Spring ISD superintendent outlines transformation strategy, names five priority campuses

Superintendent Dr. Craig Cuellar told trustees that Spring ISD is doubling down on a transformation strategy called the System of Great Schools (SGS) and set a firm performance goal: the district "will be a B-rated school district next year." He reported the district reduced D/F campuses from 20 to 9 and said F-rated campuses dropped from 11 to 2, calling those figures evidence the approach is working while noting the next gains will be harder to achieve.

Cuellar laid out a tiered model of supports under SGS, including the Spring 6 instructional practices, the campus performance framework the board adopted last year, and an Office of Transformation that now provides weekly onsite support for struggling schools. "The superintendent shall not allow any Spring ISD campus to earn a D or F rating in the Texas A–F accountability system," he said, framing the work as a districtwide priority rather than piecemeal interventions.

Administration named five "superintendent priority" campuses targeted for the most intensive supports: Heritage, Sawyers, Bammell, Bailey and Ponderosa. For schools in the highest improvement categories the district plans to use levers such as ACE (reconstitution and extended day), ATSI (additional day school year) and deployment of master teachers. Cuellar told the board that some campuses will receive retired contracted principals and additional transformation staff to provide coaching and supervisory accountability.

Trustees pressed administration on contingency plans, partners and how progress will be measured. Cuellar said the district is not "banking on any one entity or partner" — even where talks with potential partners (including those that use an 1882 turnaround contract model) are ongoing — and emphasized the district will sustain an internal course of school-improvement work. The board was told a transformation dashboard and a superintendent-priority dashboard are being finalized to give trustees regular, granular access to school-by-school progress data.

The presentation placed particular emphasis on writing and emergent bilingual supports: district leaders said about 70% of students struggled on the writing portion of the RLA assessment and that a new K–5 RLA resource will strengthen writing instruction. The superintendent closed by stressing financial stability alongside performance goals, saying the district must maintain a balanced budget while accelerating school improvement.