Classes begin hopefully at 3 Austin middle schools that will be under a microscope

Balloons hung in the hallway and loud pop music filled the atrium Tuesday morning at Dobie Middle School as students bustled in for the first day of classes.

Eighth graders Roshawn Brown and Carsten Brooks had their minds on music. Brown wanted to take guitar this year. “It’d be pretty lit,” he said. He’s in band now, but would like to be in orchestra if there’s a program this year, he said. “I’m very skilled at it,” Brown said. “I’ve been playing it for four years now.”'

By the school entryway, new Principal Mike Walker greeted students as they bid parents goodbye and called out to friends.

The goal for the school this year is significant academic growth, Walker said. The school, along with two other North Austin campuses, will be closely watched by the district to determine whether they meet state academic standards.

The school year at Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools carries significant weight on the minds of district officials who toured campuses Tuesday.

Failure to meet state academic standards could put the district at risk of takeover by the Texas Education Agency, an outcome Superintendent Matias Segura has said he wants to avoid above all else. The new year also marks the beginning of turnaround plans at the three schools aimed at improving scores, though their creation sparked concern last spring among some teachers and parents about disruption for students that the state-imposed process was being carried out too hastily. 

At the same time, Walker said he hopes to build strong relationships in the school. 

“We want them to feel welcome,” he said. “We want them to feel included at all times. We want them to feel challenged and supported at all times.”

'Let's shock the city'

The jovial mood Tuesday came after staff at all three campuses spent several weeks training and preparing for the newly designed school year, which includes more staff, increased math and reading instruction and a $1.7 million investment from the district per school.

This kind of turnaround is possible, Wilton Harris said as he helped direct students getting dropped off by car at Dobie.

“Let’s shock the city,” Harris said.

Harris, the Afterschool Centers on Education site coordinator for the middle school, is himself a graduate of the campus. He wants to put the uncertainty that last year's turnaround proposals brought behind and focus on working for the students.

“You have to believe because these kids are going to be looking to us,” Harris said.

The A-F letter grades that the state uses to rate schools are based on a 0-100 scale, built largely on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test results, student growth and career and college readiness.

Two of the middle schools came close last year to avoiding a failing grade, according to the district. Dobie and Webb received a 59 out of 100, one point away from a D, which grants the campuses a year of grace time from the state. Burnet got a 54 score.

“We’re not starting flatfooted," Segura sais. "There’s real momentum.” 

'High expectations'

The district has shown it can turn around struggling schools. This year, four campuses improved from an F rating in 2023 to a C in 2025: LBJ and Northeast early college high schools, and Langford and Pillow elementary schools. Another eight schools improved from an F to a D.

The district also has demonstrated it can produce high-achieving schools that serve high-needs students, like Guerrero-Thompson Elementary School. 

The campus, which opened 2013, has low teacher turnover and a high proportion of teachers receiving state performance incentives.  

In Alina Reyes' bilingual second grade class Tuesday, students sang a days-of-the-week song as Segura visited. 

"¿Vamos a aprender mucho?," Reyes asked her students. "Are we going to learn a lot?" The class of boisterous second graders shouted back with a resounding "Sí!" 

Strong systems in place and community support are part of the formula, said Principal Briana Garcia. 

"We really have high expectations for each other and the kids," Garcia said. "We have a staff that holds each other accountable." 

Challenges ahead

However, the district could be facing a substantial task in the upcoming year as additional schools also require assistance. 

The district will need to develop plans to improve academic ratings at another 12 schools that have received Fs three years in a row: Barrington, Dawson, Linder, Oak Springs, Pecan Springs, Sanchez, Widen, Winn and Wooldridge elementaries and Bedicheck, Martin and Paredes middle schools.

The district will need to submit these plans by Nov. 14 and begin them as soon as they’re approved by the TEA, according to agency guidance.

Another 11 schools with only two consecutive years of F ratings will need to submit plans by Nov. 14 but won’t need to execute the plans unless they receive a third F.

For students, the focus on the first day of school is on their teachers, their friends and which class will be their favorite. 

For Jordi Hernandez, that's easy: mariachi. As chatter in the Burnet cafeteria buzzed around him, the eighth grader explained that partway through seventh grade, he was promoted to advanced mariachi. 

"I was so good, brah," Hernandez said. "I'm just talented like that." 

He proudly showed the calluses on his fingers from playing guitar. Because he's starting advanced, he said, mariachi this year will be even better.