(Seguin) — The report card is in for the Seguin ISD. The school district has received a letter grade C from the Texas Education Agency. This was the first time that the TEA released its A-F letter grade accountability rating for each campus. Last year, it was only for the district. The ratings were released to Texas Public School districts on Thursday.
Seguin ISD Superintendent Dr. Matthew Gutierrez says the C was awarded following a variation of results across the district.
“Seguin ISD, overall, our rating is a letter grade C. We remained the same compared to last year but when it comes to our campus ratings, we are certainly proud of two of our campuses that were able to obtain a B rating, McQueeney and Koennecke Elementary Schools but we are disappointed in the fact that both of our middle schools did receive an F rating — Barnes Middle School by one student,” said Gutierrez.
The letter grades for campuses include a B for Ball, Koennecke and McQueeney Elementary Schools. Koennecke also received a Distinction Designation in math while McQueeney received one in Post Secondary Readiness. Receiving a C were Jefferson Elementary and Weinert Elementary Schools. All other elementary schools, Rodriguez, Patlan and Vogel earned a letter grade D.
At the secondary level, both A.J. Briesemeister Middle School and Barnes Middle School received an F. Mercer-Blumberg finished off with a C. The Seguin High School also earned a C along with a Distinction Designation in ELA/Reading.
Dr. Gutierrez says as the community reviews the letter grades, he hopes to remind them of the work that has already begun for all schools district wide.
“What I really want the community to know is that one, we’ve made leadership changes at those campuses so that we can better ensure that we are implementing our programs and our curriculum with better fidelity in making improvements in the areas of student discipline which is always a issue at the middle school but it’s also important for people to realize that we are only one year into our strategic plan — the blueprint for the work that is happening with the district over the next several years. But, I really do believe because it’s research based, it’s proven to be effective, we’ll yield results for our school district and I also expected that during this time of change that we will experience an implementation dip because we are completely transforming the way we approach education in the Seguin ISD through innovative programming, innovative lessons that are happening in our classroom everyday,” said Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says Seguin High School is an example of where the district is headed — totally transforming the way students learn and the way teachers teach.
“I’m extremely proud of the high school. They made a seven point gain in their accountability from a 70 last year to a 77 this year. That’s very significant for a comprehensive high school especially one that serves 2,000 kids. That’s a huge accomplishment that should be celebrated and I certainly have to attribute that to the consistency in leadership and leadership that is very passionate about ensuring that they are meeting the needs of students. We’ve also had the opportunity to bring in an academic dean from another district who is come in with some great ideas and has been a value ad. I think Dr. (Hector) Esquivel being at the campus for four years, a new academic dean coming in along with the partnership with Central Office with learning and leadership services have really made a big difference in how the high school operates,” said Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez, again, says success is already on the horizon with changes already in the works.
“But it’s a process. Change is a process that takes time and I firmly believe that going into year two of our strategic plan — year three with me as a superintendent — that we are going to see significant changes happening. Last year was really about establishing that culture, putting systems and structures in place where this year, we monitor those systems and structures in a much better way than we were able to do last year and I certainly feel that the most critical piece to that puzzle is the principal leading those campuses and I’m very confident in every single principal’s ability to lead effectively, to build relationships with their community, with their students and with their staff,” said Gutierrez.
The district, Thursday night, spent the evening breaking down the data even more for members of the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees. The Seguin Daily News, next week, hopes to share some of the key elements that are being implemented by the district for future success.
Like the Seguin ISD, the Navarro and Marion Independent School Districts also received their ratings. The Navarro ISD is celebrating an A while the Marion ISD is celebrating the letter grade B. The Seguin Daily News will have more on the district’s success during Monday’s edition of the Seguin Daily News.