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���ϱ��� ISD achieved an overall grade of a high B under the state’s accountability system for 2022.

• 71% of ���ϱ��� ISD’s campuses increased their ratings from 2019 during the pandemic.

• Six schools improved from Ds or Fs to post grades of C or better.

Why it matters: According to the , “The ratings examine student achievement, school progress, and whether districts and campuses are closing achievement gaps among various student groups.”

What they’re saying: “They did this during the pandemic with remote learning as well as complications with that, and then coming back to class with incredible stress. To perform so well under these conditions, I want to say … I admire each and every one of you,” said Interim Superintendent Anthony Mays at a press conference at Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, which raised its rating from an F to a C.

Go deeper: You can read more about the new state ratings on our website or in these articles:

• “���ϱ��� ISD earns a 'B' rating from Texas Education Agency” ()

• “A 'normal' start to the school year: ���ϱ��� students return to classrooms” ()

• “Interim ���ϱ��� superintendent speaks as districts gets a B on TEA report card” ()

by Paul Stinson 

���ϱ��� ISD fifth-grade teacher is the Region XIII Elementary Teacher of the Year after being recognized for her work at Perez Elementary where she has worked as a dual language educator for the last 4.5 years. 

• What they’re saying: "I'm feeling grateful and excited for this honor," Johnston tweeted following her award. "My students are super brilliant, and my campus is doing important work!"  

Why it matters: The classroom kudo makes her one of 40 teachers under consideration for Texas Teacher of the Year, the state’s top teaching honor first awarded by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) in 1969.���� 

Go deeper: Johnston is one of two teachers from the region up for the state’s highest honor for educators. Andrea Larson of Round Rock ISD will compete for teacher of the year honors in a separate category for secondary schools. 

• The regional recognition marks Johnston’s most-recent accolade after earning the ���ϱ��� ISD 2022 Elementary Teacher of the Year honors in May and semifinalist in April.����

What’s next: ASA judges meet annually in August to refine the pool to three elementary and three secondary teachers based on their applications. 

• Finalists will be interviewed in September/October by a panel of judges, followed by the selection of Teacher of the Year honors for both elementary and secondary schools.

by Paul Stinson

���ϱ��� ISD students in elementary reading are making longer strides toward pre-pandemic recovery than their statewide counterparts, while still facing an uphill climb to reclaim 2019 achievement levels in math and science.

By the numbers: ���ϱ��� ISD students eclipsed the statewide average in third grade reading scores by 9%.

• That margin of proficiency grew even further when compared to big city counterparts, with ���ϱ��� ISD outperforming districts in Dallas (+16%), Ft. Worth (+23%) and Houston (+12%).

What they're saying: “We’re not surprised that all the hard work our teachers and students put in last year helped our third graders recover from the pandemic on reading,” said Elizabeth Casas, Chief Academic and School Leadership Officer. “That ���ϱ��� did so much more than our peer districts, however, was startling. This is very good news.”

• Overall, elementary reading scores surpassed pre-pandemic performance in five out of six student groups.

• African-American students surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 2% after scoring 13 points higher than 2021 results.

• Reading scores for Hispanic students also exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 4% after scoring 15 points higher than the year previous.

Go deeper.

📲��“���ϱ��� ISD outlines efforts to combat TikTok distractions this school year” ()

🎓��“Travis County honors life of historic ���ϱ��� ISD principal” (KVUE)

Board Information Session: Aug. 18

Join ���ϱ��� ISD in the Annual Pride Parade: Aug. 20

DAC Meeting: Aug. 23

Long-range Planning Committees Meeting: Aug. 23

: Aug. 25

: Sep. 1

Trustees LaTisha Anderson and Arati Singh joined Dr. Mays on several legs of his two-day, seven-stop Back-to-School Tour on Monday and Tuesday.

• On Monday, we started the day at before visiting , , and ending at .

• On Tuesday, the hit T.A. Brown Elementary, Bedichek Middle School, and Bowie High School.

ICYMI: Click on any of the links above to see videos from the visits, or check out Dr. Mays’ posts on and .

Jason’s thought bubble: I kept confusing people when I would refer to the Back-to-School Tour as the BTS Tour.

• It didn’t help when I said the tour was .