Austin ISD considers charter school partners for Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools

Austin ISD may select charter schools to operate Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools next school year.

This summer, AISD restarted the campuses by hiring new principals and staff to improve academic outcomes for students amid multiple failed state ratings. This fall, the campuses have seen a decline in test scores while enrollment has dropped, according to district data shared at a Dec. 11 board meeting.

“This is such a difficult situation,” AISD trustee Arati Singh said. “I think that we've got to be really realistic about the decision for the [charter school] partner.”

The update

Across all three campuses, student test scores declined in reading and math from last school year to the beginning of this school year, according to data from MAP Growth testing administered Sept. 2. The MAP Growth test is intended to project how well students will perform on the upcoming State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, in the spring, said Mary Ann Maxwell, assistant superintendent of academics.

The district expects to see greater movement in students’ performance in the next middle-of-year assessment, which most students have recently taken and the district is still analyzing, she said.

The beginning-of-year assessments highlight how students are entering the school year based on their experience from the prior school year, Maxwell said. Changes to the MAP Growth assessment in 2025 could have also affected how students performed in September, she said.

“The middle-of-year data is a more valid indicator than beginning of year data, because it is just that much more closer to the STAAR assessment,” Maxwell said. “It’s also a better indicator of any impact that campus-specific strategies have had on student learning.”

What else?

AISD has seen declining enrollment across Burnet, Dobie and Webb from last school year to this fall. Burnet lost the greatest number of students at 143 followed by 110 students who left Dobie and a loss of 88 students at Webb.

With about 72,000 students last school year, AISD’s enrollment was down nearly 15% from 2014 and is projected to drop by nearly 11% percent to about 64,500 students by 2034, according to a demographic report by MGT.

Additionally, the attendance rate at Burnet and Dobie dropped by -1.27% and -.32%, respectively, while the attendance rate at Webb increased by .81%, according to district data.

The approach

In June, the AISD board voted to restart Burnet, Dobie and Webb using the Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, model, which has been used by Houston and Dallas ISDs. Under this model, AISD began providing additional coaching for staff, using high-quality instructional materials in English and math, and offering extended learning opportunities after school and on Saturdays.

The district hired new principals and offered up to $20,000 in stipends to incentivize high-performing educators to teach at Burnet, Dobie and Webb. All current staff members were required to reapply for their jobs. To remain at the campuses, teachers had to be be certified with at least three years of experience and demonstrate student growth in the top 20% of the district.

This semester, the district has hired a greater percentage of certified teachers and saw an increase in the average years of experience for teachers across the three campuses, according to district data. Additionally, the ratio of students to teachers has decreased at all the schools.

“I think it's really important that we just acknowledge the sheer amount of work that our staff has been taking on over the last many, many months,” Superintendent Matias Segura said at the Dec. 11 board meeting. “These turnaround plans in the amount of time that we had to do it creates significant strain within our schools.”

AISD plans to adjust its approach to ensure the spring semester is more successful than the fall, Segura said. In the spring, the district will implement more planning for teachers, revise its school schedule, and hold meetings to discuss student academic data with staff and parents, said LaTonia Amerson, assistant superintendent of school improvement.

The background

Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools each received their fourth consecutive F rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2025. By next week, the district expects to have estimates for its new accountability ratings, said Joshua Jeon, executive director of governance, accountability and board services. The district is aiming to receive a C accountability rating of 70 at each campus going forward, he said.

When adopting turnaround plans for the campuses in June, AISD officials said the district could consider partnering with charter schools next school year if student test scores did not improve.

“The entire future of the school district is on the shoulders of the students of these three middle schools on the [STAAR] testing day, which is a lot of pressure,” Singh said at the Dec. 11 meeting.

In 2022, the AISD board voted to partner with charter-network Third Future Schools to operate Mendez Middle School after the campus received five consecutive failed ratings, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Segura told reporters Nov. 5 that the district is seeking to regain control of Mendez in the future.

If a Texas public school receives five consecutive unacceptable ratings, the TEA commissioner must close the school or replace the board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers. Partnering with a charter school next school year would delay state intervention by a year if Burnet, Dobie and Webb received a fifth F rating in 2026, an AISD spokesperson confirmed to Community Impact.

The TEA announced it would take over Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth ISDs in December as well as Fort Worth ISD in October. Houston ISD has been led by a board of managers since June 2023.

Next steps

The AISD board is expected to vote on potential charter school contracts for Burnet, Dobie and Webb by Jan. 29 ahead of a Jan. 30 deadline from the TEA, Segura said.

District 7 trustee David Kauffman requested that the board move the vote to the Jan. 15 board meeting.

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