Historical Background of the Community and the School

Park Place Elementary is one of 283 schools in the Houston Independent School District. It

opened in 1915 as a part of the city of Park Place. In 1926 the city of Park Place was annexed by

the city of Houston. Park Place Elementary School was renovated and annexed by HISD in 1927.

The campus is located in southeast Houston near William P. Hobby Airport and currently serves

almost 1000 multi-ethnic students in grades PK-5th. Currently Park Place school-based

programs include Special Education, Advanced Academics, Multilingual, Career and Technology

Education. There are also after school activities for students such as: soccer, tennis, basketball,

cheerleading, dance, robotics, piano, and science.

Many years ago, Helen Cleaves and Charlene Gray were notables in the effort to keep

prohibitionist tone in the city Park Place. In 1936 the city of Houston named the community park

after Park Place’s only mayor George Charlton. The park along with the Park Place public library

is located across the street from Park Place Elementary School. These facilities along with other

churches, stores and business are available to the students and their families.

Campus Governance

The Park Place leadership team consists of the principal, an assistant principal and three

teacher specialist. The leadership team collaborates to make important decisions for the campus

and to support teachers and staff in many ways. Members of the team are assigned varies roles

and task to ensure that the needs of students and teachers are met. These duties are subject

change throughout the school year as necessary. Leadership team duties and responsibilities

include but are not limited to: testing coordinator, Title 1 coordinator, IAT, coaching and
appraising teachers, managing teacher assistants and front office staff, student discipline,

working with PTO, SDMC, etc.

SDMC

The shared decision making committee (SDMC) consist of teachers, leadership team

members, parents and community members who are nominated by staff members and elected in

at the beginning of the each school year. These individuals meet to discuss issues and concerns

and make important decisions about the curriculum, school improvement plan, the campus

budget and campus staffing.

Principal
Nirmol Lim

Teacher Specialist
Assistant Principal Teacher Specialist Teacher Specialist
Jean Sanchez
Linh Hoang Avisay Cerda Martha Martinez

SDMC Park Place

Teachers Teachers Secretary, Office
Grade Level Assistants Staff (Clerks,
Chairs Special Ed
Nurse etc.)
Speech Therapist

Enrollment/Growth/Achievement

Students by Grade Park Place District

Count,Avg., Percent
Total 950 215,408
Pre-Kindergarten 111 11.7% 6.8%
Kindergarten 104 10.9% 7.7%
1st 127 13.4% 8.3%

2nd 149 15.7% 8.5%

3rd 184 19.4% 8.4%

4th 144 15.2% 8.3%

5th 131 13.8% 7.7%

Ethnic Distribution Park Place District

Count,Avg.,
Percent
African American 14 1.5% 23.9%
According to 2016-2017
Hispanic 741 78.0% 62.1%
Texas Academic
White 3 0.3% 8.7%
Performance Report Park
American Indian 0 0 0.2%
Place Elementary overall
Asian 189 19.9% 3.9%
Pacific Islander 0 0.1% 0.1 student averages in grades
Two or More Races 3 0.3% 1.1% 3rd, 4th and 5th grade are
Economically Disadvantaged 890 93.7% 77.1% higher than the district
Non-Educationally Disadvantaged 60 6.3% 22.9% averages in all subjects.
English Language Learners 601 63.3% 31.8%
2016-17 Texas
Students w/Disciplinary 1 0.1% 1.2%
Placements Academic
At- Risk 728 76.6% 67.5% Performance Report

Distinction Designations:
 Academic Achievement in English Language Arts/Reading
 Academic Achievement in Mathematics
 Academic Achievement in Science
 Top 25 Percent: Student Progress
 Top 25 Percent: Closing Performance Gaps
 Postsecondary Readiness

STARR Met or Exceeded Progress

Subject 3rd 4th 5th
Reading 77 89 83
Writing 86
Math 84 92 95
Science 90
According STAAR data math is the strongest area across grade levels.
Reading and writing are the weakest, particularly 3rd grade reading.

Political Geographical Characteristics of the School Attendance Area

The Park Place community is considered a high poverty community and is a Title 1 campus.

The majority of students at Park Place Elementary receive free or reduced lunch. The school

receives funds and resources to improve the academics of economically disadvantaged students.

Many of the parents are actively involved in PTO, SDMC and also serve as volunteers in the

classrooms and other campus events and fundraisers throughout the school year.

Professional Staff
Years of Experience Park Place District
Count/Avg./Percent
Beginning Teachers 1 2% 8.1%
1-5yrs. 8 15.7% 32.7%
6-10yrs. 8 15.7% 18.5%
11-20yrs. 22.8 44.9% 25.4%
Over 20yrs. 18 NA 15.3%

Teachers by Highest Park Place District

Degree Held Count/Avg./Percent
No Degree 2 3.9% 6.1%
Bachelors 31 61% 67.1%
Masters 17.8 35% 25.3%
Doctorate 0 0 1.5%

Teachers by Ethnicity/Sex Park Place District

 Count/Avg./Percent
African American 6.2 12.3% 36.2%
Hispanic 24.6 48.3% 28.6%
White 7 13.8% 28.3%
American Indian 1 2% .3%
Asian 12 23.6% 5.3%
Pacific Islander 0 0 0.1%
Two or More Races 0 0 1.1%
Male 10.3 20.2% 26.1%
Female 40.6 79.8% 73.9%

Park Place is a multilingual campus. The majority of the students are bilingual in Spanish and

Vietnamese. It is important to have bilingual teachers who are able to communicate/teach

students and communicate with parents. The majority of the teachers at Park Place have over 11

years of teaching experience and are or bilingual/ESL certified. I feel that these factors have a

positive effect on student achievement and on the culture and climate of the school.

Although the campus has a large population of Spanish and Vietnamese speaking students and

staff, it’s important to embrace others. It is important that everyone feels welcome and accepted

in the school and in the community. For example: I have witnessed several bilingual teachers

speak to one another in their native language during team meetings, lunch and PLC and other

teachers are unable to understand the conversation. In my opinion, it is somewhat disrespectful

and that would be an area that I would address as a principal. I would also promote activities and

programs and celebrations that would not only highlight the Spanish and Vietnamese culture.

That way the small percent of students and staff could participate.
Artifacts

-Park Place Elementary School TAPR report

-Houston ISD TAPR Report

-Park Place Elementary School Website