Texas School District Earns First C Rating Since 2019

After four years of struggling grades, a Texas school district is proving that focused effort and community support can turn things around.

Seguin Independent School District earned a C accountability rating for the first time since 2019, climbing from a 66 to a 70 overall score. Perhaps even more impressive, the district ended the year without a single campus receiving an F rating, a first since Texas introduced its letter grade system.

Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee says the numbers tell only part of the story. Behind every point increase is a real classroom with dedicated teachers, involved parents, and students working harder than ever before.

Nine of the district's 11 rated campuses improved in student achievement this year. Seguin High School jumped from a D rating of 64 to a C rating of 70, increasing 11 points in Academic Growth and 14 points in Closing the Gaps.

Barnes Middle School posted one of the most dramatic improvements, surging 22 points in Closing the Gaps from 47 to 69. The campus moved from an F rating of 55 to a D rating of 66.

The district showed growth across every major category. Student Achievement rose from 68 to 70, Academic Growth climbed from 66 to 68, and Closing the Gaps showed the largest jump, increasing from 61 to 67.

Lee credits the turnaround to an Academic Accountability Improvement Plan launched last November and a strategic planning process that gave everyone a shared vision. He pushed his team to embrace urgency, insisting that students deserve quality instruction right now, not someday.

The Ripple Effect

The improvements reached every corner of the district. Mercer-Blumberg Learning Center earned an A with a 93, while Patlan Elementary scored a B with an 84 and earned special distinctions for science achievement and academic growth.

Five campuses now hold C ratings, including McQueeney Elementary, Koennecke Elementary, and Weinert Elementary. Even the four schools still rated D are close to the next level, with several scoring 69, just one point away from a C.

Lee emphasizes this C rating isn't the finish line. The district still has campuses rated D that need support, and the ultimate goal is to see more schools earning A and B ratings.

But for now, the community is celebrating real progress built on dedication, hard work, and refusing to accept struggling schools as inevitable.