Pearce's repurposing proposal unveiled

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Independent School District has unveiled its 40-page repurposing plan to save Pearce Middle School, a plan that will be considered by trustees Monday night.

This is a last-minute Hail Mary pass by the school district to keep the Northeast Austin middle school open. Prior plans have not met with Education Commissioner Robert Scott’s approval although Scott said today the two sides were “very close” to a solution for Pearce so it can open this fall. If not, Scott said the agency could be ready to send in an alternative manager so the campus could open this fall as a non-AISD school.

About 800 students currently attend Pearce. If this plan meets with Scott’s approval, the district will send each parent of Peace student a letter explaining the process of enrollment, as well as the new programs to be implemented at the campus. A parent could choose to remain at Pearce or transfer to another middle school in the district that is rated academically acceptable by state and federal standards and has sufficient capacity.

Other highlights in the repurposing report include:

• Financial incentives will be utilized to recruit and retain a high-performing principal for the school. A principal could earn up to $40,000 for driving Pearce’s ratings up to the Exemplary status;

• Teachers picked for the repurposed campus would have to be certified in the area that they are teaching; have at least three years of successful performance with high-needs students; have a satisfactory evaluation; and have student passing rates that in 2008-09 that could meet next year’s passing standards. Early indications are only a quarter of Pearce’s current teachers would qualify; and

• Classrooms will get a significant technology infusion. All teachers will have a laptop and a projector in the classroom. Ten of AISD’s Innovation Stations – with full-scale technology – will go to Pearce classrooms. Desktop computers in the computer lab also will be replaced.