Today, the Texas Education Agency released the 2022 academic accountability ratings for schools and school districts. Due to the pandemic, this is the first time since 2019 that schools and school districts have received ratings.
At the campus level in Waco ISD, strong student growth led to a significant improvement in ratings. From 2019 to 2022, 10 of the 17 campuses operated directly by Waco ISD improved their accountability ratings by at least one letter grade, including five campuses that improved by two letter grades. Those campuses earned eight Bs this year up from five Bs three years ago, and just three received the equivalent of a D or F in 2022 down from eight in 2019.
Following the release of the ratings, Waco ISD’s superintendent, Dr. Susan Kincannon, emailed the district’s employees with the following message:
“This morning, the Texas Education Agency released the 2022 accountability ratings for schools and school districts across our state, and I am incredibly proud of the growth that our students demonstrated and your hard work to make it possible.
“The last time that the state issued accountability ratings in 2019, of the 17 campuses operated directly by Waco ISD, just five campuses received Bs and eight campuses received either Ds or Fs. After three incredibly challenging years, we now have eight B-rated campuses and just three campuses that received the equivalent of a D or F rating. That progress would be impressive under any circumstances, but it is truly remarkable in light of the pandemic.
“None of this happened by chance. It took each of you working together to serve our students. This is the result of campus principals coaching our teachers as they deepen their practice of data-driven instruction. It's teachers who helped develop and update scope and sequence documents and focused on meeting our students where they were to help them grow. It's a facilities and maintenance team that made sure that our schools were places where students were safe and comfortable and a school nutrition team that made sure our students had access to delicious and nutritious meals, so they could focus on learning. Everyone in Waco ISD played a part in this success.
“To be clear, there is much more work to do, and in too many areas, our students' scores are still lower than the state as a whole. Instead of implementing new systems, though, we're going to focus on strengthening the systems that got us this far. It takes consistency and persistence, but these ratings are confirmation that we are on the right track and headed in the right direction.
“Tomorrow, 14,000 students will walk through our doors. They are counting on us to deliver on our mission to provide an educational foundation that empowers and values all. Together, we'll do just that. It's going to be a great school year, and a year from now, I fully expect to have even more to celebrate when the next ratings are released.”
School board president Stephanie Korteweg also had the following comment:
“There are so many great things happening in Waco ISD. Dr. Kincannon’s work over the last three years is paying off! Our ratings are improving, and the systems that she’s putting in place will not only help our students get a better education but will shift culture for the better. She’s raising expectations and setting up our district for success.”
As a district, Waco ISD received a C rating.
To view your student's school ratings, visit the TEA website at this link: TXschools.gov
For help utilizing the TEA website, view the fliers in English and Spanish below.
