The Dublin Intermediate School is on a roll and has been named 2024 Honor Roll school by Educational Results Partnership, a data science organization that recognizes schools with high performance in Math and English.
This is the 10th year that ERP has completed the Honor Roll list, which recognizes top public schools, school districts and charter schools in Texas that have outperformed their peers in closing achievement gaps, particularly among higherpoverty and historically disadvantaged student populations.
This year 63 school districts in Texas made the Honor Roll. This is approximately 9% of all eligible districts in the state.
“Principal Amanda Lisso and her team of educators have worked so hard to get to the place that they are today. They have built a strong team and continually go above and beyond to provide individualized instruction for every student,” Superintendent Melissa Summers said. “They have become experts in curriculum and instruction, and their test scores are proof! They are laser focused, but also have fun with the students and each other. Not only do they take care of the students academic needs, but their social and emotional needs as well. I am extremely proud of Mrs. Lisso’s leadership guiding an amazing campus!”
Lisso said the process to get this award has been in place on the campus for years, focusing on student growth.
“On our campus our teachers are a team – that’s key,” she said. “They support one another, they share their best practices and they are always looking for ways to get better – to enhance student learning. I think we are so incredibly blessed by our teachers in Dublin.”
The principal said the teachers are in the daily mindset of improving with meetings weekly on curriculum and goals.
“It’s a fluid process throughout the year, and no process looks the same, because no group of kids, no child is the same,” she said. “It’s really just adapting to every students needs, no matter what it takes.”
Lisso said the teachers are at the heart of this achievement.
“They are the ones in the trenches. They are the ones who can tell you every little detail about every child,” she said. The principal said that the teachers can tell you every kid’s data and how much they’ve grown throughout the year.
“It’s the best feeling and it’s amazing to watch,” she said.
Lisso said the kids at the Intermediate School and in the district are the best, and this award is also a credit to them.
“Our kids always rise to the occasion. They rise to any challenge we give them. It’s not only their academic success but also their growth mindset, that they are always trying to improve too.”
This year’s theme for the intermediate school ‘In Our Growth Era.’
Lisso said it’s important no matter if that student comes in with advanced learning, or low learning, they are still going to get a year’s worth of growth.
It is this growth, also called ‘Closing Gaps’ and STAAR test results for which the campus won the award.
“I want to reward what is important and to us, the growth is most important,” she said.
To celebrate the achievement, Lisso said she found out close to lunchtime and quickly went over to Brookshire Brothers to purchase every kind of roll she could think of ‘Tootsie Rolls,’ ‘Fruit Roll Ups’ and ‘Swiss Rolls.’
Holding the students in the cafeteria with the assistant principal watching over them, she called all teachers to the library something that rarely occurs.
“I asked them, we have a theme going, can anyone guess what it is?” she asked. One of the teachers guessed Honor Roll and suddenly the teachers realized they had received the coveted award.
“We only had a few minutes to celebrate but it was special,” she said.
The Texas Honor Roll is presented by the Campaign for Business and Education Excellence in collaboration with the Texas Business Leadership Council and other business leaders across the state.