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In order to significantly improve student achievement in a short time period, the district is proposing a district-managed restart plan at Burnet, Dobie and Webb. This option allows the district to build on the schools’ recent growth by investing additional resources in the schools while maintaining some of the current staff at the schools:

• Staffing: Additional campus staff and financial incentives to retain and recruit highly effective teachers and other select professional/administrative positions.
• Curriculum: Additional academic specialists, instructional materials and resources.
• Professional Development: Professional development to train staff on new curriculum and support systems.
• Student Support Services: Additional student/family resources such as extended school day/year, wellness counselors/Licensed Mental Health Professionals, transportation, tutoring, etc. Monitoring & Evaluation: Tools and analytics to track and support student progress and and make real-time adjustments to instructional practices and supports.

A school restart will require evaluating current employees to determine if these schools are the best place for them next school year. This means that not all staff will be able to stay at their current school. Given the urgency of this situation, we must make difficult decisions to ensure these schools have enough highly experienced and effective educators to support rapid student growth.

Staff not chosen to stay at their current school would be supported in finding other positions in the district. We value all the employees at these schools and recognize their hard work and passion for our students. Unfortunately, a school undergoing a restart is not the best place for developing teachers to cultivate their instructional practice. This is neither a ding on their record or a reflection of the value we see in them. As an organization, we must place our developing educators in classrooms at campuses that have greater academic stability and incentivize more experienced, highly-effective educators to teach at our schools where we have historically struggled to create that same stability.

A few key factors have made a district-managed restart option possible:

• On April 22, TEA shared new guidance for Texas schools in the same position as Dobie, allowing schools to forgo developing federal accountability plans by April 30. Instead, we now have until June 30 to submit a plan based on state accountability. This gives the district more time to explore options to support Dobie to achieve a passing rating without resorting to a charter or closing the school at this time. Burnet and Webb never had federal accountability challenges so they were not on the accelerated timeline we once had for Dobie.
• We have now confirmed with TEA that the district would still have the opportunity to choose a charter partnership by December 2025. Previously, we believed this decision had to be made before the start of the 2025-26 school year.

A district-managed restart invests in our communities, limits disruptions to the student and family experience and positions ���챬�� for success while maintaining the values of the community.

Based on information we've received through continuous conversations with TEA, we now understand that the district would still have the opportunity to choose a charter partnership by December 2025. This additional time allows the school to build on the gains they’ve been making. In August, we will have the 2025 accountability ratings results. In the fall, we will assess student progress and determine if the campus is on track to receive a passing grade for 2025–26. We recognize this is a short timeline, but it gives us the opportunity to double down our investment in our students and get the schools on track before deciding if a charter partnership is necessary.

While we are beginning to see improvements at all three schools with their current leadership and dedicated staff, we anticipate that when the 2024 ratings are released in the coming months, Burnet, Dobie and Webb will receive a third F in a row. We will then receive the 2025 accountability rating in August, which will reflect the results of the STAAR test students just took this spring. If these schools receive an F for 2025, that will count as the 4th F rating in a row.

According to state law, if a school district allows a single school to fail to meet state accountability standards for five years in a row, TEA has the authority to intervene. This could look like requiring the district to partner with a charter school to run the school, requiring the district to close the school or appointing a board of managers to run the entire district.

While Burnet, Dobie and Webb are at the greatest risk of receiving a series of F ratings, there are several others that are on a similar path if we do not make significant changes and investments this year. That is why the district is developing a broader school improvement initiative to comprehensively address accountability challenges across the district. We will share more details about these plans in the coming months.

There have been many disruptions to how TEA measures school performance over the last several years. Below is a timeline of how TEA has measured academic performance over the last several years:

• 2018-19 – This is the first year the state introduced the “A-F” ratings.
• 2019-20 – Not Rated: Students did not take the STAAR test due to the pandemic.
• 2020-21 – Not Rated: TEA did not give schools ratings because of the declared state of disaster caused by the pandemic.
• 2021-22 – Not Rated: The state determined that schools that would have received a “D” or an “F” would be considered “not rated” in acknowledgement of the hardship schools faced coming out of the pandemic. 2022-23 – State courts prohibited TEA from releasing school ratings because TEA was facing lawsuits tied to allegations of unfairness around how schools were graded and changes to the STAAR test. The courts have recently dismissed the lawsuit.
• 2023-24 - Not Released: State courts again prohibited TEA from releasing school ratings because TEA was facing lawsuits tied to allegations of unfairness around how schools were graded. These ratings have not yet been released but given the outcome of the 2023 lawsuit, we expect 2024 ratings to be released soon.
• 2024-25:School ratings are expected to be released in August 2025 based on the results of the STAAR test students just completed this spring.

If TEA replaced our current locally elected school board with a board of managers, the TEA-appointed board would make decisions about all district operations including hiring and firing staff, curriculum, programming and more.

Texas law (TEC Chapter 39A, Subchapter C) lays out what schools must do if they are required to create a Turnaround Plan, including how they involve parents and the community.

If a school receives an unacceptable rating two years in a row, and has to create a TAP, the district—working with the Campus Intervention Team (CIT)—must:

• Notify parents, community members and other stakeholders that the school has received poor ratings for two years and must create a turnaround plan.
• Ask for input and help from parents, the community and stakeholders in creating the plan.
• Create the turnaround plan and provide additional opportunities for the community to provide feedback before it is sent to the school board for approval.
• Assist the campus in submitting the TAP to the board for approval and in presenting the plan in a public hearing 

Additionally, any written community feedback gathered throughout the engagement process must be included in the final plan.

The table below outlines the key activities and dates the engagement requirements have taken place:

The CIT must include:

• A district coordinator of school improvement (DCSI). The DCSI must submit qualifications to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for approval; and
• The campus principal's direct supervisor, if the DCSI is not the campus principal's direct supervisor.

Find out more about .

Dobie Middle School

Required Members:

• DCSI - Dr. Angel Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools; Brandi Hosack, Chief of Talent Strategy
• Principal Supervisor - Dr. LaTonia Amerson, Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement

Other Members:

• Superintendent - Matias Segura
• Principal - Roxanne Walker
• Performance Manager - Dillon Finan, Director of Campus & District Accountability
• Education Service Center Case Manager - Melinda Marquez, Region 13 Director of Accountability, Assessment, and Leadership Systems
• TEA Campus Support Specialist for School Improvement - Dr. Monette Coleman, TEA Campus Support Specialist

Webb Middle School

Required Members:

• DCSI - Brandi Hosack, Chief of Talent Strategy
• Principal Supervisor - Dr. LaTonia Amerson, Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement

Other Members:

• Superintendent - Matias Segura
• Principal - Michael Coyle
• Performance Manager - Dillon Finan, Director of Campus & District Accountability
• Education Service Center Case Manager - Melinda Marquez, Region 13 Director of Accountability, Assessment, and Leadership Systems
• TEA Campus Support Specialist for School Improvement - Dr. Monette Coleman, TEA Campus Support Specialist

Burnet Middle School

Required Members:

• DCSI - Brandi Hosack, Chief of Talent Strategy
• Principal Supervisor - Dr. LaTonia Amerson, Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement

Other Members:

• Superintendent - Matias Segura
• Principal - Larry De La Cruz
• Performance Manager - Dillon Finan
• Education Service Center Case Manager - Melinda Marquez, Region 13 Director of Accountability, Assessment, and Leadership Systems
• TEA Campus Support Specialist for School Improvement - Dr. Monette Coleman, TEA Campus Support Specialist