Harlandale ISD previews campus and district improvement plans, recommends STEMscopes and Bluebonnet continuation

Miss Casey, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the Harlandale ISD Board of Trustees at the Dec. 10 work session that every campus’ improvement plan focuses on raising reading and math achievement, closing gaps for special education and emergent bilingual students, and increasing attendance.

"All campuses have goals to improve academic achievement in both reading and math and to increase the meets and masters on STAR performance," Miss Casey said. She described district strategies including professional learning communities, instructional coaching, targeted interventions and social-emotional learning supports.

The district also presented district-level priorities for implementation: accelerated learning, high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) rollout across grades, campus-level instructional coaching, and resource management aimed at a balanced budget and improved technology infrastructure. Miss Casey said the district conducts monthly data reviews and quarterly progress updates to track those efforts.

On curriculum, the math committee recommended adopting STEMscopes for grades K through algebra I for the 2026–27 school year. Miss Casey said the recommendation builds on the district’s Strong Foundations planning grant work and cited teacher familiarity with STEMscopes (already used for science) and its built-in intervention component as key benefits.

"The recommendation is that we move forward with adopting STEMscopes," Miss Casey said, adding that teachers had the opportunity to review multiple state-adopted resources before final electronic ballots were submitted on Nov. 19.

Board members asked about teacher feedback and vendor experience; Miss Casey said the district had performed walkthroughs but not a formal anonymous survey yet and offered to implement one. She identified Pleasanton ISD as a local district that has used STEMscopes successfully and said she would provide a list of other districts using the platform upon request.

Miss Casey also asked the board to continue the implementation status for the Bluebonnet K–5 Spanish reading program so the district remains eligible for LASSO LIFT grant funds. The district applied for the grant two weeks earlier and expects notification in February; if awarded, the grant could fund implementation supports for up to three additional years.

Finally, Miss Casey presented the proposed library materials lists and reminded the board that state law requires a public posting for at least 30 days before final approval; she said no questions have been received on the posted list so far.

The board did not vote on these curriculum or library items at the work session; staff asked trustees to review the materials and prepare for formal action at a subsequent board meeting.