A quiet revolution is taking place at Crockett High School in south Austin.  Under the leadership of Principal Craig Shapiro, and with a committed campus cabinet of 21 administrators and teachers, Crockett made the big leap to Acceptable rating on TAKS in 2009 by implementing fundamental changes to traditional instructional practice.  The success at Crockett can't be measured by TAKS results alone, but a look at the progress made on the state accountability test is testament to the impact of key systems changes Shapiro has inspired at the campus. 

Crockett scored at the exemplary or recognized level for 16 out of 20 of the student groups on TAKS in 2008-2009 (with TPM), and increased the TAKS scores for every student group.  The campus made especially strong gains in Math and Science TAKS and showed double digit gains for many student groups over the scores from the previous year.

Shapiro exemplifies the spirit of change that has been supported across the district through the Tools for Teaching Excellence (TTE) funding from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and funding from the Gates Foundation to reform high schools.  These partners have put significant resources into building new campus and district systems to better meet student needs and to increase the district's capacity to support innovative ideas from high school leaders.

Shapiro credits campus progress to the hard work and strong support of his teachers and administrative team.  He sees three comprehensive changes that have made a significant difference at Crockett.

Shapiro calls himself a numbers guy, and he has developed a data tool in cooperation with AISD's MIS Department that provides "the right information at the right time to do the right thing".   Assistant principals and teachers track key indicators for every student every six weeks using a simple color-coded format that allows him to identify whether individual students are on track to graduate and to detect any change that might indicate the need for an immediate intervention.  This system allows Shapiro and his team to respond quickly to changing student needs without waiting until the end of the year when actions have only limited success or none at all.

Shapiro underscores the critical importance of embedding site-based, regular professional development for his teachers into the school schedule through common planning time. Using an assessment tool developed by his teachers themselves around what success in the classroom should look like, he is able to target professional development to specific teacher needs and deliver it in a timely way.  Teachers have bought into this system because they see its value in the context of their own learning and their own school.  Shapiro knows this system is having a direct and immediate impact on classroom teaching, as evidenced by the increase in the TAKS scores.

Finally, Shapiro has worked diligently with his team to change school culture to one of high expectation through intentional changes in practice.  For example, teachers were prepared the first day of class with rigorous lessons and homework assignments, demonstrating to students through their own practice that Crockett would place high value on academics.  

Shapiro knows that his students want to attend an excellent school and that his job is to work with his teachers and administrative team to build the systems students need to take back their own school.