Success in Texas: How Crandall ISD’s K-5 Teachers are Helping Every Student Grow
In April 2022, we decided to head to Texas to see how Education Galaxy, a product from Progress Learning, was working at Crandall ISD, an independent school district in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
We visited 4 of their 5 elementary campuses—W.A. Martin Elementary, Wilson Elementary, Walker Elementary, and Noble Reed Elementary—to discover all the different ways teachers were using our solution to support instruction in the classrooms.
What we found was that teachers truly enjoyed integrating our various tools to create immersive and impactful classroom experiences. Their students were not only excited and engaged about learning, they also showed tremendous academic growth, performing at and even surpassing their current grade level!
Let’s take a closer look inside a few of the Crandall ISD classrooms to see how teachers used the elementary program (with all our fun, interactive tools!) to improve student engagement and performance.
Mrs. Hartley – Kindergarten, W.A. Martin Elementary
When we stopped by Mrs. Hartley’s classroom, she was using the whole-group instructional game, Alien Arena, to check for understanding at the end of a lesson and address learning gaps. On the projector, she was displaying questions on a specific standard from Alien Arena and actively monitoring students as they answered questions from their Chromebooks. She then used the data at the conclusion of Alien Arena to form small groups for differentiated instruction, where she was able to work more closely with students who needed additional help. Students loved the Alien Arena game and were actively participating throughout the entire lesson.
Ms. Sandifer – 1st Grade Math, Wilson Elementary
In Ms. Sandifer’s 1st grade class, we got to see how students used the Study Plan to work on mastering standards during their intervention block. Ms. Sandifer provided each of her students a laminated card that contained the 1st Grade Study Plan from the elementary platform. Students circled 3 different standards to work on from their individual Study Plan, and when they fully mastered one of their standards, they received 3 Galaxy Stars in their Study Plan and a small prize from Ms. Sanifer. This ker.pt students motivated to master standards and rack up as many Galaxy Stars as possible. Who says mastering standards can’t be fun?
Mr. Matthew – 3rd Grade Math, Walker Elementary
When we visited Mr. Matthew’s 3rd grade math class, we learned how he incorporates lessons with remediation exercises from Liftoff Adaptive Intervention. This daily instruction has allowed Mr. Matthew’s class to rank #1 in the district on recent curriculum based assessments (CBAs). According to his classroom’s Liftoff Growth Report, 21 out of 23 students have shown growth and closed learning gaps in Computations and Algebraic Relationships.12 out of 23 students had already advanced to the 4th grade level for the standard!
Ms. Elzner and Ms. Daugherty – 4th Grade, Noble Reed Elementary
At Noble Reed Elementary, we spotted Ms. Elzner and Ms. Daugherty incorporating My Recommended Topics of Study into their 4th grade classroom. After students had taken their diagnostic pre-test assessment, students were using the diagnostic individual report to focus on their critical needs. Students picked one skill at a time to practice and worked towards mastering 3 Galaxy Stars. If students were successful, they moved on to their next Recommended Topic of Study. Students used personalized data folders to track their goals, reflections, and growth. The goal of the exercise? To earn 10 Galaxy Stars a week, close skill gaps, and master state standards.
Ms. Weld – 5th Grade, Walker Elementary
Inside Ms. Weld’s 5th grade classroom, we saw how she weaved SuperSheets into her lesson to prepare her 5th grade students for the STAAR® assessment. She displayed a SuperSheet question on the projector and read the problem aloud with the class. Next, students worked in small groups to analyze three or four SuperSheet problems. She then split these groups into pairs, where the teams worked together to solve one additional SuperSheet question. After this, students worked individually on their SuperSheet questions. Finally, Ms. Weld led a small group where she focused on reteaching and exploring a different approach to the standard to accommodate for students who needed additional help. By breaking down the lesson in this way, Ms. Weld was able to ensure every single student grasped the material successfully.
Want to learn how you could use Progress Learning in your classrooms to boost standards mastery and get students excited about learning? Request a demo today!
