Description of School

H.D. Hilley Elementary serves 687 K-5 students in Socorro Independent School District. Socorro ISD is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state, with a student population that has increased 40% in the last five years. H.D. Hilley has a higher student/teacher ratio and lower per pupil expenditure than the district or state averages.

Demographics

Student Racial/Ethnic Composition:

88% Hispanic

11% White (not of Hispanic origin)

1% African American (not of Hispanic origin)

LEP Students: 24%

Qualify for Free/Reduced Price Lunch: 70%

Receive Special Education Services: 9%

Background and Goals

Located in rural Western Texas, H.D. Hilley Elementary wanted to discredit the stereotypical notions concerning the limited learning potential of students from minority and economically disadvantaged homes.

Professional Development Design and Implementation

• Coordination with District. Socorro ISD not only sponsors professional development activities at the district level, with follow-up mentoring tailored to individual campus needs, but also allows H.D. Hilley's school improvement team (comprised of teachers, parents, community members, and administrators) to determine school improvement goals and how to spend its allocated professional development funds ($400 per teacher per year).

• Teacher Organizational Structures. Teachers at H.D. Hilley participate in horizontal (grade level) and vertical (subject) teams. Grade-level teams meet weekly and have common lunch periods. These frequent conversations encourage teachers to share ideas and visit each other's classrooms. Cross-grade teams -- Communications, Mathematics and Science, Fine Arts, and Technology -- meet monthly to structure and monitor the progress of the school-wide initiatives, as well as to coordinate curriculum goals into the K-5 instructional programs. Each team implements and assesses the professional development related to its area.

Objective Evidence of Success

Student outcomes are primarily measured by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). Between 1996 and 1997, the percent of students at H.D. Hilley passing the reading component increased seven percentage points to 80.6%, and between 1995 and 1997, the percent of third graders mastering all objectives on the test increased by eighteen percentage points, to 48%.

Contact Information

H.D. Hilley Elementary School
Ms. Ivonne Durant, M.Ed.
Principal
693 N. Rio Vista Road
El Paso, TX 79927
(915) 860-3770
(915) 860-3778
idurant@socorro.k12.tx.us

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