Sixth years in a row Avalon ISD achieves Recognized status

Cindy Sutherland Posted June 23, 2011 7:00pm Avalon Independent School District

Image: Margaret Day (Avalon Elementary Principal) said, “Our TAKS scores are great. Our kids surprised us all and we are so glad they did.” — Margaret Day (Avalon Elementary Principal) said, “Our TAKS scores are great. Our kids surprised us all and we are so glad they did.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Once again Avalon ISD is a recognized district. This is the sixth year in a row. This year it was even tougher to achieve because TEA placed additional and more rigorous standards on the TAKS rating system in order for campuses and districts to achieve levels of Acceptable, Recognized and Exemplary status.

Dr. Del Bosque explained, “The standards for passing Math and Science were raised as well as an attached Commended level to both the Recognized and Exemplary rankings. So we met the Commended standards. It was hard work but our students were able to do it. We also met the 80% standard in the sub groups (White, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged). There was a very little gap between any of the areas or sub groups. Our students that are economically disadvantaged did just as well as any other group. All of our groups did as well. That is critical because that means you are reaching everybody.”

When asked what he thought was the key to their success, Dr. Del Bosque responded, “We are very proud of all of our students, all of our teachers, all of our administration and all of our employees for all their hard work. But just as importantly and maybe more importantly is the involvement of the parents. We have seen a big increase in that over the last five years. That helps because we are all in this thing together. This way everyone is on the same page including the parents. This means being involved in school, coming to school activities, being in contact with teachers, administrators, and principals. You also have to have a level of expectation. So we expect no less than what we have attained and we will now strive to do better than this and we will because we will continue to work hard and it is what we expect.”

Avalon ISD’s cumulative scores per subject area are:

Reading/ELA 93% Writing 95% Mathematics 90% Science 92% Social Studies 98%

“We are very proud of our accomplishments and when one considers the gross inequity in school funding and you see these results with much less school funding this is a testament. A testament to hard work, a testament to quality of instruction, quality of people, attitude and confidence. Kids believe in themselves and we believe in them and it all carries over. I commend our students, faculty, staff and administrators on the efforts they put forth each year,” Dr. Del Bosque said proudly.

Congratulations Avalon ISD on your continued success!

Teresa Harris is the school secretary. She is supervising the computer lab during summer school. Another one of the Avalon team that helps make the school what it is. (Cindy Sutherland)

Kristi Bell (District special education teacher) and Denise Wimbish (para professional) said, “We are elated for our students and we are very proud to work here and be a part of it all.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Elsa Aguirre (para professional), “We couldn’t ask for anything better than this and we all work very hard. We do it for the kids.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Cody Davis is the head of the math department. Dr. Del Bosque said, “Cody is a tremendous math teacher, he can reach any child.” Cody said, “I think the kids do a wonderful job of being prepared and the teachers do a wonderful job in helping them be prepared.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Neva Del Bosque is the director of special programs and the school counselor. She said, “I think our students just rose to the challenge that was before them and it is something they are very proud of. Recognized again.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Brettne Sanders is the jr high English teacher for Avalon I.S.D. When asked what she thought about her school being recognized for six years in a row, she said, “I think it is a reflection of how hard the students work and the teachers work and how everyone comes together as a community to make it happen.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Khristopher Marshall is the high school principal for Avalon I.S.D. “We are really proud of the teachers and the students. We are just excited that we got Recognized again and we will continue to do it again next year.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Jody Tennery is the assistant principal for Avalon Elementary and high school. He is thrilled about the recognized status. He said, “They did fantastic, we are very proud of all the students. This is six times in a row we are Recognized and it is quite an accomplishment for any school district, it is a reflection of how well our kids have done.” (Cindy Sutherland)

Dwayne Betik is the technology director. “I think it is a great accomplishment being Recognized again. We are a strong team here in Avalon. We all have common goals and we do the best we can with limited resources. It all comes down to hard work from the students, the teachers and staff.” (Cindy Sutherland)