Number of low-performing schools in Tarrant County increases

Eighty-three low-performing schools in Tarrant County made the state’s final list of campuses that must allow students to transfer in 2018-19 — up from 80 last year, according data released Tuesday by the Texas Education Agency.

The Public Education Grant, or PEG, list includes 47 schools from the Fort Worth district, the same number as last year. The number of Arlington schools increased to 15 from 11, and the Crowley district dropped from 10 schools to nine.

The PEG list was released in conjunction with the state’s final academic accountability ratings and reflects changes made after appeals on preliminary data that came out earlier this year.

Arlington’s Short Elementary was the only Tarrant County school to be removed from the PEG list, after its TEA rating was upgraded from “improvement required” to “met standard.”

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Other Tarrant County districts with schools on the list are Lake Worth (4), Birdville (2), Castleberry (2), Everman (2) and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw (2).

Tarrant County districts with no PEG schools are Carroll, Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Keller and Mansfield.

The Texas Legislature created the PEG list in 1995 as an alternative for students in low-performing schools. The program allows students attending schools on the PEG list to request transfers to other schools — either within the student’s home district or to a different school district.

By Feb. 1, districts have to alert parents that a school is on the PEG list and parents can request transfers for the next school year.

The state provides additional funding for students who transfer, and school districts pay for transportation costs if the transfer is within the district.

Schools end up on the PEG list because of a number of factors related to performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests. For example, schools with passing rates at 50 percent or lower in any of two of the three preceding school years (2015, 2016 and 2017) landed on the list. Schools can also land on the list if they receive an “improvement required” TEA rating for three consecutive years.

Kent Scribner, superintendent for Fort Worth schools, said they continue to strive for increased academic gains. He said there are encouraging signs, including gains in third-grade reading and middle school math.

“I think, from our perspective, and part of our success has been to narrow the focus and keep the main thing the main thing,” Scribner said. “For us, it’s those areas — early literacy, middle years math and college and career — if we focus there, the other measures will fall in line.”

Tarrant County’s low-performing schools

Arlington school district

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Elementary: Adams, Anderson, Berry, Burgin, Crouch, Knox, Morton, Patrick, Peach, South Davis, Thornton, Webb, Wimbish

Junior High: Workman

High school: Sam Houston

Birdville school district

Elementary: Birdville

Middle: Richland

Castleberry school district

Elementary: Cato, James

Crowley school district

Elementary: Race, Deer Creek, Hargrave, Meadowcreek, Parkway, Poynter

Middle: Crowley, Stevens

Intermediate: Walker

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw school district

Elementary: Northbrook, Saginaw

Everman school district

Elementary: Hommel, John and Polly Townley

Fort Worth school district

Elementary: Pate, McDonald, Elliott, Carroll Peak, Moss, Davis, Como, Daggett, De Zavala, East Handley, Eastern Hills, Clarke, Greenbriar, Beal, Peace, Hubbard, White, Logan, Walton, Mitchell Boulevard, Mendoza, Dillow, Sagamore Hill, Sunrise-McMillan, Sims, West Handley, Westcreek

Sixth grade center: Glencrest, Rosemont, Wedgwood

Middle: Daggett, Forest Oak, Handley, Jacquet, James, McClung, Leonard, Meacham, Meadowbrook, Morningside, Riverside

High school: Carter-Riverside, Diamond Hill-Jarvis, Dunbar, Eastern Hills, O.D. Wyatt, Polytechnic

Lake Worth school district

Elementary: Morris, Miller, Marine Creek

Middle: Collins

This report contains material from the Star-Telegram archives.

Diane A. Smith: 817-390-7675, @dianeasmith1

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  • High schools where football isn’t king

    Regardless of wins and losses, players continue to play football, and fans continue to cheer, at schools such as Paschal, L.D. Bell, Sam Houston and North Crowley.

High schools where football isn’t king

Regardless of wins and losses, players continue to play football, and fans continue to cheer, at schools such as Paschal, L.D. Bell, Sam Houston and North Crowley.

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