Aransas Pass ISD trustees review STAAR gains in reading, flag 4th‑grade math as top priority

Aransas Pass ISD trustees met in a special strategic roundtable to review interim and spring assessment results and district strategies to accelerate student learning. Miss Wall, the district director of curriculum and instruction, led the presentations and campus leaders described reading and math trends, staffing adjustments and plans for targeted interventions.

The roundtable focused on recent STAAR and interim data and district strategic objectives 1.1 and 1.3. Miss Wall said the district is "seeing some encouraging growth" in English language arts and reading but noted that movement at the "masters" level remains limited. She called for strengthening Tier 1 reading instruction across campuses while continuing progress monitoring and PLC cycles.

Campus presenters gave more granular detail. Rose Tran, presenting AC Blunt Middle School results, said 7th‑grade reading approaches increased from 57% to 73%, meets rose from 34% to 40%, and masters climbed from 6% to 17%. Tran credited a mix of staffing supports and focused PLC work for those gains and said the team will use that result as a model for other grade levels.

Miss Wall highlighted math as the district's highest-need area but noted an Algebra I strength: "Algebra 1 showed strong performance with 84% approaches, 49% meets, and 23% masters." She described inconsistent performance from grades 3–8 and said the district will "strengthen Tier 1 math instruction, increase problem‑solving rigor, and provide targeted interventions" to move more students from basic proficiency to higher performance bands.

At Charlie Marshall, Miss Wall said 3rd‑grade gains were notable but 4th‑grade math remains a priority after multiple midyear teacher changes. The district plans structured data reviews (six‑ and three‑week cycles), classroom observations, lesson rehearsals and coaching to address gaps in 4th‑grade math and increase fidelity to high‑quality instructional materials.

At Falk Early Childhood, the campus presenter reported campus‑wide reading increases from pre‑K through 2nd grade and reductions in students at highest risk. The presenter said kindergarten shows uneven math readiness and described plans to add phonics supports (Heggerty), increase fluency and expand progress monitoring and manipulatives for early grades. Naomi Stevens was named as the full‑time instructional coach to be housed at Falk.

Administrators also noted personnel and timeline items: the district expects to add Kelly Nesloni under the Teacher Incentive Allotment program and said official accountability ratings are likely to be released around Aug. 12, while state science percentages remained pending a July 31 release. Miss Wall said she will compile trustees' "likes and wonderings" feedback and follow up by email on items requiring additional information.

Trustees praised campus staff and emphasized consistent expectations and common language across campuses. A long‑serving trustee noted that enthusiasm from campus leaders helps translate plans into classroom practice. No formal actions or votes were taken during the roundtable; the district will present a TIP (Targeted Improvement Plan) review for information at the regular board meeting.

The special strategic roundtable concluded at 6:33 p.m.; the regular board meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.