Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

While many schools and several state education agencies are grumbling about what they say are unfair and unrealistic standards in federal education laws, the Tomball school system has found a way for most of its campuses to meet them.

The standards, called adequate yearly progress (AYP), were created by the No Child Left Behind Act. All public schools are evaluated annually in reading and math and meet the requirements if 87 percent of the students on a given campus pass the state reading and English test and 83 percent pass the math test.

Creekside Forest, Canyon Pointe, Lakewood, Rosehill, Tomball and Willow Creek elementaries all met the standards, as did Northpointe Intermediate, Willow Wood Junior High, Tomball Junior High and Tomball Memorial High School.

The district as a whole also met the requirements, one of only eight schools in the 51-school Region 4 area to do so. Only 28 percent of all Texas schools met or exceeded the requirements.

“AYP standards substantially increased this year,” Tomball Superintendent John Neubauer said. “All of our employees worked together to meet the needs of our students and that includes meeting AYP. I am proud that are district met the federal standard, but we have more work to do.”

Decker Prairie Elementary, Canyon Pointe Elementary and Tomball High School Elementary did not make the requirements. This was the second year that Decker Prairie, a Title 1 school, did not meet AYP. Under federal law, if a Title 1 school does not meet AYP standards for two consecutive years in the same subject, it has to allow students the option to attend a different school within the district.

School officials said that although Decker Prairie did not meet the standards, they still believe that the school and the students are performing well. The school met the standards overall, but one subgroup did not. Under the law all subgroups must meet the standards as well.

“The campus missed AYP for reading in one subgroup,” Randy Reedy, Tomball’s director of accountability, said. “The subgroup must increase their scores by two percentage points this year in order to meet AYP. That’s a small number of students. However, the campus met AYP for all other subgroups in reading and math.”

The same goes for Tomball High School, as one subgroup did not meet the standards in math, causing the school to fall short. Three subgroups at Tomball Intermediate did not meet AYP.

Officials stated that they have already designed a plan to ensure the other schools meet AYP next year.

“We are analyzing the student data to target the individualized needs of our students,” said Darlene Blair, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “We are also providing intervention through curriculum, instructional strategies and professional development for teachers.”

By 2014 the federal AYP standards will increase to a 100 percent passing rate for both subjects.

Tomball ISD recently put together a steering committee last October to look at ways the growing district could prepare for current and future needs. That committee presented its findings to the public during a recent public forum.

"The growth we are experiencing now requires us to look towards future needs, as well as maintaining what assets we have now," said steering committee chair Rick Pritchett.
Charged by the school board with that goal, the committee identified several areas which they studied. They included new schools, a way to take care of current facilities and capital improvements, new technologies and transportation.

When it comes to future growth, the committee will recommend four new campuses be built, at a cost of around $110 million. New schools recommended are a new elementary school and junior high in The Woodlands, as well as a new fifth and sixth grade campus and a new elementary on the districts south side.

The need for these schools is based on projections in growth through the 2018-19 school year.

"The growth we have experienced in the district has primarily been in the northeast and south side of the district," Pritchett said.

The committee also looked at ways to improve and maintain current schools, as well as improvements in technology and transportation. The improvements the committee will recommend in those areas are estimated to cost around $58 million.

"We have to provide for and take care of the assets we have, as well as provide new technology for the students and keep up with our transportation needs," Pritchett said.
Security was also a big factor for the committee. Pritchett explained that several campuses have their administrative offices located away from the front entrance, causing security concerns. The committee recommended that those campuses add a security vestibule at the front entrances.

The committee will present their findings and recommendations to the school board at a meeting Feb. 11. The board will then look at options to fund the recommendations that it approves of, which could include a future bond election.

Pritchett did say that all totals are only estimates at this point, but the district would avoid going over a tax rate of five cents per $100 valuation.

"We are fortunate here that we have a board that is not only passionate about education, but also financially savvy and skillful," he said.

The board will take some time after Monday's meeting to get community input on the proposal, before deciding on whether to hold a bond election. They will decide that during their March meeting.

Members of the Tomball ISD Board of Trustees recently agreed to call an election, in order to propose a $160 million bond issue that will provide new schools, renovations at current campuses, new technology and additional school buses.

The district recently put together a steering committee, made up of area residents and district employees, to study growth and needs within the district. Projections estimate that the district will grow by nearly 4,000 students over the next five years.

The steering committee recommended building four new schools to accommodate that growth. New elementary and intermediate schools will be built on the south side of the district, while an elementary school and a junior high are proposed for areas near The Woodlands.

The district also plans to perform several improvement and renovation projects at other schools as well. The plan calls for a new agricultural project barn directly adjacent to the current facility, as well as adding field turf and track renovations to Tomball ISD Stadium. Also, new weight rooms will be added to each junior high campus.

