What to watch: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday, Dec. 16, to approve a turnaround plan for Legacy Freshman High School, adding new superintendent evaluation metrics, reviewing improvement plans for Abell Junior High, South Elementary, Long Elementary, and IDEA Travis, receive the district’s annual financial report and vote on a major pipeline relocation at the new Midland High School site.

Key points:

  • Legacy Freshman: Legacy Freshman must submit a turnaround plan to the state after several years of low performance. In November, the board heard the plan, which focuses on strengthening teaching, updating curriculum materials, providing daily coaching and support for teachers, and offering intervention periods for students who need extra help. The board will approve the final version of the plan to send to the state.
  • Superintendent evaluation: Trustees will consider amending the superintendent’s evaluation template to add objective metrics for students with disabilities that Superintendent Stephanie Howard can achieve by June 2026. In May, the board voted to require at least 50 percent of the superintendent’s evaluation to tie to student-outcome goals and TEA performance metrics.
  • Improvement plans: The board will review improvement plans for Abell Junior High, South Elementary, Long Elementary, and IDEA Travis, campuses that the state has identified for low performance. Each plan sets clear academic targets and outlines the instructional changes needed to reach them. The board will not vote on the plans until spring, but the update highlights the academic gaps these campuses must close.

Abell aims to raise the percentage of seventh-graders reading at grade level from 53 percent to 65 percent and the percentage of eighth-graders from 43 percent to 55 percent. In math, Abell is targeting seventh graders to move from 47 percent to 57 percent, and eighth graders from 13 percent to 30 percent.

South Elementary seeks to raise kindergartners’ reading at grade level from 9 percent to 85 percent, first graders’ from 6 percent to 75 percent, third graders’ from 23 percent to 38 percent, and sixth graders’ from 36 percent to 50 percent. Long Elementary and IDEA Travis are pursuing comparable strategies with updated materials, tighter coaching, and more consistent use of student data.

  • 1882 partnerships: The board will review goals for its 1882 partner schools and decide whether to amend or approve them. Under Senate Bill 1882, districts partner with outside organizations to run specific campuses in exchange for extra state funding and more flexible rules, but the schools must meet performance goals set in their contracts.

IDEA Travis is targeting 60 percent of its students to meet grade level in reading and 55 percent in math by 2030, along with year-over-year gains in overall campus ratings. Ben Milam International Academy seeks to raise early-grade literacy and math targets to 70 percent and set upper-grade STAAR expectations in the 40–50 percent range.

The Young Women’s Leadership Academy looks to maintain an A rating, a 100 percent graduation rate, and at least 95 percent college and career readiness. Midland College Pre-K is seeking higher early-childhood expectations, including raising literacy for four-year-olds to 75 percent and numeracy to 70 percent.

  • Annual financial audit: MISD’s external auditor will present the district’s annual financial report. The district received a clean audit with no findings. Clean audits help confirm that the district is managing taxpayer dollars responsibly and support the district’s financial credibility.
  • MHS pipeline relocation: Trustees will vote on an agreement with Energy Transfer to relocate pipelines that run through the new Midland High School site. The existing pipeline easement dates back to 1956 and cuts through the center of the campus property. Under the proposed agreement, Energy Transfer will move the pipelines, and MISD will reimburse the company for the direct cost of the work, estimated at $2.9 million.