- Coming up on "Austin InSight", what's next for Dobie Middle School in the Rundberg community, plus the new Texas school district grades are in.

How your district did and why educators are concerned.

"Austin InSight" starts right now.

- [Narrator] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants.

Bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hi, and thanks for joining us.

I'm Laura Laughead.

It opened its doors in the Rundberg area in 1973, but the future of Dobie Middle School is in doubt.

Austin ISD is considering turning Dobie over to a charter school in order to avert a potential state takeover of the entire school district.

Decibel multimedia reporter Blair Waltman-Alexin has been following this closely as part of Decibel's extended coverage of the Rundberg community.

So, Blair, what's the latest?

- Well, right now it appears that Dobie will stay open.

AISD has dropped plans to close Dobie or send students to another middle school.

What's unclear is who will be in charge of Dobie next fall, a charter school or AISD.

But to get an idea of what's at stake, myself and Decibel reporter Jackie Ibarra started looking for answers in another Texas city.

- Dobie Middle School could be changing.

Here's what we know about why this is happening.

- [Computer] You've got mail.

- [Jackie] In April, Dobie staff were sent an email from the Austin Independent School District that said the school's low performance put the entire Austin district at risk of being taken over by the state, and they don't feel like they can take that risk.

(paper rustling) So, to avoid this, AISD was looking at three options for Dobie.

Partner with a charter school in the fall, temporarily close and reimagine the school, or close completely.

- We will now reconvene the open meeting at 1:23 pm.

- Now, the district is considering reopening the school with a charter as a backstop or handing the campus over to a charter at the beginning of the year.

(suspenseful music) But why does the fate of the entire Austin School District hang on Dobie Middle School?

The answer actually lies in Houston.

- You have the state coming in, and essentially, taking control of your school district.

(message beeping) My name's Jacob Carpenter.

I'm the education team editor for the "Houston Landing".

The state intervention started ahead of the 23/24 school year.

So, a little under two years ago.

It really started back in the mid 2010s with one of our local state representatives and he said, "I wanna pass some kind of legislation that's going to make the school district respond to this," what he called a failure for many years.

- [Jackie] There's a state law that says the Texas Educational Authority, or TEA, can take over an entire school district, if a single school within that district doesn't meet the accountability standards set by the state for five years in a row.

(paper rustling) (suspenseful music) In 2019, a Houston ISD school failed to meet achievement standards.

After a few years and some lawsuits, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath replaced Houston ISD superintendent and locally-elected board of trustees with a replacement board and superintendent that he picked.

- He has come in with a completely different mindset when it comes to how to teach kids in the classroom, when it comes to how to staff schools, when it comes to how to pay teachers.

(people chatting indistinctly) If you get to that point where there is state-appointed leadership, they basically come in and they own the school district.

They can change anything that they want.

You know, obviously within state laws and things of that sort.

But you know, here in in Houston we've seen it where they have come in and dramatically changed huge parts of the school district that go way beyond even just the issues that were seen at the one school that triggered the state takeover.

- That shakeup has Austin ISD worried.

In their email to Dobie staff, AISD said the possibility of a TEA takeover was not a chance they were willing to take.

But what are these accountability standards and what do they have to do with closing Dobie Middle School?

The short answer is everything.

(kids chatting indistinctly) The TEA ranked schools according to an A through F grading system.

These grades are determined by closing achievement gaps and student readiness, but a lot of weight is given to STAR test scores.

These are tests given to students on subjects like math, English, and science.

Now, this is a relatively new system.

Schools didn't officially receive grades like this until 2019.

Back then, opponents argued that it was unfair to parents and schools to boil down a district's success rate into one metric and that it was unfair to schools serving lower income families, because they may face additional barriers that can impact test scores.

That year, Dobie got an F. That makes one of five failing grades that triggers a takeover.

Then there was the pandemic.

(ominous music) Students didn't take the STAR test in 2020.

The next year, the TEA didn't give out school grades, because of the declared state of disaster caused by the pandemic.

In the 2021 to 2022 school year, schools were rated, but because COVID wreaked so much havoc on kids' education, the TEA listed schools that would've been failing as not rated.

AISD says that Dobie would have received an F that year.

The results from the last two years have been held up in court.

