Wylie ISD earns Recognized status from TEA

With the release of the state accountability rankings by the Texas Education Agency, Wylie ISD returns to Recognized status as a district, with 14 of its campuses rated as either Exemplary (10) or Recognized (4).  Three campuses are Academically Acceptable, and the Special Programs Center does not receive a rating. 

This information reveals tremendous growth and achievement by WISD students on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exam.  It also reflects the hard work and dedication of the WISD team to enable students make such gains.  Teachers, instructional specialists, instructional aides, principals, administrators, tutors, librarians, coaches and parents have worked tirelessly to help each student meet his/or her potential.   

“We have made these strides due to the focus on engagement and active learning by students,” said superintendent H. John Fuller.  “We have also spent several years aligning our local curriculum with the state’s curriculum to assure that we are teaching the appropriate lessons at the appropriate times,” Dr. Fuller continued.   

T.J. Farler, WISD Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, says that further study of the data reveals more good news about student learning.  “As we continue to analyze the district and campus data, our students showed significant academic increases for student groups that did not count toward a campus rating.  We, as a district, will continue to focus on each student and his/her academic success whether or not it matters on the accountability ratings.” Dr. Farler said.  

This year’s Exemplary campuses are: Wylie East High School, Harrison Intermediate School, Akin, Birmingham, Cox, Dodd, Groves, Hartman, Smith and Whitt Elementary schools. 

Recognized campuses are: Wylie High School, Davis Intermediate, Draper Intermediate and Tibbals Elementary School. 

Campuses rated as Academically Acceptable are: Burnett, Cooper and McMillan Junior High schools.  The teachers and principals at the junior high schools will continue to focus on the science area in the future since it is the only subject that kept all three campuses from a higher rating.   

Although science was an inhibitor in some of the rankings, WISD students are progressing well in science.  “It is interesting to note that at the district level, all groups showed an increase in achievement in math and science (All Students, African American, Hispanic, White and Economically Disadvantaged),” Dr. Farler said.  “This growth was also evident at the campus level.  Some campuses ( Burnett, Cooper, Davis, Draper, Harrison) increased performance in science more than 10 points (double digit increases) as compared to last year’s results.” 

Dr. Fuller attributes much of the recent success to the strong support of parents, education partners and the community.  “We appreciate the numerous ways in which the community works with and for its schools and students,” he said. 

“However, I want to thank each staff member for the dedication and hard work,” he said.  “I also want to thank the trustees for their commitment to excellence and for providing the necessary resources.   As a team we are able to do great things for students.”