McAllen ISD, one of the largest school districts in South Texas, partners with Texas ColorBandsTM to promote effective learning and student success.
The Story
McAllen ISD teachers and administrators explored a variety of options when seeking to improve student learning and test performance. With the aid of partnerships like Texas ColorBandsTM, McAllen ISD educators helped students exceed state targets across all subjects and grade levels and achieve the distinction designation of Postsecondary Readiness since 2018.
Journey to “A”
McAllen, Texas is a city in the Rio Grande Valley, located just minutes from the Mexican border. With over 22,000 enrolled students, McAllen ISD is a large school district with five high schools—including one early college high school and one options high school—six middle schools, and 19 elementary campuses.
As one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the United States, McAllen and surrounding districts have long struggled with educational growth.
“Every child comes to the table with different needs,” said Dr. J. A. González, Superintendent of McAllen ISD. “We are all the sum of our circumstances and our influences. And that’s what McAllen ISD is all about. It’s making sure that we understand that every child has specific needs and special needs.”
In 2017, district leaders recognized a need for not only stronger academic performance, but a system with which the district could monitor efforts as they collectively strived for top honors, i.e., an “A” in the newly implemented A-F Accountability System. Enter Texas ColorBandsTM and ScoreBoardsTM.
Teachers were eager to implement new strategies to elevate effectiveness in the classroom, particularly with economically disadvantaged students and students struggling with the English language. Empowered by new tools and training, teachers connected increased levels of rigor to instructional grouping and college readiness colors. Specifically, the Texas ColorBands user-friendly, color-coordinated system — aligned to performance and academic growth point systems of the Texas Accountability System — elevated hope for teachers and students alike.
“When you have great teachers, you have great learning going on,” said Bridgette Vieh, Associate Superintendent at McAllen ISD. “When a teacher flourishes, the learning flourishes.”
Today, McAllen ISD’s Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students are outperforming the state at the college readiness level.
A Partnership for Success
Texas ColorBands is an education consulting company founded by
Gloria C. Rivera, a life-long educator and former principal who has dedicated her career to school improvement. Most recently, as demonstrated by McAllen ISD’s success story, she has partnered with schools aiming to advance their ratings in Texas, using ColorBands to demystify the A-F Accountability System and outline a clear path to success.
The ColorBands System analyzes state and interim data to create a roadmap for improvement. Utilizing an array of colors, ColorBands are a lens that provides clarity and brings any given goal into focus. Though the system goes well beyond simple color designations, according to Rivera, attaching color to rigor level promotes a mental shift to a mindset of continuous growth. As students advance, so does their color. Colors represent where the student is and where he/she wants to go.
“It helps our teachers understand the Texas Accountability System and how every student is important and how every student contributes to the goal,” said Alfredo Gutiérrez, principal of Brown Middle School. “It’s made our work easier because we are all talking in the same language and pulling in the same direction.”
One of the main benefits of a system like Texas ColorBands is uniformity. The color-coded system allows for easier communication between administrators, teachers, students, and parents, each of which plays a role in student success. The Texas ColorBands progress monitoring system also allows teachers to compare student growth to previous years, identify areas of improvement, and offer students and parents a detailed roadmap for continual progress.
“When we didn’t have ColorBands, I didn’t know how to talk about the accountability of the STAAR test with parents,” said Anna García, a seventh-grade teacher at Travis Middle School. “Once I had that visual, the conversations became more powerful.” In 2019, the district’s seventh grade students displayed a 20-point gain at the college-readiness level.
McAllen ISD teachers have found that attainability is key for students. By setting realistic goals based on performance and supporting data, teachers and students no longer fear targets that may seem impossible to reach. Instead, they work closely with one another to achieve gradual progress.
“With this type of approach, students will often surpass the goals you’ve set for them,” said Vieh.
“It’s All About That Growth”
According to McAllen ISD’s superintendent, a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom is directly correlated to student success.
“That’s what makes our system so special. There’s an art and a science to getting kids to understand concepts. And it doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by design,” said Dr. González.
Cynthia Olivárez, Dean of Instruction at McAllen High School, is a 29-year educator. In 2017, the school was achieving zero of five indicators on math testing and was at risk of becoming a targeted campus. With the help of Texas ColorBands, Olivárez noted an increase in the clarity of planning and overall progress in the classroom.
“When they finished their first session with Texas ColorBands, we immediately saw this spark in our teachers,” said Olivárez. “When we got our results, we were so happy. We met all five indicators for our math scores…we had gains of 20 points. That, to me, was incredible.”
“Texas ColorBands has created a culture of growth at our campus for both our teachers and our students. And I will always be grateful.”
Moving Forward
Teachers of all grade levels utilize the Texas ColorBands system for goal setting and progress monitoring. The system is designed to provide a pathway to growth, no matter a student’s age. The district’s third graders, for instance, outperformed the state by 10 points in math. Fourth graders designated as economically disadvantaged outperformed the state in writing by 10 points, too.
“It has really added value to our campus and has formed a collaborative nature within our grade levels,” says Christian Quintanilla, principal at Ben Milam Elementary, an “A” rated school with all six distinctions. “Ultimately, it’s a tool to help students improve and have that growth mindset.”
McAllen ISD’s “A” distinction is a testament to the hard work and deep commitment the district’s educators have put forth in helping students across all backgrounds achieve their learning goals. The district plans to continue to utilize Texas ColorBands to motivate teachers and students alike.
“When a student knows that their educational system, their parents, and all the adults in their lives are pulling in the same direction and are on a concept like Texas ColorBands that looks at true data, then that’s where they start to believe in the system themselves,” said Dr. Gonzalez. “That’s when the magic happens.”
McAllen ISD isn’t the only school district that utilizes Texas ColorBands for learning. Vieh recalls a colleague, a first-year superintendent who took his district from a “D” rating to a “B” rating in one year with the help of Texas ColorBands.
“As for what it takes to earn that ‘A’ designation—communication and understanding between administrators, teachers, students, and parents are crucial,” says Vieh.
“It’s about the routines, the resources, and the relationships,” she continued.
“The routine must be a standardized approach to measure learning. Something that can help you, that we know is proven, is Texas ColorBands.”
