+

A Demographic Study of AliefBy: Ralph Bridges

+(1A&1C) Historical Background of the Community and School

Alief is a small residential suburb in Houston Texas, which is found in the western portion of Harris County. In 1861 Ryan Reynolds purchased 1,250 acres of land in what is now the western portion of Harris County. After 20 years of successful farming and cattle raising, Reynolds sold the land to Jacamiah Daugherty to continue the farming tradition. He also intended to allow the Aransas and San Antonio Railways to pass through the section of land in the hopes that travellers would settle the. They named the town Dairy on the account of the majority of commodities that it produced. In 1894 Dairy applied for its first post office, which officially made it a recognized town. In 1895 the town’s name was changed in order to honor the first postmistress, Alief Ozella Magee. There were two schools for the town’s 25 residents to adhere to the segregation laws at the time.

+1B)How was the area,community,or neighborhood developed?

The Alief area was first developed as a farming community and has since developed into a urban suburb of Houston. The early residents of this at one time sprawling community happened to be immigrants from Asia and Ireland. The school district was one of academia and achievement during that period of time. In the early 1970’s minorities began to move to this upstarting suburban community to create a better life for their children. With the creation of low income housing, individuals from low ses groups began to inhabit the area. This subpopulation brought the challenges associated with cultural characteristics and this dramatically affected the school system.

+1D) Are the any any important historical events related to the school to note?

In 1970 the town of Alief was annexed by the city of Houston. In 1983 businesses started moving into the area and this attracted more people to settle in the area as well. The businesses started to assimilate money into the community and the school district benefited from this business boom. These funds gave Alief to opportunity to grow and expand its budding academic programs.

+1E) How many schools and facilities are contained in the district?

Alief is composed of 46 schools and 4major facilities including a sports stadium, administrative office building, annex for instructional use and a maintenance/bus warehouse.

+1F) When was the campus Opened?

Elsik Ninth Grade Center was opened in August 2001 and has serviced the Alief area of which is found on the southwest side of Houston. Elsik High Schools main campus, which consists of 10-12 grades, was opened in 1975.

+1G) Why was the campus given its specific name?

Elsik was given its specific name due to an alternate name choice. The school was named Elks High School when it first opened its doors to the community for three months. After resistance from the local order of the Elks Lodge Social Club, the school was compelled to change its name to Elsik, home of the mighty Rams.

+2A) Campus GovernanceReview the campus organizational chart

The organizational chart of Elsik Ninth Grade Center

1. Principal

2.Assistant Principals

3.Shared Decision Making Committee

4.School interventionist

5.Content Specialists (Math, Science, Social Studies, English)

6.Department Heads/Lead Teachers

+2B)What is the chain of command in the school? The chain of command is similar to standard school

organizational practices that are indicative of a healthy school model. The first and often unseen individual that presents the campus with directives is the area superintendent. This gentleman gathers information from high-level administrative meetings and relays them to the campus principal. The principal formulates a plan of execution and relays it to the leadership team. This consists of assistant principals, content specialists, and department heads when directives involve instruction. After the leadership team has discussed the initiative, teachers are informed of the directives and trained on implementation techniques.

+2C) How is the campus site-based committee selected and how does it function?

The campus-based committee is selected by the administrative team and consists of essential school personnel that have been a part of the school for 5 or more years. These individuals understand the culture and inner workings of the school in detail and are committed in improving its systems in order to foster student success. The Shared Decision Making Committee meets biweekly in the schools library in order to discuss school related issues. Issues or subjects are put on an agenda for the committee to discuss and they brainstorm solutions. When multiple solutions are created, the team then votes on a compromise that would be in the best interest of the school.

+3A) Enrollment and GrowthWhat is the districts enrollment? The district has 45,000 students enrolled between 46 School campuses. 

African American. 32%

Asian/Pacific Islander. 12.9 %

Hispanic. 50.5 %

Native American. 0.2 %

White/Anglo. 3.2 %

+3B) What is the school enrollment?

African American 1,469 students. 35%

White. 137 students. 3.3%

American Indian. 30 students. 0.7%

Asian 502 students. 12.2%

Pacific Islander. 1 student. 0.0%

Other. 35 students. 0.7%

+3C) What are the Strong and Weak areas of student performance on state exams

STAAR Test Areas of Strength

English Language Arts. 83% passing

Social Studies. 95% passing

STAAR Test Areas of Weakness

Mathematics. 69% passing

Science. 70% passing

+4A) Political and geographic characteristics of the school and attendance area

Socio economic levels The socio-economic status of families in Alief range from middle SES to low SES. Most families fall within the low SES range and 39% receive government assistance.

+4B) How active are families in various school activities?

Only 11% of families are active in school activities

+4C) How is the PTO/PTA Organized?

The schools Parent Teacher Organization is composed of parents, teachers and school staff. The President of this organization is responsible for conducting the meetings and is responsible for mediation/liaison duties between the PTO and administration. The president elect learns the president's. The Vice President advises the president if he/she is absent from duty. The treasurer reviews the financial portion of the budget and a synopsis is shard during each meeting. The secretary creates the agenda and records the minutes of the meeting and the postal duties of the organization

+4D) Are there any geographical characteristics that might impact students or families?

There are no significant geographic characteristics in the area that may impact the students or their families. 

+5A) Professional StaffWhat are the levels of experience among staff at the district level?

The Beginning teachers compose 8.1% of the district’s teachers. Educators with 1-5 years of experience make up 36% of teachers. Teachers with 6-10 years of experience make up 23% of the districts educators. Teachers with 11-20 years make up 20% of the districts educators. Individuals with 20 or more years make up the remaining 11% of teachers

+5B) What are the levels of staff experience at the campus level

The Beginning teachers compose 10% of the campus’ teachers. Educators with 1-5 years of experience make up 38% of teachers. Teachers with 6-10 years of experience make up 17% of the campus’ educators. Teachers with 11-20 years make up 20% of the campus’ educators. Individuals with 20 or more years make up the remaining 12% of teachers.

+5C) How do these groups compare?

The groups compare because the district and campus percentages of teaching experience seem to mirror one another. There are a few percentage differences when experience grouping are made however some groupings are exactly alike. For example, the group of educators that make up 11-20 years of experience at the district and campus levels both are reported at 20%.

+6) Other related elements

Other information that can be used to describe the demographics of the school is how the teachers experience percentages at the district level compare to those at the state level.

The Beginning teachers compose 6% of the state’ teachers. Educators with 1-5 years of experience make up 31% of teachers. Teachers with 6-10 years of experience make up 20% of the states educators. Teachers with 11-20 years make up 24% of the states’ educators. Individuals with 20 or more years make up the remaining 18% of teachers.

+7A) Discuss potential areas for improvement

The area that needs to be most improved is the schools district’s connection to the community. The school campuses have been hosting library nights in order to form a relationship with the members of the community. A very low percentage of community members attend these special events.

+7B)Identify stakeholders in the school and community

The key stakeholders in the school are the teachers, and essential staff members that provide services to the student body. The key stakeholders in the community include council members and members of outreach groups. Parents of students also are considered to be key members of the Alief Community.

+7C) Discuss Leadership Strategies

The most important leadership strategy that I would share with classmates is the importance of considering demographic and academic data in order to drive planning and instruction to accommodate members of the community and help students achieve academic success.

+Thanks For Viewing

Hopefully you found this Power Point to be informative about Alief ISD.