Bryan ISD approves plans to improve student outcomes at 4 campuses

The Bryan ISD board of trustees unanimously approved targeted improvement plans for four campuses during a Feb. 23 meeting.

The plans outline strategies to improve student outcomes and were approved as part of the consent agenda following a public hearing on the plan details.

The big picture

Jill Morris, director of accountability, research, evaluation and assessment, said state law requires BISD to create targeted improvement plans for:

• Long Intermediate School
• Rayburn Intermediate School
• Sadberry Intermediate School
• SFA Middle School

At a glance

Targeted improvement plans must be created for campuses receiving funds from the Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities Grant or identified for needing comprehensive support and improvement, Morris said.

All four campuses participate in the LASO grant, and SFA Middle School and Sadberry Intermediate School were also identified as needing support based on 2024 accountability scores from the Texas Education Agency regarding student progress, she said.

SFA Middle School received a C rating in the Closing the Gaps metric, which examines academic achievement, student growth, how well students perform on state tests and English language proficiency. Meanwhile, Sadberry Intermediate received a D rating in this domain, according to the TEA’s website.

The two campuses identified for needing comprehensive support have made progress in the first year of having a targeted improvement plan and are on track to no longer need a campus plan, Morris said, but the state’s process takes two years to measure the campus’s progress.

Morris said the campus improvement strategy focuses on improving outcomes for students through observation and feedback. This includes:

• Equipping campus principals and assistant principals through training to better support campus teachers
• Conducting classroom observations and providing actionable feedback to teachers face-to-face within 48 hours of the observation
• Following up with another observation to ensure progress

Quote of note

“The plan is to have principals better able to support teachers who then are better able to instruct our students, leading to a cultural shift, but then ultimately student outcomes. We want our students to perform and do well,” Morris said.

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct Morris's name in some references.