Georgetown ISD proposes plans to improve state ratings for Wagner Middle, Cooper Elementary

To improve academic performance, Cooper Elementary has proposed doing the following, Principal Angela Harris said:

• Systematizing behavior across campus by allowing students one to three chances to fix their behavior
• Communicating progress related to student behavior and academics
• Providing coherent, tiered instruction, including offering new curriculum and intervention for struggling students

• Changing how instruction is delivered, including gradually released lessons, increased structured writing opportunities and more student discourse
• Monitoring student progress through assessments, intentional questioning and checks for understanding
• Providing intervention and enrichment through small groups
• Daily professional learning communities for teachers

How we got here

Texas school districts are required to create turnaround plans for campuses that have received two consecutive years of unacceptable ratings, according to TEA information. These plans are intended to help campuses move toward a C rating or higher the following school year, according to GISD information.

Districts and campuses were last rated in 2019 as ratings were paused for multiple years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wagner Middle School received an F rating in 2018 and 2019, while Cooper Elementary received its first F in 2019.

What they’re saying

TEA is set to release the 2025 ratings Aug. 15, per state law. Although it is “too early to share student performance data from this year,” Superintendent Devin Padavil said Cooper and Wagner are expected to have improved since 2023.

“Internally, we have a lot of indications that we saw significant growth across the district, but specifically [for] these two schools, we saw growth,” Padavil said.

The background

Each school year, the TEA’s accountability system rates districts from A-F based on student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps for certain student populations, such as racial and socioeconomic groups. The ratings factor in State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores; student preparedness for college, career and military service; and graduation rates.

The TEA released its ratings for the 2022-23 school year April 24 following a ruling from a state judge April 3. The release of the scores was stalled for two years after more than 100 school districts sued the TEA over changes to the A-F rating system. Litigation blocking the release of the 2024 scores is still pending.

If a campus receives a failed accountability rating five years in a row, the state could close the school or appoint a board of managers to oversee the district. In 2023, the TEA took over Houston ISD and installed a state-appointed board of managers in place of HISD’s elected school board officials.

Did you know

Austin ISD has proposed turnaround plans to restart Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools by hiring new teachers and administrators, and adopting updated curriculum.

In April, district officials discussed closing Dobie but changed course after many community members, staff and students spoke against the campus’s closure.