Bastrop ISD approves Cedar Creek Middle School turnaround plan, sets measurable goals to raise rating

The Bastrop ISD board voted to approve a targeted turnaround improvement plan for Cedar Creek Middle School that lays out specific student achievement and growth targets, expanded instructional coaching and stakeholder engagement, and a monitoring cadence tied to assessments and TEA visits. Principal Bridal Cooper presented the plan, saying the school'level goal was to "boost student academic success and raise the school's rating to a C or higher," and added that her personal target is a B.

Cooper described a set of strategies: targeted student outcome goals, intensive curriculum and instruction improvement strategies, assessment protocols (six-week unit assessments, district benchmarks and NWEA MAP testing), professional learning pathways for teachers and weekly leadership meetings to review data. "We do this together," Cooper said, describing district and campus progress-monitoring routines and the involvement of district directors and coaches in weekly reviews.

Board members asked about parent engagement, assessment timing and whether coaching pulls teachers from instruction. Cooper said attendance at in-person outreach had been limited, so the campus used ParentSquare and recorded presentations to collect parent feedback; she said coaching is organized as co-planning and in-class support so teachers are not pulled out of instruction. The board subsequently approved Cedar Creek's turnaround plan and a slate of 2025-26 targeted improvement plans for five campuses, noting TEA and Region 13 visits are scheduled to monitor progress.

The action formalized the campus'level TIPs submission the district will enter into TEA's online survey system and triggers scheduled visits and progress reviews. Administrators said success will be measured across STAR domains and subgroups and that continued district support will include instructional framework walks, coaching cycles and data reviews.