THE STATE If a campus receives back-to-back failing performance grades from the Texas Education Agency, the state puts the district on a path toward remediation. Martin has not failed three times consecutively. steps i
HOW ARE SCHOOLS RATED? House Bill 1842
of January about the decision to relo- cate sixth grade. A letter sent home with students explained that seventh and eighth grade would continue to be o ered at the schools and detailed options for rising sixth graders. The district said sixth grade would be added to 10 low-enrollment ele- mentary schools that feed into Martin and Mendez. “As we bring those students back onto the campuses, the enrollment will go up,” Mays said. The district also outlined alternate middle school options to which it will provide transportation. “The idea of removing an entire grade level de nitely made me con- cerned that this would just lead to the closure of Martin,” Martin parent Emily Heasley-Sawyer said. “I can’t say whether this plan will work or not. If they do it, the best thing we can all do is work to make it successful.” Why is this happening? Despite the city’s rapid population growth, AISD has seen mostly declin- ing enrollment for the past decade—a trend worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2019-21, the district lost approximately 5,000 students. Many students opt for charter schools instead, according to district leaders. In her 2021 state of the district speech, AISD Superintendent Steph- anie Elizalde identi ed gentri ca- tion as a major factor in the district’s enrollment decline. “[Economically disadvantaged fam- ilies are] being pushed out of the city. They can’t a ord to live in the areas that they formerly lived in, either because of rent, because of housing prices or because of taxes in our area,” Elizalde said. East Austin, whereMartin andMen- dez are located, was home to three out of four elementary schools AISD closed in 2019 due to low enrollment.
Like Martin and Mendez, each shut- tered school had over 90% economi- cally disadvantaged students. In addition to under-enrollment, Martin and Mendez have failed to meet state academic standards multi- ple times since 2012. Mendez received enough consec- utive failing ratings from the Texas Education Agency by 2018 that the district opted to convert Mendez into an in-district charter school by part- nering with nonpro t Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math- ematics Coalition to run the campus. AISD ended the T STEM partner- ship in 2021 due to persistent low aca- demic performance. Mendez will face closure or replacement of the school board if it receives another failing rat- ing in the 2022-23 school year. Trust- ees will vote after press time onMarch 24 on a new in-district charter part- nership with Third Future Schools. “I had no clue about what we could do except terminate the contract and nd someone else,” said trustee Ofelia Zapata, who oversees AISD’s District 2, which includes Martin and Mendez. She said she liked the idea of remov- ing sixth grade as another strategy to improve the campus. The board can choose another partner or run Mendez itself in the upcoming school year. “If we have to have a closure ofMen- dez to maintain an elected board, we would have to do that,” Elizalde said during a December board meeting. What does thismean for the future? On March 8, AISD released prelim- inary data on the e ect that the sixth grade transition plan will have on enrollment next school year. Per the report, nearly 70% of fth grade families at Martin and Mendez feeder elementaries will stay enrolled at their current campus. About 20% will attend another middle school. The
allows the state to impose sanctions on schools that receive a failing rating. The state grades schools on the follow metrics: Student achievement: • State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, STAAR, scores • CCMR (College, Career and Military Readiness) scores • Graduation rates School progress: • Number of students who grew at least one year academically • Achievement of all economically disadvantaged students di erentials among racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER Closing the gaps: • Data regarding
The third year a school receives failing ratings requires state intervention.
If the reform plan is approved, the school must implement it the following year.
If the reform plan is not approved, the school faces three options.
The state can close the school.
The state can provide the school with alternative leadership.
In 2017, the Texas Legislature approved a process that allows private or governmental groups to partner with struggling public schools to improve their academic performance. This option gives the school two years to demonstrate progress and avoid closure.
Mendez Middle School is in the last phase of this process.
If a school receives a failing grade for two more years, the school faces two options.
The state will close the school.
The state will replace the school district’s board with its own leadership.
other 10% are undecided, moving to a magnet school or leaving the district. Zapata said parents reacted posi- tively to the plan and that some told her they felt safer keeping students in sixth grade at their elementary schools. “The bottom line: Our sixth grade transition plan is working,” the report reads. AISD still faces declining enroll- ment districtwide, which means it will receive less money from the state. The district lost about $15 mil- lion in funding last year as a result of
losing students during the pandemic. Amid this ongoing struggle, Mays sug- gested the sixth grade transition plan at Martin and Mendez may serve as a blueprint for further reducing lower enrollment across the district. “We want to start here—it doesn’t mean that we won’t look at this as a solution for other elementary or mid- dle schools,” Mays said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • MARCH 2022
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