Several NISD campus and district initiatives are being held up by the Texas Education Agency as "best practices" that should be modeled by other school districts in the state.
Altogether, TEA identified 10 Northside ISD programs for inclusion in the Best Practices Clearinghouse web site, now available online. Included are campus programs at Carson, Beard, Nichols, and Cable elementary schools, which TEA identified as among the best in Texas.
"Congratulations to all of those who are involved in these programs," Superintendent John Folks said. "This is again is another example of how Northside excels."
The Best Practices Clearinghouse was launched under a directive from House Bill 1, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2006.
Campuses, districts, and charter schools rated Exemplary or Recognized by the state are eligible to submit best practices to the clearinghouse in the areas of classroom instruction, dropout prevention, business and management practices, and finance and resource allocation.
"Part of our mission at TEA is to provide the resources to help schools meet the educational needs of all students," TEA Commissioner Robert Scott said. "This new clearinghouse will allow teachers, administrators, parents, and the general public access to what works best as we all seek to provide an excellent education to our school kids."
Northside's best practices are featured prominently on the clearinghouse web site. Of the 20 best practices selected for inclusion, half of them are Northside's.
"Northside was quick to take initiative to submit best practices and we appreciate that," said Ertha Patrick, Director for Special Projects at TEA. "It's good information. What Northside submitted was useful and fit the criteria we were looking for."
More best practices from other districts will be added in the near future, Patrick said. So far, the web site has been getting a lot of positive feedback, she said.
"We are excited about being able to provide an avenue for schools to share successful ideas with other districts," she said.
