Superintendent Matias Segura is fond of saying that Austin’s local school district can do hard things. But can it dramatically improve the performance of three of its struggling schools in just four months?
AISD’s board of trustees seems to think so. The board wrapped up the 2024-25 school year last week with a vote to approve the controversial school-turnaround plans for Dobie, Webb, and Burnet middle schools. Each school has repeatedly scored F’s on the state’s accountability rankings. Starting in August, they will have four months to prove they can bring their scores up to at least a D (but preferably a C or higher) in the next school year. Otherwise, the campuses will be handed over to the management of charter schools.
The turnaround-plan vote caps three months of whiplash responses to what has become a districtwide school accountability crisis. Segura revealed in April that Dobie was at risk of scoring five consecutive F’s in the accountability ratings, something that would require the state of Texas, through the Texas Education Agency, to close the school or take control of the entire school district by replacing the elected board of trustees with TEA-appointed managers. District leaders floated a plan to close Dobie for two years. Then came news that Webb and Burnet were also failing to meet standards. The district pivoted to the plan approved last week…