![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SAReport-Graebner-High-5-8.jpg\")
Class data trackers at Graebner Elementary are part of the High 5 standards now required at SAISD schools. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\nWalking through the classrooms in Graebner Elementary gives visitors a window into how students are learning across the San Antonio Independent School District.<\/p>\n
During an Oct. 21 visit of the campus, district officials pointed out classroom elements that would also be in schools districtwide, including smart board presentations and whiteboards on students\u2019 desks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the case a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the start of October, SAISD\u2019s new leadership rolled out a learning model all schools are required to use, from preschool to high school, from consecutively failing campuses to the highest-achieving pockets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Called the \u201cHigh 5,\u201d the model standardizes lessons, teaching practices, student data reporting and classroom setups across the district\u2019s 80 schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of Superintendent Adrian Bustillos\u2019 first and most dramatic overhauls of SAISD since he took the helm in July. The San Antonio Alliance, the district\u2019s teacher and support personnel union, sharply criticized High 5, but Bustillos is banking on the changes to save the district from a state takeover.<\/p>\n
Class data trackers at Graebner Elementary are part of the High 5 standards now required at SAISD schools. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are different philosophies and ways to get to the end. This is the approach we\u2019re taking today,\u201d Bustillos said during a school board meeting on Monday, after dozens of teachers publicly shared their concerns over High 5, calling it formulaic and overly prescriptive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During that meeting, veteran teachers said they felt disrespected, others said they felt unheard. Some teachers also said High 5 didn\u2019t leave room to teach beyond what state tests require.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bustillos said making changes is what he was hired to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently, 34 of SAISD\u2019s schools have a failing rating from the state, which largely relies on state testing scores to measure learning. Of those schools, three have gotten four consecutive failing scores with no improvement, putting the district at risk of state intervention if a school earns a fifth bad rating at the end of the 2026-27 school year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we keep everything the same, the status quo, our destiny is already selected for us,\u201d Bustillos said.<\/p>\n
What is the High 5?<\/p>\n
Located in the Palm Heights community, Graebner Elementary school is one of SAISD\u2019s largest elementary schools by enrollment. Last year, the school got a D rating from the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But principal Laura Hernandez-Lopez believes the High 5 method could take the school up to a B rating. She said the methods aren\u2019t that different from what Graebner teachers were already doing with their dual-language students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The five principles of the High 5 are: classroom board configuration, checks for understanding, professional learning communities, data tracking and regular classroom walk-throughs by principals and district leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Teachers use the same lessons across the district, have similar classroom layouts, take temperature checks every few minutes and use daily exit tickets to pinpoint exactly where students are struggling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SAReport-Graebner-High-5-5.jpg\")
Bilingual fourth grade teacher Keieshawn Golsby instructs students using the new High 5 standards at Graebner Elementary. The High 5 standards are a new learning model SAISD rolled out district wide. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
In the classroom, this means all desks must be clumped in groups of at least two and facing the front. This is to make sure students have a buddy for \u201cturn and talks,\u201d a High 5 strategy that asks students to discuss among themselves before working individually.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve noticed it\u2019s sometimes the teachers doing most of the talking,\u201d said Hilarion Martinez, SAISD\u2019s Chief of Schools, a new role Bustillos created in his executive cabinet. \u201cWe want to be intentional about the students being able to have that opportunity to have discourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Graebner, some desks are clumped in pairs, others in fours. Every desk is marked with an \u201cA\u201d or \u201cB,\u201d so teachers can ask students to turn and talk every seven to eight minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The desk configuration is a point district officials recently had to clarify in recent days after several teachers expressed frustrations that grouping desks in pairs facing the same direction was difficult for different size classrooms with varying furniture design.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes they\u2019re partners, sometimes they\u2019re quads, sometimes they\u2019ll make a bigger group as long as [students] have someone as a partner,\u201d said Hernandez-Lopez.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SAReport-Graebner-High-5-17.jpg\")
Chief of Schools Hilarion Martinez explains the process of using the High 5 standards between elementary, middle, and high schools during an Oct. 21, 2026 interview. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
