All About ACE
News from the Spring ISD Advisory Committee on Education
2023-2024 Issue 6
Advisory Committee on Education Convened to Discuss Critical Topics
The district's Advisory Committee on Education (ACE) met on Wednesday, March 27 to discuss important agenda items, including the Spring ISD Focus Areas for the 2023-2024 school year, the most recent Spring ISD master scheduling audit (ABL), and an update on the Spring ISD budget. Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, Superintendent of Schools, began the meeting by encouraging the ACE members to stay the course and to continue focusing on the Spring ISD strategic priorities. Currently, a big focus is on the student outcomes priority, with the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) being right around the corner. "Stay true to the work you are doing with our students and continue to make sure you are implementing the curriculum with fidelity. These practices will help ensure that our students are successful." The Spring ISD secondary curriculum department is currently working on a two-week plan that teachers can use to prepare students for the upcoming STAAR. Dr. Hinojosa continued by letting the committee know that the rating that Spring ISD receives this year will count towards the district accountability.
As it relates to the 2023-2024 focus areas, Spring ISD is seeing an uptick in the attendance percentages. PK is continuing to out perform other grade levels throughout the district. The teachers are making a difference, which will continue to bring students to school. Dr. Hinojosa went on to speak about the focus areas (enrollment, attendance, accountability, and experience) for Spring ISD and shared a story related to "experience." She let the committee know that she recently received a call from a grandmother stating that her grandchild attends Bammel Elementary in Spring ISD and that she wanted to visit the campus. The grandmother was able to visit the campus, had a great experience, and was truly impressed with the campus. Little did the campus know, the grandmother is on the Alabama State Board of Education. The campus treated the grandmother like they would any other parent or visitor, not knowing who the grandmother was and that she also has a strong background in literacy. Experiences matter in Spring ISD.
Dr. Hinojosa closed this segment with a few announcements. She stated that the "PK Signing Day" is on April 1. This is also referred to as Spring ISD PK Registration. The goal for the upcoming school is 2,250 PK students and everyone's support is needed to make that happen. She shared information regarding the Spring ISD Future Teachers Program. Students start in their 9th grade year by taking dual credit courses. Once they complete the program, students in good standing are guaranteed a teaching job in Spring ISD. Lastly, Dr. Hinojosa encouraged the committee to participate in the Spring Livestock Show & Fair-Tri-Club, which supports students in Spring ISD, as well as the local community through the Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM).
Interested in donating to the Superintendent's Stampede? Head to www.springisd.org/stampede.
Want to see more regarding the Spring Livestock Show & Fair? Click HERE.
Always Be Learning (ABL) Presentation
Dr. Matt Pariseau, Chief of Innovation & Student Success, joined the meeting to provide an overview regarding the Spring ISD master schedule audit through ABL. He began by letting the committee know that it had been 8 years since the last audit and there was a need to see the impact the Spring ISD master schedules have on students. The audit also determines if the district is being equitable, allowing all students access to pathways, and areas to potentially save funds, to name a few.
The examples shared during the meeting focused on secondary campuses, however, the committee was given access to the full ABL report. Dr. Pariseau shared that Spring ISD is seeing in the 2nd semester, that schools are having increased attendance rates. Although the end of the year is approaching, which could cause fatigue, low attendance will impact funding in Spring ISD. Texas is one of a few states who does not fund based on enrollment, so the attendance metric is still used in the formula for funding. When attendance numbers are low, districts do not receive the funding to cover the budgets put in place for campuses and departments. On any given day, over 400 students are absent at the Spring ISD comprehensive high schools, which equals to over 3 million dollars a month in funding being lost. On secondary campuses, Spring ISD is at about 27-28 students per class. The report showed that if the average class size was higher, Spring ISD could staff the secondary campuses with less teachers, ultimately saving money.
At middle school campuses, Spring ISD staffs the campuses based on a 30 to 1 student to teacher ratio. Spring ISD is currently at a 22 to 1 student to teacher ratio at the middle school campuses. The change in the teacher to student ratio could equal to more than a 100 teacher difference. He continued by stating that funds would also be saved be ensuring that all middle school campuses go to a 7 of 8 daily schedule, as opposed to a block schedule. Block scheduling provides more time in a particular class, but it cuts down on student opportunities because they have less periods they can go to during the day. A goal in Spring ISD is to make sure that all students that want to participate, can participate. More data from the audit showed that only 47.4% of students participate in Performing and Visual Arts (PVA). With a schedule that allows for the duplication of courses, students could be more likely to come to school. The data also showed that Spring ISD secondary campuses could be offering more sections than are needed.
Dr. Pariseau ended this segment by letting the committee know that the district would be looking at start and end times, master schedules across all of the campuses, recruitment, attendance committees, marketing for all of the campuses, increasing the number of courses Spring ISD offers, and having courses available more times during the day. Spring ISD is transitioning into a new Student Information System (SIS) called Aeries, which will help with the new approach. He assured the committee that training will take place for all teachers on the new SIS platform.
Budget & Finance Process/VATRE
She continued by explaining to the committee that when proposing reductions to the Spring ISD Board of Trustees, they were presented with conservative, moderate, and aggressive options. She further explained that some of the reductions were based on the ABL audit that Dr. Pariseau presented earlier in the meeting. Spring ISD has made 23.5 million dollars in reductions, with a 12 million dollar reduction still remaining. Ms. Westbrooks mentioned that some of the reductions included reducing elementary team leader stipends by 30%, reducing high school hall monitors, reducing central office spending by 10%, reducing car and cell phone allowance spending by $100,000, decreasing graduation budget by 20%, and closing the dual language program at the School for International Studies at Bammel. Current students who attend the campus and participate in the dual language program will have the option of attending Northgate Elementary, Beneke Elementary, or their home campus. Spring ISD will not see a decrease in curriculum resources (i.e. Amplify and Eureka) and teachers will continue to receive all of their materials. For more information regarding the Spring ISD budget reductions, please click HERE.
Ms. Westbrooks explained to the committee that the Voter Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE) only impacts the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate which funds the general fund. She continued by assuring the committee that what is happening in Spring ISD is not unique to Spring ISD. The VATRE gives Spring ISD the ability to bring in funding to address the budget deficit. The funds are recurring and the VATRE requires an efficiency audit. Spring ISD could generate about 10 million dollars by accessing the 3 available golden pennies and would allow Spring ISD to look at salary increases. This will raise taxes, however, it is imperative that the community understands why Spring ISD is requesting this support. If the tax values go up, the community may not see the tax increase. She ended this segment by letting the committee know that the utilization of this is being done by many districts.
Make Your Voice Heard! Talk to Your ACE Representative
Every campus in the district has at least one ACE representative elected by the staff to serve in an advisory role to the Superintendent. Central office representatives are also elected to serve, as well as community members who are appointed by the Superintendent to serve on the ACE as another integral voice.
Over the next month, your ACE representatives will share meeting highlights such as those found in this newsletter. Be on the lookout for updates to be shared at your next faculty meeting (campuses) and or staff special call-meeting (district office). If you want to ensure your views are heard, reach out to your ACE representative. Click HERE to learn who represents you.
2023-2024 ACE Meeting Dates
Mark your calendar for the remaining ACE meetings of the 2023-2024 school year. Contact your representative and look for updates on key district decisions over the coming months.
The next ACE meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 24th @ 5:00 p.m.