How do you turn around an under performing school? Some members of an East Austin community say the answer is taking AISD out of the equation. Eastside Memorial High School, formerly Johnston High School, saw nearly 30 percent of its seniors from the Green Tech portion of Eastside, fail to graduate this past year.
"We have seen 12 years of failure already," said Susana Almanza, a native of East Austin.
That's why Almanza wanted to attend Tuesday night's community meeting about plans for Eastside Memorial. AISD says preliminary TAKS tests scores show progress for Green Tech. In some areas, gains are even in double digits.
"We are glad that there have been improvements, but were talking about 12 years," said Almanza. "We have lost a whole generation of students there. One out of every three students was not able to graduate. I think that tells us more than any other of the testing."
AISD plans to reconstitute the school one more time. But many neighbors think the best idea is for a nearby charter school, East Austin College Prep Academy, to take over the Eastside campus. But in this letter, AISD Superintendent, Meria Carstarphen says the campus isn't for lease.
"If they do not want to lease us the building, that is fine," said Angelica Noyola, with the East Austin College Prep Academy. "We are allowed by the Texas Education Agency, to run a high school as well as a junior high, and we will build a school. If we have a hundred parents come to us in the beginning of September and say, 'We refuse to send our children to a failing high school,' we will educate those children. We will not turn them away."
The next community meeting is in two weeks, on June 30th.
