PSJA reports gains for emergent bilingual students; district highlights TELPAS and STAAR improvements
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Summary
District officials presented the annual dual‑language and ESL evaluation showing growth for many emergent bilingual student groups across grade levels and subjects. Trustees asked about language allocation, assessment alignment and supports for campuses that missed targets; staff described targeted TELPAS plans and professional development.
Pharr‑San Juan‑Alamo ISD officials presented the district’s annual evaluation of dual‑language and English‑as‑a‑second‑language programs on Oct. 27, reporting measurable gains for many emergent bilingual students on state assessments and TELPAS language‑proficiency indicators.
Olivia Martinez, director of dual language, told trustees that emergent bilingual students accounted for about 43% of enrollment last year and that more than 1,000 students were reclassified after meeting state criteria. She reviewed STAAR achievement and TELPAS results across elementary and secondary grades, saying the district has closed several gaps at the “meets” and “masters” levels in reading and math and increased TELPAS progress and maintenance percentages in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
“For speaking, we did have a pretty significant growth…we went from 28% to 37% progress,” Martinez said, describing district gains in oral‑language growth and noting that writing remains a focus for continued professional development.
Trustees pressed for details on language allocation and assessment alignment. Trustee Diana Gutierrez reminded the board that district policy calls for 50/50 language allocation in programs the board authorized; Martinez confirmed the 50/50 allocation is the district standard and said the district provides a two‑day institute for new teachers and follow‑up campus support to reinforce implementation. On concerns about assessment language for science instruction at fifth grade, Martinez explained the district pairs classroom Spanish instruction with English lab experiences to provide both language supports and concept reinforcement.
Martinez said campuses that did not meet TELPAS targets submit campus TELPAS plans overseen by campus testing coordinators; district staff monitor those plans and provide campus support through observations, coaching and targeted professional development.
Trustees commended the progress and asked staff to provide counts and additional detail where requested. The presentation did not require a board vote; it was accepted as informational.