Background: A Small Campus With a Big Vision
Dr. Ortiz leads a small 6th-8th grade college prep program in San Antonio ISD. The campus serves about 330 students. Only 32 are classified as Emergent Bilingual, because a sister middle school in the district is the designated dual language and EB servicing campus.
His EB students are what he calls the denials. Their parents have opted them out of the bilingual program but they still have to take TELPAS. They still have to reclassify and they are still closely monitored. The difference is that they receive no formal EB instruction.
“That is exactly why we turned to Summit K12. We needed a way to supplement our students who still have requirements to meet.”
— Dr. Ortiz, Principal, San Antonio ISD
The Challenge: A New Principal, No Tools, and Six Weeks Until TELPAS
Dr. Ortiz came into the campus in January, about seven to eight weeks before TELPAS. His EB students had received no formal support all year. The campus had no program, no pullout, and no plan.
He had heard about Summit K12 from his research. He met with his associate principal, pulled grant funding together, and purchased the program in February. Then he built a six-week pullout.
The Search: A Targeted, Aligned Tool He Could Trust
Dr. Ortiz needed a program that was aligned to TELPAS, easy for teachers to use, and built around student data. He needed students to feel the value, not just go through the motions.
Summit K12 fit the brief. The personalized lessons met students where they were and the progress data showed what each student needed next. Furthermore, the platform gave him something he could implement quickly and easily.
The Solution: A Master Schedule Built Around Language Development
After the first year of strong results, Dr. Ortiz designed his master schedule with EB students in mind. They now receive Connect to Literacy as a daily 45-minute reading enrichment class. The teacher is ESL certified and also teaches their regular English class.
Combined with tier one instruction, that gives each EB student 90 minutes of language development support every day.
“We are looking to exit 20 to 23 of our 32 students this year. We are on it!”
— Dr. Ortiz
How Students Experience the Platform
Dr. Ortiz met with every student before their exam. He gave a pep talk and walked through strategies. Every student said they left feeling confident and set up for success.
Teachers reported the same thing, affirming that the lessons felt personalized and that because the data showed each student exactly what they were doing well and what to focus on next, both students and teachers knew exactly where to focus and how to grow. That increased went everywhere with the EB students.
“Little by little, we saw that confidence transfer into the regular classroom. That confidence is everything, especially for an Emergent Bilingual student navigating a new language in a new environment.”
— Dr. Ortiz
Most Impactful Features
- Personalized Learning Plans driven by diagnostic data
- Daily 45-minute pull model built into the master schedule
- Both reading and writing components used together
- Real-time data tracking that shows growth by student
- Strong alignment to TELPAS reclassification requirements
Impact and Results: From Pilot to District-Wide Commitment
In year one, just six weeks of Connect to Literacy pullout sessions earned the campus 8 out of 10 points on TELPAS. The deputy superintendent saw the results, did the research, and made the decision to invest in the program district-wide.
This year, the campus has a zero percent failure rate in tier one ELA among EB students. The overall student failure rate is essentially one percent. The team is forecasting that 23 of 32 EB students will reclassify and is aiming for the full 10 out of 10 in state accountability.
Ongoing Partnership: An Investment in Every EB Student
Dr. Ortiz himself was an EB student once—monolingual Spanish-speaking until age eight. He believes in the dual language mindset and knows first hand the opportunities that it provides in life.
“My advice is simple. If you are going to do it, do the whole thing. Get all the components. Not just reading. Not just writing. Both. And have a very targeted implementation plan so your students can actually see and feel the benefits as they develop.”
— Dr. Ortiz, Principal, San Antonio ISD
His vision is to keep moving students out of the EB program and into the regular curriculum with all the skills they need to thrive. If twelve students remain next year, he plans to hit it again. And hopefully, one day, the number will drop to zero.