120 school districts sued the TEA.

They argued that the grades were unfair, because the TEA changed the standards without giving them enough notice.

But a judge declared that the TEA could release the 2022 to 2023 school rankings.

That same day the email about the future of Dobie was sent out.

That's two.

Last year's school grades are still held up in court, but AISD is worried that they could be released any day now.

And based on their calculations, they think they could be receiving an F. That's three.

(people speaking indistinctly) In their email AISD said while Dobie has improved a lot this year, they don't expect it will be enough to get a passing grade from the state."

That makes four.

That means Dobie would need a passing grade in the 2025 to 2026 school year to avoid a state takeover.

And AISD doesn't like those odds.

So, what does that mean for Dobie students?

(students chatting indistinctly) For now, it appears the school will be open in the fall, but it will be different.

Just how different remains to be seen.

(educator speaking indistinctly) - But Blair, there's still a little time left and maybe a few more options under consideration for Dobie.

- Yes, the TEA extended the deadline for Austin ISD to submit plans for the Dobie campus.

They have until the end of June to send over a final proposal.

- Well, we will stay tuned for that.

Blair, thank you so much.

You can follow Decibel's coverage on Instagram @decibelatx.

(gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music continues) The grading system that put Dobie Middle School in jeopardy is new and unpopular with many public school leaders and advocates.

Following lawsuits over the way grades are determined, the Texas Education Agency recently announced statewide results for the 2022/23 school year.

Austin's superintendent recently sent a message to parents saying this new yardstick, "...has made it much harder to get an A and much easier to get an F." This comes at a time that advocates say the state is underfunding public schools, while pushing vouchers and charter schools.

Austin dropped from a districtwide B grade to a C. 16 AISC schools also dropped from a B grade to an F grade.

Let's look now at the new grades for some other districts around Central Texas from highest to lowest.

Only one district in Travis County got an A Grade and that was Eanes.

As for districts that got a B grade, we have Round Rock ISD, Lake Travis, Leander, Liberty Hill, Dripping Springs, Hays Consolidated, and Wimberley.

For a C grade, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Hutto, Marble Falls, and Lago Vista.

And then for a D grade, Manor, Del Valle, Bastrop, and Elgin.

For more on the newly-released scores, we are joined by "Austin American-Statesman" education reporter, Keri Heath, who has been following the story.

Keri, thanks so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- So first, Keri, while some districts held ground, many got worse grades.

Let's talk about this new grading system.

Why do these grades seem to be lower and what does that mean?

- Well, what you do have to understand about the newly-released scores, which are from 2023 not from 2025, is that this is a whole new rubric and a whole new system.

So, there's a new test, which is all online.

There's new questions, new types of questions, and the rubric has new benchmarks for districts as well.

So, this includes new scores for college and career readiness.

This includes a new, some districts would argue, tougher way of measuring student progress and student achievement on the STAR test.

And so, many districts did have lower scores, have more D ratings, more F ratings on the rating systems we saw come out in 2023.

- And what kind of reaction have you seen from parents and from schools so far?

- Well, some parents are upset about it and surprised.

And from many activists and education advocates around the state, we're seeing some relief to have scores released.

You have to keep in mind that we also haven't had 2024 scores released.

So, the last time we had comprehensive data was in 2019 before the pandemic, but from many district leaders we're seeing a lot of concern.

And this was why there were two lawsuits launched in 2023 and 2024, which was the reason for the delay.

We had Austin ISD leaders come out and say that they're very concerned about the fact that so many local schools saw their scores drop, many from a B to an F. And you know, they acknowledged that they believe at least part of the reason is because of this harsher, in their mind, rating system.

- And it just seems like so much has been happening in public schools lately.

Of course, you mentioned the pandemic.

We're still seeing the fallout from that.

Advocates have long criticized the state for underfunding plus now you have vouchers, pressure about so-called woke education and concerns about literature content, and now as of the fall, a new Bible story infused curriculum approved by the Texas Education Board.

Can you talk about all that's been going on and the state of public schools here in Texas?

- Yes, and that's one of the things that many superintendents addressed when they were talking about these new scores in particular, is the funding.

So, we had a school voucher program approved on Saturday.

