Urban Systemic Program

The El Paso Urban Systemic Program (USP), which built on the success of the El Paso Urban Systemic Initiative and its commitment to ensuring high student achievement in mathematics and science for all children, was supported by a five-year, $11.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, awarded in 1999. The El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence (EPCAE) administered the grant jointly with the El Paso, Ysleta, and Socorro Independent School Districts. El Paso was one of the first of 18 US cities selected in a very competitive process to receive the grant.

Goals

The goals of El Paso USP included the following:

• Fully transform the entire education system, K-12, so that it makes possible high math/ science student achievement for all, and holds everyone accountable for student success;
• Completely align mathematics and science teaching and learning K-16 to create a seamless pathway from elementary to middle school, middle to high school, and high school to college, so that each level builds on the previous and ensures success in college;
• Institutionalize the process of district and school change and renewal so as to offer all students the best trained teachers, the highest level curricula, all necessary educational resources, and the highest expectations for their mathematics and science achievement;
• Improve the quality of the teacher workforce through ensuring the congruence of math/science teacher preparation programs at UT El Paso with content standards and standards for first year teachers; and
• Enable a significantly greater number of students to pursue careers in mathematics, science, engineering and technology.

Results

Most notably, El Paso USP helped bring about:

• Significant, continued student achievement gains on the TAAS, as well as the newly implemented Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Gains were most significant among Hispanic, African-American, and low-income students.
• Significant gains in TAKS science performance also occurred, with scores of Hispanic students increasing by 15 percentage points from 2003 to 2004.
• Continued gains in enrollment and passing rates in college preparatory math and science courses occurred over the course of El Paso USP.
• A very significant increase in the high school graduation rate across El Paso USP districts, which reached 80% by the completion of the grant period, with over 90% of students completing the college-preparatory State Recommended High School Program. Interest in post-secondary education is also reflected in a significant increase in the number of students taking the SAT and ACT.
• Development and implementation of the El Paso USP professional development model, built on research-based principles to guide the professional growth of teachers across El Paso districts and significantly deepen the quality of mathematics and science teaching and learning;
• A professional development system that reaches all classroom teachers in focus feeder pattern schools;
• Continous support to all area schools in implementing high quality, standards-meeting mathematics and science curriculum, instruction, and assessment programs, and the technology to facilitate learning; and
• Deepened professional development for district leaders, principals, counselors and parents toward advancing systemic educational reform.
• Development of K-16 aligned curriculum frameworks for the teaching of mathematics, including teacher guides for the teaching of K-8 mathematics, and for secondary mathematics courses including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-calculus. In addition, science frameworks were developed, as were guides for the teaching of K-8 science and for high school Chemistry and Physics.

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