To avoid state sanctions, Austin ISD plans to hire more experienced teachers to work at three middle schools that received consecutive failing grades under Texas’ school rating system.
The district is not only trying to recruit educators with a track record of improving student outcomes to work at Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools. It's also asking teachers currently working at those campuses to reapply for their jobs.
Brandi Hosack, the district's chief of talent strategy, told reporters Thursday she thinks a lot of educators who don't teach core subjects, such as English and math, will return.
"I expect many of them to come back — our fine arts teachers, our [career and technical education teachers]," she said.
Austin ISD is required to develop turnaround plans for the schools after they each received two consecutive failing grades from the Texas Education Agency. The agency grades middle schools based on how students perform on STAAR, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.
If a campus gets an "F" for five years in a row, the education commissioner can shut down the school or appoint a board of managers to replace the school board as he did in Houston. Austin ISD administrators predict Dobie, Webb and Burnet will each earn a third "F" when the 2024 accountability ratings, which have been tied up in court, are released. They expect all three schools to get a fourth "F" when the 2025 ratings are released in August.
The district must submit its turnaround plans to the TEA by June 30.
One plan Austin ISD is considering is a “district-managed restart,” which includes removing current school leadership, bringing on new teachers and reworking the school day to, for example, increase the amount of time students spend on literacy and math. The changes are based on a model that, according to TEA, has been implemented at more than 40 other schools with low accountability ratings.
Austin ISD, which has a more than $100 million deficit, expects implementing this restart plan would cost between $1.5 million and $1.7 million per campus.
Hosack said the district wants to recruit “transformative teachers” to work at Dobie, Burnet and Webb.
“We are looking for folks that have more than three years' experience in the classroom, are certified and have proven [to be] highly effective," she said.
Austin ISD is holding hiring events May 14 and May 15 at its Central Office.
Teachers in core subjects, such as English and math, stand to receive at least a $15,000 stipend on top of their salary. Bilingual-certified and special education-certified teachers would get a $7,000 annual stipend. Educators who are part of the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment are eligible for a $5,000 stipend.
Hosack said there are teachers currently working at the three middle schools who meet the district’s criteria. The teachers would have to reapply for their jobs.
Sandra Flores, who teaches English at Webb, called that a “slap in the face" to teachers who have worked in the district for years. She also said the term "transformative teachers" is concerning.
“Who are they transforming? Are they trying to transform our students? Because our students are perfect. They have achieved so many successes,” said Flores, who was named a 2025 Campus Teacher of the Year. “It is such a shame that they’re not acknowledging any of the accomplishments that they’ve met.”
Flores questioned how the district was able to come up with the money for stipends when Webb has struggled to get the resources it needs to serve students.
“Had [the district] supported us the way that we had asked then we would have done so much better. But instead our classes are ginormous,” she said. “We didn’t have SPED support, we didn’t have a dyslexia teacher, we lost admin. We had one counselor."
Omar Garcia, who has taught at Webb for five years, said he wished he could spend his entire career there. He said district officials have not done a good job of keeping staff in the loop on the changes that are underway.
“I wish we would have been treated with more professionalism and respect,” he said.
Austin ISD has started recruiting teachers, even though the school board is not set to vote on the turnaround plan until June 12.
Another option the district could pursue to stave off state intervention is partnering with a charter company to run the middle schools. But Hosack said the district needs to prepare for the next school year now.
“We have to start moving in a direction even prior to official votes because of the work that it takes to do that,” she said. “We are in conversation, certainly, with the experts at TEA and with our board because you have to say this is where we’re heading — we want feedback — but we need to start heading in this direction.”
Hosack added that teachers who do not meet the qualifications to teach at Webb, Dobie and Burnet will be reassigned to other schools. She noted employees such as teaching assistants and clerical and custodial staff are not subject to the same reevaluations and will be able to remain at their campuses.
“Some of those faces are the most familiar and supportive faces that our students know,” she said. “We’re going to be bringing those staff members back without question.”
Students have urged Austin ISD to keep their teachers at their schools. Students at Dobie and Webb staged walkouts on Wednesday and called into the school board meeting Thursday to express support for their teachers. Flores said her students have been asking her to reapply for her job.
“They’re scared," she said. "They’re scared to walk in next year and there will not be anyone that they know."
