Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath spent the afternoon of November 1 visiting Mt. Pleasant Independent School District to discover the methodology the district has used to make the rapid academic progress it has made over the past three years.
Morath met with District and campus administrators and members of the School Board to discuss the changes that had been put in place that helped improve the academic achievement in the district.
He had the opportunity to visit several classrooms at Mt. Pleasant High School to get a feel for the way instruction takes place with the diverse student body.
“We are honored that the Commissioner chose to make this visit to Mt. Pleasant ISD,” said Judd Marshall, MPISD Superintendent of Schools. “TEA has been impressed by the progress we have made and wanted to see and hear first-hand what is happening in our district. We have presented at conferences about the things we are doing and have hosted visitors who want to pick our brains but we never expected that Commissioner Morath would want to visit himself.”
MPISD had 5 Improvement Required campuses three years ago. This year the District met standards on all campuses in all subgroups and, in addition, earned 16 Academic Distinctions.
“Our turn-around caught the attention of TEA,” Marshall added. “TEA usually visits Districts that are in trouble. To have them visit to see what we are doing right is a real compliment to our teachers, staff and administrators. I am proud of the work we are doing here and I am pleased to see it being recognized at the state level.”