Eight Waco schools received failing grades on the state’s annual state report card, new data released Friday shows, but Superintendent Tiffany Spicer says she believes a turnaround is coming.
South Waco Elementary School was among those receiving an F after several years of failing grades. Waco Independent School District officials have worried that an F at the campus this year could trigger a state intervention of the entire district.
However, Waco ISD’s contract with the Third Future Schools charter operator to turn around the school will shield it from intervention for at least two years, starting with the 2025-26 school year.
Spicer says she’s confident that South Waco will improve to get it out of the danger zone of state takeover. The same goes for other struggling campuses, she said.
“This is our year,” Spicer said. “This is our year where we go, and all the stops are out because we changed our curriculum. We’ve done our PLC process, which is professional learning communities, for our teachers to show that they have what they need.”
The report also shows that Dean Highland Elementary School, which also is under Third Future control this year, received a fourth consecutive F rating. Third Future is a nonprofit known for contracting to run struggling public schools under a state-approved partnership that brings extra state money and temporary protection from state takeovers.
G.W. Carver Middle School also had four consecutive Fs, while Cesar Chavez Middle School and J.H. Hines Elementary School had two and Mountainview and West Avenue elementaries had their first F.
Waco ISD has implemented turnaround plans at Carver and Chavez along with Parkdale and Kendrick elementary schools, and it has adopted state-required “targeted improvement plans” for Waco High School and J.H. Hines, Mountainview and Cedar Ridge elementaries.
The Texas Education Agency’s rating system is based on standardized testing and other criteria, such as closing the gap for at-risk populations and meeting career goals at the high school level. Too many consecutive years of failure at any campus can lead the TEA to take over a school district, as it did for Connally ISD this year after poor grades at two schools.
Typically, state intervention is required after five consecutive F grades, but the formula has exceptions, and pandemic years have been excluded from the calculations.
Last year’s TEA accountability report showed that South Waco Elementary had four consecutive F grades, meaning it was one away from triggering a takeover. This year’s report also showed a chain of four failing grades.
In a message to the Bridge on Friday, a TEA spokesperson clarified that the 2025-26 grade didn’t count because of the Third Future partnership.
The news wasn’t all bad for Waco ISD. University High School improved from a C to a B, its best performance in years. Waco High School improved from a D to a C, while Cedar Ridge also improved from a C to a B.
Look up your school’s rating
“The biggest thing for me is I want exponential growth,” Spicer said. “But … you cannot make changes in a big system in one year. There’s no way. However, if you put the systems in place and put the people in place and you stay the course, we’re going to get the results, and that’s proof… That’s proof that we’re doing the right thing and we’re getting everybody going in the right direction. So we’re on our way.”
Spicer added the ratings do not reflect the student and staff achievements happening in the district. In the summer, she noted, Lake Air Montessori School students traveled to Washington D.C. for National History Day, and Future Educators Academy won national awards.
“If you look at our students, … you’ll see all the bright spots throughout Waco ISD,” she said. “You’ll see that our students are going to Harvard. They got accepted to Brown. They’re going to Baylor. They’re going to Texas Tech. They’re going to Texas A&M. They’re going to UT Austin up the street, right? So, if those things are happening, and we have a D, that doesn’t equate. And universities … across our nation are accepting our students. We must be doing something right.”
Connally: Mixed results
The state this year took over Connally ISD after Connally Junior High and Connally Elementary School received five consecutive failing grades.
Both campuses received Fs this year. However, at Connally High School, the ratings show growth as it improved from a C to a B.
Connally ISD’s state-appointed superintendent, Josie Gutierrez, is optimistic the new Cadet Academy model and increased focus on academics will result in improvement.
“The district recognizes that the upcoming accountability ratings will largely reflect performance from the prior school year and likely indicate significant opportunities for improvement at both the junior high and elementary school,” Gutierrez said Wednesday in a statement to The Waco Bridge.
“At the same time, both campuses are entering an important period of transformation, with a focused commitment to strengthening instruction, enhancing student supports, and establishing the systems necessary for sustained academic growth. We are confident these efforts will lead to meaningful progress that will become increasingly evident in future accountability results.”
The Cadet Academy model launched this week. It provides instructional support, differentiated interventions, new innovation labs and extended enrichment hours.
“We are incredibly excited about the structure, focus, and energy,” she said. “The Cadet Academy model is already bringing to our campuses this school year, and we can’t wait to see how it impacts improved student outcomes in (school year) 2026-27,” Gutierrez stated.
Clarification, Aug. 14, 2026, 2:52 p.m. Central: An earlier version of this story stated that South Waco Elementary had received its fifth consecutive F rating. However, the TEA clarified that it does not count this year's F because of the Third Future contract.
