Austin ISD approves nonprofit partner to take over Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools

The overview

Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools each received their fourth consecutive F rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2025. If a Texas public school receives five or more consecutive failed ratings, the TEA commissioner is required to close the campus or takeover the district.

Through Senate Bill 1882, school districts can receive additional funding and a two-year exemption from state accountability interventions by partnering with a charter school, higher education institution, government entities or nonprofits, according to TEA information.

TCIS is required to help Burnet, Dobie and Webb receive D or C ratings in the 2026-27 school year, according to the contract. The schools are expected to receive an acceptable rating of C or higher for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

The nonprofit will also assist the schools in implementing the IB program—an advanced academic track that extends through high school.

Following the board's approval, district administration will submit an 1882 application to the TEA by the March 31 deadline, according to district information.

What they’re saying

AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said the district looked for a partner that had experience turning around campuses and would build upon the schools' recent academic improvements.

District officials visited TCIS partner schools and spoke with staff in San Antonio ISD, Segura said. Briscoe Elementary, a TCIS-operated school in San Antonio, boosted its accountability rating by two letter grades from 2024 to 2025.

“I am confident that this partner, this configuration will help us be successful," Segura said. "An 1882 partner is going to allow us to leverage resources that are not currently available to us."

Also of note

The board adopted a 2026-27 calendar featuring additional school days for four elementary schools and five middle schools that have seen low academic performance, including Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools.

These campuses will begin attending summer school on July 7-Aug. 5, according to the calendar. Students will then attend Saturday school once a month, excluding September and May.

The details

TCIS will have “sole authority” over the school’s curriculum, staffing and finances, according to district documents. AISD will monitor TCIS’ academic progress and can terminate the contract if the outlined performance goals are not met.

TCIS can select instructional materials and educational programs, including programming for emergent bilingual, and gifted and talented students.

A previous version of the contract stated that TCIS would partner with the Region One Education Service Center. Under the approved contract, TCIS must contract with a “technical partner who has a proven record of successfully turning around campuses” for at least the first school year.

Once a campus received a C accountability rating, TCIS would begin introducing IB programming and submit an application for candidacy as an IB middle school in the 2028-29 school year. Teachers would continue teaching the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum through an IB framework, which focuses on inquiry, critical thinking, global perspective and service.

Burnet, Dobie and Webb will welcome support from the Bryker Woods Parent Teacher Association and Anderson High School—both of which are IB campuses, according to district documents. TCIS could terminate the contract with AISD if this support is withdrawn and determined to “jeopardize” the campuses ability to meet its performance goals, the contract states.

What else?

The contract grants TCIS the authority to hire and assign all staff members, including principals, administrators and teachers. The nonprofit can allow current district employees to continue in their roles or hire new staff, the contract states.

Teachers could not be paid lower than AISD’s current salary schedule while TCIS could choose to raise teachers’ salaries.

The district will still own the Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle school buildings and would be responsible for major structural maintenance. TCIS may contract with the district for substitute teachers, transportation, food service, technology, special education or health services.

How we got here

This school year, AISD restarted Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools using the Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, model. The model, which has been used by Dallas and Houston ISDs, involves using high-quality instructional materials and replacing campus leadership and staff.

AISD offered up to $20,000 in stipends to incentivize high-performing educators to teach at Burnet, Dobie and Webb this school year. All current staff members were required to reapply for their jobs and meet certain experience and performance criteria to stay in their positions.

Many students protested the removal of their teachers through participating in walkouts during the school day. Enrollment declined across all three campuses from last school year to this fall, according to AISD data.

The school restarts, known as a turnaround plan, are required when a campus receives two or more unacceptable ratings. Despite seeing some academic gains from last school year, Segura said the campuses were unlikely to improve by two letter grades this spring.

Going forward

This fall, AISD adopted turnaround plans for 24 campuses with multiple failed ratings—seven of which are slated to close this summer.

Next school year, AISD will regain ownership of Mendez Middle School in South Austin after the campus earned multiple acceptable ratings. Charter school and nonprofit partners operated the campus for more than a decade to help improve low ratings.

The district is expecting to receive 15 or less F ratings in 2026 with the goal of eliminating all F ratings by 2029, according to district information.