EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Katy ISD & Texas
HIGHLIGHTS KATY ISD Tompkins High School will receive synthetic turf in the upcoming school year after the board of trustees unanimously approved the item during its Oct. 24 meeting. The $803,000 contract was approved with Hellas Construction Inc. The district also has a contingency worth $70,000. The item was approved by the board of trustees and comes as all KISD comprehensive high schools have a synthetic athletic turf that is part of the overall project design, according to district o cials. The replacement comes as the existing turf is at the end of its life expectancy. Construction is expected to be complete by August 2023. KATY ISD The Texas Education Agency granted Katy ISD an A rating for superior achievement under the agency’s Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. The district has received this rating for 20 consecutive years. This year, KISD passed all critical indicators with a perfect score for the superior achievement designation. Some of these indicators include a documented increase in student enrollment, nancial information posted to the district’s website, and general fund revenues that equal or exceed expenditures throughout the year. The primary goal of the FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of the school district’s nancial resources, a goal made more signi cant due to Texas’ complex school nance system. The Katy ISD board of trustees will meet at 5 p.m. Dec. 12 at 6301 S. Stadium Lane, Katy. 281-396-6000. www.katyisd.org MEETINGS WE COVER NUMBER TO KNOW by 2025 at McElwain Elementary School given Katy ISD attendance boundary modi cations 1,716 Decrease in enrolled students projected
Katy ISD board approves attendance changes
ENROLLMENT EFFECTS On Oct. 24, the Katy ISD board approved three changes to attendance boundaries—e ective August 2023—as the district battles overcrowding. This comes as KISD will look to open two new elementary schools in the same time period.
Projected 2025 enrollment
Projected 2025 enrollment with boundary modi cation
BY HUNTER MARROW
KATY ISD The Katy ISD board of trustees voted unan- imously during its Oct. 24 meeting to approve three attendance boundary modi cations in an e ort to curtail overcrowding at its schools. The approved boundary modi cations touched campuses in the district across three areas: the southwest, northwest, and northeast quadrants. All modi cations will go into e ect in August 2023. Two new elementary schools, Elementary School Nos. 45 and 46, which are scheduled to open in fall 2023 in the north- west quadrant of the district, will relieve Bethke Elementary School, Leonard Elementary School and McElwain Elemen- tary School upon their opening, according to district o cials. Meanwhile, KISD will adjust boundaries for Campbell Elementary School to allow for continued growth in the southwest quadrant. Golbow Elementary School is the nal attendance boundary that will be a ected in 2023. That school attendance boundary was adjusted as KISD faces growth in the northeast quadrant.
First modi cation
Second modi cation
Bethke Elementary School (Capacity: 1,030 students) 1,772 1,154 Leonard Elementary School (Capacity: 1,030 students) 1,774 1,388 McElwain Elementary School (Capacity: 1,030 students)
Campbell Elementary School (Capacity: 1,030 students)
1,661
1,255
Third modi cation
Golbow Elementary School (Capacity: 867 students)
1,205
844
2,917
1,201
SOURCES: KATY ISD, POPULATION AND SURVEY ANALYSTS COMMUNITY IMPACT
Council nds Texans say school accountability should ease STAAR weight
BY HANNAH NORTON
educators, parents and students from across Texas responded to the council’s survey. Per a news release, 83% of Texans who took the 2022 Charles Butt Foundation poll believe accountabil- ity should not be based entirely on STAAR scores. The council recommends an expan- sion of the assessment tools used to determine student success and that the STAAR account for a maximum of 50% of school accountability. The report highlights possible accountability indicators, including
“TEXAS MEASURES STUDENT LEARNING BASED ON ONE TEST ON ONE DAY.” KELLI MOULTON, MEASURE WHAT MATTERS COUNCIL CHAIR
TEXAS Annual accountability ratings for Texas’ elementary and middle schools are based almost entirely on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. The Measure What Matters Council, convened by education policy nonpro t Raise Your Hand Texas, wants to change this. “Texas measures student learning based on one test on one day,” council Chair Kelli Moulton said at an Oct. 25 news conference. Starting in October 2021, over 15,600
attendance rates; teacher retention; and the availability of ne arts, physical education, language courses and extracurriculars.
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KATY EDITION • NOVEMBER 2022
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