During its Oct. 10 meeting, the Leander ISD Board of Trustees agenda included:
- Spotlight on Learning: Naumann ES
- Community-Based Accountability System Annual Report: More than a Test
- Budget Process for 2025–26 Starts with Identifying Priorities
- Annual District & Campus Improvement Plans Approved
Spotlight on Learning: Naumann Elementary
During the Spotlight on Learning, Naumann Elementary students and staff spoke to opportunities to own their learning through programs like student council and robotics. These opportunities have helped boost confidence and leadership skills. Way to go, Knights!
Community-Based Accountability System Annual Report: More than a Test
🎬 7.A.1. Discussion of 2023-2024 Leander ISD Community Based Accountability System-Part 1
Now in its third year, the Community-Based Accountability System (CBAS) report for 2023–24 made its debut at Thursday’s board meeting. The report focuses on the indicators identified by the #1LISD community as meaningful, going beyond what is measured in state accountability. Throughout, the report aligns itself to the goals found in the district’s five-year Strategic Plan.
“That’s what I love about our CBAS report. STAAR is one standardized test, and that’s not everything,” Board Vice President Anna Smith said. “I love that we have different accountability measures in place, because that’s what paints the story of our student outcomes.”
This meeting saw Goal 1: Empowered Student Learning and Goal 2: Empowered Staff take center stage.
Goal 1
In the Empowered Student Learning goal area, the district has seen an uptick from parents and students responding to the question around having the opportunity for students to set goals and track their progress. This shows movement toward ownership of learning and supporting students as they prepare themselves for anything.
Strengths
- Significant and sustained increase in Industry-Based Certifications.
- Wide variety of opportunities offered for students to pursue their interests, including CTE, extra-, and co-curricular programs of study, and advanced courses.
- Significant increase in secondary students’ knowledge of the Graduate Profile and how this impacts their future world.
- Administered an additional 1,700 AP exams to 500 more students, while seeing an increase in pass rates from 72% to 76%. This accomplishment led to Leander ISD’s recognition as AP District of the Year.
Opportunities
- Continue to focus on social/emotional well-being at all levels.
- Continue to provide opportunities for students to pursue passions and interests.
- Provide additional opportunities for students to engage in classroom decisions and meaningful learning activities.
- Increase student ownership in second students through setting goals and tracking their progress.
Goal 2
In the Empowered Staff goal area, the report reflected the district’s end-to-end approach in attracting talented employees, growing from within once they are in our system, and then showing how that leads to retention and employees feeling valued and connected to their work.
Specifically, the data showed an encouraging trend of turnover declining across all department and position types – perhaps none more so than support positions in operations, such as transportation, child nutrition services, and custodial services.
To view the full report, visit the CBAS webpage. And to hear more about how this report is More than a Test, check out this video.
Budget Process for 2025–26 Starts with Identifying Priorities
🎬 7.C.1. Discussion of Leander ISD 2025-2026 Budget Priorities or Big Rocks
Shaking off the budget development cycle that culminated in June’s approval of the 2024–25 budget, the LISD administration has already begun preparing for next year’s budget.
The Board received a high-level overview and participated in a collaborative activity to determine priorities and help anchor the budget creation process.
Broad categories – or “big rocks” – identified by the Board included:
- Student support
- Teacher and staff support, including staffing, compensation and health care
- Facility improvements
The largest component that impacts the budget will be the 89th legislative session, which convenes in January 2025.
The district admin team, led by Chief Finance Office Pete Pape, will take the feedback from the Board as well as their priorities to help guide the budget process. Preliminary budget presentations will take place in February with additional updates anticipated throughout the spring. Budget approval is expected to take place in June 2025.
Annual District & Campus Improvement Plans Approved
The Board approved the district and campus goals and the House Bill 3 performance objectives, which includes plans for early reading and math proficiency and College Career and Military Readiness (CCMR).
Each year, the district and campus improvement plans go through a cycle of the following steps:
- Comprehensive needs assessment
- Selection of key questions
- Strategy development
- Feedback from the community through the District-Wide Educational Improvement Council (DWEIC) and campus site-based planning committees (SBPCs)
- Monitor and adjust
The complete set of District Improvement Plan and Campus Improvement Plans as they were proposed is available for viewing.
