The gist
Trustees voted to submit a turnaround plan for Mill Street Elementary to the Texas Education Agency. The TEA requires schools that receive multiple years of unacceptable accountability ratings, a D or F, to submit a turnaround plan. Mill Street received an F for the last three consecutive school years. District officials developed a turnaround plan that will repurpose Mill Street into an early childhood education campus.
The Lillie J. Jackson Early Childhood Center, is currently the only early childhood education campus in LISD, and doesn't have the capacity to accommodate all of the district's early childhood students.
“This is about about setting kids up for success for the long term. This will not be a quick turnaround program,” board President Jenny Proznik said. "This is an investment in students and this is an investment in their future success."
Diving deeper
The plan, if approved by the TEA, will reassign Mill Street's 616 students to one of four different campuses based on bilingual status and location. TEA data shows that roughly two thirds of Mill Street students were in the bilingual program during the 2024-25 school year.
The plan states nonbilingual students will be reassigned to the STEM Academy at Valley Ridge Elementary School.
Bilingual students will go to one of the following three campuses based on zoning and availability:Lakeland, Lewisville and Prairie Trail could each absorb roughly 100 students, while Valley Ridge could take up to 160, Superintendent Lori Rapp said at a Nov. 3 work session.
Some LISD faculty and staff will be transferred to different campuses to accommodate the student reassignments, and all district employees will keep their jobs with LISD, per previous Community Impact reporting.
Some background
High teacher turnover contributed to the low accountability scores, according to an October presentation from LISD Chief Schools Officer Lori Litchfield, forcing experienced teachers to spend time assisting new teachers, leaving less time for instruction.
Per Litchfield's presentation, 35 teachers have left LISD over the last two years. Of those 35, 23 either retired, moved out of the district, changed career fields or chose to pursue higher education.
Looking ahead
District documents say officials will submit the plan to the TEA by Nov. 21, and the TEA will notify LISD if their plan is approved by late January. District officials also plan to earn a C accountability rating for the 2025-26 school year by improving the quality of instruction, Rapp said at the November work session.
