Prosper ISD - Who We Are

Who We Are PROSPER INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

We are excited that you are showing interest in Prosper ISD! We are officially the fastest growing district in Texas, giving us so many more students, staff, and families to love every year. As we celebrate this last year as a one high school town, we are also excitedly celebrating the new traditions that will come as we open our second high school. As our PISD Vision best states, we are “Grounded by Tradition, Soaring to New Beginnings.�

As our Graduate Profile demonstrates, at Prosper ISD we are committed to the overall growth of all students and all programs. We are proud of our Academic, Athletic, Fine Arts, and CTE programs that provide our students with a multitude of opportunities to find their niche in life. We are also proud of the commitment to student and staff Social Emotional Health. Our Hope Squads have been a great addition to the district providing many with a source of help and guidance in moments of struggle or need.

We are also committed to the growth of our staff. Both at the campus and the district level, you will find multiple opportunities for growth and learning with campus and district support for your innovation and endeavors toward improving student outcomes in the classroom and beyond.

Prosper ISD is also committed to growing our leadership from within. You will find opportunities to get involved, be mentored, and see doors open providing opportunities for new positions.

Join us as we Soar to New Beginnings!

Sincerely,

Drew Watkins, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools

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Inno va ti

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rowth happens most when we are uncomfortable and struggle in our endeavors. Prosper ISD is committed to providing an educational environment that fosters growth in teachers and students alike through risk-taking, productive struggle, feedback, observation, collaboration and communication. Establishing a growth-mindset culture in Prosper ISD allows for the development of realistic expectations of what it takes to succeed in the world at large ultimately resulting in increased, authentic, transferable student and teacher learning. Ultimately, these action plans will increase student achievement and boost teacher morale.

AP HONOR ROLL

STUDENT INFO 250

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Only school districts in the U.S. and Canada and only school districts in the State of Texas were named to the College Board AP District Honor Roll . This distinction comes from simultaneously achieving increases in access to Advanced Placement courses for more students while maintaining or improving the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP exam. Prosper High School was one of these elite schools named to the Honor Roll in the 10th Annual Report, the first time the district has received the recognition.

99.2%

Attendance Rates

96.2% Graduation Rates

Where did they go?

Class of 2019

4-Year College / University

55%

Military

2%

2-Year College

24%

Employment / Other

19%

Technical College / Trade School

1%

29 20 10

AP Course Offerings

Pre-AP Course Offerings

Dual Credit Course Offerings

885 students took 1,608 Exams. The number of exams taken represents a 23% increase over last school year and reflects 25.6% of the student body taking at least 1 AP Exam.

Average ACT Scores 20.6

23.3

20.6

24

20.9

23.9

20.3

24.1

State

District

State

District

State

District

State

District

20.6

20.5

20.7

20

Region 10

Region 10

Region 10

Region 10

MATH

ALL SUBJECTS

SCIENCE

ELA

Average SAT Scores 515

580

1036

1167

521

587

State

District

State

District

State

District

522

1047

525

Region 10

Region 10

Region 10

MATH

ALL SUBJECTS

ELA

Teachers of the Year

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Elementary

ach of the 12 Prosper ISD campuses nominated a highly qualified and exemplary educator as their 2019 campus Teacher of the Year. Those nominations were reviewed by the Teacher of the Year Committee, and on April 15th, 2019, Prosper ISD announced the 2019 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year.

Ms. Jennifer Brown is a first grade teacher at Rucker Elementary. She has been in education for 12 years teaching in Frisco before coming to Prosper four years ago. Ms. Brown’s campus Principal, Shelly Spears, said that “She is a model for student engagement. Her students are learning during every minute of the day. Teachers ask to watch her teach! Even though she is a model for others, she also continually seeks professional growth. She asks to attend training to support student learning and returns to campus ready to share that learning with all! She also believes in the vision that all students can learn, just not on the same day, or in the same way!’” The quote that Ms. Brown feels best represents her perspective on teaching is “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” -Poet William Butler Yeats.

