The percent of students reading and writing at or above grade level as measured by
STAAR Final Level II Satisfactory standard will increase by three percentage points
annually between Spring 2016 and Spring 2020:
DISTRICT GOAL 1:
DISTRICT GOAL 2:
DISTRICT GOAL 3:

Reading in grades 3-8 will increase from 36% to 48%;

Writing in grades 3-8 will increase from 34% to 46%;

English I for first time testers will increase from 44% to 56%; and

English II for first time testers will increase from 44% to 56%.
The percent of graduates meeting the Global Graduate (post-secondary readiness*)
standards will increase four percentage points annually from the class of 2015’s rate of
69.9% up to 95% by 2022.
Among students who exhibit below satisfactory performance on state assessments, the
percentage who meet or exceed their progress measure on the STAAR/STAAR EOC will
increase three percentage points annually in reading from 58% to 70% and in math from
55% to 67% between Spring 2016 and Spring 2020.*
[*Data includes all students, all test versions, and STAAR and ELL progress measures]
6 PRINCIPLES OF HISD’S IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED TURNAROUND FRAMEWORK:
1. Leadership Excellence
2. Teaching Excellence
3. Instructional Excellence
4. School Design
5. Social and Emotional Learning Support
6. Family and Community Empowerment
THEORY OF ACTION:
If HISD provides a centralized package of essential leadership, instructional, social and emotional, and community
supports for our historically underserved and underperforming feeder patterns and school communities, then our schools
will be equipped to accelerate preparation of our students to fulfill the qualities and characteristics of the HISD Global
Graduate profile.
pg. 1
PRINCIPLE 1: LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE
Definition: Identify and facilitate the assignment of talented leaders who will bring effective instructional leadership skills
to each school. School leaders will receive additional compensation and supports (staffing, professional development,
etc.) to encourage retention.
STRATEGY
Principal profile:
experienced and
effective leadership
Central staffing
formula for leadership
and support teams
Staffing incentives for
all contract positions
Collaborative school
support team
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION

School Office

Human Resources

Budget Department

School Office

Human Resources
Each campus will have essential staffing positions to carry out the
6 principles of HISD’s Turnaround Framework. Essential positions
will include:

Budget Department


Student Support
Office
ES: Counselor/Social Worker, Nurse, Librarian/Information
Literacy Specialist, Reading and Math Instructional Coaches

MS: Counselor/Social Worker, Nurse, Librarian/Information
Literacy Specialist, Reading and Math Instructional Coaches

HS: Counselor/Social Worker, Nurse, Librarian/Information
Literacy Specialist, Reading and Math Coaches

School Office

Human Resources

Budget Department

School Office

Budget Department
Turnaround Principals will be experienced Principals with a track
record of successful school leadership. Each turnaround Principal
will be expected to implement, with fidelity, the Principles of the
Turnaround Framework. They will also be responsible for leading
and motivating the leadership team and all teachers and staff
toward a common goal.
Incentives will be paid to successful leaders who accept the
challenge and commit to long-term work. The incentives will be
paid out annually for 3 years based on the positions below:

Principal: EL ($10,000) MS ($15,000) HS ($20,000)

AP/Dean/Teacher Specialist/Instructional Specialist:
$5,000
SSOs will be assigned based on experience and skills for specific
feeder pattern networks. The CSOs will work collaboratively with a
team of Teacher Development Specialists assigned to their SSOs.
pg. 2
PRINCIPLE 2: TEACHER EXCELLENCE
Definition: Selective hiring, development, compensation, and strategic assignment of talented teachers with the
appropriate experience, certification, and the right fit of each campus.
STRATEGY
Highly effective
teachers on
campuses
Staffing incentives for
all contract position
levels
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE

School Office

Human Resources

Budget Department

School Office

Human Resources

Budget Department
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Schools’ teaching staff will be comprised of at least 85% of
teachers rated highly effective or effective based on HISD’s
Teacher and Appraisal Development System (TADS) and current
student data. The remaining percentage of teachers may be new
or out-of-district teachers without an HISD rating.
Incentives will be paid to teachers and other professional staff who
accept the challenge and commit to long-term work. Incentives
will be paid out annually for 3 years.
Teachers and other professional staff with 3+ years experience:
$5,000
Teachers and other professional staff with 0-3 years experience:
$2,500
A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that financial
incentives successfully attracted high performing teachers to
transfer to low performing schools. A majority of these teachers
chose to remain after the incentives ended. (Turning Around
Chronically Low Performing Schools. U.S. Dept. Of Ed. 2008)
Differentiated job
posting and interview
process for turnaround teachers

School Office

Human Resources

Budget Department
Specialized job posting/application that clearly denotes additional
work hours required as part of teacher contract (addendum) for
Professional Development. Job posting will also include
instructional non-negotiables that must be adhered to.
pg. 3
PRINCIPLE 3: INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
Definition: Instructional Excellence will engage, accelerate and optimize learning experiences for students with the
highest needs, allowing them to achieve at their highest potential.
STRATEGY
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE

