AssistantSuperintendent BoardReport

On July 17th, BISD Campus Administrators joined Dr. Wilson, Mrs. Daniel, Mrs. Haggard, and Mr. Dickson in a meeting to review and discuss the District's instructional practices in preparation for the 2024-2025 academic year. The agenda covered a range of critical topics aimed at enhancing educational effectiveness and operational efficiency across the District.

Key discussion points included:

• Grade Level Chair and Department Head Responsibilities: Clarification of the roles, duties, and expectations associated with these positions to ensure effective leadership and coordination within academic departments.
• Tutoring and Intervention Strategies: Establishing clear expectations for teachers regarding tutoring and intervention programs designed to support student learning and address individual academic needs.
• Small Group Instruction: Setting expectations for the implementation of small group instruction across all grade levels, with a focus on personalized learning and targeted support.
• Grading and Make-Up Work Procedures: Reviewing and standardizing grading policies and procedures for handling make-up work to ensure fairness and consistency in student assessment.
• Warrior/Tribe Time: Defining expectations for Warrior/Tribe Time to maximize its effectiveness as a period for student engagement and academic support.
• Professional Learning Communities (PLC): Discussing best practices and expectations for PLCs to foster collaboration among educators and enhance instructional practices.

This meeting was pivotal in aligning our instructional strategies and ensuring that all staff members are well-prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the upcoming school year. The collaborative effort to refine these practices reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in education.

We are pleased to present the 2024 AP test scores. While there was a slight decline in Computer Science performance, which may be attributed to various factors, we will closely monitor the program to ensure positive growth in 2025. In contrast, Computer Science Principles demonstrated outstanding performance in its inaugural year, and continued oversight will be crucial to maintaining this positive trend.

AP Language showed significant improvement, reflecting successful student preparation, which we are enthusiastic about. However, there was an 11% decrease in AP Literature scores. BHS instructional leaders are actively developing strategies to restore and enhance performance in this course.

We are also analyzing instructional practices and student cohorts in Environmental Science to identify and address areas needing improvement. Meanwhile, AP Statistics saw considerable gains, likely due to effective changes in instructional methods and enhanced student preparation.

Finally, AP US History exhibited dramatic improvement, attributed to successful interventions, robust instructional practices, and increased student effort.

Learning, Empowering. Achieving, Discovering!

The 2024 Bonham LEAD Conference, held August 8-9, was a huge success. The conference included two full days of interactive workshops and inspiring speakers and provided learning opportunities for every employee in the District. The conference is a platform for sharing innovative ideas, best practices, and strategies that can enhance teaching and learning experiences for our students. The LEAD Conference also provides our staff an opportunity to choose professional development that addresses their needs and interests.

Our theme this year was the Olympics. Staff at each campus/building received a LEAD Conference t-shirt in one of the colors of the Olympic rings and many represented their campus/building by competing in team-building games during the Conference Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

This year we invited community organizations and businesses to set up vendor booths in the Aux Gym with their "entry fee" being a door prize that would be awarded to staff. Likewise, food truck vendors were also required to donate a door prize as their "entry fee". We were amazed by the incredible turn out of community and business partners at this year's event.

Instructional staff attended a minimum of 9 sessions throughout the conference, most of which were taught by Bonham ISD teachers and staff. Just a few of the session topics presented during the conference are:

• Effective Instructional Strategies
• Differentiated Instruction
• Classroom Management and Procedures
• Social-Emotional Learning
• Assessment and Feedback Methods
• Strategies for GT Students
• Supporting Emergent Bilingual Students
• Customer Service
• Vertically Aligned Instructional Planning

A very special thank you to Bonham ISD Instructional Coordinators, Chris Dickson and Jenny Haggard, for their tireless efforts in putting this event together. The work for this year's event began right after last year's conference ended. They sought employee feedback and made adjustments based on that feedback. They garnered community support and participation to build a stronger connection between our school and community. This conference is their brain child and it's success is a result of their commitment to excellence in Bonham ISD.

Because Bonham ISD is a member of the Region 10 SSA for ESSA Grants, they complete most of the compliance report on our behalf. SSA members submit district-specific grant compliance data to Region 10 for each grant (Title I, Title II, Title III-EL, Title III-IMM, and Title IV). I am currently working on our compliance submission to Region 10 and will have it submitted by the September 3rd due date.

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Campus Principals and I have been working on updating the Site-Based Decision-Making Committee and Title I Parent Meeting Schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. All Title I campuses are required to have an annual meeting to which all parents are invited and encouraged to attend. The purpose of the annual meeting is to inform parents about their school's participation in Title I, Part A and to explain the Title I requirements and rights of parents to be involved. Our campuses usually schedule their annual meetings the first week or two of October. The final schedule will be posted on the District website the first week in September.