Hearne School Board Asks The State To Approve A New Governance Structure For Two Campuses

The Hearne school board has asked the Texas Education Agency to approve a new governance structure to oversee the district’s elementary and junior high schools.

Superintendent Adrain Johnson issued a news release, stating the request to create an in-district charter school partnership would prevent closing the campuses or replacing the school board.

This action follows multiple years of the campuses receiving TEA ratings of “improvement required”.

The partnership, named the Hearne Education Foundation, is composed of professors from Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M, and administrators from the Longview and Cypress-Fairbanks school districts.

Dr. Johnson says the TEA will take action on the application in June.

From Hearne ISD:

The Hearne Independent School District has submitted In-District Charter School applications to the Texas Education Agency for Hearne Elementary and Hearne Junior High.

The applications approved by the Board of Trustees are from the Hearne Education Foundation, an Innovative Management Organization (IMO) that will govern the campuses as a result of multiple years of Improvement Required Performance at each campus.

The opportunity to form an in-district charter partnership is an option for districts per SB 1882 to prevent closing the campuses or replacing the school board.

The Hearne Education Foundation is composed of professors from Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, and executive leaders from Longview ISD and Cypress Fairbanks ISD.

“The partnership will be a fantastic opportunity for our district to improve student outcomes as a result of the combined expertise and expanded experiences of the Hearne Education Foundation” said Hearne ISD Superintendent Dr. Adrain Johnson.

The district had a sub-committee of the Board, internal staff, and external stakeholders review and give input on the application development.

The district also shared information and received input from the stakeholders of the district throughout the process in three separate Town Hall Meetings.

Community members were allowed to ask questions and receive clarifications.

Both applications received board approval.

The goal of the Hearne Education Foundation is to insure that Hearne Elementary and Hearne Junior High continue to improve in order to meet state standards.

TEA will make the decision on approval of the in-district charter applications in June.

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