EMILY TREADWAY
THRALL – On April 21, the Texas Education Agency released its school accountability ratings for the 2022-23 school year and Thrall Independent School District scored higher than other school districts in east Williamson County.
The TEA rating came as no surprise to Thrall ISD. In March, the district was recognized by the annual Educational Results Partnership as one of the state’s highest performing schools. This honor was given to 762 schools and 63 school districts in the state.
ERP is a nonprofit organization that uses data science and predictive analytics to identify successful public and charter schools, their education systems, practices, programs and policies that are delivering the best results for students. Thrall superintendent Tommy Hooker feels that is exactly what Thrall ISD has been doing.
“We have had discussion with our leaders at all levels and have made significant adjustments over the past decade,” Hooker said.
The ERP Honor Roll program is part of a national effort to engage business leaders by recognizing schools that are academically high-performing but also schools where students learn fundamental workplace skills. ERP gathers data on student achievement from kindergarten into the labor market.
Partnering with educators and employers, ERP’s goal is to ensure that more students are equipped to enter the job market with skills needed in the workforce today.
Hooker said, “(Thrall) faculty and staff are dedicated to the success of students at every grade level and for every aspect of academics.”
Thrall is a 3A district with three campuses and new state-of-the-art facilities to open this fall. Thrall High School is expanding its Career & Technical Education program, with a recent school board meeting discussing its options for a CTE class in plumbing.
Thrall ISD has spent the last few years working hard not only to become a top-performing school but also to become known as a “destination district,” where families specifically move to the area for children to attend its schools.
Hooker said, “In Thrall schools, families send their children each day ready to learn and have high expectations for making the most with the opportunity to engage in the learning process.”
Hooker attributes Thrall’s increased performance to many things, including limiting the number of school pep rallies but increasing academic recognitions within the individual campuses and at board meetings.
The full list of Honor Roll schools is now posted at edresults.org/ honor-roll.
TEA ratings can be found at TXSchools.gov.
