The Arlington ISD school board voted unanimously Thursday night to send improvement plans for 26 schools to the Texas Education Agency. District staff will carry out the plans, and the agency will monitor progress. Seven schools are in the second year of a turnaround plan.
Texas has two types of plans. Targeted improvement plans apply to schools in their first year of an unacceptable score. Turnaround plans apply to schools with two or more consecutive years of unacceptable performance. Districts must have their school boards approve the plans and send them to the agency by Nov. 20 each year.
Shelly Osten, the district's executive director of elementary schools and school improvement, said the plans are designed to work together to support student achievement. Arlington ISD's first steps include new instructional materials, such as Bluebonnet Learning math and HMH reading and language arts. Next steps include ongoing professional learning for teachers and data-driven academic monitoring. The plans also come with additional state and federal grant funding for support staff.