{"id":380905,"date":"2026-07-21T13:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/380905\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:03:18","slug":"austin-isd-ends-tcis-middle-school-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/380905\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin ISD ends TCIS middle school partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy on our About page<\/a> and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With state accountability ratings expected next month, and the Austin school district\u2019s latest effort to avoid potential state intervention<\/a> now over, the district on Monday announced<\/a> the end of its partnership with Texas Council for International Studies to manage three struggling middle schools.<\/p>\n

Austin ISD and TCIS mutually agreed to end their partnership that would allow the nonprofit to manage Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools, the district said in a statement, effectively ending the district\u2019s monthslong bid to secure protections from state intervention through the state\u2019s SB 1882 program. The Texas Education Agency in May rejected the proposal for SB 1882 partnership benefits<\/a>, saying TCIS did not have a qualifying turnaround track record at other campuses and leaving the district without the accountability reprieve it sought.<\/p>\n

The decision comes at a pivotal moment for the district. Preliminary state testing data released earlier this summer<\/a> suggest Burnet, Dobie and Webb remain at risk of failing accountability standards. Official ratings are expected in August. If any of those campuses again receive failing ratings, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath would be required under state law to either close the schools or take over the district entirely, appointing a board of managers to replace the elected school board.<\/p>\n

District leaders previously said their partnership with TCIS would continue even if the state did not approve SB 1882 benefits. After TEA denied the benefits, the district said it was submitting additional evidence to the Texas Education Agency in hopes of reversing the decision. However, Monday\u2019s statement said \u201cboth TCIS and Austin ISD have ultimately agreed that ending the partnership is the best path forward.\u201d <\/p>\n

The partnership, which started earlier this month, ends July 31. Just two weeks ago, flyers posted on the district\u2019s social media invited applicants to join Austin ISD and TCIS at a recruitment event for positions at the three campuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis resolution will provide continuity for students and allow the district to build upon the student-focused efforts that began last school year,\u201d Superintendent Matias Segura said in the statement. \u201cContinued improvement in student outcomes is a priority for our district and our actions through this school year will continue to reflect that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite increasing 10 percentage points in reading at Dobie<\/a>, just over 1 in 4 students met or exceeded standards. At Burnet Middle School<\/a>, nearly 19% of students met or exceeded expectations. Webb<\/a>\u2019s reading rates remained flat at nearly 16%. <\/p>\n

In on-level math, all three schools rose between 4 and 5 percentage points. While those gains marked progress, the three schools remain at a high risk<\/a> of receiving their fifth consecutive failing accountability rating, and potentially triggering a state takeover.<\/p>\n

The district pointed to other gains in its statement. Burnet, Dobie and Webb showed gains in math compared to the previous school year following the implementation of a state-mandated and approved district-led turnaround plan that began in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy exiting this partnership, we\u2019re ensuring all resources can go to students who are always at the center of our work,\u201d said Margaret Davis, TCIS Chief Executive Officer, in Monday\u2019s statement. \u201cDuring these months of collaboration and partnership, we have grown to admire the district\u2019s commitment to excellence and to love the Austin ISD community. We believe wholeheartedly that Austin ISD will take this new year and continue growing these students academically and feel privileged to be a small part of that work.\u201d<\/p>\n

TCIS had already begun working with Austin ISD to design initial turnaround strategies to support the schools\u2019 turnaround efforts, according to the district\u2019s statement. The district said those investments will remain in place, including \u201ccontent interventionists, instructional coaches and additional funds that school leadership can use as needed to support the campus.\u201d <\/p>\n

In a separate statement Monday, the Texas Council for International Studies board and staff expressed their \u201cdeepest appreciation for the opportunity to embrace the vision of the Austin ISD Board, Superintendent Segura, district staff, families, and the Austin community.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cTCIS was humbled and honored to be selected as a partner for Austin ISD and to receive the support of the broader Austin community,\u201d the TCIS statement said. \u201cDuring these months of collaboration and partnership, the TCIS Board and staff have grown to admire Austin ISD\u2019s commitment to excellence and to love the Austin community.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy on our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,1685,133,16529,2810],"class_list":["post-380905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-isd","tag-austin-news","tag-state-takeover","tag-texas-education-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}