‘We must accelerate our efforts:’ 5 San Antonio districts race to implement turnaround plans to avoid state takeovers

Five San Antonio districts are in danger of state takeovers if they continue to earn “D” or “F” ratings for their performance in teaching students, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has warned.

“If a single campus earns an ‘unacceptable performance’ rating for five consecutive school years, the state education commissioner is legally required to take over a school district by replacing elected school boards with an appointed board of managers or closing the failing campus,” the San Antonio Report explained. 

San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), Edgewood ISD, Northside ISD, Judson ISD and Harlandale ISD have earned a failing rating for two or three consecutive years, according to the news outlet. 

“All five districts got letters from the Texas Education Agency in September, alerting them to the need to implement turnaround plans for these schools. They have until Nov. 14 to submit those plans for TEA approval, and several of the districts have started making recommendations.” 

“Turnaround plans” are intended to raise ratings to a “C” or higher within two years – requiring more intensive changes compared to general campus improvement plans, the San Antonio Report noted. 

“We’re heading in the right direction,” said Jaime Aquino, SAISD superintendent. “But … we must accelerate our efforts.” 

Providing ‘targeted support’ to failing campuses 

The SAISD district has placed 18 of its more than 30 campuses on a watchlist after they received “unacceptable” scores for at least two or three consecutive years. 

“Based on the results, SAISD has restructured campuses to receive ‘targeted support’ based on level and need, restructuring curriculum and instructions and implementing a new universal curriculum for math, science and reading at some campuses,” the San Antonio Report explained. 

“The district is also using more professional development days to get feedback from teachers on implementation.” 

Meanwhile, students will receive weekly math tests while the district expands instructional support and adds a TEA advisor, according to the news outlet. 

“The TEA ordered SAISD to develop turnaround plans for all of these campuses, half of which need to implement those plans as soon as the agency approves them. The more urgent orders went to nine campuses, including Davis Middle School and Carvajal Elementary, and a group of nine others including Hot Wells Middle School will have a bit more time to implement the plans.” 

Another district, Edgewood ISD, has received an overall “D” rating for three years in a row. Parents have protested the ratings at school board meetings, including one in August where Maribel Gardea was arrested on charges of trespassing before a judge dismissed the charges. 

“In a statement before her arrest, Gardea said her organization has tried to communicate with district officials at least 40 times since October,” Xochilt Garcia wrote for the San Antonio Report, adding parents from Gardea’s group, MindShiftED, came to protest her arrest. 

“Hours later, district police transferred Gardea to the Bexar County Jail where she was being held on a $9,000 bond. Gardea was charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and disrupting a meeting, before the charges were dropped.”