At our June 20 Board of Trustees meeting, I presented the district-wide preliminary TAKS results, which included a discussion of two middle schools, Pearce and Garcia. Early performance results indicate that Garcia is likely to be rated Academically Unacceptable for the third time in the last four years and Pearce will definitely be rated Academically Unacceptable for the fifth time in the last six years. We have, therefore, accelerated changes for the coming year at these two schools.
As you may remember, on my second day as Superintendent of AISD the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency announced that he would be closing Pearce Middle School due to its multiple years of failing student performance. In response, our Board of Trustees created District Policy AI (LOCAL), authorizing the Board to consider any campus interventions recommended by the Superintendent if a campus is rated Academically Unacceptable. I have been informing the Board of Trustees and the Commissioner that the Administration has been in the process of studying student performance data, making principal assignments and reassignments based on a careful review of these results, including from the feeder elementary school results, and preparing plans of action for Pearce and Garcia Middle Schools. Using the Board policy, we are utilizing student reassignment interventions for these schools.
Since our preliminary projections show that Pearce Middle School will be Academically Unacceptable and that Garcia Middle School is also likely to be AU, we are continuing to implement the early college prep design to keep these schools on course with preparing these middle school students for the Early College High Schools at LBJ and Reagan.
Changes for multi-year AU schools should not be a surprise to our community, given our history with Pearce and other multi-year AU schools. Implementation of the AI policy is designed to provide greater opportunities for academic success for every student in the Pearce and Garcia attendance zones. Because this can have a major impact on families, we will be talking with the families of Pearce and Garcia students in a number of ways, providing opportunities for their questions and their feedback:
• Beginning today, I will be calling the family of every affected student to inform them of the changes.
• Each family will also receive a letter explaining the changes in greater detail.
• We will notify the community about upcoming meetings for the Pearce and Garcia communities and families.
• If you need more information prior to that time, please contact the principal at your school.
Continuing Pearce Middle School College Prep Model
We must continue our crucial action steps for the 2011-12 school year and begin to implement the comprehensive plan for an early college prep program for the following year. The Board and I are continuing to take strong action to ensure local accountability for student performance.
We are committed to the creation of an Early College Prep Academy at Pearce MS that will provide a strong feeder to our Early College High Schools at Reagan HS and LBJ HS. This is to ensure that there is no academic drop-off in the transition of students from Pearce to the Early College High Schools at Reagan and LBJ.
The school structure that best serves the needs of students at Pearce in 2011-12 will be to have rising 6th and 7th grade students attend Pearce under the leadership of Texanna Turner, currently the Director of Middle Grades at the Ann Richards School (ARS) for Young Women Leaders. She is an expert middle school leader in early college preparatory work and will lead the transition at Pearce MS for the 2011-12 school year while we work through the complete change to an early college prep model.
For the 8th graders, we will create an 8th Grade College Prep Academy at Reagan High School to be attended by the current rising 8th grade students from Pearce. Students in the 8th grade Early College Prep Academy will take all core classes and electives with other 8th grade students. The 8th grade Early College Prep Academy will be housed separately on the Reagan campus.
In the out-years, we will continue to refine the Early College Prep model, which may include a gender-specific college-prep design or other college preparatory models.
Making Major Changes for Garcia Middle School
Next year students who are zoned for Garcia Middle School will attend 6th grade at their current elementary school to allow for major changes in the quality of education at Garcia Middle School. The school will continue serving 7th and 8th grade students in an academic program to prepare students for their future attendance at the Early College High Schools at Reagan and LBJ High Schools. Current Garcia Principal, Dr. Helen Johnson, will remain at the school and will focus on 7th and 8th grades only.
Rising Garcia 6th graders will stay at their home elementary campuses for one year, where academic support will be stronger. These schools include Jordan, Overton, Sims, and Norman elementary schools. Due to space constraints, the rising 6th grade students at Jordan Elementary School will attend 6th grade at Overton Elementary School.
The administration will ensure that all academic and elective options for the affected students are comparable to the experiences that other students receive in elementary schools with 6th grades. The district will also continue the implementation of its current transfer policy to accommodate any student in the district who wants to attend Garcia MS as a 7th or 8th grader.
While current Garcia students are going forward with a college readiness curriculum, the district will be working to make major changes in the quality of education for future implementation at the school. These could include establishing high-performing gender-based academic programs or other early college prep designs.
We believe the changes in both schools will provide a significant jumpstart for the students of Pearce and Garcia on the road to Early College High School and then to college.
