Empowering Growth Through Visibility & Consistency: How Hays CISD Transformed Teacher Support with Bullseye
Discover how Hays Consolidated Independent School District leveraged Bullseye to streamline classroom walkthroughs, eliminate inefficiencies, and foster a district-wide culture of continuous improvement.
THE PARTNER
Hays Consolidated Independent School District (Hays CISD), just south of Austin, Texas, serves over 24,000 students across a rapidly growing district.
With a diverse range of campuses—ranging from highly affluent to 90% free and reduced lunch populations—Hays CISD employs 3,500 staff members, including approximately 1,500 teachers.
With a mission to make every student’s dreams achievable, Hays CISD emphasizes strong leadership, tailored teaching strategies, and effective support systems for staff and students alike.
THE CHALLENGE
Hays CISD faced challenges with its existing classroom walkthrough process, which relied on fragmented Google Sheets workflows.
These systems created inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and duplication of efforts, especially as campuses customized their own forms. Administrators struggled to provide timely, meaningful feedback that supported teacher growth, and the system lacked alignment with the district’s vision of enhancing instructional practices.
Additionally, the district’s diversity—from affluent campuses to those with 90% free and reduced lunch populations—demanded a solution that could adapt to varying needs. The need for visibility and tailored support became paramount, and the existing tools fell short in facilitating district-wide progress.
"One-size-fits-all approaches definitely don’t work here. As campuses created their instructional playbook strategies, all the strategies were different campus-to-campus and one particular walkthrough form that we were creating was really broad and generic, and it wasn’t really taking a deep enough dive to be meaningful."
THE SOLUTION
Hays CISD implemented Bullseye's customizable instructional support platform designed to enhance classroom walkthroughs and feedback processes.
Bullseye’s platform allowed Hays CISD to optimize for:
- Customization: Each campus could tailor walkthrough forms to address specific instructional goals while aligning with district-wide standards.
- Streamlined Feedback: Administrators could provide instantaneous, actionable feedback, fostering professional growth and instructional improvement.
- Efficiency: By consolidating forms and automating data aggregation, Bullseye eliminated duplication and reduced administrative burdens.
- Two-way Communication & Collaboration: With features like next steps and in-product commenting, teachers and admin are able to better communicate in real time and collaborate on professional development.
THE IMPLEMENTATION
Hays CISD’s implementation of Bullseye was swift, intentional, and district wide.
Working alongside Bullseye, Hays CISD implemented an intentional district-wide implementation by following this three-step playbook:
- Early Buy-In: Key campus principals piloted Bullseye, demonstrating its value and building credibility among peers.
- Professional Development: The district integrated Bullseye training into its annual administrator events, offering in-person and virtual sessions to ensure all users were equipped to leverage the system effectively.
- Gradual Rollout: Hays CISD started with two standard observation forms to familiarize administrators and allowed campuses to customize forms as they became more comfortable.
Support from the Bullseye team ensured rapid resolution of issues, further boosting adoption. Hays CISD’s district-wide rollout proved to be highly effective as seen by the district’s phenomenal Bullseye usage in SY24-25 first semester.
"I would say we had a very fast implementation. Once we signed, the support [Bullseye] has given us has been amazing."
THE SUCCESSES
Hays CISD has transformed their teacher support systems by establishing consistent classroom walkthroughs and delivering impactful feedback and coaching through Bullseye:
- Improved Efficiency: Hays CISD administrators conducted over 8,000 Bullseye sessions through the SY24-25 first semester, with over 6,700 sessions providing direct feedback to teachers. The reduction of redundant efforts allowed more time for meaningful engagement.
- Actionable Insights: Data captured in Bullseye enabled the Curriculum and Instruction team to identify trends and target areas for opportunity in real time, allowing for continuous improvement throughout the year.
- Enhanced Teacher Growth: Teachers received immediate, formative feedback, which helped them refine instructional practices and work toward earning distinctions such as TIA.
- Student Achievement Gains: Growth in curriculum-based assessments underscored the direct impact of enhanced teacher development on student success.
- Cultural Shift: Bullseye reinforced Hays CISD’s district-wide culture of walkthroughs, creating a shared belief in the importance of visibility, feedback, and continuous improvement.
"We've seen a lot of growth on the student side of things. The hope is always that what you're doing with adults is going to translate into something positive for kids, and our data is indicating that's the case. [Bullseye] gives us an opportunity to give [our staff] feedback and we can help them grow as their students continue to grow as well."
