Over the next two years, the $3.5 million pilot program will provide grants to five eligible elementary campuses. Each campus will receive up to $350,000, which can be spent on tutoring and other targeted supports for reading and math, according to Texas State Board of Education member Staci Childs, D-Houston.
“[The program] was really born out of a frustration to see some of the lowest-performing campuses not have a way out. ... We wanted to target the students in elementary school before the gaps become more and more pronounced as they matriculate through 12th grade,” Childs told reporters June 25.
The details
Childs spearheaded the program, known as Navigating Excellence Through Targeted Supports, or NEXT, and funding is included in Texas’ 2026-27 budget.
Childs said the state will identify the 20 lowest-performing elementary campuses based on public school accountability ratings. Five campuses will be selected for the first iteration of the program.
Under state law, if at least one campus in a school district receives a failing accountability rating for five consecutive years, the Texas Education Agency is required to close that campus or appoint a board of managers. Houston ISD has been led by a board of managers since June 2023 and the state takeover was recently extended until June 2027, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Childs said she believes the NEXT initiative would benefit young students in both urban and rural areas and help campuses get support before becoming at risk of a potential closure or state takeover.
She said intervention strategies could include high-impact tutoring, extra support for teachers or additional parent engagement, although the approach would vary depending on individual campuses’ needs.
“I feel very confident that intervention—when you [get] the parents involved and make them a part of the process—is what we need to be doing to make sure that the students feel supported,” Childs said during a June 25 news conference.
Childs said the state will track the program’s impact using results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. Students who took the exam this spring saw growth in reading and continued to struggle in math, according to state data released June 17.
Looking ahead
Childs said the goals of the NEXT initiative include “significant growth” in math and reading STAAR scores.
“I would also say improvements in attendance, because we know that sometimes chronic absenteeism is directly related to poor academic achievement,” she told reporters. “So, higher attendance rates, and also the teachers feeling supported on these campuses.”
SBOE chair Aaron Kinsey, R-Midland, said he hopes schools participating in the program will receive enough support that they are no longer among the state’s lowest-performing campuses.
“I think we're all aligned on helping kids as much as possible,” Kinsey said June 25.
