TEA gives three BISD campuses bad marks

Students at three BISD schools will be allowed to transfer to other campuses next school year because their schools were among the lowest rated in the state, the Texas Education Agency said

The transfer option is open to students at Lopez and Rivera high schools and Vermillion Elementary, according to the TEA list.

The schools in the Brownsville ISD are among nine in Cameron County, four in Willacy County and 28 in the upper Rio Grande Valley that are on a TEA list of schools where students can transfer.

Schools on the list had more than 50 percent of their students fail the TAKS in any two of the last three years, or had an “aca-demically unacceptable” rating in any one of the last two years.

Under the Public Education Grant program, schools that accept transfer students receive an extra 10 percent in funding per pu-pil.

In Cameron County, the San Benito school district had four schools on the list, San Benito High School, Veterans Memorial Ninth Grade Academy and La Encantada and Roberts elementaries. Zavala Elementary in the Harlingen school district is on the list, as are the middle school and high school in Santa Rosa and the middle school in the Santa Maria.

Statewide, more 831 schools made the list, but the total number decreased from 924 last year.

“Math and science were the most common reasons for a school to be unacceptable,” said Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the TEA.

Education officials estimated that as many as 500,000 students are enrolled in the 831 schools.

The number of students who take advantage of the transfer option is expected to be low, because the program doesn’t provide funding for transportation to a new school.

Fewer than 3,000 students have used the program to move to transfer since it was implemented in the late 1990s.

The Senate Education Committee has called on lawmakers to encourage participation in the transfer program by funding trans-portation.

Officials have said transportation is a major obstacle for students and parents who are considering transferring under the pro-gram.

The list of low-rated schools includes:

BROWNSVILLE

Rivera High School

Lopez High School

Vermillion Elementary

SAN BENITO:

San Benito High School,

Veterans Memorial Ninth Grade Academy

La Encantada Elementary

Roberts elementary

HARLINGEN

Zavala Elementary

SANTA MARIA

Santa Maria High School

SANTA ROSA

Jo Nelson Middle School

Santa Rosa High School

RAYMONDVILLE

Myra Green Middle School

Raymondville High School

LYFORD

Lyford Middle School

Lyford High School

DONNA:

Donna High School

W.A. Todd Ninth Grade Campus

A.P. Solis Middle School

D.M. “Dora” Sauceda Middle School

Capt. D. Salinas II Elementary School

Daniel Singleterry Sr. Elementary School

J.P. Le Noir Elementary School

M. Rivas Elementary School

Patricia S. Garza Elementary School

Runn Elementary School

EDCOUCH-ELSA

Edcouch-Elsa High School

Ruben C. Rodriguez Elementary School

Santiago Garcia Elementary

EDINBURG:

Economedes High School

LA JOYA:

Jimmy Carter High School

Juarez-Lincoln High School

Nellie Schunior Middle School

Juan Seguin Elementary School

Tabasco Elementary School

MERCEDES:

John F. Kennedy Elementary School

PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO:

PSJA High School

PSJA Memorial High School

PSJA North High School

PROGRESO:

Progreso High School

Dorothy Thompson Middle School

ROMA:

Roma International

SHARYLAND:

Sharyland High School

VALLEY VIEW:

Valley View Middle School