TEA Commissioner visits Connally ISD after 5 consecutive years of F accountability ratings

ELM MOTT, Texas (KWTX) - The Connally Independent School District on Sept. 15 had a special visit from the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after two district schools received an F rating for the fifth consecutive year.

The goal of the visit was for the Commissioner Mike Morath to see for himself why now three of the district’s six campuses received a failing accountability rating for the 2024-2025 school year.

Morath sat in on several classes and spoke one-on-one with administrators.

“The purpose of my visit here is to see how is the district supporting classroom teachers and ensuring that what we are providing is a loving and disciplined learning environment, but in fact focused on learning,” Morath shared.

After his visit, he noted that there is an effort being made to improve the quality of learning in every classroom at Connally ISD.

“The leadership team here has taken to heart the challenges that they have inherited,” Morath said, “I see evidence of upgrades in curricular quality, upgrades in the way that they support and coach instruction.”

However, because not just one, but two campuses haven’t been able to move up from an F rating in the past five years, something has to be done.

According to Morath, “a decision will have to be made, and the decision is either a campus closure or a board of managers.”

Morath said the decision will be made in the next few months.

Unfortunately, there are several other districts in a similar situation. Morath explained that is, in part, due to the 2024 lawsuit against the TEA’s accountability ratings.

“Because this lawsuit has hidden the problem from public view for so long we have an unfortunate number of school systems that have campuses that have been an F for two, three, sometimes four years in a row, like here in Connally, five years in a row,” he said.

And with several new education laws taking effect, schools across the state will likely face even more challenges, looking to the TEA for guidance.

“There are 12-hundred school systems in Texas, and after each legislative process, it’s our job at the agency to try to help school systems implement new laws,” Morath explained.

The commissioner said the TEA is doing it best to keep people informed and provide support.

“Our job is to get information out as quickly as possible so that folks like the fold here in Connally and the greater Waco area can take the steps that they need to to help our kids,” Morath said.

Connally ISD superintendent Jill Bottelberghe emailed the following statement to KWTX:

“I appreciate that Commissioner Morath took the time to visit Connally ISD today.

“I am thankful that he was able to see firsthand the hard work that our teachers and students are putting in to make academic progress.

“It was affirming to hear that several of our strategic initiatives fall in line with state recommendations.

“Moving forward, we remain committed to using all of our resources to make the necessary improvements to ensure student success.”