Tabitha Branum, Chris Poteet, Kerri Jones, Brent Basden and Mark Holmes. Photo by Carol Toler.
Richardson ISD Superintendent Tabitha Branum visited with members of the Lake Highlands Exchange Club Friday to share district updates and express her appreciation. The club supports nonprofits fighting child abuse, honors outstanding high school seniors and awards college scholarships, among many other community projects.
As she begins her second year in the district’s top job, Branum is focused on what she called her North Star: She’s determined that every student, teacher and leader will meet or exceed their academic growth goals. Seven district campuses are pioneering a new program to more vigorously track student progress from the start of the term to its final day.
“We have one vision in Richardson ISD,” Branum said. “We might have 55 campuses and cover 6 million square feet of hallways and spaces across the district, but in the end we’re about one thing. It’s easy, especially because of all the beautiful diversity in the district, to focus on the silo of our one building, but we keep in mind how important the connections are across all of our facilities. In the end, we’re about one thing, and that’s ensuring growth for all of our kids.”
Among the district’s 36,429 enrolled students, 76 different languages and dialects are spoken. Two children who recently arrived from Ukraine are among the 11,291 emergent bilingual students districtwide — many of whom arrive from war torn countries across the globe.
“We are navigating how to communicate with this Ukrainian family so that they successfully transition to our American schools,” Branum said. “It requires resources to make sure families like this are supported and these students have what they need. These children have not been in any formal school setting and have escaped a traumatic situation, so tending to their emotional and academic needs is just something we do.”
About 57% of RISD students are economically disadvantaged, but that statistic doesn’t tell the story, Branum said. Texas defines gradations of poverty, and many district families experience the fiercest, most unrelenting level known as “zone five.”
“That is deep, generational poverty. That’s not just families living paycheck to paycheck,” Branum explained. “Our board and our team have done tremendous work to ensure that those students are equipped with the support they need to be successful.”
Branum said the HUB at Lake Highlands High School has made a difference, too. When the connector building was constructed between LHHS and the former freshman center, it contained one state-of-the-art food-court-style lunchroom and gathering space called the HUB. Prior to that, two facilities hosted lunch — a cafeteria used by students who qualified for free and reduced lunch, and a student center for kids with cash to pay for pizza. The discrepancy kept students apart, physically and socially.
“At the HUB, all students have a chance to have fellowship and eat lunch and be connected in one place instead of in separate cafeterias. That may seem like something small, but in terms of building a culture of inclusion, that change in the architecture of the building has been game-changing for the Wildcats.”
Branum discussed recent STAAR test results, proclaiming that district students experienced growth, despite the recent pandemic, teacher shortages and other challenges. RISD saw passing rates in 18 of 20 tested areas, and RISD performed higher than state averages in more than 90% of tested areas at the “meets” and “masters” levels. Three RISD juniors also earned perfect ACT scores in 2023, and the district’s PSAT scores outperformed state and national averages. Twelve RISD seniors were named Dell Scholars in 2023, and Lake Highlands Elementary’s Veronica Bullard was named Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Texas PTA.
Before she left, Branum gave attendees a homework assignment. She acknowledged the challenges of school finance and urged Lake Highlands residents to support increased education funding with elected officials in Austin.
“We do believe there will be a special session called in October,” Branum said. “I’m not going to say anything other than I do ask you to help advocate for public schools. We have not seen a cost-of-living adjustment to our funding formulas since 2019, even though the cost of hiring armed security officers on every campus, the cost of fuel, the cost of electricity, the cost of trying to hire teachers during a shortage — all of those have increased. We are not receiving a dollar more.”
“I hope you know we love your kids,” Branum added. “We are on the brink of seeing academic gains and growth that will set us up for a very long time.”
