math. Dr. Fitzhugh said three campuses had met their mid‑year targets (up from two at the beginning of the year) and that 15 campuses were within 10% of their goals; the number of campuses more than 20% away from target decreased from 16 to 11.
Staff described targeted supports: concentrated coaching time for teachers new to a grade level, small‑group differentiated instruction based on Istation and DIBELS/EDEL diagnostics, and rehearsal‑of‑instruction work inside PLCs so teachers can practice lessons and give each other feedback. The district’s coaching cadre includes six language‑arts/social‑studies learning facilitators and six math/science learning facilitators; each serves roughly four to seven campuses. The district also has a pre‑K learning facilitator who serves pre‑K teachers districtwide.
Dr. Fitzhugh noted that the Istation platform is available in English and Spanish for reading, but the math assessment is available only in English. He also said the district spends about $500,000 annually to operate the diagnostically focused platform for reading and math, and that the cost is not covered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Board members asked about alternatives and procurement steps; Dr. Fitzhugh said the district is in an RFP (request‑for‑proposals) process for assessment vendors. Trustees and staff discussed how concentrated coaching and rehearsal practices can be scaled, the limits created by fewer central‑office coaches, and the district’s use of principals as campus instructional leaders to extend coaching practices when central coaches are unavailable.
District staff said the mid‑year data will be finalized with Individualized Education Program (IEP) data added later in the spring and that the learning department will return with end‑of‑year results in June.
