SAN ANTONIO – After two years of poor academic performance, teachers and administrators at Dwight Middle School have now been told that the Texas Education Agency is taking the action they've been dreading.
Ed Suarez, South San Spokesman, said the school is going to be reconstituted.
"Essentially it's going to have an entire new staff next year," Suarez said. "It failed to meet (academic) standards two years in a row so by state law that's something that has to be done."
He said that means all core subject teachers will be removed and so will the principal and assistant principal.
"We're not here to lay blame," Suarez said. "Those teachers that are currently at Dwight will be able to reapply for jobs within the district. So our hope is that they will be able to find something here."
Suarez said educators are only part of the equation when it comes to failures at the middle school.
He said the students mostly come from poor neighborhoods, many with single-parent households.
Martin Ramos has a child at Dwight and is glad this action is being taken.
"I think it would be better for the kids if we actually hire somebody who knows what they're doing," Ramos said. "I mean my kid's had some problems there for the past couple of years. It's effected his grades real bad."
He said the school district should be providing the best education it can for students.
"Right now these kids, what they need is an education," Ramos said.
The district is taking the ruling in stride as well.
"State law mandates that we do this and sometimes fresh blood and change is good," Suarez said.
Dwight Middle School is not the first local school to have to go through this process.
Reconstitution has happened before in San Antonio.
Its effect is to send a strong message to the community that education is important and that drastic measures will be taken if schools aren't properly teaching students.
A new principal is expected to be in place at Dwight in January and he or she will then begin the task of hiring a new staff.
Dwight's current teachers are eligible to apply for other positions in the district but are not guaranteed a slot.