Austin ISD seeks partnership with charter operator to turn around Mendez Middle School

Austin school district officials are seeking to hire a Colorado charter school operator to turn around Mendez Middle School. Under a proposal approved by the Austin school board last week, the district will submit an application to the Texas Education Agency for Third Future to run the long struggling Southeast Austin school beginning next fall. It's the district's latest attempt to improve academic performance at the campus, which has not met state standards since 2013, according to district leaders.

If a school fails to meet state academic standards for five consecutive years, the state can intervene, including by replacing a district's school board with a board of managers appointed by the state education commissioner. District leaders have used a state law that gives districts a pause from state penalties if they partner with a charter school or another entity to turn around schools. Also, school ratings were suspended during the pandemic. But the school board voted in December to end its contract with the nonprofit T-STEM Coalition, which has managed the school for the past four years, after seeing slow academic progress. District leaders have used a state law that gives districts a pause from state penalties if they partner with a charter school or another entity to turn around schools. Also, school ratings were suspended during the pandemic. But the school board voted in December to end its contract with the nonprofit T-STEM Coalition, which has managed the school for the past four years, after seeing slow academic progress.