Education
BY JARRETT WHITENER
Boerne ISD receives fourth A rating from Texas Education Agency A-F accountability ratings
Program provides life skills for students Special education is a growing depart- ment at Boerne ISD, director of special education Annie Seiter said. During the March 24 board of trustees meeting, Seiter gave an update on the special education department as of the 2024-25 school year. Current situation Trustee Rich Sena pointed out that the special education program has had a nearly 50% growth in students since 2021- 22, while the total number of students in the district has increased around 10% during the same time frame. Seiter said one contributing factor to the increased special education growth is the approval of HB 3928 in 2023, which opened the program to a larger number of students. A closer look To ensure special education students receive the best education and life skill training possible, the district offers a vari- ety of programs based on student needs. One program, the Transitional Skills Life Program, focuses on students ages 18-21 who are transitioning from graduation to the workforce. Seiter said this program helps stu- dents learn independent living skills alongside skills that can be used in a job environment.
Boerne ISD received an A for the 2022-23 school year, with 91 out of a possible 100 points, in the Texas Education Agency’s 2022-23 school account- ability ratings. The ratings rank public schools across the state based on academic performance, student growth, college and career readiness and other variables. Ratings for the 2022-23 school year were delayed by lawsuits and released April 24 following an April 3 ruling in which the Texas 15th Court of Appeals overturned a 2023 injunction that prevented the accountability ratings’ release. Why now? The A-F system was established in 2017 with the goal of releasing ratings each year as an effort to provide transparency for the public, per TEA. Since 2017, ratings were not released for the 2019- 20 and 2020-21 school years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release. Criteria for ratings were updated for the 2022-23 school year, leading to districts across the state joining a lawsuit to prevent the release of ratings due to not having enough time to prepare for the new criteria. Breaking it down Overall, BISD received an A rating for the year, marking four high ratings in a row for the school district. The three primary categories rated include student achievement, school progress and closing the gap. For BISD, the school progress category was the only section rated a B, which highlights challenges in academic growth.
Accountability ratings
According to data from the Texas Education Agency, only 11% of districts across the state of Texas received an A rating, alongside Boerne ISD.
District
Rating
A B
Boerne ISD
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD
C
North East ISD
D B B
Judson ISD
Comal ISD
New Braunfels ISD
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Nearly 11% of Texas districts received an A rating for the 2022-23 school year, 40% of districts earned a B, 32% scored a C, 14% received a D, and about 3% received an F, according to the TEA. Zooming in All but two BISD campuses received an A rating. Curington Elementary was just shy of an A rating, receiving 89 out of 100 possible points. The student achievement and school progress categories each rated at a B, scoring 89 out of 100 and 88 out of 100, respectively. Herff Elementary scored 85 out of 100 overall, with the lowest rated categories being school progress and closing the gaps, each scoring a C rating with 73 out of 100 and 72 out of 100, respectively. School performance ratings from the 2024-25 school year are expected to be issued in August.
Boerne ISD grows Pathways in Technology Early College High School program On April 21, Boerne ISD trustees reviewed the accomplishments of the Pathways in Technology Early College High School program. Completed college credit hours
and college, career and military readiness, said the total number of credit hours for the P-Tech in cybersecurity is 2,472, split between the graduating classes of 2025 through 2028. The total credit hours for health science are 567 hours, split between the same graduating classes. Poulis said more students are drawn to health science, which allows students interested in any health-related field to benefit from the program. Cybersecurity is a specialized field.
At BISD, P-Tech covers two education areas, including cybersecurity and health science. These programs partner with local colleges to pro- vide students opportunities to earn college credits while attending high school. The overview Christine Poulis, director of advanced academics
Health science • Class of 2025: N/A • Class of 2026: 20 • Class of 2027: 31 • Class of 2028: 567
• Class of 2025: 143 • Class of 2026: 1,489 • Class of 2027: 699 • Class of 2028: 141 Cybersecurity
SOURCE: BOERNE ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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