Abilene ISD officials outline plans to improve rating

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Abilene ISD administration informed parents Tuesday that the district is expected to receive a C rating from the Texas Education Agency.
For transparency, a letter was sent to parents Tuesday morning to explain the rating and the district's plans for improvement, officials said.
"We need every Abilene resident to feel confident standing with us, and that starts with being open and honest about our schools," the letter to parents sent out April 22 stated.
Dr. John Kuhn, AISD superintendent, said in a press conference Tuesday that AISD as a district has attained a C level rating over the past three years.
Although a C rating is passing in the eyes of the TEA, Kuhn said his expectations are to achieve the district's North Star Goal of having 75% of AISD students in A or B level campuses by the 2028-2029 school year.
The reason for accountability ratings are to evaluate district and campus effectiveness in preparing students for the next grade level and for success after high school.
https://www.abileneisd.org/article/2159976
Ratings are mainly dependent on student performance on state standardized testing, but at the secondary level, other factors are calculated into the score, Kuhn said.
The letter sent to parents said AISD officials expect the district to receive a score of 70 for the 2024 school year.
Using TEA's new accountability rating system, the district scored a 72 in 2023 and would have scored 69 in 2022, according to the letter.
According to the information sent to parents, the campuses projected to score below a C rating are Martinez, Taylor, Purcell, Ortiz and Bowie elementary schools, and Clack and Mann middle schools.
"We've been working extremely diligently over the past year to reimagine the work we do at AISD with aim of attaining our North Star Goal," Kuhn said.
The elementary choice pilot program, the reinvention of Mann Middle School to Mann STEAM Academy, the adoption of new curriculums and expansion of college credit opportunities are just a few of the innovations being implemented to improve student learning outcomes and district performance, Kuhn said.
"We as a school district are not standing still," he said. "We're hard at work building brighter futures for the students of AISD."
Patti Blue, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, expanded on what is in motion to help prepare AISD students for the future.
Blue said AISD has been awarded TEA grants totaling over $2 million to be used toward Mann STEAM Academy and creation of innovative programs at Bowie, Purcell and Ward elementary campuses.
New high-quality instructional materials will be implemented district-wide in kindergarten through eighth grade, Blue said.
"Our students and their families count on us to deliver them a quality education that sets them up for success in the workplace, in college, as human beings, as citizens, as neighbors, and we're going to do that," Kuhn said.
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Reimagining Abilene ISD, administrators address low district rating