by Nicole Bradford
More than 21,000 Pearland ISD students returned to class this week after an energetic convocation that included a touchy subject.
“We’re not going to talk about STAAR,” Superintendent Larry Berger said, referring to state-mandated testing that is a substantial factor in district and campus ratings, “except I want to remind you that in about a week, TEA — in their very clear, fair, their very transparent grading system of a high stakes test — is going to produce a letter grade, and it’s going to hit the newspaper.”
Good or bad, Berger told the district’s teachers, those letter grades will always generate judgments about districts and campuses, “but while that letter grade is important for the data it presents to us, it is just that. It is information. It does not define us.”
Some campuses will get an A, he said, and some will not.
“Good or bad, that’s not who we are. It does not tell the whole story,” Berger said. “What do you do with the information coming to you? How do you adjust? How do you get better?”
The Aug. 6 convocation included messages from several of the district’s Student Ambassadors.
“All of my teachers made me who I am today, and I can’t thank them enough,” Dawson High sophomore Rush Williams said. “Every staff member in the district works so hard for the students.”
Now a combined event for all campuses, the annual convocation serves as a kickoff and pep rally for the district’s teachers and staff.