High 5 also requires students to use whiteboards for practice questions. Like the turn and talks, this is a way to check for understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martinez said the High 5 standards are the minimum teachers can do, and they can always add to the lessons and personalize instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Classroom walls should display a \u201cBoard Configuration,\u201d outlining each step of the day\u2019s lesson: the warm up, the learning objectives, the practice questions and the exit ticket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each desk should also have a guide on the \u201cRACE strategy,\u201d which stands for \u201cRestate the question. Answer the question. Cite evidence. Explain the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Graebner, some students had laminated copies of the strategy taped to their desks; others had them hanging from a corner of their desks with binder rings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, this reference material might have been on the walls,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cNow we just want it to be there, available for students.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SAReport-Graebner-High-5-3.jpg\")
The \u201cR.A.C.E\u201d strategy is used for learning through the High 5 standards at Graebner Elementary on Oct. 21, 2026. The High 5 is a new learning model SAISD rolled out district wide. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Some early-grade teachers have pointed out that the RACE strategy isn\u2019t developmentally appropriate for students who may just be learning how to read and write, but district leaders say it\u2019s a way to get students used to the strategy before they start using it in older grades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The High 5 standards are expected in all classrooms, including advanced placement, dual credit, and courses that aren\u2019t measured under the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness.<\/p>\n
A focus on data, setting a floor<\/p>\n
As part of High 5, teachers meet every week in \u201cprofessional learning communities,\u201d which include principals and academic coaches, to analyze student progress by grade and campus level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Graebner, Hernandez-Lopez and her administrative team walk through classrooms at least three times a day, observing and coaching teachers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students have their own \u201cdata binders,\u201d where they know how they scored on the STAAR last year and set a goal for this year. Students also use these binders to log how they do on quizzes and unit testing, done every nine weeks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They can also see how their entire class is doing using a data-tracking chart prominently pasted to a classroom wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having earned a few failed ratings in a row, Graebener was put on an academic turnaround plan last year, so the focus on growth and structure isn\u2019t entirely new to the campus.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SAReport-Graebner-High-5-15.jpg\")
Graebner Elementary Principal Laura Hernandez-Lopez discusses the High 5 standards, implemented by SAISD districtwide to turn academics around. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
But the increased level of district oversight is affecting all SAISD schools, not just the ones academically struggling \u2014 a point of contention for the teacher and support staff union.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High 5 is unnecessarily prescriptive, too rigid, and is being too widely rolled out,\u201d said Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel. \u201cThe district should roll back the universality of this plan and instead focus attention, resources, and energies on campuses with most needed support.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAISD has 33 schools with A or B ratings, considered academically successful scores. Several of those are the district\u2019s top \u201cchoice\u201d schools, meaning families may enroll at those schools even if they don\u2019t live in the school\u2019s zone or in SAISD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the new administration says \u201cpockets of excellence\u201d aren\u2019t enough, given that SAISD is on the cusp of state intervention. Martinez and Bustillos say the only way to get effective results is to implement the system with \u201cfidelity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the foundational level,\u201d Martinez said while walking through the halls of Graebner. \u201cThis is what we\u2019re going to do in every classroom in our district, whether it\u2019s an A- or F-rated campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing teacher concerns<\/p>\n
Known as a leader in innovative school models and choice, SAISD draws more out-of-district students than other area districts. SAISD also has more in-district charter partners than anyone else in Texas.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the High 5 could affect the district\u2019s level of school choice, Martinez said it would strengthen SAISD\u2019s appeal to families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe High 5 alone will not move this district forward,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we believe that when our student outcomes improve, that when the ratings of our schools improve, that\u2019s going to draw parents in as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
While school districts call this instructional model by different names and implement it with varying degrees of intensity, it\u2019s become an increasingly popular model used to win the state\u2019s A-F accountability system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
East Central ISD has seen success following similar instructional strategies<\/a>: granular data analysis, constant checks for understanding, daily exit tickets and weekly professional learning committees. ECISD is not at risk of state intervention, and changes have been more gradual under its longtime superintendent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SanAntonioISD_SAISD_BoardTrustees_NewSuperintendent15_07.20.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Dr. Adrian Bustillos addresses the board in July after he was named San Antonio ISD\u2019s new superintendent. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n