The Governor had a large gathering at his mansion to sign this billion dollar bill into effect, but at the same time, we have several bills to fund public schools and teacher pay raises that are still pending.

And district leaders across the state are asking lawmakers to push some version of this funding through.

While there have been packages to increase some specialized district funding, like for safety or for teacher raises of some kind over the past few years, there really hasn't been a comprehensive measure to increase public school funding since 2019, which was before the pandemic.

And district leaders, especially in Austin ISD, are attributing a lot of their challenges to improving student achievement and student scores to this lack of funding.

- Well, and all these adults making these decisions, and it all rains back down on students who've certainly been through a lot the last few years.

Well, Keri Heath with the "Austin-American Statesman", thank you so much for joining us and breaking down this new grading system.

- I appreciate you having me.

(upbeat music) - As we mentioned earlier, Manor ISD with 10,000 students enrolled across 14 schools, earned an overall D grade.

We are joined now by Dr. Robert Sormani, the superintendent of Manor ISD.

Dr. Sormani, thanks so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- So, Dr. Sormani, you are not alone in seeing the accountability grade go down.

What was your reaction to that, and what's your message to parents who may be concerned?

- You know, we were always concerned about our accountability scores.

We always wanna put our best foot forward, because it's our kids, the ones this was a reflection of and our teachers.

And they work so hard all the time.

And I wanna be clear, accountability scores, I'm fine with them.

They're great.

I think our concerns as superintendents for our kids, as the public knowing that it's not suddenly that they're struggling more than they were a year ago or two years ago.

The whole accountability system has changed.

And we liken it to people don't understand sometimes the state moves the goalposts and makes it more difficult.

And that's what happened here in 2023.

- And I wanna delve more into that in just a second.

But first, what are your biggest challenges or obstacles for improving education for students in Manor?

- I think the biggest obstacle that we all face across the state is a lack of increase in funding from the state.

Since 2019, everybody knows their grocery bill has gone up, but so has all the bills for school districts.

Our costs have increased by 20%, if you take the state contours measure.

But our revenues, the basic revenue that's provided by the state has increased zero since then.

I'm excited that we do have some potential revenue coming.

There is a bill pending in the legislature, but we need to make sure that, that gets across the finish line.

And that's a good down payment on what public education needs to improve all across the board in reading, math, and everything.

- A number of public school advocates have basically said what you're saying, the state is deliberately undermining public schools and moving the goalposts with these new accountability standards.

So, can you elaborate more on what you mean by that?

- Yeah, I'm not sure that I personally would go so far as to say people are deliberately undermining.

I think that there are those people around the state and you know, they're pretty open about it.

I think it's more, it's the idea of the state wanting to push the rigor to give a higher goal.

And I'm okay with that.

And anybody who's ever been a real competitor or wants to achieve knows you've always gotta push the goals higher and higher.

I think he issue we have is there's a lack of knowledge that's pushed out there.

There's not enough time to prepare and there's not enough resources to prepare for these changes in goals.

And so, it's kind of like one day I'm a parent and my school's doing fine, has an A and the next year I get this D and all I can think of is, oh boy, my school is just terrible now.

And really, if you look at the scores side by side, they haven't changed much.

In fact, you can look at a lot of schools are all around the state and including Manor ISD, If you look at the 2022 accountability scores and how it works, and then you apply 'em to the 2023, you see no change.

And that's the part that gets lost, because the only thing that's put out there, of course, are the things that people hear is what the current accountability scores are.

And now that being said, you know, we take where the goalposts are and then we're gonna start working towards it.

And that's what we do, because that's the challenge the state has put before us.

- And what are your next steps?

How will this new grade, if at all, change your approach to improving performance?

- Yeah, and it's important to remember that the grade that's out there is all the way back from 2023.

And so, all of us looking at our internal metrics, we kind of had an idea.

We're never 100% sure exactly what it's gonna be.

So, plans we put in place have already been implemented and been moving in that direction.

And some of those are just adjusting to the difference in the tests.

Some people may be familiar, they're now using AI grading for writing samples, for example.

that we've learned has a very different impact on what writing is considered good.

And so, to understand that and implement that standard from the state, we train teachers and we think this year our kids will do a lot better on that.

