Northwest ISD Community-Based Accountability

Karen G. Rue, Ed.D.Superintendent of Schools

About Northwest ISD• Encompasses 234 square miles• 28 campuses (17 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 3 comprehensive

high schools, 1 accelerated high school, special programs center, and community-based youth residential program)

• 14 towns and cities • 3 counties (Denton, Tarrant, and Wise) • Third fastest growing district in Texas• Approximately 15% built out• Economic stimulus – Alliance Texas• 59 active developments• 3,526 total employees (2,218 full-time employees, 1,298 contract

employees and substitutes)• Growth-

– 2000 – 5,373 students– 2012 – 17,800 students– 2015 – 19,960 students (as of June 1, 2015)

What Do We Value?

Northwest ISD Beliefs

• Kids come first• Continuous improvement is essential for

future success• The success of each student is the shared

responsibility of students, families, schools and communities

• Environment influences learning

Our Vision

The best and most sought-after school district where every student is future ready:• Ready for college• Ready for the global workplace• Ready for personal success

Northwest ISD Mission

Northwest ISD, in partnership with parents and community, will engage all students in a premier education, preparing them to be successful, productive citizens.

Profile of an Educator

Skills for Success• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving• Collaboration and Leadership• Agility and Adaptability• Initiative and Entrepreneurialism• Effective Oral and Written Communication• Accessing and Analyzing Information• Curiosity and Imagination

Why Northwest ISDCommunity-Based Accountability?

Does the current Texas accountability system provide guidance and clarity for accountability for student learning in Northwest ISD toward achievement of the NISD Graduate Profile?

Community-Based Accountability

• More rigor, aligned to the graduate profile• Less overreliance on standardized testing• District accountable to the community’s values• Renewed focus on the most important person:

the student

Community-Based Accountability is:

• A locally developed system of evidence of student learning

• A strategic and customized form of measuring student achievement

• Rigorous descriptive reporting to parents and community members

What’s The Difference?House Bill 5

• Compliance: Districts must report on PIEMS a self-evaluation of the district and each individual school in the district

• Ratings: Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable, Unacceptable

• Areas: 8 specific areas determined by the state

• One overall rating in each area published annually by TEA

NISD Community-Based Accountability

• Voluntary: NISD stakeholders determined criteria; District statistics, not by campus

• No ratings: Descriptive measures to share the NISD story

• Areas: Align to the NISD Profile of a Graduate; 30 different areas

• Continually updated as new data arrives

Northwest ISD Community Dashboard

Future-Ready Philosophy• Strategic Plan• NISD Profile of a Graduate• Defined Expectations• Standards-Based Student Work• Curriculum Development• Digital Learning Environment • Problem-Based Learning• Real-World Applications• Extended Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Opportunities• Outdoor Learning Center

Core Themes• Academic Preparation and College

Readiness• Personal Growth and Success• Citizenship and Community

Service• Student, Parent, Community, and

Staff Participation

Community-Based Accountability Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS• CORE BELIEFS ii• PROFILE OF A GRADUATE iii• PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING, TEACHING, AND

CURRICULUM iv• GENERAL INFORMATION and BACKGROUND 1• INDICATORS AND MEASURES 3-6

Northwest ISD Community-Based Accountability Handbookhttp://www.nisdtx.org/cms/lib/TX21000351/Centricity/Domain/46/CBAS%20Handbook%201%2029%2014.pdf

Standards Targets: Ask Yourself …

• Endurance – Will this provide students with knowledge and skills that are of value in life regardless of career choice? In future courses? Beyond a single test date?

• Leverage –Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines?

• Readiness for the next level of learning – Will this provide students with essential knowledge and skills that are necessary to earn credit or successfully pass upcoming high stakes assessments? STAAR, SAT, THEA, ASVAB, AP, etc.

NISD C&I 2013

Standards-Based Bulletin Boards

Digital Learning Environment

Future-ReadyDigital Learning Environment

• 1:1 Tablet Initiative for all middle and high school students

• Student e-Portfolios• 2015 Digital Content and Curriculum Honoree by Center

for Digital Education• Fifth in National Digital School Districts Survey Award• Honorable Mention Team Award by Consortium for

School Networking (CoSN)• Numerous technology awards: Connected Superintendents

Summit at the White House, Tech-Savvy Superintendent, Finalist for Technology Administrator of the Year, and Finalist for Instructional Technology Specialist of the Year

Future-Ready Skills

• TechnoExpo– 1,293 K-12 students – 422 presentations

• Night of No Limits– 1,366 K-12 students– 312 live presentations– 672 students in galleries

Future-Ready Career Opportunities

• Accelerated High School• 7 Career Academies• 10 Industry

Certifications• 60 High School Career &

Technical Education Courses

Northwest ISD Community Dashboard

Ready to Start?

Questions to Consider:

Are you satisfied with the current system?– Does this test-based system accurately define

your school/district? – Are your students test takers or problem

solvers?

Questions to Consider

What are your district's core beliefs, vision, and mission?

– Are you ready to reaffirm, examine, or newly identify them?

– Do they reflect community desires for students?

– Do students see themselves in your vision, mission, and core beliefs?

Questions to Consider

Whose 'voices' should be heard in order to include and consider critical reflection of community values?

– Students?– Parents?– Teachers? Administrators? Educators?– Formal and informal community leaders and

advocates?

Questions to Consider

What are the indicators of school quality –the measures of progress that you will use in evaluating progress in meeting learning goals and objectives?

– Are these indicators comprehensive?– Do they reflect the full range of what students

experience in school, academically, inter-personally and intra-personally?

– Do they orient a student toward post-secondary success in a global environment?

Future-Ready Innovators“Over and over, executives told me that the heart of critical thinking and problem solving is the ability to ask the right questions. As one senior executive from Dell said, “Yesterday's answers won't solve today's problems.”

Tony Wagner, Creating Innovators

Karen G. Rue, Ed.D.Northwest ISD

http://www.nisdtx.org/Presentationsuperintendent@nisdtx.org

817-215-0030

Community-Based Accountability