McKinney ISD trustees hold team‑of‑8 training; discuss board operating procedures, district goals, MAP norms and communications

Trustees of the McKinney Independent School District spent the bulk of a Sept. 10 special meeting in a team‑of‑8 training and policy review session led by retired superintendent and consultant Kevin Worthy.

Worthy opened by praising the board's interpersonal dynamics and urging a "beginner's mindset" for the new team. "When you have those components, you can move mountains," he told trustees, summarizing the training's emphasis on relationships and productive board‑superintendent work.

Board operating procedures and conduct: Worthy and district leadership reviewed several formal expectations embedded in the boardoperating procedures, including how members should handle complaints and campus visits. Trustees were reminded that complaints sent to all members should be answered by the board president or forwarded to the superintendent; complaints to individual trustees should be shared with the board president and superintendent so administration can attempt resolution. Worthy emphasized confidentiality for matters discussed in closed session and cautioned against public criticism of other trustees after votes.

Campus visits: The procedures call for trustees to visit campuses as invited guests, inform principals at least 24 hours in advance, check in at the office and avoid assuming supervisory roles. "Visit campuses as invited guests and not supervisors," Worthy said, adding that written affirmations to staff "mean a world to them."

Board goals and KPIs: Superintendent Sean Price and Deputy Superintendent Melanie Raleigh reviewed the board's three standing goals for the coming year: (1) increase attention on safety and security; (2) use data to engage students in learning that ensures growth and prepares them for graduation and postsecondary success (including MAP and CCMR metrics); and (3) recruit and retain high‑quality staff. Price presented several KPIs: graduation rates near the high 90s, CCMR (college, career and military readiness) results approaching 98–99 percent for seniors, a reduction in chronic absenteeism described as roughly 1,600 students year‑over‑year, and improvement in open positions from 15 to 9 teacher vacancies at the start of the year.

Trustees discussed adding metrics on facility utilization and on student participation in extracurricular activities. District staff said they maintain an internal target that 80 percent of students participate in at least one extracurricular activity; staff agreed to develop that measure into a formal KPI for goal 2 if the board directs it. Trustees also discussed an educational facilities alignment committee and noted that state reporting requirements tied to facilities (SB 12) will require capacity and utilization information in January 2026.

MAP assessment changes: Becky (district data lead) and Raleigh briefed trustees on the fall MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) assessment. The vendor issued new 2025 norms to reflect post‑pandemic reference groups and introduced an enhanced item selection algorithm (ISA). Raleigh said the new norms change the comparison group but do not require teachers to learn an entirely new reporting format; fall MAP remains the district's baseline diagnostic. "Fall is our baseline," Raleigh said. She explained how teachers use MAP quintiles to plan instruction and flexible grouping for students who need remediation or extension.

Communications and resources: Training also covered the district's trustee landing page and resources, required continuing education tracking, and how trustees can access board books and presentations. Staff offered one‑on‑one assistance after the meeting to ensure trustees could access the landing page and board book materials.

Why it matters: The training emphasized governance best practices—communication, confidentiality, advocacy and shared goals—while the KPI and MAP discussions provide the data framework trustees will use to monitor student growth, safety and staffing. Trustees asked staff for specific KPI refinements (including the extracurricular participation metric) and noted required facilities reporting that will become part of state transparency requirements.

Next steps: Staff will package the sticky‑note outputs from the training into a summary for the board, formalize the extracurricular participation KPI for board monitoring if directed, and proceed with the facilities reporting timeline tied to state requirements.