And that's just one small example of what we're doing.

And really what it always comes down to is the quality of your teachers.

And so, we always try to take our resources even in a shrinking budget era, and try to focus as much of those resources we can into our teachers and developing them.

- And teachers are so meaningful and, of course, so, so important.

Dr. Sormani with Manor ISD, thank you so for joining us and for sharing your thoughts on the new TEA grading system.

- Sure.

Thank you for having me.

And yeah, we're here having a great school year and we're gonna keep moving forward.

(upbeat music) - For our occasional commentary segment called "OP/ED", we invited Wilton Harris to share his point of view on the impact of the Dobie Middle School decision on students, parents, and the surrounding community in Rundberg.

Harris is the afterschool centers on education site coordinator for Dobie.

(keyboard keys clicking) - Dobie Middle School is more than just a place for learning.

It is the heart of the Rundberg Lane community.

As a diverse and vibrant hub, Dobie serves as a safe space, a source of essential resources, and a cornerstone for generations of families.

Its closure would not just disrupt education, it would tear at the very fabric of a community that relies on this school for stability, connection, and opportunity.

Shutting down Dobie would disproportionately affect students and families who depend on its programs, support, services, and sense of belonging.

We cannot afford to lose a place where diversity is celebrated, community is built, and futures are shaped.

Keeping Dobie open means investing in equity, education, and the wellbeing of an entire neighborhood.

The Rundberg Lane community deserves a voice and a school that remains open to serve them.

(keyboard keys clicking) - If you would like to respond to this "OP/ED", please send your comments to myopinion@klru.org.

Switching gears now, a new show on Prime Video is taking us all back to school in a much different way.

Who hasn't struggled to find yourself in fit in?

That's the question posed by the comedy "Overcompensating".

The series follows Benny, a closeted former football player and homecoming king who starts college, while desperately hiding his sexuality and who he really is, even from himself.

The series features Kyle MacLachlan, Connie Britton, and even a cameo from pop star Charlie XCX who does the show's music.

Take a look.

- Welcome to college.

- I'm Benny.

- Carmen.

- I'm Amanda Knox's cousin.

- Joining us now is Benito Skinner, the creator, writer, and star, as well as Wally Baram who plays Carmen.

Thank you both for being with us.

- Thank you so much for having us.

- Yeah, thank you.

- Absolutely.

A pleasure.

- Hi, Austin.

- Yes.

You're tearing Austin up already.

- Austin City.

City Limits.

Austin City Limits.

- Yes.

Austin City Limits.

That's actually a PBS show.

- I love it, - Yeah.

- but we're on "Austin Insight".

- We are, we are.

- Let's do this.

- Which is, you know, I mean, we do our best.

- Of course.

- We do.

- And you're doing it good.

- Oh, thank you.

So, if you're on TikTok, or you have friends who send you TikToks, you're probably already familiar with Benito Skinner, AKA bennydrama7's work.

All of the videos you've done, iconic, I'm thinking of like the Kardashian impression, Shawn Mendes, and then of Cooper, the Gen Z intern and original character.

My personal favorite, Deliverance Richards, the busiest woman in real estate.

- [Benito] She'd love Austin.

- [Blair] You know, and she'd probably get a lot of work here in Austin.

- [Benito] I think she really, she really would.

- But so, can you talk about taking your career from making videos on TikTok to now making a TV show?

Because that seems to be the more quote unquote untraditional route, but now these days the fast track to success in entertainment.

- You know, I feel like when I started, it really helped me in doing sketches to kind of find my comedic voice.

And I feel like, I feel lucky almost to have started that way, because I was able to find what I wanted to say and kind of develop my writing and character building.

And maybe it's like something that gay people feel and women where you're like, I can't call myself this thing.

Like, I didn't go to school for it.

So, I'm like, how could I, I'm not a writer.

And then I wrote a scene from the show and it's actually, still in the pilot.

It was a natural progression.

I feel lucky for that way.

I got to like test it and literally, test everything on audiences too.

So, yeah.

- Well, I'm so happy to see your success.

- Thank you.

- And I know the industry can be so gate kept.

So, it's great to see someone breaking in and forging their own path.

