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Mendez Middle School reports higher attendance, fewer suspensions and strong midyear assessment gains
Summary
School leaders told the Austin Independent School District board that average daily attendance rose to 88%, suspensions fell from 57 to 44, and students posted 2.07 years of NWEA growth in four months; leaders outlined steps on staffing, parent engagement and a planned sixth‑grade expansion.
Mendez Middle School leaders presented a winter academic report to the Austin Independent School District board, saying average daily attendance rose to 88% and disciplinary incidents decreased while midyear assessment scores showed large gains.
Jeremiah Willis, principal at Mendez Middle School, said the school’s average daily attendance (ADA) improved to 88% from about 80% at the same point last year. "We are currently at 88, for our ADA," Willis said, praising targeted outreach to families.
The presentation also highlighted discipline data. Willis said total student suspensions at midyear dropped to 44 from 57 the previous year, a decline of 13 incidents. "We have been very intentional on communicating expectations, being consistent with expectations, modeling those expectations day in and day out," he said, crediting school staff for the change.
A central focus of the report was student growth on the NWEA (referred to in the presentation as NWA) MAP assessment. A district staff member identified as a network staff member said Mendez students "experienced 2.07 years of growth in approximately 4 months time," and noted a 9.3 percentile-point increase. That same staff member described results from the SRT (system review team) audits: Mendez scored 75% proficient in December and reached an "exemplary" level at 86% on later spot observations, with average spot scores of 6.9 out of 10.
School leaders described several operational and programmatic items tied to sustaining growth. Willis and district staff outlined leadership-development work that includes teacher-leader responsibilities (open/close the building, lead professional learning communities, conduct classroom observations) and a district process to interview two teacher leaders for assistant principal readiness in February. The presentation noted an internal target that 50% of teacher leaders be "AP ready" by February.
Willis said parent engagement is increasing but that the school has "no official numbers" to report; recent activities included a Lotería night, athletics information sessions, and upcoming parent‑teacher conferences. Elective offerings returning this semester include cooking, art, photography and MMA. School staff said eighth-grade students are finalizing a travel list for a trip to Germany and that the group may be larger than in past years.
On staffing and facilities, district staff said teacher intent‑to‑return timelines and staffing plans are expected in February, with follow-up work through March to secure desks, chairs and teacher technology for an expected sixth‑grade expansion next year. Staff also said they hope to run a voluntary summer program in 2025 to welcome rising sixth graders.
The presenters took questions from the board after the summary. No formal board actions or votes were recorded in the portion of the transcript covering the Mendez report.
Looking ahead, school and district staff said they will present further details at the January 30 board meeting and during routine network reviews to track whether the midyear gains are sustained through the spring.
