Center Point Independent School District

Local Innovation Plan

May 30, 2018

I. INTRODUCTION

House Bill 1842, passed during the 84th Legislative Session, permits Texas public school districts to become Districts of Innovation and to obtain exemption from certain provisions of the Texas Education Code.   On February 23, 2017, the Center Point Independent School District's Board of Trustees (“Board”) passed a Resolution to Initiate the Process of Designation as a District of Innovation in order to increase local control over District operations and to support innovation and local initiatives to improve educational outcomes for the benefit of students and the community.

On March 22, 2017, the Board appointed a local District of Innovation Committee composed of various stakeholders. The Committee met on April  5, 2017, to discuss and draft this Local Innovation Plan ("Plan"). The Committee sought and considered input on the Plan through the District Site Base Committee.  The committee met again on May 30, 2018 to revise the current Plan.

II. TERM

The term of the Plan is for five years, beginning May, 2018 and ending at the end of May, 2022, unless terminated or amended earlier by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the law. The Committee will continually monitor the effectiveness of the Plan and recommend to the Board any suggested modifications to the Plan.

III. A COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

The Plan's comprehensive educational program is guided by and aligned with the District Goals, District Vision & District Mission.

A. District Goals

1. Provide diverse academic opportunities for all students:

   1. Vocational

   2. College workforce prep (Dual Credit when possible)

   3. Accelerated learning

2. Continue with professional development and look for enhancements. Look for opportunities to diversify teaching staff.

3. Educating the community about school district activities, operations and events.

4. Continue to stay ahead of technology trends and requirements by providing students and staff with technology tools to be successful.

B. Vision

Our Students:

• Are prepared to reach their full potential in the real world

• Are challenged and empowered by critical thinking exercises

• Are successful in academic and extracurricular activities

• Exhibit high levels of life skills

• Understand the importance of education

Our Learning Environment provides

• Adequate funding that supports students and family involvement

• Up-to-date technology that is available to all students and staff

• The community with information regarding their public education system

• A safe climate that is conducive to achievement

• An environment designed to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and staff

• Our students with teachers who exhibit solid classroom management techniques

 Our community and district provides

• State-of-the art facilities and technology

• An aligned curriculum at all levels

• Opportunities to form partnerships with the school

• Support to foster pride in our students

• Positive support to students, faculty, and staff

C. Mission

"The mission of the Center Point Independent School District is to provide excellence in education for every student.  With a dedicated, caring staff, we seek to foster a safe, positive, and creative atmosphere.  In this environment, students will be empowered with the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills necessary to succeed in a complex, global, multi-cultural society

D. Innovations

Exemptions from the following:

Texas Education Code 25.0811 -  FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION. 

(a)  Except as provided by this section, a school district may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the fourth Monday in August.  A school district may:

(1)  begin instruction for students for a school year before the fourth Monday in August if the district operates a year-round system under Section 25.084; or

(2)  begin instruction for students for a school year on or after the first Monday in August at a campus or at not more than 20 percent of the campuses in the district if:

(A)  the district has a student enrollment of 190,000 or more;

(B)  the district at the beginning of the school year provides, financed with local funds, days of instruction for students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses, in addition to the minimum number of days of instruction required under Section 25.081;

(C)  the campus or each of the multiple campuses are undergoing comprehensive reform, as determined by the board of trustees of the district; and

(D)  a majority of the students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses are educationally disadvantaged.

(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district that does not offer each grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 and whose prospective or former students generally attend school in another state for the grade levels the district does not offer may start school on any date permitted under Subsection (a) or the law of the other state.

Texas Education Code 25.8012 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school district may not schedule the last day of school for students for a school year before May 15.

(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district that does not offer each grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 and whose prospective or former students generally attend school in another state for the grade levels the district does not offer may schedule the last day of school on any date permitted under Subsection (a) or the law of the other state.

Center Point ISD DOI Plan

Center Point ISD requests the freedom to develop a calendar that better fits the needs of the community if the committee so chooses.  Flexibility in this area would allow the District Committee to balance the first and second semesters and provide more instructional days prior to state testing.

TEACHER CERTIFICATION (Texas Education Code §21.003)

Currently:

In the event a district cannot locate a certified teacher for a position, or a teacher is teaching a subject outside of their certification, the district must submit a request to the Texas Education Agency. TEA then approves or denies this request.