In addition to the extra-curricular activities improvements, the district also plans to upgrade heating, air conditioning, roof replacement, lighting, paving of parking lots and several other maintenance and facility improvements.

Renovations will include the front administration areas and cafeterias at both Lakewood and Decker Prairie, while Timber Creek and Creekside Forest will receive minor renovations to aid in the transition to the new K-5 grade configuration.

Finally the district looks to purchase additional school buses, as well as upgrading the district's technology programs and technology for instruction purposes as well. They will also provide funding for security areas near the front entrances at schools that currently do not have that.

Tomball ISD Communications Director Staci Stanfield said the school board and steering committee put in long hours to study and design the proposal.

"The steering committee and their subcommittees spent a great deal of time studying the district's needs," she said. "They did a very thorough job and were extremely committed."

Stanfield went on to say that if voters approve the bond issue, which will be held during the May 11 election, the financial impact on property owners will be minimal. The portion of Tomball ISD's tax rate that services interest and debt is currently 35 cents per $100 of valuation.

"It will go no higher than 40 cents," she said.

She added that the district will take the same steps as they did in 2007 – selling bonds in a manner that is fiscally responsible and will ensure the rate never goes higher than 40 cents.

Stanfield said the district also wants voters to have all the information they need to make an informed decision at the polls, so they will post all the information on their website, as well as answer any questions voters may have.

"It's important for us to give factual information and let the community know what our plans are," she said.

The Tomball ISD website is www.tomballisd.net. The election is set for May 11, 2013.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the results of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam.  Although TEA has not released the passing standards for the STAAR exam, Tomball ISD’s students scored very well on the new state assessment. 

“As we look at the raw scores, it is apparent that in most areas our students scored better than students in our surrounding school districts,” John Neubauer, superintendent of schools, said.  “I am very pleased with our results.” 

As students and teachers prepared for the test last year, there were many uncertainties for all public schools.  Tomball ISD administrators knew that the test would align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum that all public schools use, but administrators were uncertain of the test format and the design of the test questions.  The test was also timed, which presented a new challenge for students.  Furthermore, TEA did not provide school districts with the passing rates for the STAAR exam. 

“Despite a great deal of uncertainty, our teachers and students are to be commended for a job well done,” Neubauer said.

As a result of TEA implementing a new testing system, students in different grade levels took various tests.  Although students in grades three through eight took the STAAR test, students in grades seven through nine took STAAR End of Course (EOC) exams if they were taking a course requiring an EOC test.  Sophomores and juniors in high school took the TAKS test.  As students in these grade levels graduate, the TAKS test will be replaced by the STAAR EOC exams for all grades at the high school level.

Tomball ISD’s STAAR test results indicated that students in grades three through eight scored higher than the state scores on the reading, writing, math, science, and social studies STAAR tests.  Junior high and high school freshmen students scored higher than the state scores on the reading, writing, algebra I, geometry, science, and social studies STAAR EOC exams.  Sophomores and juniors who took the English language arts, math, algebra I, science, and social studies TAKS tests also scored higher than the state scores.

Neubauer expects the STAAR passing rates to be released by TEA in 2013.  “Even though we are still waiting on the passing standards, we remain committed to academic excellence,” Neubauer said.  “I am confident that our students and teachers will do their best as they prepare for the second administration of the STAAR and EOC exams.”

Tomball High School has received the 2012 College Readiness Award from the Texas ACT Council for increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment over the past five years and significantly increasing the level of achievement and college readiness.

"It is an honor for our campus to be recognized," Greg Quinn, principal of Tomball High School, said.  "We have encouraged students to take more rigorous coursework, which has resulted in an increase in the number of students taking the ACT.  They're prepared and they're performing well.  We're very proud of them." 

The Texas ACT Council is comprised of secondary and postsecondary educators who advise ACT, Inc. on the utilization of ACT programs and services in Texas schools and colleges. 

Karen Pennell, assistant vice president and ACT southwest regional manager, explained that the Texas ACT Council wanted to recognize Texas high schools that have made significant strides in increasing the college and career readiness of their graduates as demonstrated by an increase in their ACT scores over the past five years. 

"This can only happen as a result of the efforts of the faculty and staff and the dedication of Tomball High School students and parents as they focus on raising the level of academic readiness for all students," Pennell said.

Only 170 high schools in Texas were honored for this accomplishment, which represents only nine percent of all Texas high schools. 

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State statistics released Wednesday show nearly half of Texas' public and charter schools failed to meet federal accountability standards based on the No Child Left Behind Law, a sharp increase from previous years that education officials blame on passing standards that have gotten tougher.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.