THE LEADER March 9, 2017
La Porte Independent School District Every Student’s Success Is Our #1 Priority
Luke Gibson wins third La Porte ISD Spelling Bee championship Feb. 23
Luke Gibson, second from left, is the winner of the 2017 La Porte ISD spelling bee, with Tristan Harper, second from right, the runner-up. Luke, an eighth grader at Lomax Junior High School, correctly spelled “scenario” after 18 rounds to earn his third district spelling bee championship. Luke also won first place in 2014 and 2015, and Tristan was the 2016 district champion. Congratulating them are their respective principals, Dr. Larry Gerhart and Candace Pohl. Following the event, the participants enjoyed bee-shaped cookies and an outing for pizza before returning to their campuses.
Campus spelling bee winners display the certificates they received after participating in the La Porte ISD Spelling Bee on Feb. 23 at the LPISD Administration Building.
Luke Gibson, an eighth grader at Lomax Junior High School, successfully spelled the word “scenario” after 18 rounds to earn his third La Porte ISD Spelling Bee championship. Tristan Harper, a seventh grader at La Porte Junior High, was the runner-up in the competition, which was held on Feb. 23 at the LPISD Administration Building. Both students have been standouts at the district-level competition for several years. Luke also won first place in 2014 and 2015, and Tristan was the 2016 district champion. Luke will advance to the 2017 Houston Public Media Spelling Bee later this spring. Following the event, the participants enjoyed bee-shaped cookies and an outing for pizza before returning to their campuses. The top three competitors from each campus spelling bee advanced to the district contest. Participants included Michael Bradshaw, Kayla Juarez and Camila Vela from Bayshore Elementary; Julian Arrellano, Ann Nguyen and Lynn Nguyen from College Park Elementary; Bekah Gilmore, Nathan Jaramillo and Marvin Jerezano from Leo A. Rizzuto Elementary; Daniel Ortiz, Aiden Sparks and Victoria Starns from Jennie Reid Elementary; Tristan Chavez, Amy Du and Laurie Livingston from Lomax Elementary; Issac Joji, Yasmine Mohammed and Benjamin Whitfield from Heritage Elementary; and Keren Fuentes, Makayla Gonzalez and Charlyee Rogers from La Porte Elementary. The contest also included Isabella Balboa, Jason Porter and Christian Ventura This year’s La Porte ISD Spelling Bee included three sisters who were finalists at their from James H. Baker Sixth Grade Campus; Justin Kay and Anthony Sommer from respective campuses. From left are Lynn Nguyen from College Park Elementary, Lily Nguyen La Porte Junior High School; and Lily Nguyen and Caleb Urbano from Lomax Junior from Lomax Junior High School; and Ann Nguyen from College Park Elementary. High School.
Research analyzes campus rating system based on 2015-16 school year
Using the methodology of the Texas Education Agency’s new A-F school rating system, most La Porte ISD campuses would have received an overall rating of “B” for the 2015-16 school year, according to research conducted by Moak, Casey & Associates. Moak, Casey & Associates, a company highly regarded for expertise in Texas school finance and accountability issues, recently released a report on the distribution of A-F campus ratings for their client districts. This report determined what the 201516 overall rating letter grade for each campus would have been with the inclusion of Domain V, Community and Student Engagement, and using the Texas Education Agency’s proposed methodology for determining what the overall grade would be. In early January 2017, the Texas Education Agency released a list of provisional A-F ratings that each school and district would have received in four domains (Student Achievement, Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps and Post-Secondary Readiness) had the proposed A-F rating system, scheduled to begin in 2018, been in place for the 2015-16 year. The provisional ratings did not in any way impact the official 2016 district or campus accountability ratings in which La Porte ISD and all of its campuses were rated “Met Standard,” which is currently the highest rating available. In its January report, TEA did not release provisional ratings for Domain V, Community and Student Engagement, or overall ratings for each district and
campus. Moak, Casey & Associates used the 2016 Community and Student Engagement ratings for La Porte ISD campuses as well as the methodology for determining the overall rating, as explained in the Texas Education Agency’s Dec. 30, 2016, A-F Ratings Report, to calculate the overall letter grades for the schools. In answer to the research question, “What is the distribution of A-F campus ratings using TEA’s Dec. 30 A-F report and methodology?,” the chart at left shows Moak, Casey & Associates’ determination of each La Porte ISD school’s overall letter rating. According to the firm’s calculations, 10 La Porte ISD campuses would have received a “B,” while La Porte Elementary School would have received a “C.” Viola DeWalt High School is a campus subject to alternative accountability ratings, and Moak, Casey & Associates did not rate it as part of this research. TEA’s Dec. 30, 2016, A-F Ratings Report on the proposed system explains that 55 percent of the overall rating would be based upon Domain I, Student Achievement; Domain II, Student Progress; and Domain II, Closing Performance Gaps. Domain IV, Post-Secondary Readiness, would account for 35 percent of the overall grade, with Domain V, Community and Student Engagement, accounting for 10 percent of the overall grade. The 55 percent represented by Domains I, II and II would include the best of either Domain I or II (35 percent of the overall grade) and Domain III (20 percent of the overall grade). These domains reflect student performance on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). “The data that drives the ratings is just that—data. While there is still great opportunity for growth, we are very proud of the progress and achievement that it represents,” said Lloyd W. Graham, La Porte ISD superintendent of schools. “That having been said, we believe that the proposed A-F rating system is not a fair representation of what happens in our schools. Simple grades of A-F cannot adequately reflect the efforts of our students and teachers, their individual successes, or other factors that make our schools outstanding environments for learning.” The La Porte ISD Board of Trustees joined many other districts throughout the state in calling on lawmakers to repeal the A-F rating system by approving a resolution at its Jan. 24 meeting with a 5-1 vote. Graham added that the district’s goal is to “increase achievement and success for each student through rigorous, broadbased academic programs and numerous co- and extracurricular activities that cannot be accurately validated by this proposed accountability system.”