Austin ISD held its final community meeting Tuesday to discuss a turnaround plan for its three middle schools, which have received three consecutive failing acc
Superintendent Matias Segura says the district can manage its own restart of the school to prevent a state takeover but the plan requires a principal with proven turnaround success and teachers that meet specific state criteria.
Austin ISD held its final community meeting Tuesday to discuss a turnaround plan for its three middle schools, which have received three consecutive failing accountability ratings from the state. Thanks to a deadline extension from the state, the district has new options to keep Burnet Middle School open, though it will require a new administration and potentially new staff. Parents are relieved to see another option on the table, but say it's unfair that the principal and teachers are being punished for scores that precede their time at the school. Maria Bautista says her 6th-grade daughter is heartbroken by Austin I.S.D.'s turnaround plan for Burnet Middle School. "Oh no, it's terrible. Terrible." Parent Maria Bautista said. "My daughter began to cry because I don't know what happened to the teachers, because the teachers need to go bye-bye." Superintendent Matias Segura says the district can manage its own restart of the school to prevent a state takeover, but the plan requires a principal with proven turnaround success and teachers who meet specific state criteria. "Think about the impact on this community, in this part of the city, and what it would mean to close Burnet," Segura said. "It's not on the table. We're not going to do that." Burnet Middle School is one of three in the district that has received a third straight 'F' accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency, which forces a turnaround plan."This is difficult, it's disruptive, it's frustrating," Segura said. "We're having to make decisions based on things that happened years and years ago." Segura says the good news is that this way, the district maintains control. The school can stay open, programs like fine arts can remain untouched, and after-school programs can continue. "My hope is, at the end of this, you know, a year or two from now, when we're past this, Burnet will be stabilized, and then we're building for decades to come," Segura said. For parents, it's little consolation. Parent Andrea Aguilar says what good is the school without its teachers. "They have their 'thing' as a teacher. It's not fair to let them go." Aguilar said. "I have seen a lot of progress with the principal. He's been doing a lot. How do we as parents guarantee that it's gonna be better for them?" ] The plan would go into effect for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, and if the three schools don't improve by December, there's a contingency to partner with a charter school. This would mean core staff from outside the district.
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