Teacher training and student discipline are part of a renewed focus at three Fort Bend ISD campuses this year.

The FBISD board of trustees approved improvement plans at a meeting Dec. 7 for McAuliffe Middle School, Briargate and Ridgemont elementary schools, all of which were rated as “improvement required” for 2015 by the state.

Schools that are rated “improvement required” by the Texas Education Agency do not meet all state standards for student achievement, student progress and postsecondary readiness.

As part of the approved improvement plans, teachers at all three schools will receive additional professional development and training in math, reading and writing in order to update their content knowledge as well as create engaging lessons. Science will also be a focus for teachers at Ridgemont and Briargate, district officials said.

Briargate and McAuliffe also saw disproportionately higher numbers of out-of-classroom placements for students compared to other district elementary and middle schools, officials said. As a result, staff at those campuses will  refer consistently unresponsive children to a mentor and implement behavioral management from the district’s Capturing Kids’ Hearts program.

Created by The Flippen Group, Capturing Kids’ Hearts teaches relationship-building and how to encourage students to be respectful to their peers and teachers.

At McAuliffe the improvement plan calls for teachers to greet their students at the door every day before class, and to take them to a reflection room as a way of de-escalating emotional situations. Parents at both schools will be notified if their child has three absences in a four-week period.

Classroom environment affects student performance but is not measured separately for state accountability ratings, officials said.

Two parents at the evening’s public hearing told the board their concerns about student disciplinary practices at McAuliffe. They said their children were struggling to stay on course because teachers devoted more attention to managing disruptive or insubordinate students.

Officials said programs for curbing behavioral problems, such as C.H.A.M.P.S., are already in place, but that the campus will propose adding a second community liaison in schools next month, FBISD Chief Academic Officer Phillys Hill said.