Fulshear-Katy Community Guide & Directory 2022-23

E D U C A T I O N

reality. The days of opening a sealed standardized test and f illing in bubbles with your pencil will soon become obsolete. According to Texas Education Agency (TEA), a redesign of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) test is currently underway. House Bill (HB) 3906 was passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. Schools are now star ting to implement some of those components in the classroom by practicing the tests on laptops, tablets, and Chromebooks. New question types will include technology-enhanced items. These new types of questions vary by subject . The Texas Education Agency is f ield-testing potential new questions to determine if students answer the questions as they were designed. Even though students are hands on with technology throughout the day, several ways to practice test taking have been implemented. With a new platform, it ’s possible there will be a learning curve for students to familiarize themselves with the application. KISD states, “Students practice online testing with District Learning Assessments (DLAs), Texas Education Agency (TEA) Field Tests, and some campus-based assessments. Additionally, because students must adjust to the online format , teachers are encouraged to incorporate technology into their daily lessons. During the 2021 2022 school year, each grade level had technological approach to taking tests is to expand input from educators and provide more f lexibility at the campus level for test administration. As the TEA website states, “Key changes in the passed bill include transitioning to online assessments by the 2022–23 school year, adding new item types and capping the percentage of multiple choice items, eliminating stand-alone writing assessments for grades 4 and 7 and incorporating cross curricular passages to assess new reading language ar ts Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) The school districts and educators are learning to adapt as well. Not only are the students preparing for the future in a digital world, but the teachers must also keep up with the trend as the digital footprint grows larger by the year. The children of today were introduced to technology at an early age. This transition only seems natural for a generation that star ted their education on tablets and apps over the more traditional f lash cards of the past . Mrs. Cunningham states, “I once heard someone say, ‘We are preparing our students for jobs that do not yet exist ’. As an educator, this means it is critical to provide our students with at least one online state test .” The goal of implementing a

Education Presses On by Shea Kummer

S tep through the revolving door of education and you will see it proves the only thing that stays the same, is that education is always changing. As we wipe our fatigued and bleary eyes from the Covid-19 pandemic’s blur, education is looking towards a new and bright future for students of all ages. Both Katy Independent School District (KISD) and Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD) are experiencing growth like never before. These last couple of years have adults re-thinking their careers and heading back to the classroom. Whether it is to leave a career to focus on an entirely new area that has always interested them or to upgrade their skills in a current profession for advancement goals, the sky is the limit with college level classes. HEADING WEST Fulshear recently earned the title of “ The Fastest Growing City in Texas”. At a growth rate of over 11% in 2020 and more than 1000% since 2010, not only is the housing market feeling this boom, so are the school districts. New development in the area is driving the high energy of growth as well as bringing in more businesses. The appeal of the Fulshear-Katy area is the convenience of larger cities while maintaining that small town feel. Recently, the expansion of FM 1093 has helped make the once-rural area more accessible. Heritage Parkway opened this past year as well , which allows a nor th-south passage between FM roads

Bond, the District is able to provide the facilities and resources needed to prepare all students for the future.” The nor thwest quadrant is showing the most rapid growth. Katy ISD opened a new junior high in the 2021-2022 school year and is expected to add three additional elementary schools, one junior high, one high school and a transpor tation and maintenance facility over the nex t few years. Public schools are not the only ones taking on more students. There has also been an uptick in enrollment at Private and Char ter schools. During the pandemic, some families opted for this as an alternative to public schools for a variety of reasons. In Katy, between the 2020-2021 school year, the number of students in Private and Char ter schools jumped by more than 4,000 students compared to just a 1,500 student jump the year prior. Jeanna Bickerstaff, M.ED Assistant Principal of Faith West Academy said, “We are blessed to be at the center of a thriving community with an inf lux of new, young families. The mission of Faith West Academy is outreach, and the growth in our area has allowed us to reach so many new families in our mission of Excellence Without Compromise and our values of Reverence, Respect , and Responsibility.” REDESIGNING TEST TAKING As the children of today continue to become more savvy with technology, the push for using technology to administer tests is becoming a new

1463 and 359. Not only is this easier for residents, but it also eases the school district ’s transpor tation routes. To aid in its ongoing growth, LCISD is also adding 6 new campuses soon. These will include three elementary schools, one middle school , one junior high and one high school. Fulshear is ready to embrace this growth as the city plans, all while keeping its students a priority. Bethany Cunningham, an LCISD elementary principal says, “As we continue to welcome students to our school , it is essential that we remain focused on our mission of providing unparalleled learning experiences for our students. The growth of each and every student is our number one priority, and we continually focus on meeting them where they are by provided differentiated learning oppor tunities. Our school is a family, and we remain committed to Fulshear ’s strong sense of community.” Neighboring Katy ’s growth is also on the rise. Katy is growing at a rate over 9% annually and its population has increased by almost 106% since the 2010 census. KISD is the f ifth largest and one of the fastest-growing school districts in the State of Texas. The district enrolled its 90,000th student in March 2022. People from all areas of the United States are f locking to the area, so expect the number to continue to grow. Katy ISD Superintendent Ken Gregorski said, “As families continue to move to the area, it ’s impor tant that Katy ISD be prepared to serve them. Thanks to our voter-approved 2021

66 FULSHEAR-KATY COMMUNITY GUIDE & DIRECTORY 2022-23 ISSUE