East Central ISD reports incremental academic gains; attendance up but discipline target unmet

Superintendent staff Jonathan Bower and Jeff McCaskill briefed trustees on the district’s long‑term academic goals and early‑year progress, noting mixed results across grade levels and campuses.

Bower framed the district’s goals as ambitious, saying the algebra proficiency target is set at 45 percent "at that higher level," and later describing campus‑level variation across grades. He told trustees the district has set a North Star and several operational result measures to track progress. On early data, the district reported 93.7 percent attendance in the first quarter — up from 92.9 percent at the same point last year — and highlighted specific campus improvements, including double‑digit gains at some high schools.

Discipline incidents have fallen about 10 percent relative to the prior year, short of the 30 percent reduction the district targets. Trustees asked staff to disaggregate the discipline data to separate minor infractions (dress code, out‑of‑area) from more serious conduct; staff agreed to provide that breakdown in next month’s packet.

Bower and colleagues pointed to several bright spots in achievement: three campuses are already on track for the 5th‑grade math goal, Salado rose to 51 percent on a 5th‑grade measure, and 3rd‑grade literacy reached about 51 percent at its top performing campus — improvements the presenters described as encouraging early indicators.

Trustees requested both trend comparisons (before/after) and the underlying data slides in advance of future meetings so they can probe interventions that are producing gains. Administration said it will supply the requested disaggregated discipline data and side‑by‑side monthly comparisons.