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South San Antonio ISD details TAPR findings as teachers cite gains from new coaching model
Summary
At a public hearing on Feb. 3, district staff laid out the 2024'-25 Texas Academic Performance Report showing modest gains and persistent gaps; teachers credited cluster collaboration and master-teacher coaching with classroom-level improvements.
Dr. Jennifer Guetz, the district presenter, opened the public hearing Feb. 3 by walking trustees and the public through the 2024'-25 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), describing student outcomes, accountability categories and district-level trends.
Guetz said the October 2024 snapshot showed 7,467 students districtwide and that roughly 92% were economically disadvantaged. She highlighted attendance improvement (from 90% to 91%) and reviewed STAAR/STAR performance across reading, mathematics, science and social studies, noting the district remains below regional and state benchmarks on meets and masters levels. She also said the district's special education determination for the period was "needs intervention," and that corrective action planning is under way.
Why it matters: accountability ratings and TAPR metrics guide campus improvement plans, resource allocation and interventions. Guetz told the board the district has focused on foundational literacy and numeracy and linked campus improvement plans and cluster-based coaching to those goals.
Teachers who shared classroom experience at the hearing credited the district's cluster and master-teacher model with measurable progress. "You can't debate results," said Gwendel Gravit Jr., an eighth-grade science teacher, who described moving a class from 36% to 60% meeting/mastery on unit assessments after implementing cluster strategies and master-teacher modeling. Other classroom presenters described cluster time as protected professional learning that led teams to analyze data, adjust instruction and support students in real time.
District finance and accountability staff also summarized related reports: the financial standards report, accreditation status, and campus improvement plans that set targets for growth. Finance staff noted approximately 50% of operating expenditures are directed to instruction, a point cited to underscore resource alignment with learning objectives.
The hearing was structured for transparency: Guetz pointed trustees and the public to linked, detailed reports for each campus and the district, and said more in-depth review is available through posted documents. No formal board action was taken on the TAPR itself at the hearing; the item was presented for public record and to guide future board oversight.
The board will continue to monitor progress through benchmark results and upcoming reports to ensure intervention plans translate into stronger meets/mastery rates across grades.
