This story has been updated.
Starting next school year, an outside charter school operator will take over Brentwood Middle School in Edgewood Independent School District.
On Wednesday, the district’s school board voted 5-1 to hand over day-to-day control of Brentwood to Third Future Schools, a nonprofit specialized in turning academically failing campuses around.
Brentwood has gotten a failing rating from the state three years in a row and district leaders worry the school would get another “unacceptable” grade this year, which could prompt a state intervention. Edgewood ISD, has four other campuses which have also gotten failing ratings three years in a row.
Trustee Michael Valdez, the board’s youngest and usually most outspoken member, was the lone vote against the move, and Trustee Rudy Lopez was not in attendance.
Valdez said he voted against the measure because he didn’t think the process was transparent, but Superintendent Eduardo Hernández said the district has met with families enrolled at failing campuses several times to discuss the state’s grading system.
“We’re not shying away from accepting accountability,” Hernández said.
At Brentwood specifically, only 28% of students who took the STAAR test scored on grade level or above in reading and 21% scored on grade level or above in math.
Third Future’s task will be to accelerate growth in reading and math scores within three years by partnering with Edgewood under what’s called an 1882 contract. These 1882 partnerships are considered a lucrative deal for districts because they pull down thousands of dollars in additional state funds for campuses.
The charter will also take over three San Antonio ISD campuses staring next school year. On Monday, SAISD’s board approved a similar contract which handed over operations at three failing schools over to Third Future: Hirsch Elementary, Ogden Elementary and Tafolla Middle School.
Third Future Schools was founded in 2016 by Mike Miles, who a few years ago was appointed by the state to lead Houston ISD after the district was taken over by the Texas Education Agency.
Third Future critics say it’s the only TEA-approved partner to implement turnaround models at failing schools in Texas. The organization also has a presence in Colorado and Louisiana.
TEA does not have a set list of approved partners, instead approving 1882 contracts after school districts pick the partner and submit an application to the state.
TEA did not say if the state has approved any other turnaround partners to receive 1882 funds other than Third Future.
The charter currently operates campuses in Austin ISD, Wichita Falls ISD, Manor ISD and Midland ISD.
Parents and community members at both districts in San Antonio have pushed back against the decision to allow Third Future to take over citing concerns about the charter’s stricter model and history of financial mismanagement in Colorado.
Families are mostly concerned with fewer elective options, from fine arts offerings to competitive sports. Zach Craddock, Third Future’s superintendent, has said that electives would follow student demand and the schools offer after-school extracurriculars too.
For the most part, the charter does have a record of turning around campuses within two to three years.
The issue has even brought religious leaders from the COPS/Metro Alliance — an influential community activist group that got its start on San Antonio’s West Side — to speak out against the takeovers by Third Future, particularly in SAISD.
Along with other community-based groups, the groups say letting Third Future into school districts is a move from the state get more control of public school without an explicit state takeover.
“When you think about Third Future being the only entity that the state has approved to do this type of thing, it makes you suspect,” said Stewart Blanton. “Why is this the only option we have to choose from?”
Pressure from the state
Entering into an 1882 contract also buys districts at least two more years before the Texas Education Agency intervenes — a more common trend as the state puts more political pressure on public education systems by focusing more on STAAR outcomes and stiffening its academic accountability system.
In December, the state announced it was taking over districts in Beaumont, Lake Worth and Connally. A few months before that, the state took over Forth Worth Independent School District over a failing school the district had already closed on its own.
Edgewood was taken over by the state once before in 2016 over board dysfunction — the TEA replaced elected trustees with a board of managers, and the district regained local control by 2020.
The district, which primarily serves westside families, is also no stranger to 1882 partnerships Created under Senate Bill 1882 in 2017, these contracts are an option for failing schools, but they’re also meant to implement innovative school models, allowing districts to partner with education nonprofits, public universities and charter school networks.
Edgewood currently has seven 1882 partnerships, including with Pre-K 4 SA, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Learn4Life and the Texas Council for International Studies.
Brentwood was previously under an 1882 contract with the group Friends of P-TECH, which shifted the school’s focus to science, technology, engineering and math education — but that partnership dissolved last year. The district ended that partnership after five years because they say the group failed to comply with financial performance goals.
Edgewood will contract with Third Future for at least three years, letting the charter implement its own model comprising longer school days, 90-minute classroom blocks, one 60-minute elective block and a hyper focus on literacy and math scores.
Third Future would also have hiring power at Brentwood, and teachers who are currently at the campus would have to reapply for their jobs.
Edgewood officials said teachers in good standing who didn’t want to stay at Brentwood but continue with Edgewood would have a spot in the district.
Correction: An earlier version of this story states Third Futures was the only TEA-approved turnaround partner. TEA does not have a set list of approved partners — it approves contracts after school districts pick the partner and submit an application to the state.
