The Gazette-Enterprise

GUADALUPE COUNTY — There was good news and not-so-good news for local school districts on Friday.

The Texas Education Agency released its annual accountability ratings, which gave Marion ISD an overall rating of Academically Unacceptable, Navarro ISD a rating of Academically Acceptable and Seguin ISD a rating of Recognized.

The TEA rates districts and individual schools each year based on factors including TAKS testing scores and dropout rates.

The rating system offers four scores for districts and schools: Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable and Academically Unacceptable.

Marion High School was given an academically unacceptable rating, which led MISD’s overall rating to also be Academically Unacceptable. Meanwhile, MISD’s Krueger and Karrer campuses were rated Recognized and Marion Middle School was Academically Acceptable.

Superintendent James Hartman said the rating was based on dropout/noncompleter data which included a residential facility for incarcerated youth located in MISD, which the district believes should not have been included in the high school’s dropout data.

“We do plan to appeal. If you look at academic performance, as a district we’re on the verge of being Recognized, having met Recognized or Exemplary standards in 18 of 20 indicators,” Hartman said Friday. “We’re certainly disappointed that this rating we think is in error is not reflective of the good job the staff has done and hard work the students have put in.”

NISD Superintendent Dee Carter said her district will be appealing to TEA to overturn the ratings for the high school and district.

Navarro High School and Navarro Junior High were rated Academically Acceptable while the elementary school received a Recognized rating and Navarro Intermediate was rated Exemplary.

Carter said Navarro High School and the district were both in the Recognized range academically, but one student who left the district and had not been accounted for gave NISD one too many “noncompleter” students for a Recognized rating.

Carter explained that the TEA wants records that students in each peer group or incoming class graduate in four years or receive a GED in that time in order for the students to be counted as “completers.”

“We had one excess ‘leaver’ that neither we nor the state could track,” she said. “But we’ve now found documentation that the student did graduate in four years, so we’re getting together the paperwork to make an appeal.

We hope it will be approved so their hard work will be recognized.”

At SISD, administrators, staff and students had cause to celebrate as the district received its first-ever Recognized rating.

Individually, Seguin High School, Mercer-Blumberg Learning Center, Briesemeister Middle School and Saegert Sixth Grade Center were Academically Acceptable; Barnes Middle School, Jefferson Elementary, Weinert Elementary, McQueeney Elementary and Patlan Elementary were Recognized; Ball Elementary, Koennecke Elementary and Vogel Elementary were rated Exemplary. Under the Alternative Education Accountability system, the district’s non-traditional high school, Mercer-Blumberg Learning Center, also received an Academically Acceptable rating.

“Everyone in the district has worked so hard at the campus and district level,” Garza said. “We have 8 of 11 campuses receiving either exemplary or recognized ratings.”

Garza attributed the successful ratings to SISD’s individualized approach to working with children and helping them to overcome academic difficulties.

“Every teacher, administrator and staff member worked extremely hard. We’re appreciative of the work the staff has done, as well as the work students and their families have done,” she said. “And of course we’re very lucky to have the board we have — the leadership and support they provide throughout the year is second-to-none.”

Though the news is exciting, Garza said there is plenty of work still left to do — especially in the areas of math, science and closing achievement gaps between different student groups.

“We want to celebrate, but we know there’s a new year just around the corner,” Garza said. “We need to continue to focus preparing for the new year and preparing each kid for the new standards they’ll face in each new grade level.”

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