The event, which was hosted by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, included representation from both RISD and PISD as well as city of Richardson officials.
Among the topics discussed during the State of the District was the issue of continued growth among students. Despite concerns about a learning gap because of the pandemic, both Branum and Williams said their respective districts are confident in the growth of their students going forward.
“There's no program or thing that you can buy that is going to all of a sudden accelerate learning,” Branum said. “It is about every teacher ensuring that we are designing high levels of quality instruction day to day. We feel like we are putting the right tools in place with the right support for us to accelerate that achievement.”
To help with the academic gap, both districts use Measures of Academic Progress exams to help analyze growth compared to the previous year. MAP results are utilized by PISD and RISD as tools to assess areas of improvement throughout the year for each student, Williams said.
“Our teachers are able to use our assessments along the way to monitor progress and intervene with students rather than waiting for the end of the year for STAAR results to come,” Williams said. “They're able to use that data along the way to make the appropriate adjustments so that our students are learning and growing and improving.”
Branum said RISD is working toward providing more crisis counselors at junior highs and high schools in order to help students feel comfortable in the classrooms
“We know in order for [students] to be able to focus on their academics, they need to be emotionally in a safe place where that can be their focus,” she said. “Adding additional layers of emotional support are instrumental in the work.”
In order to tackle the issue of teacher shortage, Williams said PISD is hoping to increase compensation for teachers, tackling an increase in base salary over the spring.
“We need to make sure that we're able to offer a good compensation for our teachers,” she said. “In the North Texas area, it's a challenge because we're all competing for the same workforce.”
RISD’s board of trustees passed an increased compensation plan in May, raising teachers' starting salary to $57,000 beginning with the 2022-23 school year. In addition, Branum said the district is providing other cost-saving measures for its employees, including providing a paid internship for student teachers and offering day care.
RISD is also making a priority to ensure its students are well enriched once they enter the workforce, updating a graduate profile and offering internship opportunities for students, according to Branum.
