Secondary campuses earn B ratings
(Geronimo) — The Navarro ISD is getting solid marks from the Texas Education Agency. The TEA this week released the official accountability ratings for public schools and public-school districts across the state.
Navarro ISD Superintendent Luke Morales says the district performed well overall, but he says they also had several areas where improvement is needed.
“We came up just a little bit short of our goal. Our goal is always to be an A district. We were at an 89, so we ended up being a B district. But overall, things went fairly well. You know we’re having to close the gaps. That COVID year was pretty tough on us, and then of course, the following year was tough on us as well as we still dealt with some of those remnants of COVID. So overall, pretty good performance by our students and our teachers. They did a tremendous amount of work to close those gaps and make sure we’re getting our kids ready,” said Morales.
Morales says both the Navarro elementary and intermediate campuses earned a C rating from the state. Navarro Elementary School is traditionally one of the top-rated schools in the state and in the nation.
Morales says the pandemic definitely had an adverse effect on the learning that took place at all schools, but it was particularly challenging for students at the primary and intermediate campuses.
“Sometimes those gaps in learning are a little bit more magnified at that level. Some of those students missed quite a bit more school, so those gaps are bigger. Sometimes parents, and you know we’re all parents, so sometimes we get a little more protective about our little ones, and we keep them home a little more, especially in light of COVID and things going on like that, so some of those gaps are bigger. We’re still on the edge, you know. Our elementary campus was 79, and our intermediate campus was 78, so we’re on the cusp of becoming a B campus. But we still need to close some of those gaps, especially in some of our subpopulations, making sure that those needs with those particular individuals get addressed, and we fill those gaps a little more,” said Morales.
Morales says the COVID-19 pandemic not only kept some students out of the classroom, but it also created additional learning barriers to students who were trying to learn remotely.
“For example, our students that did not have access to internet or access to be able to utilize the things that we were sending out during those COVID times — those gaps got a little bit bigger. I know we were having to bring people in to utilize our WIFI etc — providing hotspots, those kinds of things. Those particular individuals fell a little bit further behind. So, we’ll have a little bit more work to do with those groups, but we are certainly up for that task,” said Morales.
Both secondary campuses received a B-rating from the TEA. Morales says he’s proud of the work done at the junior high and the high school. He says both campuses saw very high levels of student achievement on the STAAR tests.
“Our teachers did an outstanding job of getting material out to kids, closing those gaps, filling those holes, and getting students engaged. So, I think what happens sometimes, it’s easier to fill in those gaps with those bigger kids because they’ll be here a little more often than younger ones especially when we’re dealing with things like a pandemic. You know some of our older guys are a little more motivated to be here at school and do well. I think they performed well all the way around. Our teachers did a tremendous job all the way around in those secondary schools, so the students’ achievement is pretty high at both levels. So, we’re pretty excited about that. And like I said, we’re not quite at that level we want to be, but we are certainly working toward that goal to become an A district, and have four A campuses all the way through,” said Morales.
The Navarro ISD as a district received an overall rating of B, and Morales points out that they were very close to receiving an A as a district. He says they have plans in place to help the district close those gaps seen last year, and he expects their overall scores to improve even more next year.