AUSTIN, Texas — At the AISD Board of Trustees meeting Thursday evening, the board voted unanimously to renew an agreement with Third Future Schools, a Colorado-based charter company that the District hired two years ago to help improve Mendez Middle School.
Mendez Middle School has struggled for several years, failing to meet Texas Education Agency standards and facing a potential takeover by state-appointed officials.
The Board of Trustees initially approved the partnership with Third Future Schools in 2022. District leaders said some of their goals in the contract were to improve the school’s campus rating to a “B” rating by the 2024-25 school year. However, Dr. Jacob Reach, who is the Chief of Governmental Relations & Board Services with the district, said there are not official accountability results for the campus.
Still, Reach says they have seen some improvements.
“But we do interim assessments and we have seen positive results from those interim assessments and of course, even though we don’t have the accountability based off of the STAAR, we do have their STAAR results which did show improvement over previous years,” Dr. Reach said.
Robert Kibbie is a graduate of Mendez Middle School, as are his kids. He says the moment the charter company took over, he and other parents feel that they haven’t been included.
“The moment they took over, they shut out everybody from coming in,” Kibbie said. “I’ve tried to come in, work with the kids. The parents have, a lot of our community members are upset.”
This partnership was made possible by Texas Senate Bill 1882, which was signed and went into effect in 2017. Under the bill, the district would convert a school into a campus charter and partner with a charter management organization or other entity to take over the campus.
KVUE reached out to Third Future Schools for an interview. They declined but provided the following statement.
Third Future Schools is eager about the opportunity to partner with Austin ISD again and extend our contract. Our student-centered, innovative approach aligns with the district’s vision for academic excellence and equity. We’ve seen the positive impact of our work on students, teachers, and the community, and we are committed to building on this success. We look forward to working together to provide every student with a high-quality education that prepares them for the future.