Pearl Elementary lays out turnaround plan; district details federal grant funding
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Summary
Pearl Elementary presenters described instructional strategies, tiered interventions and a three-bucket turnaround plan; Miss McWilliams summarized federal grant allocations (Title I/II/III/IV, IDEA-B and Perkins) that support interventions and staffing across campuses.
At a Nov. 4 Georgetown ISD workshop, Pearl Elementary staff described instructional changes they say helped the campus rise nine points from a 57 to a 66 rating and outlined steps to reach a target of 73 by year-end.
An on-campus presenter highlighted collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs), the use of high-quality instructional materials, exemplar-based lesson planning, and daily data cycles: teachers use short unit assessments (TFAR/TEA and local benchmarks loaded into Eduphoria) to group students and adjust instruction. The presenter framed coaching and bite-size feedback cycles for teachers as central to building consistent classroom practice.
District leaders and trustees asked detailed monitoring questions. Staff explained that instructional coaches and campus PLCs review beginning-of-year benchmark data, short unit assessments and daily classroom observation notes to identify gaps by student group and to plan Tier 2 and intensive Tier 3 interventions. The presenter noted Pearl Elementary has about 30% special-education enrollment and described Tier 3 as very intensive (about 45'50 minutes) delivered by interventionists and special-education staff.
Miss McWilliams then briefed trustees on federal grants that fund a range of campus supports. She listed the main streams for 2025'26: Title I Part A (supplemental funds targeted to high-poverty campuses; prior-year carryover examples noted at $268,231 rising near $300,000 in one column), Title II Part A (professional learning, ~ $320,000), Title III Part A (English-language acquisition, about $240,500), Title IV (supplements for well-rounded programs), IDEA-B special-education formula funding (about $2.3 million used mainly for salaries and specialized services), and Carl D. Perkins CTE funds (about $103,000). "If title funds cease flowing from the federal government to the district, we would have to figure out how to sacrifice part of that $2,200,000 fund," a district leader said, summarizing the district's exposure to federal allotments.
Staff emphasized that Title funds are supplemental and allocated to campuses based on concentration of economically disadvantaged students; they also described tutoring and in-day supports (including retired-teacher tutoring) funded through these grants. Trustees asked clarifying questions about how positions coded to federal funds would be handled and staff said those choices would be part of budget planning if federal support changed.
The campus update and grant briefing concluded with an invitation for trustees to follow up as campuses implement the plan and monitor benchmarks and intervention outcomes.