Proposed:

CPISD is committed to placing a life-changing educator in every classroom. In order to best serve CPISD students, decisions on certification will be handled locally. The current state teacher certification requirements inhibit the District's ability to acquire teachers who teach hard-to-fill positions. In order to enable more students to obtain the educational benefit of certain course offerings, the District seeks to establish its own local qualification requirements and its own requirements for training of professionals and experts to teach such courses in lieu of the requirements set forth in the law. This exemption directly supports the move from “highly qualified” requirements in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). By obtaining exemption from existing teacher certification requirements, the District will have the flexibility to hire applicants seeking assignments outside of their traditional certification area. This will enrich applicant pools in specific content areas. In addition, this exemption will afford the District the flexibility to hire professionals to teach trades, vocations, or fine arts if certified teachers are not available to teach those courses.

TEACHER PROBATIONARY CONTRACTS (Texas Education Code §21.102)

Currently:

The Texas Education Code requires that teachers newly-hired by the District who have five years of experience in public education in Texas within the last eight years can only be placed on a one-year probationary contract, and after the first year, must be placed on a term contract.

Proposed:

The one-year probationary period is insufficient to evaluate a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom because the teacher contract renewal timelines demand that employment decisions be made before the end of the school year. Therefore, beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year and beyond, for all experienced teachers, counselors, librarians, or nurses new to Center Point ISD that have been employed as a teacher (or other role) in public education for at least five of the eight previous years, the probationary period when becoming employed by Center Point ISD shall be for a period of two years, with probationary contracts issued for each of the two years.

CLASS SIZE (Texas Education Code §25.112, Texas Education Code §25.113)

Currently:

TEC §25.112 requires districts to maintain a class size of 22 students or less for kindergarten through 4th grade classes. TEC §25.113 requires district to notify parents of waivers or exceptions to class size limits.

Proposed:

Beginning-of-the-year hiring decisions will be based on projected 22:1 ratios. To the extent possible, each school year will begin with enough teachers to establish a student to teacher ratio of 22:1 in kindergarten through 4th grade homeroom classes. Each section in a grade level will receive new students equally. If two or more classes in a grade level exceed a 24:1 ratio at any time during the year, the superintendent, campus principal, and grade level teachers will have a thoughtful conversation. The superintendent will then determine what is in the best interest of the students. Parents will not necessarily be notified of class size increases.

INTER-DISTRICT TRANSFERS (Texas Education Code §25.036)

Currently:

Under Texas Education Code §25.036, a district may choose to accept, as transfers,students who are not entitled to enroll in the district. TEC 25.036 has been interpreted to establish the acceptance of a transfer as a one-year commitment by the District.

Proposed:

Center Point ISD maintains a transfer policy under FDA (Local) requiring non-resident students wishing to transfer into CPISD to file a transfer application each school year. In approving transfer requests, the availability of space and instructional staff, availability of programs and services, the student’s disciplinary history records, work habits, and attendance records are evaluated. Transfer students are expected to follow the attendance requirements, rules, and regulations of the District. The District is seeking to eliminate the provision of a one-year commitment in accepting transfer applicants. On rare occasions, a student’s behavior may warrant suspension (in or out of school), placement in a disciplinary alternative program, or expulsion. In addition, student attendance may fall below the TEA 90% attendance standard. In these rare cases, Center Point ISD seeks exemption from the one-year transfer commitment. Non-resident students who have been accepted as inter-district transfer students may have such transfer status revoked by the superintendent at any time during the year if the student is assigned discipline consequences of suspension (in or out of school), placement in a disciplinary alternative program, or expulsion. In addition, students not meeting the State’s 90% attendance standard may also be subject to immediate revocation of the transfer status.

DISTRICT AND CAMPUS LEVEL PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING (Texas Education Code §11.251, Texas Education Code §11.252, Texas Education Code §11.253)

Currently:

Texas Education Code mandates specific guidelines and procedures for the membership of these committees, which limits flexibility for districts to collaborate and make decisions in an effective and timely manner.

Proposed:

CPISD seeks to return Site Based Decision Making back to the local district/campus by allowing the local district to determine the makeup of the committee. Further, CPISD will determine which decisions will be referred to the committee, except those prescribed by law.