In the wake of an internal investigation by Spring ISD that revealed systematic district-wide irregularities with the transcripts of about 600 high school students, the district is moving forward with new administrators and a thorough review of its data security systems. Rather than dwell on mistakes made by previous administrators, Superintendent Rodney Watson—who was appointed to the position in July—said he sees an opportunity to improve the district. Spring ISD transcript issue timeline "Anytime that you find gaps in the system, gaps in processes, I think they need to be closed," Watson said. "It provides us with an opportunity to make sure what we say to parents, what we say to kids, we're actually able to follow through with that and do that."

Genesis of investigation

Through its internal investigation, which began in January, SISD discovered some data on transcripts was incorrect. District officials said in a few cases, some courses were placed on students transcripts twice. In other cases, transcripts were not completed or course information was overlooked. Watson told parents and students gathered at a Feb. 16 community meeting at Dekaney High School that serious issues were identified exposing improper course scheduling and poor transcript management practices. He said the district found negligent mismanagement of records at Dekaney, including missing test results and legal and personal documents found sprawled on the floor of administrative offices. The irregularities found by the district, which serves nearly 37,000 students, affect students across all three comprehensive high schools and have resulted in the resignation or termination of 11 SISD administrators since the investigation began. The Feb. 16 meeting advised graduating seniors and their parents that alternative scheduling might be needed to ensure students meet all state graduation requirements. Similar informational meetings were held for juniors, sophomores and freshmen. The district's investigation began in response to a report the Texas Education Agency issued in December. "[The TEA report] wasn't anything that was specifically pinpointed to Spring [ISD]," Watson said. "It's a data validation report that provides us an opportunity to see [which] kids actually took tests based upon how many could have taken the tests. It's our opportunity to look at those numbers and find out what red flags we needed to look at." TEA information specialist DeEtta Culbertson said preliminary data validation reports were provided in December to districts that reported information that could indicate anomalies in their student assessment data, based on indicators in TEA's Student Assessment Data Validation system. The SADV system is designed to improve student performance and program effectiveness, according to the TEA. The integrity of a district's data is critical to the system. Culbertson said a new indicator in the 2013 SADV—which looks at discrepancies between end-of-course completion data and exit exam data—triggered potential issues with data received from SISD. "Because there is an open investigation pertaining to Spring ISD, we can't provide additional information on Spring ISD," TEA information specialist Lauren Callahan said.

District response

Although Watson said the district could have kept the transcript issues quiet and fixed the problem behind the scenes, he said that option would have been out of line with his philosophy as superintendent. "That's not being honest, that's not being transparent, and when I came to the district I promised our board as well [as] our community that we would be transparent based upon best practices," Watson said. Watson said he could not go into detail about the district's internal investigation on the transcript issue or how the district looked at personnel problems as a whole because the investigation is ongoing. However, the district has already begun taking actions to address the issues. During a special meeting of the SISD board of trustees on Feb. 22, the board unanimously voted to initiate the termination process for Adrian Johnson, director of special projects; Royal Hammond, student success specialist for Westfield High School; and Thad Gittens, associate principal for Wunsche High School. Chief Financial Officer Christine Porter announced her resignation the morning prior to the special meeting, while seven other SISD administrators have also resigned since the investigation began. To fill the vacant positions, the district has hired staffers in key roles, including CFO, Westfield High School principal, assistant superintendent for research, accountability and testing, and director of transportation. In addition to making administrative changes, SISD is looking into concerns raised by parents during community meetings regarding accessibility to counselors and improving communication. "I've heard from countless parents regarding their inability to communicate with district administration but probably more so campus administration," Watson said. Moving forward At its March 10 meeting, the board of trustees approved a proposal to retain the consulting services of iSphere, a Houston-based firm providing IT services and staffing experts to assess the district's handling of its student information system, eSchool. iSphere Consulting Services Director Kemp Fuller said his company was hired by the district to assess the student grade system and look into transcripts and coursework. However, because of the ongoing investigation and a nondisclosure agreement, Fuller was unable to provide specifics about findings with regards to grades and transcripts. It could cost the district up to $130,000 to hire iSphere for six to eight weeks, said Sheleah Reed, executive director of communications for SISD. "[The consultants] will sit over the shoulders of district employees to see how they input and pull information and to try and determine if the gaps were in the technology or created by humans," Reed said. Reed said SISD reached out to Katy ISD, which also uses eSchool, to see how it was using its data management system. KISD recommended the use of iSphere, which KISD has also used for consulting purposes. While SISD is working to prevent future transcript issues in the long term, the district is trying to help affected students in the short term. SISD has worked with the hundreds of students affected by the transcript changes to get them back on track toward completing their graduation requirements. Virtual classes, credit by examination and summer school were options offered by the district to effected students. "We were able to meet the needs of all our kids, except for a little under 60 kids," Watson said. "It's important to understand that for those 60 kids, several of them were not on track to graduate. This issue was not an issue that caused them not to graduate." Rhonda Faust, president of the SISD board of trustees, said the board expects to receive an update on the progress of the investigation and the administration's discussions with the TEA at board meetings in April. Faust said the administration has the board's support. "The internal investigation has progressed in an efficient and appropriate manner," she said. "Our concern remains first and foremost ensuring resolution of any outstanding issues that exist for our students."