Principals highlight targeted interventions and writing work as campuses aim to raise STAR scores
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Summary
Principals from multiple Goose Creek CISD campuses described strategies—small‑group interventions, strategic monitoring, curriculum alignment and writing initiatives—to reduce zeros on constructed responses and close achievement gaps; trustees asked for examples, replication plans and support needed.
Several Goose Creek CISD principals presented campus‑level strategies the district is using to raise student performance in Tier 1 instruction and targeted interventions.
Ashville Smith Elementary Principal Lacey Gordon credited Region 4 coaching, strategic monitoring of Tier 1 instruction and alignment with a new curriculum for a one‑year gain; she said the campus is aiming for a 10‑point increase to reach a 'C' rating. "One of the strategies that we use was strategic monitoring... shifting teachers' mindset on how to assess students in the classroom," Gordon said.
Carver Elementary Principal Erica Smith described systematic small‑group interventions, extra planning time for teachers and a weekly check of intervention effectiveness. "We are intervening on real‑time data and seeing a positive impact," she said, attributing the campus gain shown in the presentation to that approach.
Gentry Junior School and Stewart Career Tech leaders discussed reducing zeros on short and extended constructed responses (ECRs) by embedding writing across content and calibrating scoring rubrics. District teachers and CNI staff reported school‑wide initiatives that require teachers to submit student artifacts and allow instructional coaches to do targeted walk‑throughs.
Trustees asked for practical replication steps. One asked which strategies Carver and Asheville Smith could share with campuses showing declines; principals described frequent, scheduled collaboration time and cross‑campus sharing of lesson and assessment practices. Administrators noted statewide changes to ECR expectations and the district’s new Bluebonnet Learning curriculum as drivers of recent shifts in writing outcomes.
Board members and administrators agreed to continue district supports and share more granular data (for example, ECR scoring trends and how zeros are being reduced) at future meetings. No formal action was taken.