BEAUMONT, Texas — Several Beaumont ISD campuses received failing and nearly failing grades following the release of the latest assessments from a system BISD runs to predict what their grades from the state will be.
Nine campuses, including six elementary and three middle schools, received failing grades while seven campuses, including five elementary, one high school and an alternative campus received a D grade, according to district spokesperson Jackie Simien.
The entire district received a preliminary grade of D from a system BISD runs to predict what their grades from the state will be.
Beaumont Councilman Mike Getz called for school board members to be replaced in his Facebook post.
BISD leaders say that low scores are not from a lack of effort on the district's end.
Leaders say that STAAR AI grading, COVID and economic disadvantages play a big role in preventing students from excelling.
"We have over 80 percent of our students that are economically disadvantaged," said BISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen.
Dr. Allen says when it comes to educating approximately 17,000 kids, the district is in a tough position.
The results were initially leaked in a Facebook post, which prompted BISD district officials to respond.
"Those are preliminary scores, we have not received our official rating," said Dr. Allen.
Nine campuses received failing grades, while seven campuses received a D, including Beaumont United, Marshall Middle and now defunct King Middle School.
"We are still working to fill those gaps from COVID, it didn't just go away," said Dr. Allen.
Only two campuses, the Early College High School and Fletcher Elementary School, received an A grade.
The Odom Academy and Regina-Howell Elementary School received grades of B while Curtis Elementary School, Smith Middle School and West Brook High School were rated at C.
Here's the full list...
Grade-A campuses
- Early College High School
- Fletcher Elementary School
Grade-B campuses
- Odom Academy
- Regina-Howell Elementary School
Grade-C campuses
- Curtis Elementary School
- Smith Middle School
- West Brook High School
Grade-D campuses
- Amelia Elementary School
- Dishman Elementary School
- Fehl-Price Elementary School
- Guess Elementary School
- Jones-Clark Elementary School
- Paul Brown Learning Center
- Beaumont United High School
Grade-F campuses
- Blanchette Elementary School
- Caldwood Elementary School
- Charlton-Pollard Elementary School
- Homer Drive Elementary School
- King Middle School
- Marshall Middle School
- Martin Elementary School
- Pietzsch-MacArthur School
- Vincent Middle School
12News was able to speak with a parent who says changes need to happen at home.
"I see a lot of times when I pick my kid up, there are not a lot of kids at tutorials," said a BISD parent. "It doesn't matter how many programs BISD sets up for tutorials, for extra assistance, if the parents and the students aren't willing to participate."
She also believes that the low test scores are due to enrollment and attendance.
"I think that if parents aren't willing to take advantage of the extra assistance, then there's no surprise that the scores are going to be low," she said. "I also see a big problem with attendance and kids aren't in school. The kids have to be in school in order to get instruction."
School Board President Tillie Hickman says no matter where it happens, change is needed.
"You can't keep doing the same things and expect better results," said Hickman. "We've used everything that was made and recommended by the state."
Hickman also says BISD has roughly 17,000 students and fewer than 6,000 of them were registered by the district's last board meeting. They believe this is another reason for low test scores due to the amount of time it takes away from instructional time.
Dr. Allen says BISD plans to push for raises for teachers, which has been difficult due to a lack of more financial support from the state that hasn't happened since 2019.
"That's one of the things that we're doing is trying to increase compensation this year through a voter approved tax rate election, that we're going to ask our board to call for in November, so we can get additional revenue to retain staff," said Dr. Allen.
12News asked Dr. Allen if a state takeover is in the future for the district.
"It's not just a scenario where the state comes in and takes over the district," said Dr. Allen. "You look at each individual campus performance. "
Texas' school report card (SRC) combines accountability ratings, data from the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) and financial information to give a broad view of campus performance., according to the Texas Education Agency.
School report cards are made available for every campus in Texas, according to the TEA. They are intended specifically to inform parents and guardians about a school’s individual characteristics and its academic performance.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.