Curriculum and
Development

School Office

Teacher and
Leadership
Development
Adherence to
calendar of aligned
formative
assessments

Curriculum and
Development

School Office
Scheduled, structured
data conversations

School Office

Student Assessment

School Office

Teacher
Development
Specialists
Consistent curriculum
implementation and
instructional delivery
Uniform data tracking
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
TEKS-based curriculum will be fully implemented and rigorous
lesson plans will be developed using the backward design
planning process and best practices in literacy and math
development. Instructional non-negotiables will include but are not
limited to daily posting of lesson TEKS, small group instruction,
and daily evidence of student mastery of lesson objective(s). At
the high school level, PowerUp resources will be leveraged to
engage, support and challenge all learners in relation to their
needs, to maximize achievement of common goals. A
competency-based approach will be customized to student needs
and monitored by universal screeners (literacy and math).
A schedule of common assessments will be adhered to by all
schools. Common assessments will be administered every 4-6
weeks per core subject. BOY, MOY and EOY universal screeners
in literacy and math will be utilized.
Data analysis conversations will be scheduled immediately
following every formative assessment. Action plans will be
developed to identify individual students and student expectations
(SE) that need immediate re-teaching to ensure mastery.
Schools will be responsible for uniformly tracking and displaying
data for all students in kindergarten through 12th grade,
disaggregated by teacher, student, ethnicity and gender. Teachers
of every course will show how they have acted on data, including
changes in approach, attention to cultural and relational dynamics,
contacts with parents and other caregivers. Students will track
their own data in relation to clearly specified goals that they
understand. Student work portfolios will be maintained.
pg. 4
PRINCIPLE 3: INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
Definition: Instructional Excellence will engage, accelerate and optimize learning experiences for students with the
highest needs, allowing them to achieve at their highest potential.
STRATEGY
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Cognitive demand

School Office
Campuses will focus on developing critical thinking skills by:

Curriculum and
Development

Consultants

Teacher and
Leadership
Development
High-quality
professional
development

School Office

Curriculum and
Development

Teacher and
Leadership
Development

Consultants

Asking higher order questions;

Developing strong intellectual relationships with students,
valuing them as thinkers and respecting cultural
differences;

Incorporating Bloom’s higher-level tasks and Webb’s DOK
throughout the instructional lesson design;

Including student discourse (teacher to student and
student to student) during at least 50% of the lesson;

Increasing post-secondary readiness strategies through
leveraging resources such as AVID and AP/Pre-AP
training; and

Offering opportunities for student-driven, structured
sustained inquiry
High-quality job embedded professional development will be
provided to ensure effective Tier 1 instruction and differentiated
instruction to ensure student mastery of TEKS.
pg. 5
PRINCIPLE 4: SCHOOL DESIGN
Definition: The space and environment where students spend a good deal of their time learning has an effect on how
well they learn. Effective school design enables students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and meaning
makers in an environment that encourage active, cooperative, and community-based approaches to teaching and
learning.
STRATEGY
Extended school day
for teachers
Structured
instructional time
designed for
reading/language arts
and math
Behavioral
expectations
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE

School Office

Federal and State
Compliance

Teacher and
Leadership
Development

School Office

Curriculum and
Development

Teacher and
Leadership
Development

Procurement

School Office

Student Support
Office

Teacher and
Leadership
Development
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The school day will be maximized to provide teacher professional
development and planning/collaboration time for an additional two
hours a week.
In both sites studied by Supovitz (2002) and Supovitz and
Christman (2003) “there was evidence to suggest that when
teachers engage in structured, sustained and supported
instructional discussions and investigated the relationships
between instructional practices and student work significant gains
in student learning was evident.
Instructional minutes will be allocated in both math and
reading/language arts to maximize student learning. Instructional
strategies will be based on researched best practices and
implementation will be monitored for effectiveness. Programs to
be used will include but not limited to:




Khan Academy
Imagine Learning
Achieve 3000
DreamBox
Schools will implement discipline management plans that reinforce
positive behaviors for students and teachers and improve school
climate. Discipline programs will be consistent across feeders.
Short (1988) states that research on well-disciplined schools
indicates that a student-centered environment, incorporating
teacher student problem solving activities, as well as activities to
promote student self-esteem and belongingness is more effective
in reducing behavior problems than punishment.
pg. 6
PRINCIPLE 4: SCHOOL DESIGN
Definition: The space and environment where students spend a good deal of their time learning has an effect on how
well they learn. Effective school design enables students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and meaning
makers in an environment that encourage active, cooperative, and community-based approaches to teaching and
learning.
STRATEGY
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE
Cultural competence

