AISD says expert teachers could improve failing schools

AUSTIN (KXAN) – In an effort to turn around low performing schools in Austin Independent School District, it is launching a campaign to hire the best teachers they can get.

The district is looking for teachers who have track records of improving students' grades, and they want them in schools that are not meeting standards.

The move comes after Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools are all facing a critical school year ahead where they must show signs of improvement or face a state intervention from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

"We are going to be launching a campaign to recruit transformative teachers," said Brandi Hosack, chief of talent strategy for AISD. "We are looking for folks that have more than three years experience in the classroom, are certified and have proven highly effective."

The district said some teachers and staff could be removed from these failing schools, but some parents at Dobie worry about stability in a school that has seen turnover.

"When you bring strangers here to this community, what kind of teachers are we going to have? That is very concerning to us," said Yessyka Velasquez, a parent from Dobie Middle School.

Hosack said she knows stability is important, but tough decisions have to be made.

"When you take away certain supports that students have become accustomed to, and feel very safe in their campus, and those are the adults and the trusted individuals -- that is very, very hard," she said.

The teachers AISD chooses to remove from their positions could then be placed in other AISD schools around the district.

"It is not about you are not doing your job and we are removing you," Hosack said. "The folks that have been at Dobie, Webb and Burnet have worked incredibly hard to support these students. This is simply a function of needing to ensure that we are, within the turnaround plan, have seasoned experts."

KXAN asked the district if the teachers who are removed from Dobie, Webb and Burnet will be fit to teach in other schools in AISD.

"There is a difference between highly effective, and you not being highly effective does not mean that you are ineffective, it simply means that you have not yet met those qualifications," said Hosack.

Hosack said a lot of teachers have left the profession and now there are a lot of novice teachers that need training.

"There are incredible amount of novice teachers on these campuses because across the state, across the nation, campuses that have been historically undeserved they to tend to have a harder time hiring which means that they have a tendency to hire novice teachers," Hosack said.

The district will host a job fair for transformative teachers May 14 and 15 at AISD headquarters.

These positions are eligible for up to $20,000 in stipends to support one of the three District-led Restart campuses.

The district is hoping to hire about 100 transformative teachers before the start of the school year.

In addition, certified core teachers are eligible to be designated under the Teacher Incentive Allotment and certified special education and certified bilingual teachers are eligible for $7,000 in stipends for support in those classrooms.

Check how your school is doing here.