Secondary

Ms. Lisa Williams is a 7th grade Science teacher at Rogers Middle School. She has been in education for 16 years teaching at Fort Worth, Killeen, Garland and Lovejoy before coming to Prosper four years ago. Ms. Williams’ campus Principal in 2018-2019, Todd Shirley, said that “She sets the standard for teaching at Rogers and models best practices to her colleagues. Her level of commitment to ALL kids is second to none. She does a great job of leading her team and is well respected by her students and the staff as an outstanding educator.

She does not like a lot of attention or recognition but she has been deserving of this honor for years.” The quote that Ms. Williams feels best represents her perspective on teaching is “Every child deserves a champion - an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” -Rita Pierson.

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he PISD RISE Program provides an opportunity for innovative teachers in PISD to submit a proposal in order to pilot cutting-edge instructional strategies, teaching styles, or new educational approaches. RISE looks for educators to pilot a program that seeks a departure from specific aspects of the current curriculum in a sheltered and supported environment. Through the PISD RISE Program, teachers are encouraged to seek out and vet exciting new methods for our students and, ultimately, provide quality data and training for our teachers. This year’s teachers and their innovative ideas are: ºº ºº ºº ºº ºº ºº ºº

Lauren Spurr (Baker) - DESIGN - Data Empowering Students Individual Goals and Needs Brandy Robinson (Boyer) - Culturally Responsive Pedagogy through Social Studies Brooke Stege (Boyer) - Social Emotional Learning in the Literature Immersed Classroom Lacey Kuehn (Rucker) - Critical Thinking and Interdisciplinary Inquiry Dushanca Fowlks (Spradley) - Social Emotional Learning through Writing Cheramie Hawkins (Spradley) - Student Perception with Fact Fluency-Research Kate Jackson (Hays) - Academic Oracy, Communicating Academic Ideas & Concepts with Confidence ºº Torrey Eckert (Reynolds) - SELect - Social-Emotional Learning for Eagles Continuing to Thrive ºº Ashley Slaughter (Reynolds) - Student Monogram - A Student-Centered Approach to Learning Design ºº Shawna Easton (Rogers) - Raising Student Choice and Voice in the Classroom

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uman connection is a key component to positive emotional health and personal growth. Prosper ISD is committed to the belief that a sense of belonging to a greater community improves an individual’s motivation, health, and happiness.

Prosper ISD is committed to ensuring a positive social emotional health for the whole child believing that social emotional learning is a valuable investment in Prosper ISD students’ futures but that it will also add to the overall wellbeing of Prosper ISD staff members. Ultimately, these action plans will help to meet the goal that all Prosper ISD students graduate ready to be contributing members of society in whatever capacity they choose.

Facilities

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uring times of rapid growth, one of the first areas to be impacted is the organizational facilities.

Whether considering schools over capacity or not enough program facilities to meet the growing needs of student involvement, facilities are a focal point that must be assessed. Prosper ISD is committed to providing high quality learning facilities for our students and staff while also developing a solid plan for creating equity and efficiency in regards to programs and facility use in a time of such rapid growth.

ENROLLMENT

as of December 20, 2019

Hispanic/Latino 13.54% American Indian/Alaska 0.40% Asian/Paci c Islander 12.16%

Two or More Races 7.03%

Student Ethnicity

Ethnicity

White 57.68% Black/African American 9.19%

153 130 1,506 1,479 1,424 1,443 1,381 1,359 1,451 1,329 1,215 1,224 1,083 985 807

Enrollment

by Grade

elementary

8,875 Baker (929) Boyer (918) Cockrell (929) Folsom (801) Furr (781) Hughes (759) Light Farms (800) Rucker (680) Spradley (681) Stuber (800) Windsong Ranch (797)

middle

3,974 Hays (1,260) Reynolds (1,538) Rogers (1,176)

high

4,096 PHS (4,096)

Total Enrollment 16,969

Human Resources

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he quality of instruction provided in a classroom or on a campus is directly correlated to the quality of educational professionals providing the collaborative service. To this end, Prosper ISD is committed to recruiting and hiring the best educators available.