School Office

Student Support
Office

Teacher and
Leadership
Development
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Professional development on cultural competence and culturally
relevant instructional tools/strategies will be provided to school
staffs. Training will include sessions emphasizing understanding
cultural nuances and internal biases, building teacher/student
relationships through specific routines, and establishing and
implementing school-wide systems and structures appropriate for
the cultures served.
Jim Cummins (2001), suggest that a major reason previous
attempts at educational reform have been unsuccessful is that the
relationships between teachers and students and between schools
and communities have remained essentially unchanged. The
required changes involve personal redefinitions of the way
classroom teachers interact with the children and communities
they serve.
Master scheduling
with equity in mind

School Office

Technology
Schools’ master schedules will ensure equitable course offerings
for all students. All existing instructional programs will be reviewed
to determine coherence, relevance and effectiveness.
The key to creating a successful master schedule is to be clear
about what your highest priorities are and then to allocate time and
expertise to address those priorities. In practice, that means that
each school’s optimal schedule will be unique. The schedule
should be crafted to meet the highest priority needs of the school’s
students and faculty. (Miles, K. et al, 2008)
pg. 7
PRINCIPLE 4: SCHOOL DESIGN
Definition: The space and environment where students spend a good deal of their time learning has an effect on how
well they learn. Effective school design enables students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and meaning
makers in an environment that encourage active, cooperative, and community-based approaches to teaching and
learning.
STRATEGY
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE
Special populations

School Office

Multilingual

Special Education

Curriculum and
Development

School Office

Technology

Curriculum and
Instruction
Blended learning
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Strategies to teach all students including those with disabilities,
English Language Learners and gifted and talented students will
be implemented and monitored to maximize learning and inclusion
for all students.
The teacher’s role becomes one of purposeful instruction, a
mediator of activities and substantial experiences allowing the
learner to attain his or her zone of proximal development (Blanton,
1998; Rueda et al., 1992).
School’s current technology and literary resources will be
assessed to ensure that the level and quality of the resources
meet district standards. Schools requiring upgrades will be
prioritized based on needs. Power Up implementation will be
assessed using a specific rubric to assess baseline gaps in order
to move toward more rigorous instruction. Blended Learning will
include:

expository instruction (direct presentation of material
through lecture, text, visuals, animation);

active learning (the individual student researches
information, solves problems, takes quizzes, manipulates
digital artifacts, engages in drills, simulations, or games);
and

Interactive learning (students collaborate with other
students).
pg. 8
PRINCIPLE 5: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING SUPPORT
Definition: An effective Social and Emotional Learning comprehensive plan is one that is strategic, systematic and
completely inclusive from teachers and school leaders and community partnerships in supporting the needs and social
emotional needs of the whole child. Establishing relationships with community partners for enrichment and wraparound services, systematic scheduling of meetings with students and parents/guardians.
STRATEGY
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE

School Office

Student Support
Office

Advanced Academics
(AAI)

Grants Department
College career
pathway
conversations

School Office

College and Career
Readiness
Feeder pattern
connections

School Office

Student Support
Office

Career and
Technology
Education

Student Support

School Office
Teaching to the
whole child to identify
personal strengths
Wrap around services
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
Campuses will work with community partners to identify and foster
the specific needs of students at all levels and develop
partnerships to provide enriching experiences in
 Fine arts
 Clubs (i.e. Chess)
 Sports
 Academic UIL opportunities
At the secondary level, scheduled grade cycle meetings will occur
to plan, adjust and address courses and postsecondary
sequences and pathways. Khan Academy informational meetings
for parents regarding college and careers will be held once a
semester.
Choice options will be aligned throughout feeder patterns to
ensure programmatic consistency for elementary, middle and high
school students. For example, programs offered at elementary will
complement secondary program options.
Campuses will work with the Student Support Office to maximize
wrap-around services and use the Community Schools’ model to
address student, parents and community needs.
pg. 9
PRINCIPLE 6: FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
Definition: The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Building Family/School Partnerships (DCBF) includes
components in capacity building for faculty and staff, school leadership, as well as empowerment strategies for family
and community.
STRATEGY
Family friendly
schools
Two-Way
communication
Stakeholder climate
surveys
PERSON/DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE

School Support

School Office

School Support

School Office

Teacher and
Leadership
Development

Communications
Department

School Office
STRATEGY DESCRIPTION
The goal is to make the school more ‘family friendly,” welcoming
parents as equal partners, and will serve to affirm
parental/community involvement as a critical lever in achieving
student academic success.
Schools will engage in professional development sessions, either
online or in-person, to enhance effective two-way communication
with parents, guardians, and community members. This will serve
to further develop their capacity as equal partners with
parents/guardians and will affirm parental/community involvement
as a critical level in achieving academic student success.
Schools will conduct annual surveys of parents, community
members, teachers, and students to gauge culture and climate at
each campus.
pg. 10