Port Isabel Junior High presents targeted improvement plan after math growth lags

Port Isabel Junior High campus principal Deborah Quist presented the school's Targeted Improvement Plan and explained why the campus remains focused on math growth despite the removal of a formal 'targeted' designation. Quist said beginning‑of‑year NWEA math growth places the campus at the 38th percentile nationally among test‑takers and that the campus applied for and received an Effective Schools Framework grant to support improvement. "It shows that we are at the 38th percentile, so we still have a long way to go," Quist said.

Quist described the strategies the campus is using: instructional feedback and observation cycles with the Texas Instructional Leadership Group, campus‑wide routines and procedures to protect instructional time, the district purchase of Carnegie Math as a core curriculum, and schedule adjustments allowing some students to take two daily math periods (often with two instructors) to target foundational skills. Quist said the grant requires the campus to maintain a targeted improvement plan even after the designation was lifted; the board heard the presentation and was updated on timelines and next steps.