Wylie ISD: Just the Facts

The facts: CRT and similar content are banned in Texas. Senate Bill 3, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2021, prohibits school districts from teaching or practicing CRT or like-framework. Wylie ISD follows the state-mandated Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

There is zero indication that district teachers are teaching anything other than the TEKS or following the required scope and sequence. Wylie ISD is proud of its incredibly talented and dedicated educators, many of whom are homegrown and exemplify the community’s values. Additionally, per Board Policy EMB (LOCAL), “teachers shall not use the classroom to transmit personal beliefs regarding political or sectarian issues.”

With all that said, teachers are human and sometimes mistakes are made – it’s happened here in Wylie. However, there are processes in place to remediate these situations. While the district may not always be able to share details about personnel issues, schools exist to educate students, and Wylie ISD is committed to providing students with an exceptional education that aligns with state requirements. One of the best ways to ensure a student's success is through open and transparent conversations. The quickest and most effective way to address situations is at the most direct level. The district strongly encourages parents to contact their student’s teachers if they have any questions or concerns about the content taught in class. Of course, parents may always contact a campus or district administrator, but the district recommends contacting the teacher first. 

While the education of children is a partnership and shared responsibility between families and schools, Wylie ISD also believes and agrees many conversations are best had at home between a student and their family.

The facts: The State of Texas requires school districts to integrate positive character traits and personal skills into instruction. What does that look like in Wylie ISD? It’s the Wylie Way movement. Community members may wonder, “well, whose attitudes, values, and beliefs did we go with?” and that’s a great question! In 2011, the district formed a committee to help formulate and determine the values and skills it wanted to instill in students. Members of the 30-person committee included parents, pastors, city leaders, business leaders, and former district board members. These individuals helped the district land on the values of respect and responsibility, caring and giving, and grit and preparation – traits that the district believes all families want their children to embrace and encompass. Wylie ISD later added celebration and gratitude to that list. Community values are in alignment with the state requirements for positive character traits and personal skills, which are:

• Courage
• Trustworthiness, including honesty, reliability, punctuality, and loyalty
• Integrity
• Respect and courtesy
• Responsibility, including accountability, diligence, perseverance, self-management skills, and self-control
• Fairness, including justice and freedom from prejudice
• Caring, including kindness, empathy, compassion, consideration, patience, generosity, charity, and interpersonal skills
• Good citizenship, including patriotism, concern for the common good and the community, responsible decision-making skills, and respect for authority and the law
• School pride
• Gratitude

On Sept. 30, 2022, the district sent parents information about its character education student survey. To measure the effectiveness of Wylie ISD’s character education program, and in collaboration with the University of Florida, the district designed and developed a politically-neutral student survey. Principals, assistant principals, counselors, and other district administrators vetted each question. These surveys, and all surveys, are entirely voluntary, and parents were provided the opportunity to opt their children out of participating. 

Texas Education Code requires that school districts must teach positive character traits and personal skills. They are to reflect positive beliefs, attitudes, and mindsets and districts must provide opportunities for self-reflection. The surveys sent to students and the rationale provided for each question may be found below.

• Grades 3-6 rationale
• Grades 7-12 rationale

Notes in yellow are from the University of Florida’s research department and those in green are from Texas Education Code.

The facts: Wylie ISD is home to more than 200,000 books. Librarians are tasked with selecting material for libraries, using the following criteria:

• Wylie ISD Board Policy EF (LOCAL)
• School Library Programs Standards and Guidelines for Texas
• Resources from professional organizations
• Academic book reviews, grade level recommendations
• Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
• Teacher interest
• Student interest

While it’s difficult to know the exact content of each book, throughout the course of each school year, Wylie ISD librarians spend time “weeding” books that do not meet collection standards. This is standard library practice. Books are weeded every year for a variety of reasons, including lack of student interest or poor circulation (never checked out), damaged condition, outdated material, and/or to create physical space for newly acquired books. The primary reason for books being “weeded” in Wylie ISD is due to a lack of student interest/poor circulation.

