<\/p>\n
Children enter Menchaca Elementary School for the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Six Austin school district campuses that met state academic standards this year now carry four consecutive years of unacceptable accountability ratings after receiving students from schools that closed this summer, putting each campus one failing grade away from potentially triggering serious state intervention. That\u2019s according to an Aug. 13 letter to Austin school district officials from the Texas Education Agency<\/a>, obtained by the American-Statesman through a public records request.<\/p>\n The same letter sharply criticized school district officials for their last-minute decision to close Paredes Middle School and raised questions about whether the campus’ anticipated fourth consecutive F contributed to the timing of the closure.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The \u201clate-July announcement of the campus closure imposed an avoidable hardship on students and families,\u201d TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop wrote.<\/p>\n Bailey and Kealing middle schools and Blackshear, Galindo, Guerrero Thompson and Rodriguez elementary schools \u2014 all of which received a C or higher in 2026 \u2014 inherited the accountability histories of schools that received their fourth consecutive F<\/a> this year. The receiving schools retain their own 2026 letter grades, but under the state’s consecutive-unacceptable-rating system they now carry four years of unacceptable accountability history.<\/p>\n If any of the six campuses receives an F in 2027, TEA will count it as a fifth consecutive unacceptable rating, according to the letter. A fifth F at a campus requires the education commissioner to either<\/a> order the campus closed or appoint a board of managers to govern the district.<\/p>\n The inherited string of unacceptable ratings will clear if a campus receives an A, B or C in 2027, according to the letter.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The development comes as the Austin school district is already under threat of a state takeover after Burnet and Webb middle schools<\/a> each received a fifth F rating in a row this year.<\/p>\n If Education Commissioner Mike Morath orders a takeover, he could appoint board members to run the district, sidelining elected trustees. He also could replace Superintendent Matias Segura.<\/p>\n In his rebuke, Lecholop also criticized the timing of the Paredes closure, which came less than a month before classes began. Austin officials said at the time that the South Austin campus had not met academic expectations and faced staffing vacancies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agency does not view closure requests occurring this close to the beginning of a new school year as an appropriate practice for supporting students, families, or effective district planning,\u201d Lecholop wrote.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The announcement\u2019s timing also raises questions about whether the closure was driven largely by the likelihood that the campus would receive a fourth F in 2026, \u201crather than a comprehensive transition strategy focused on minimizing disruption for students and families,\u201d Lecholop said.<\/p>\n In a statement, Austin school district spokeswoman Cristina Nguyen said the district’s focus is on giving all students a school environment designed for academic growth.<\/p>\n “We are proud of the strong momentum reflected in our B rating as a district, and will continue building on this success to help every child succeed,” Nguyen said. “We know there is more work to do across the district, and we are confident that more and more campuses will see meaningful improvements in their student outcomes.”<\/p>\n The Aug. 13 letter approved the district’s requests to close 11 campuses for state accountability purposes, including Paredes.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Under state rules, TEA can reassign a closing school\u2019s identification number to the new campus where most of its students will be reassigned. Accountability ratings are tied to a campus\u2019 identification number.<\/p>\n A new TEA rule moves the deadline for districts to request that campus identification numbers be made obsolete from Sept. 1 to May 31. TEA’s 2027 accountability materials say requests submitted after that deadline will not take effect until the following school year.<\/p>\n Austin school district officials reassigned students from Barrington, Dawson, Oak Springs and Wid\u00e9n elementary schools and Martin and Paredes middle schools to the six campuses that inherited the failing accountability histories. All six closed campuses received their fourth F rating in 2026.<\/p>\n Hours after receiving the Aug. 13 letter, Segura told trustees the district had expected the failing accountability \u201cchain\u201d to transfer to receiving campuses. He said the schools would retain the higher letter grades they earned this year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The six campuses received students from six of the 11 Austin school district schools that closed this year: Barrington, Dawson, Oak Springs and Wid\u00e9n elementary schools, as well as Martin and Paredes middle schools. The other five campuses that the district closed received at least a C rating this year.<\/p>\n Austin school district officials closed 10 schools and International High School this summer<\/a> after a lengthy public debate. In July, the district announced it would close Paredes Middle School immediately<\/a> because of concerns that the campus had not met academic expectations and faced staffing vacancies.<\/p>\n Before the late-July decision, Paredes had been expected to remain open this school year under a state-required academic turnaround plan. The Austin school district has three other campuses with four consecutive F ratings: Linder and Pecan Springs elementary schools and Dobie Middle School. Dobie received a D this year, allowing the campus another year to improve its performance.<\/p>\n Many of the campuses that inherited the failing histories have stronger recent academic records.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Bailey and Kealing middle schools and Guerrero Thompson Elementary School have had an A, B or C rating since 2023.<\/p>\n Blackshear received a D in 2023 and 2024 before earning a C in 2025. Galindo received an F in 2024 but improved to a B this year. Rodriguez received an F in 2023 and a D in 2025 before earning a B this year.<\/p>\n The schools are undergoing academic turnaround plans focused on improving student performance, with programs including stipends to attract high-performing teachers.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The A-F grades are assigned annually to Texas campuses and districts and are largely based on student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children enter Menchaca Elementary School for the first day of school Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. 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