Harvard Elementary Families,

I am writing to share further information on three important topics with the Harvard Elementary community: Special Education support staffing, instructional support, and IB recertification. 

As many of you know, Harvard’s special education staff was reduced by one position to match student enrollment during staff leveling across the district. However, due to a recent resignation, we have been able to reassign Alexis Breaux back to Harvard Elementary as of Monday, 10/21/2024. 

I’m also aware that many families have noticed the extra instructional support and coaching the Central Division Executive Director, Wendy Craft, has provided teachers. I’d like to clarify the purpose of this support and how it is separate and different from the NES model. 

The district’s goal is to ensure that every student at Harvard Elementary succeeds academically, no matter what class they are in and their current academic strengths and growth areas. There is no greater factor in student success than high-quality instruction. The purpose of instructional coaching, regardless of school model, is to provide helpful feedback to educators on student engagement and differentiated instruction. Instructional observation, feedback, and coaching are well-proven approaches to supporting student success that one would find in the best schools nationwide. As such, continuously improving instructional quality is core to HISD’s support for NES schools and ALL schools. How your teachers receive instructional guidance and coaching is highly adapted to the needs of Harvard Elementary as an IB school. The PYP Specialty Guidance form is used with the HISD Spot Observation form to ensure that all instructional leaders account for the differences in teaching and learning in a PYP classroom.  The final form was modified by incorporating input from IB principals, coordinators, and teachers.  Additionally, Executive Director Wendy Craft and her supervisor attended an international training for IB in California last weekend to deepen their IB knowledge and skill for coaching teachers on IB implementation.

For further comparison, between what is occurring at Harvard Elementary versus a NES School please see the table below. 

Over the past several weeks, we’ve had robust conversations about Harvard’s IB program and recertification process. As one of the most critical next steps, HISD will be offering additional IB training sessions for Harvard teachers. All PYP teachers are required to complete the Category 1 training, “Making the PYP Happen: Implementing Agency.” Only 13 of 38 teachers at Harvard have completed the training, and only three attended the training in August. Please find below the additional steps HISD is taking to support Harvard’s IB program and your recertification. 

  • Our PYP specialist will meet with the teachers during their PLC time to assist them with updating their IB Unit Planners.  She will also support them with “blending” their curriculum resources (Amplify, Eureka, HISD curriculum) with the PYP curriculum framework. 

  • Our PYP specialist regularly meets with the school’s IB coordinator. 

  • We offer professional development sessions for PYP teachers during the District PD days.

  • Harvard leadership and Central Division Leadership have and will continue to participate in IB programme calibration across HISD.

  • The district’s IB team will work with the school leadership, the IB coordinator, and the teachers to prepare the school for their PYP evaluation visit.  The first set of documents is due in June 2025.  We will also hold two mock evaluation visits, which will include parents, students, teachers, and administrators to prepare for the actual evaluation visit (window: Oct 2025 – Jan 2026).

Lastly, the data on Harvard Elementary School’s performance over the last 3 years that Superintendent Miles refereced during the Harvard Family Tele-Town hall is attached to this email (linked here).

As always, we are here to support Harvard Elementary’s educators, students, and families. Please reach out if you have additional questions, concerns, or ideas about how we can work together to make Harvard Elementary the best possible school for its students. Your best contacts to reach out to for questions and support are:

Sincerely,

Dr. Luz Martinez 

Central Division Superintendent 

Luz.Martinez2@houstonisd.org

&

Alex Elizondo

Chief of Public Affairs and Communications

alexandra.elizondo@houstonisd.org