Principal Tracy Spies of Ben Milam Elementary in Bryan, TX, has a passion for school reform. Accepting full responsibility for Ben Milam’s success, she works tirelessly to help propel her campus to the next tier of educational achievement. With Spies at the helm implementing TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, the school has grown by leaps and bounds, posting a dramatic trajectory of improvement and demonstrating a culture of success.
Since Spies joined the staff, Ben Milam achieved a solid year of value- added achievement growth (score of “3”) compared to peers across the state during its first year of TAP. After further refining practices and honing skills, the school earned a “5” this year—the highest value- added score possible, signifying “far above average” results compared to its Texas peers.
Asked by Texas TAP to model strategies during principal trainings, Spies is a standout at state-level TAP meetings. Neighboring TAP principals look to her for guidance and mentoring. She is a dynamic presenter at state and national conferences on dual languages, and leads the bilingual summer school. As both a scholar and practitioner, she helps professors with papers using her action research. Spies has presented at such conferences as the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) and its Texas chapter (TABE), just a few more examples of how dedicated Tracy Spies is to educating pupils and peers alike while inspiring positive change.
