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La Joya ISD reports mixed MAP math growth, highlights attendance and instruction as priorities
Summary
District academic leaders presented MAP math growth and goal-progress measures, showing pockets of growth at lower grades but uneven results overall; administrators said attendance, curriculum implementation and instructional practice must improve and announced a transition from district priorities to a five-year strategic plan.
La Joya Independent School District officials reported mixed results for end-of-year MAP math assessments and outlined next steps to improve student outcomes, stressing adult behavior change, attendance and tighter instructional systems.
Chief Academic Officer Dr. Derek Little presented MAP math data across elementary, middle and high school grades. He said the district saw stronger growth in math than it did in literacy this year, buoyed in part by new K'8 math curriculum, but that overall results remain insufficient to meet long-term achievement goals. "We are not providing educational excellence for every student in La Joya ISD," Little said.
Presenters highlighted several contributing factors: the district has high chronic absenteeism in some schools and student groups, which reduces instructional time; middle school outcomes were particularly uneven; and curriculum implementation and the day-to-day application of new materials had not yet produced desired achievement gains. Little said the district restructured middle-school schedules to add 45 minutes per day for targeted support without reducing other classes.
Superintendent Marcy Sorensen repeatedly framed the work around the district's guiding principle: "student outcomes don't change until adult behaviors change." She said the district will shift central-office attention to relentless focus on student outcomes in 2025'26 and will move from annual district priorities to a five-year strategic plan that launches in August.
Board members asked about causes for lower Algebra I results; Little and Sorensen said chronic absenteeism was a key factor and that additional curriculum and stronger supports are planned for high school math next year. Sorensen said the district would be more prescriptive about how supplemental "win time" and other intervention minutes are used so that instruction addresses the documented skill gaps.
Ending: District leaders said they will continue targeted professional learning, implement a new MTSS framework and bring a redesigned campus support model to the board in July; a five-year strategic plan will be unveiled in August with public reporting on metrics three times a year.
