La Joya ISD reports ‘dramatic’ improvements in reading and math skills

The La Joya school district reportedly closed out the first semester with stronger performance rates in reading and math compared to the beginning of the school year, bringing LJISD one step closer to its five-year goal.

Last year, the district outlined its commitment to increasing the percentage of students attending A and B-rated campuses to 90% by August 2029. Administration set up a series of goals to ensure they reach their target, using unit assessments to track progress and implement changes as needed. Then, staff reports updates to the board of managers.

In the most recent update, Chief of Academics & School Leadership Dr. Derek Little reported that eight of 10 grade levels are on track to meet their reading goal, with five grade levels showing improvement. And in math, six of 10 grade levels are on track to meet their goal, with four improving their rates.

“That doesn’t come through happenstance, though,” Little said. “We had to really reflect on what we needed to do differently as a district team, put systems in place for both transparent reporting, clear expectations, as well as monitoring and follow-through. And so you see the results of that here.”

At the elementary level, all campuses improved in reading foundational skills between kindergarten and third grade. In elementary math, most campuses showed improvement in their foundational skills or exceeded targets. Even campuses below the passing percentage are still above where the district expected them to be for the year, which is the case for second grade.

“This is potentially an early sign of how our new math curriculum compounds over time,” the chief said. “These students got this exposure and experience in first grade, and it’s a slightly different way of thinking conceptually about the math and really building those approaches. And now they’re getting another round at it this year. They’re at a young age, so you see development happen really quickly and accelerate. This is a really good indicator of how that will pay off long term.”

Campuses at the middle school level saw a dip in the latest reading assessment, which the chief said isn’t uncommon. However, most campuses exceeded the district target percentage or improved their score between all three grade levels.

“We have a lot to do in the middle school space,” Little said. “We are spending a lot of time in middle school, supporting their instruction directly. As that additional partner support is coming in, it’s also tailored and targeted. Yes, the schools are getting additional support. But the schools that need even more are getting more visits, more modeling, more coaching to help respond to areas that need additional attention.”

Based on the unit assessment data, the district has been phasing in targeted assistance with more direct-to-teacher communication, including investing almost $2 million into direct instructional and curricular aid for teachers and for campus leaders.

“That additional support is on the ground, in campuses, in classrooms and that will continue throughout the rest of the school year,” the chief of academics & school leadership said. “And it is certainly an investment in accelerating and improving these results even more.”

Board Member Jessica Ochoa asked how the district could close the gaps between the highest and lowest performing schools. She specifically referred to the disparity between Fordyce Elementary and Benavides in first grade reading. Fordyce’s reading foundational skills are at 100%, while Benavides is at 63%.

Little explained that the district’s proposal to close Benavides and move the students to Fordyce could help solve the issue.

“That’s an opportunity to address two small campuses from an enrollment perspective and put them together at Fordyce, while improving the academic setting for those students,” he said. “What’s happening in those classrooms is generally of higher quality, of more consistency than what they’re doing instructionally.”

At the November board meeting, administration proposed closing five more low-performing schools next year and migrating the students to higher-performing schools. The other four schools include Peña and Leo elementaries and Ann Richards and JD Salinas middle schools. The board of managers will vote to approve or deny the proposal to close the campuses at the Jan. 21 meeting.

Administration will continue to provide updates on the participation and skill rates throughout the school year as unit assessments continue, but Little said he is optimistic about what the data shows so far.