Back to Basics 

Hello Pearland ISD,

Over the past weeks, some of you may have watched the Berger Time videos that highlighted my goal to listen to learn and develop plans and actions to get us “Back to Basics”. Questions have been asked about how we plan to balance budget concerns with getting back to the basics and is this code to cut programs and services. While, as a district, we must review budget concerns to regain a solid financial position, the back to basics approach is not double talk for cutting programs or services.

“All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.”-Mahatma Gandhi

Back to basics is best described as a return to fundamentals for our staff and students. The pandemic stalled both our students' academic and social development and derailed many of our educational and logistical practices and processes. We do not want to forget the lessons learned during the pandemic. We want to take what we learned and spiral it into our foundational procedures and best practices.

“Excellence is achieved by mastery of the fundamentals.” ~ Vince Lombardi

The fundamental focus will be centered around building a positive culture that understands connections have to happen before content can be delivered. We must support positive communication, relationships, and meaning. We will take an all-learner approach of intentional collaboration that uses data-driven decisions to provide just-in-time remediation as we scaffold new skill instruction. We must protect the classroom by reviewing and aligning people and processes to limit time pulled away from instruction and preparation. We must reteach and model behavior, attendance, and communication expectations for students and adults. The goal of back to basics is to ensure that we have a solid foundation to build upon future success.

“Sometimes the best way to learn is to return to the fundamentals” – John C. Maxwell

Back to basics is a process that all our departments and campuses will undertake over the summer to identify and codify our best practices and fundamentals. We will orientate our staff, students, and community to ensure clarity of message and expectations for the 2022-23 school year and beyond.