09-05-2025
Dobie, Webb middle school students walk out over AISD's proposed campus changes
Dobie and Webb middle school students walked out of class Wednesday morning to protest potential changes at their campuses stemming from multiple years of failing to meet state academic standards. District officials have proposed turnaround plans for the schools, which could result in new administrators and academic models next year.
Holding colorful signs that read 'Save Dobie' and 'Dobie somos todos unidos' — or 'Dobie we're all united" —students gathered on the hill on which the 51-year-old campus sits upon in the Rundberg neighborhood.
Dobie is one of three North Austin middle schools for which the Austin district is considering aggressive turnaround plans to meet state academic standards by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Burnet, Webb and Dobie middle schools all face significant changes next year because they received a second consecutive 'F' rating in the state's A-F letter grades for schools and districts for 2023, which were just released last month because of prolonged litigation.
The state requires districts to submit turnaround plans to the Texas Education Agency for schools that receive two consecutive years of 'F' ratings.
Austin's three middle schools that fall in this category are within less than 5 miles of one another.
Eighth grader Erick Villafranca has attended Dobie Middle School three years, and he and his friends love the campus because of its teachers and programs, such as athletics, he said.
He held a sign that read, 'Save Dobie Roadrunners,' the school's mascot.
While the school might not be perfect, he said officials making future plans for the campus don't understand all the great things going on.
'If they really don't know how the school is, they really shouldn't be talking about it,' Villafranca said.
Santiago Munoz, another eighth grader who participates in athletics at Dobie, said people should be taking a closer look at the school and not rush to judgment.
'You never judge a book by its cover,' Munoz said.
Seventh grader Jose Mexquitic agreed that Dobie students like the school in part because the teachers make them feel comfortable and make them want to come to learn.
Austin district officials predict all three middle schools are on track to receive four consecutive 'F' ratings by the end of the 2024-25 school year. The state has not yet released scores for 2024 due to ongoing litigation.
The Austin district faces severe state sanctions if any one of the three middle schools reaches a fifth consecutive 'F' rating, including either closing the school or a state takeover of the entire district.
In 2023, the TEA placed its own appointed superintendent and board of managers over the Houston district because of a chronically failing school, and this week it warned the Fort Worth district that it was at risk of a takeover for a failing school that has since been closed.
In April, Austin district officials had originally proposed closing Dobie, at least temporarily, much to the shock and sadness of families and staff members.
The newly proposed strategy for the school calls for an aggressive one-year turnaround plan, called an Accelerated Campus Excellence plan, that would require teachers to reapply for their jobs, replace campus administrators and overhaul the campus's academic program.
Superintendent Matias Segura, however, has vowed to preserve the school's fine arts programming.
Hearing so much about Dobie in the news can be stressful, Villafranca said.
'It's hard because it just puts pressure on us,' the eighth grader said.
Students at Webb also participated in a class walkout at the same time as the Dobie students.
The walkouts happened a day after Segura and other district officials visited Dobie to explain the newly proposed turnaround plan to families.
Community meetings are also planned at Burnet and Webb next week.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dobie, Webb students walk out over AISD's proposed campus changes
