Lunchtime policy at Hirschi stirs social media concerns
The school's Facebook page on Monday contained a post that said, "Lunch is not withheld from any student."
Some posters had taken to social media to say students in the lunch line were given a few seconds to answer a multiplication problem correctly or be sent to the back of the line.
Hirschi educators said on Facebook: "Students are given a multiplication question to answer while in the lunch line (such as 6x5). If they get the question wrong, then they will move to the back of the line. If they get the 2nd question wrong, then they are taught a skill to get it correct next time and they move forward in the lunch line…and it doesn't slow down the lunch lines, as they are already backed up."
Hirschi educators also said in the post that the grade levels have seen improvements as a result.
"The intent is to get our students to learn their multiplication facts, as it is very difficult to learn middle school math when a student doesn't know them," Hirschi educators said in the post.
On Wednesday, Dr. Donny Lee, WFISD superintendent, declined to comment at this time on the math questions at Hirschi lunch.
The student population attending Hirschi has performed poorly on state accountability ratings, so the Wichita Falls ISD School Board voted in June to turn operation of the school over to Colorado-based Third Future in an effort to improve scores.
Lee has called it "a turnaround company."
Third Future brought in about 36 of its own staff and teachers and kept 11 members of existing WFISD staff, according to a previous Times Record News story.
Lee has said he expects word this week from the Texas Education Agency on whether it will intervene at Hirschi, which received a "D" rating on 2024-25 accountability ratings released last week.
More: New WFISD high schools received poor ratings. The superintendent explains why
More: WFISD turns Hirschi Middle School operation over to a turnaround company
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Hirschi lunches
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