And that being said, this story feels deeply personal and I know it's semi-autobiographical, 'cause so can you talk about like, you know, for instance the star, you know, or the show, Benny,- - Yeah.

- also for Benito and also from Idaho, like yourself.

Can you talk about how much you drew from your own life and your own college experience?

- Yeah, I keep saying that I feel like, it was my experience as far as like the relationships and the feelings and, yes, I went to school and I went with my sister.

We got along better than me and Grace played by Mary Beth- - Glad to hear that.

- in the show.

Yes, we actually love each other.

But yeah, I feel like it's more inspired, I think.

And I was inspired by this relationship I had with my best friend in college that inspired Carmen, and I feel like you'll see that.

But I think at a certain point as a writer, it's like, your life can only be so inspirational to your writing.

But yeah, I would say it's like 60% me.

- And last night y'all had a special premiere party for UT students.

How did that go?

- It was amazing.

- Oh my gosh.

- They were so cute.

- Delightful.

- I can't stop doing this.

- Yes, yes.

- I can't stop doing this.

This is my new tick.

- The propaganda.

Yes.

- Fourth wall, boom.

Yeah, it was incredible.

And like, I think we made the show for them, you know, and it's like, it's for friends.

I think the show's for everyone.

But I think watching it with your friends and all the episodes come out at once, so it's like such a binge series and you watch it in bed with your best friend.

It kind of felt like that last night.

- This is why we did it.

- Yeah.

- It's like, oh.

- When the jokes land, you're like, oh.

- Yes.

- Like, oh, we fought for that one.

Love it.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- And you brought this up, but I really love about the show is that it's funny, but it's also relatable and very poignant.

When people watch the show, whether they're a college student or maybe, you know, a grandparent of a college student, what do you hope they take away?

- Oh my God, I hope they take away that everyone is overcompensating.

And I feel like sometimes it's put on queer people of this, like, you have a secret, you were in the closet.

But I find that everyone that I meet has something that they're making up for and there's some kind of rejection that they had or something they were told about themselves at a young age.

And since then, they've been doing so much to make up for it in order to be loved and accepted.

So, I think in the show you'll see yourself reflected, hopefully, I mean, seven years on the internet in wigs, like I've done too much.

Like I'm, yeah, I've been overcompensating for a while now.

- I hope they have fun.

- Yeah.

- I feel like it kind of connects to the theme of the show in that overcompensating so much of it is about this expectation that you know exactly who you are confidently,- - Yeah.

- and projecting that.

And I think you find that in art where you put this pressure on yourself to know exactly what your voice is, and you're not gonna know it in the beginning.

And so, giving yourself the grace to grow and- - Yeah.

- you're gonna overcompensate in the beginning, but that's just constantly gonna evolve.

- Yeah.

Don't watch my first few videos.

I'm like, you can let those pass.

- Now, after this interview, everyone.

- No, I'm like, please, fourth wall, please don't watch.

- They're scrolling.

- That's brilliant.

- They're like, haha.

- Yeah.

They're like, oh God, tough.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He had not found his voice yet.

Interesting.

- And if it makes you feel any better, some of my early stories and some of which have gone viral for the wrong reasons.

- Oh no.

- Because I'm like, like, oh my God, reporter Barbie's talking about Covid, and I'm sitting there like this guy.

- Sorry, that's iconic.

Now, I need to see that.

Yeah.

Wait, I love that.

- I got a note that said be more professional and like, you know, intentional.

And I was like, yeah, like, okay.

- You got the best news voice though.

It's not too newsy.

You know what I mean?

- Oh my God.

- It's just right.

- You're gonna make me blush.

- Oh no.

Oh no.

We triggered her.

- No, totally.

Yeah, we've awakened something within you.

- "Overcompensating" premiers on Prime Video on May 15th.

And on that note, thank you, Benito.

Thank you, Wally, both for joining us.

- Thank you so much for having us.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) - I think that was one of the funniest interviews I've ever done.

For the full conversation with all of our antics, head to the Austin PBS YouTube channel.

That's our show.

Thanks so much for watching.

You can catch up on full episodes for free in the PBS app.

We'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - [Narrator] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti restaurants.

Bringing Austin together around culinary excellence to celebrate creativity, conservation, and culture in Central Texas.

(bright music)