During its Oct. 15 meeting, the Board of Trustees agenda included:

  • Spotlight on Learning: Wiley MS Students Put Mathematical Thinking Into Practice
  • Board Reviews Math Progress, Areas for Continued Growth
  • Global Languages Update Highlights Growth, Student Progress
  • Budget Pressures Grow as LISD Increases Employee Healthcare Investment

The Board will meet next for a special workshop meeting Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.

Meeting Agenda
Meeting Recording

Spotlight on Learning: Wiley MS Students Put Mathematical Thinking Into Practice

Wiley Middle School students and teachers gave Trustees a look at how the campus is building collaboration, perseverance and student ownership into math instruction.

Using practices from the Building Thinking Classrooms model, math learning at Wiley shifts students from more passive problem-solving to actively explaining their reasoning, learning from one another and working through challenges together.

Students demonstrated several ways this math approach comes to life in the classroom:

  • Randomized groups: Students regularly work with different classmates, building their ability to collaborate with anyone.
  • Vertical whiteboards: Groups solve problems while standing together, making their thinking visible to one another and to the teacher.
  • One marker per group: The student holding the marker writes what teammates communicate rather than simply recording their own thinking, encouraging listening and shared problem-solving.
  • Mistakes stay visible: Students do not immediately erase incorrect work, creating opportunities to revisit their thinking, learn from mistakes and persevere.
  • Questions instead of answers: Teachers monitor the room and respond with questions or prompts that help students continue thinking rather than simply telling them whether an answer is correct.
  • Increasing challenge: Students work through a progression of problems that build in complexity before coming back together to discuss patterns, strategies and their understanding.

Wiley Principal Darla Smith shared that the campus has continued to raise math performance over the past four years and has earned a distinction for student growth.

Way to go, Coyotes!

Board Reviews Math Progress, Areas for Continued Growth

🎬 7.A.2. Discussion of Board Goal Report Interim Goal 1-3 (Mathematics)

Trustees reviewed progress toward the district’s mathematics goals for third grade, sixth grade and Algebra I using two different data sources:

  • STAAR measures how students perform against Texas grade-level standards.
  • MAP is a nationally normed assessment that measures academic growth and achievement over time.

District leaders emphasized that the two assessments measure different things but can be used together to give a fuller picture of student performance and trajectory. MAP can help identify whether students are growing at an expected or accelerated rate, while STAAR shows how students are performing against state standards.

Current MAP results showed 72% of 3rd-graders, 76% of 6th-graders and 64% of Algebra I students at or above expected growth. Leaders also emphasized that economically disadvantaged students need to grow at a faster rate than their peers for existing achievement gaps to close.

The report summarized the work in three areas:

  • Strengths
    • Meaningful progress across all three monitored cohorts
    • 6th-grade students overall met the district’s goal
    • Algebra I students overall exceeded the district’s goal
    • The growth gap between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged Algebra I students has narrowed considerably
  • Areas for Growth
    • 3rd-grade STAAR performance remains the district’s greatest area of need
    • The achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their peers remains a focus in 6th-grade math
    • Algebra I performance for economically disadvantaged students also remains an area for continued improvement
  • Next Steps
    • Continue implementation of the new K–5 Amplify Desmos Math resource
    • Continue 6th-grade math and Algebra I instructional-material pilots
    • Use essential standards and common unit assessments to monitor student progress
    • Increase classroom observation and feedback
    • Strengthen systemwide data literacy, including data discussions within professional learning communities

District leaders said those strategies will be monitored throughout the year, allowing campuses and district teams to use student data and classroom observations to determine what is working and adjust where needed rather than waiting until end-of-year results.

The report also continued the Board’s new monitoring cycle: Board Reports, Spotlights, Board Campus Walks, Discussion & Feedback, and Decisions & Action. Earlier in the meeting, Wiley Middle School’s Spotlight on Learning provided a classroom-level look at mathematical thinking in action; the Board Goal Report then added the districtwide data and progress-monitoring view.

Previous Updates on Board Goal Reports

Global Languages Update Highlights Growth, Student Progress

🎬 7.A.1. Discussion of Global Languages & Cultures Annual Update

Leander ISD serves a growing number of students learning English and students who have recently reached English proficiency. The state refers to students actively developing English proficiency as emergent bilingual students. More than 70 languages are represented among these students and their families, with more than 80 languages spoken districtwide.

Three takeaways from the annual update:

  • 7,000+ students served: The district’s population of students learning English and those in monitored status continues to grow, representing a wide range of languages and cultures across LISD. 
  • 591 students reached academic English proficiency in 2025–26: These students met the state requirements to move out of emergent bilingual status and into a two-year monitoring period. The standard reflects academic English proficiency and includes language-proficiency, STAAR language arts and teacher-review requirements. 
  • LISD students continued to outperform regional and state comparisons: Despite a change in how Texas measured progress toward English proficiency in 2026, district results remained above both the region and statewide performance.

Supporting that work, more than 400 educators participated in specialized professional learning during 2025–26. The district also helped many teachers earn ESL certification and significantly expanded its multilingual educator team, which works alongside classroom teachers to strengthen strategies for supporting students within their core instruction.

Budget Pressures Grow as LISD Increases Employee Healthcare Investment

🎬 7.C.1. 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 Budget Updates

Leander ISD’s ongoing financial challenges have grown since the 2026–27 budget was adopted, driven in part by enrollment coming in below projections and by higher-than-anticipated healthcare costs. With a more detailed enrollment update planned for later this fall, Trustees focused much of the budget discussion on the growing impact of employee healthcare.

Because LISD operates a self-funded health plan, the district assumes the financial risk when medical costs and claims increase. Rising healthcare prices, prescription costs and high-cost claims have depleted the healthcare reserve and required additional support from the district’s operating budget.

At the same time, district leaders chose to absorb a significant portion of those higher costs in an effort to limit the impact on employees. Beginning with the 2027 plan year, LISD will increase its contribution from $510 to $610 per month for each employee enrolled in a district medical plan. Districtwide, that change adds approximately $5.5 million annually to LISD’s investment in employee healthcare. The district’s increased healthcare contribution reflects its Total Rewards approach, which considers benefits alongside compensation, retirement, leave and other elements of the employee experience.

The district also redesigned its medical offerings with affordability and choice in mind. Employees will choose among three plans instead of five, and for employees selecting the plan most comparable to their current coverage, premium increases are capped at $99 per month. Nearly half are expected to either see a decrease or pay less than $25 more per month.

Trustees made clear that the underlying growth in healthcare costs will require continued attention. The Board asked administration to keep evaluating the district’s healthcare model, vendor costs and other cost-containment opportunities to ensure the district can continue investing in employee benefits in a financially sustainable way.

The budget update included projections both with and without potential Proposition A revenue. Learn more about the proposition, its financial impact and voting information on the LISD Elections page. Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 19.