MARLIN, TX — The Texas Education Agency has revoked the accreditation of Marlin Independent School District.
A status of "NOT ACCREDITED-REVOKED" was set by the TEA for the 2019-2020 Accreditation Status, according to their website.
"The accreditation status is based on the academic accountability rating and financial ratings from the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. A district or charter must be accredited by the state to operate as a public school," TEA states.
Marcus Nelson, a consultant for the Marlin City Council, released the following statement:
The Texas Education Agency has clearly labeled the public school experience in Marlin as one of the few school districts in Texas that demands critical and urgent improvement. The transformation necessary in Marlin will require massive efforts from various stakeholders in the school community including but not limited to students, parents, and staff. Everyone in Marlin is being challenged by TEA to dig deeper and identify the instructional leadership plan that seeks and ultimately attains Accredited status for all MISD public schools. I firmly believe the kids in Marlin are absolutely capable of meeting these types of increasing standardized testing standards.
A letter sent to parents confirmed the news.
"The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the 2019-2020 accreditation status of the Marlin Independent School District is Not Accredited-Revoked," said Interim Marlin ISD Superintendent Dr. Jean Bahney. "A status of Not Accredited-Revoked means the district exhibits deficiencies in performance that have led to the revocation of the district's accreditation status."
"The district is taking the following steps to address the areas of identified deficiency. The district is implementing the use of literacy/reading core instructional strategies and implementing effective campus-wide discipline management plans. Additionally, teachers are following the state aligned curriculum and the instructional system with more proficient and greater fidelity," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Jean Bahney
Marlin ISD received a 2019 accountability rating of F.
In 2011, the school district was assigned a rating of "academically unacceptable."
From 2013 to 2019, the district received a rating of improvement required.
Superintendent Bahney responded to 25 News saying:
This past week, Marlin ISD sent a letter to the parents of students in the district informing them of the 2019-2020 accreditation status which is “Not AccreditedRevoked.” The status of Marlin ISD was assigned based on campus and district performance on the state accountability measures that occurred during the 2018- 2019 school year. Marlin ISD had received an “F” in 2019 at the District level and at the elementary and middle school campus levels. During the current year, 2019-2020, Marlin ISD has taken measures to increase student achievement in areas of early literacy, the implementation of core reading materials which emphasize phonics and word structure, the use of literacy/reading core instructional strategies, instructional specialists for both reading and math, campus-wide behavior plans, professional development with ESC Region 12 and additional consultants through professional learning communities, implemented Neuhaus reading strategies for struggling readers at the elementary level, and redesigned intervention activities. The Board of Managers implemented higher Board expectations and added progress measures for the grades K-3 for the 2019- 2020 school year. Marlin ISD requested an informal review of last year’s data and the accreditation assigned. The Texas Education Agency has granted this review. Despite the recent concerns, the status of Marlin ISD remains the same as it has since Marlin ISD received its 2018-2019 “Not Accredited-Revoked” accreditation status for performance during the 2017-2018 school year.