Studies have found that students in same race teacher classrooms have reported higher levels of personal effort, postsecondary motivation, academic engagement, and higher achievement. As Prosper grows and diversity increases, our students deserve the opportunity to have a multicultural education provided through a diverse demographic of staff members. Human Resources and campus administration must focus on developing a marketing solution that will target the hiring and retention of a diverse group of highly qualified educators who more closely mirror the cultural diversity of the student population while embedding ongoing cultural training into required professional development.

STAFF INFO Staff Higher Education Degrees

380

2019

1,938

955 1195

1344

1635

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2017

2018

549

667

746

823

Number of Teachers Living in the District

Hispanic/Latino 9.4% Two or More Races 2% American Indian/Alaska <1% Hawaiian or Other Paci c <1% Asian 3% Black/African American 8.6%

Staff Ethnicity NEW STAFF White 76.7%

0

3.7% 23.4%

YEARS

1-5

Staff Years of Experience

24.7%

6-10

37.6%

11-20

10.6%

Over 20

Teacher Higher Education Degrees

Doctorate 1%

Master’s 28%

Bachelor’s 71%

50

Hispanic/Latino 8.9% Two or More Races 1.2% American Indian/Alaska <1% Hawaiian or Other Paci c <1% Asian 1.8% Black/African American 6.9%

Staff Ethnicity ALL STAFF White 80.4%

Finding Future Leaders PROSPER ISD OFFERS A GENEROUS BENEFITS PACKAGE TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN HIGHLY-QUALIFIED STAFF.

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he goal of the Prosper ISD Human Resources Department is to provide excellent customer service to all district employees.

Recognizing the importance of providing Prosper ISD employees a high level of service and support, the Human Resources Department offers a generous benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, LifeWorks mental/emotional support, matching 403(b) up to $100/month, 457(b), and a First Texas Home Savings Bundle.

Prosper ISD is committed to providing our students with the best and most highly-qualified staff. To this end, another position was added this year for recruitment and retention. The goal of the recruitment and retention position is to recruit, select, support, and retain a diverse staff of the most highly qualified and student-focused individuals who are committed to maximizing the potential of all of Prosper ISD students.

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he security of a districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-term ability to provide a quality education is rooted in the stability of its funding and finances. By ensuring that our staff and community members have a clear understanding of funding and finance in relation to public education, we will be able to continue to provide a high quality education for all students in Prosper ISD while holding on to the traditions and pride that is Prosper ISD. By educating the community about school funding and empowering them to vote, we will create a better future by ensuring the hopes and dreams of, not only our current students, but our future students for years to come.

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Prosper Education Foundation “ No other investment yields as great a return as the investment in education.” - Brad Henry

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his Brad Henry quote embodies the proud heritage the community of Prosper has of investing in the local schools. The Prosper Education Foundation (PEF), an organization of parent and community members, “seeks to profoundly impact the success of each PISD student.” The foundation accomplishes that by supporting and encouraging educational excellence, innovation, and achievement in a variety of ways.

2019 PEF Activities included: ºº $175,000 in Scholarships to the Class of 2020 for students heading to traditional four year universities, trade schools, and community colleges. ºº $117,000 in the area of professional development and academic programs including support of the RISE program and the new HOPE Squad. ºº $75,000 to direct teacher support including $100 gift cards for new staff, Star Polisher monthly award recognitions at each campus, and 34 instructional grants to the sum of more than $27,000 in various learning objectives such as leveled libraries, simulated patient care in Health Science, HOPE week for HOPE Squads, sensory support, social-emotional learning, STEM equipment, student training on the impact of social media, and much more.

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ommunication is key to creating understanding both inside the school and outside in the community. When stakeholders know what is going on in the district and on the campuses, they can better partner with the district to

support students and staff. Prosper ISD is committed to a growing, transparent communication that provides opportunities for businesses, parents, and community members to become active participants in the school environment.