Austin ISD outlines accelerated turnaround plan, submits Dobie Middle School plan to TEA by June 30

Austin Independent School District officials told the board of trustees Thursday that Dobie Middle School has been required by the Texas Education Agency to prepare a campus turnaround plan and that the district will submit a plan by June 30, 2025.

The turnaround requirement stems from federal accountability under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which identified Dobie as among the bottom 5% of middle schools statewide on the “closing the gaps” metric, officials said. “When we got the notice of that turnaround plan ... we felt that that sanction did not apply to Dobie,” Carolyn Hanschen, executive director of campuses and district accountability, said, describing the district’s initial disagreement with TEA’s timeline. Hanschen said the agency later said it would align federal labels with state accountability and required the turnaround plan.

The district said the TEA recently extended the submission window for federally prompted turnaround plans to align with state deadlines: districts were told they no longer needed to submit by April 30 and have until June 30 to submit plans based on state accountability. Jacob Reach, chief of governmental relations and board services, said that change gives the district “more time to consider the feedback that we've received and to more deeply explore options for Dobie's future.”

Why it matters: Under state law the commissioner may approve a submitted turnaround plan only if the plan is likely to meet student performance standards within two years of implementation. A separate state rule cited in the presentation (identified in the briefing as “39 A 111”) says that if a campus receives unacceptable ratings for five consecutive years the commissioner may appoint a board of managers or order closure. District staff said those timelines and pending court litigation over ratings complicate planning.

What the district presented: Staff explained the turnaround plan process required by TEA and the core components the district will include: strong school leadership, strategic staffing, positive school culture and social-emotional supports, consistent high-quality instructional materials and assessments, and effective classroom instruction supported by ongoing professional development. The district plans to present turnaround plans in an information session on May 8 and seek board action at the June 12 meeting, then submit plans to TEA by the June 30 deadline. The presentation noted TEA will either approve or request resubmission by July 18, 2025.

District supports already in place: Superintendent Segura and staff listed actions Austin ISD has taken for Dobie since 2019, including added instructional coach staff (1.5 FTEs), targeted reading and math intervention allocations tied to Proposition A funds, increased visits and support from executive directors, MTSS and behavior supports, PLC coaching, and partnerships with external organizations such as Communities In Schools, Austin Voices, and other after-school and tutoring providers. The district also described a “Middle School Forward” initiative with three tiers of support: districtwide components, support for eight identified middle schools, and an intensified set of supports for the five most at-risk campuses (Dobie among them).

Trustee questions and community concerns: Multiple trustees pressed for clearer, public measures of the district’s “inputs” (staffing levels, principal experience, vacancy rates, program fidelity) rather than relying only on TEA ratings. Trustee Singh said, “student outcomes don't change until adult behaviors change,” and asked the administration to publish the KPIs the district already tracks. Segura said the district tracks vacancies, professional development, work orders and other KPIs and will post documents to BoardDocs and a public landing page.

Trustee Hunter and others urged the administration to pursue options that allow Dobie to remain open with changes and supports where feasible. Trustee Hunter said she favors preserving Dobie “keeping Dobie in place,” but acknowledged that doing so may require substantive changes in staffing or programming.

What remains undecided: The board did not take a formal vote. District staff said they will return with draft turnaround plans for the board’s information session on May 8 and may bring plans for board action on June 12. The TEA’s stated deadlines and the pending state litigation over 2024 ratings mean timelines could change.

Ending note: District officials said the Dobie plan will be “comprehensive systemic improvement” compliant with TEA requirements and that the district intends to use community feedback gathered in recent public meetings to inform the plan.