Bryan ISD approved more bilingual and ESL waivers for continued improvements and student instruction at its Oct. 19 meeting following a report of growing teacher proficiency and scores.
In a nutshell
Bilingual and ESL waivers are meant to give students who use English as a second language more resources for education, along with funding for the programs from the state. According to the Texas Education Agency website, the waivers are a way to serve students who "deserve access to the same programs and instruction that could lead to academic success."
During a presentation to the board on Oct. 19, Director of Bilingual Education Georgeanna Adams-Molina said Bryan ISD students met, outperformed or mastered other emergent bilingual students across Texas on the STAAR assessment, along with the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System test. She also said the district outperformed the state in graduation rates.
“Bryan ISD significantly outperformed the state in graduating these students,” Adams-Molina said. “The state was at 86% last year; Bryan was at 94%.”
The board asked Adams-Molina about potential challenges she and the district go through with the curriculum and praised the program’s growth. She explained the challenges can be intense, but are overall rewarding.
“It’s very difficult and rigorous,” Adams-Molina said. “Every year, we have a moment where students are reclassified and we’re building those numbers each year.”
By the numbers
According to the presentation, Bryan ISD has 268 emergent bilingual students who are proficient in English, a 300% increase from 67 students in the 2022-23 school year. Adams-Molina said she was grateful for the continued support and success.
“It’s all coming together and working and we’re starting to see a lot more student success,” Adams-Molina said.
Bryan ISD Superintendent Ginger Carrabine said the numbers are heading in the right direction, but the district still needs to recruit and retain teachers for the future of the program.
The impact
The board unanimously approved the motion and praised Adams-Molina’s presentation. The passage of five bilingual exceptions and 59 ESL waivers shows an overall downward trend since the 2019-20 school year.
