Nitsch Elementary School - Houston, TX

Nitsch offers diverse learners an opportunity to grow into the Academic Pathway established by Klein ISD that best fits their Purpose. Armed with knowledge, passion, and purpose, the school community has established an accountable culture as a pathway to academic success.

Through the use of instructional coaching cycles, crucial conversations are conducted following campus common assessments. Teachers hold each other accountable for the deficits and celebrate the growth experienced throughout the year. The process starts with our classroom teachers. Teachers use assessment data and a backward design from state assessment to help guide instruction. Every week, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) help align curriculum planning and pacing, instructional implementation, and campus vision. Teams analyze student performance and reflect on the effectiveness of instruction. An action plan is developed to reteach struggling skills. Teachers are encouraged to model lessons to help see skill implementation and give cool and warm feedback to modify lessons if necessary. Administrators facilitate discussions and assist with instructional action steps.

Teachers invest in their students' academic success as well as their future well-being by developing shared instructional goals. School leaders set clear, ambitious, and achievable goals at strategic points throughout the four-quarter school terms. Students are also introduced to enrichment programs that include Code.org and Scratch.org. to offer all students an opportunity to learn block coding and practice coding, a fundamental technology skill for many highly-skilled jobs in the future. These programs teach students 21st-century skills such as abstract thinking while fostering creativity and peer collaboration.