Half an hour before the end of the regular work week, Austin ISD has released their proposal for the repurposing plan for Pearce Middle School (Download the full plan here).
Here’s some quick-glance highlights:
– Keep the school within the district, with extra administrative support, and re-open as a middle school this August.
– Grade Level Teams to create instructional models based around “real-world applications,” with extra ESL, after-school and summer programs available.
– An on-campus Opportunity Center “for students who are not succeeding in a traditional setting.”
– Emphasis on science teaching, including integrating new equipment the district had already ordered before the closure. This also involves replacing all current science staff with veteran science teachers.
– Better community involvement and integration, especially bringing the Hispanic majority and the Mueller development population on-board.
– More mentoring, long-term planning, and student tracking, in part using the existing ParentConnect system
– Extra cash for incentive and retention pay, as well as increased academic support staff
– Optional enrollment, allowing parents of Pearce kids to either stay with the school or choose from a short list of alternatives.
The district will be expecting stakeholder feedback at the AISD Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 3, then it just has to get approved by the board and Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.
This article appears in July 31 • 2009.