From Aug. 1, 2021 to Oct. 26, 2022, district librarians weeded more than 15,000 books from high school and junior high libraries.

The district provides parents the ability to view books their student has checked out from the library via the Wylie ISD mobile app. Parents also reserve the right to determine if there is content not suitable for their child, or if they would like to block their child from checking out any book from the library. Additionally, an individual may challenge an instructional resource by following Board Policy EF (LOCAL). While Wylie ISD will always review books brought to its attention, it’s also important to note:

Students’ First Amendment rights are implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library. A district shall not remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the district disagrees. A district may remove materials because they are pervasively vulgar or based solely upon the educational suitability of the books in question. Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982).

Wylie ISD libraries do not contain pornography.

The facts: Wylie ISD celebrates America, and patriotism is often exhibited at district schools and events. Students study TEKS addressing United States History throughout K-12 Social Studies, including courses on U.S. History in grades 8 and 11, as well as the United States Government in grade 12. Students in grades K-12 also recognize Celebrate Freedom Week annually in their social studies classes. This is a detailed look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It typically coincides with Constitution Day, which is Sept. 17.

Patriotism is also written into the positive character trait and personal skills requirements. Under the title of Good Citizenship, it reads: having concern for the common good and the community; having respect for authority, law, justice, and the rights of others; being free from prejudice; having gratitude and school pride; being courteous, fair, and patriotic; and making responsible decisions.

In May 2022, the district proudly shared that the local American Legion group presented a 40-minute program focused on flag etiquette to McMillan Junior High students. It’s a program the district hopes to bring to other schools. 

Read more: McMillan Junior High Students Learn Important American Flag Lessons

Wylie ISD also hosts an annual Veterans Day breakfast and program to recognize and honor those who bravely served this country. 

Additionally, Board Policy AE (LEGAL) states, “Educators shall cultivate in students an informed American patriotism and lead students in a closed study of the founding documents of the United States and Texas.”

The facts: From crises to general updates, the district communicates information through a variety of platforms to reach audiences via their preferred communication tool. 

This includes, but is not limited to: newsletters, the superintendent's blog, board notes, the Wylie ISD district and campus websites, social media, Wylie Community News, emails, automated mass telephone calls, employee newsletters, local media, Peachjar, campus announcements and posters on the walls. 

Families and the community must remember that privacy laws, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or, in some cases, police investigations, prevent the district from disclosing certain information. 

The district strives to improve communication and welcomes ideas for improvement. Any suggestions may be shared with the communications department at communications@wylieisd.net.

The facts: Every Wylie ISD school achieved an overall “A” rating for the 2021-22 school year. The district itself achieved an “A.” Wylie ISD is the only school district in Texas with more than 10,000 students to accomplish such a feat.

Read more: Wylie ISD’s academic accountability report

Schools in the State of Texas are not given "A" ratings or ratings in Reading, Math, Science, or Social Studies. Schools may be given Distinction Designations in English Language Arts/Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, Academic Growth, Closing the Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.

What are distinctions? Per the TEA, “a distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.”

More information: TEA Distinction Designations

Out of the 19 eligible Wylie ISD campuses, the following are how many schools earned a distinction in each area:

• 5 campuses earned ALL eligible distinctions
• Reading ELA - 10 campuses
• Math - 12 campuses
• Science - 6 out of 8 eligible campuses
• Social Studies - 1 out of 5 eligible campuses
• Top 25% Comparative Academic Growth - 14 campuses
• Top 25% Closing the Gap - 14 campuses
• Postsecondary Readiness - 15 campuses - postsecondary readiness is the only distinction a school district can earn, and Wylie ISD earned it!
• Due to its unique campus type, Achieve Academy was not eligible to receive distinctions, but the campus received an overall score of 99.

Not every Wylie ISD campus received a distinction in every area. However, what students and staff accomplished post-pandemic is no easy feat and is something to celebrate. While school districts across the state struggled to overcome COVID learning loss, Wylie ISD managed to close the gaps. This was achieved through the intentional and thoughtful spending of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, the hiring of interventionists, the tireless efforts of teachers, and the determination of students.