How Sirius Online Supported STAAR Growth at Forest Lane Academy

As part of a broader STAAR readiness strategy, Forest Lane Academy added Sirius Online for Grades 3–5 and improved its Texas accountability rating from a D to a B in 2026.

At Forest Lane Academy in Richardson ISD, school leaders are always looking for ways to strengthen student learning and drive measurable growth, including on the STAAR assessments. But with a highly mobile student population and a wide range of academic needs, closing instructional gaps required more than a single intervention or program.

As part of its campuswide readiness strategy, the school was already using multiple resources and collecting data to guide instructional decisions. What leaders needed was another way to help teachers respond to students’ individual needs. That’s why, during the 2025–26 school year, Forest Lane added Sirius Education Solutions, now part of the MasteryPrep family, to its readiness toolkit for Grades 3–5. Teachers could reinforce grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) with targeted reading and math instruction, practice, and assessments in both print and digital formats.

“We knew our students were able to rise to the occasion if we had the right teachers and the right resources in front of them,” says DeMarcus Goree-Watkins, the school’s principal.

That approach paid off across multiple measures of student progress, including Forest Lane’s overall Texas accountability rating, which rose from a D in 2025 to a B in 2026.

Overall Accountability Rating

D ➜ B

Overall Scaled Score

68 ➜ 85

In adopting and implementing Sirius, Forest Lane equipped teachers with resources during “I Time,” a class period set aside for individualized and independent learning. The school’s use of Sirius aligns with its broader focus on helping Tier 1 and Tier 2 students make progress toward college-readiness benchmarks and meet academic goals.

That focus is especially important given the needs of Forest Lane’s student population. According to Goree-Watkins, approximately 95% of students are economically disadvantaged, while the school’s mobility rate is roughly 40–43%. The campus also serves a significant number of refugee and unhoused students.

Before October 2025, when students began using Sirius for roughly 15 to 30 minutes a day, the school’s instructional coaches received training from a Sirius expert facilitator and then helped introduce the program to teachers across participating grade levels. Platform trainings covered how to assign targeted lessons, use the platform for whole-group instruction, and leverage its assessment and data features.

All Sirius lessons are TEKS-aligned, allowing teachers to reinforce classroom instruction while providing students with opportunities for targeted practice. This combination makes it a natural fit alongside the school’s existing instructional systems, according to Goree-Watkins.

“It gave students a little bit more independence, and allowed the teacher to work either one-on-one or in a small group with students who needed a little bit more support,” Goree-Watkins says.

Forest Lane’s use of Sirius grew as teachers became more familiar with the program. During the fall, the primary focus was on individual student practice during I Time. By the following spring, teachers were integrating Sirius lessons into small-group and whole-class instruction, particularly when school data indicated room for growth in a certain area.

The combination of online and print resources gave teachers different ways to approach a specific concept, explains Goree-Watkins. The print materials could help introduce or reinforce a skill, and then students could practice independently online.

The digital platform provides immediate feedback and explanations when students answer incorrectly, giving them another opportunity to master specific skills and learn from their mistakes.

Forest Lane’s 2025–26 accountability results show improvement across multiple measures. STAAR performance is a key component of the state’s framework, informing measures such as School Progress, Academic Growth, and Closing the Gaps.

Accountability Measure	2025	2026
Overall Rating	D	B
Overall Scaled Score	68	85
School Progress	D (68)	B (87)
Academic Growth	D (68)	B (87)
Closing the Gaps	D (69)	B (80)

In addition to the school’s Overall Rating rising from a D to a B in 2026, its Overall Scaled Score increased from 68 to 85. Its School Progress and Academic Growth scaled scores rose from 68 to 87, while its Closing the Gaps scaled score increased from 69 to 80.

Goree-Watkins attributes the school’s progress to a combination of strategies alongside Sirius, including teacher observation and feedback, data-informed instruction, student goal setting, and other instructional resources.

For Forest Lane Academy, Sirius became a practical component of the school’s approach to targeted instruction. The school plans to continue using Sirius in the 2026–27 school year to support diverse student needs and points in the learning process, without requiring teachers to step away from the systems they already have in place, says Goree-Watkins.

For a campus focused on helping more students make meaningful academic progress, Sirius offers a valuable asset: the ability to deliver targeted, standards-aligned instruction and practice to students, when and where they need it.

“Sirius was like the cherry on top of our efforts to help our Tier 1 and Tier 2 students excel and meet their goals,” Goree-Watkins says.

“It gave students a little bit more independence, and allowed the teacher to work either one-on-one or in a small group with students who needed a little bit more support."

DeMarcus Goree-Watkins
Principal
Forest Lane Academy

Unpaid testimonial. Individual results may vary, and testimonials are not claimed to represent typical results. The STAAR results reported are courtesy of the Texas Education Agency 2025 and 2026 Accountability Reports. All testimonials are real participants, and may not reflect the typical user’s experience, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.

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About the Author: Onalee Smith

Onalee Smith is a content marketer and writer with over 15 years of experience helping brands tell better stories. She specializes in editorial strategy and SEO-driven content that connects with audiences and drives measurable results. Her work spans industries including education, publishing, and professional services. Onalee began her career marketing children’s and young adult literature, collaborating with bestselling authors and national literacy programs. Today, she partners with mission-driven organizations to craft content that informs and inspires. She holds degrees in Editing, Writing, and Media Studies, as well as International Affairs, from Florida State University. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, she enjoys hiking, spending time with her pets, and pursuing her hobby of floral design.

How Sirius Online Supported STAAR Growth at Forest Lane Academy

As part of a broader STAAR readiness strategy, Forest Lane Academy added Sirius Online for Grades 3–5 and improved its Texas accountability rating from a D to a B in 2026.

Overall Accountability Rating

Overall Scaled Score

Build a Stronger Path to Meets and Masters

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