The Texas Education Agency has notified the Houston Independent School District that it has approved the modified turnaround plan for Kashmere High School.

In a letter addressed to Superintendent Richard Carranza and HISD Board President Wanda Adams, Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced TEA finds that the modified campus turnaround plan submitted on Nov. 17, 2017 “meets all necessary requirements and addresses the deficiencies identified in the original turnaround plan” and approved the plan to be implemented for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year.

“We are glad and thankful the TEA has accepted our plan,” HISD Board of Education President Wanda Adams said.  “We know there’s a lot of hard work ahead, but our students, staff, administrators and the entire Kashmere community are ready.  As an alum, it is personal for me to see Kashmere succeed. Today’s letter signifies Kashmere is continuing to move in the right direction. I’m so proud of the principal for her commitment.”

HISD submitted an initial turnaround plan on Oct. 19, 2017 but it was rejected by Commissioner Morath, who asked the district to resubmit the plan with a more detailed description of the budget, staffing, and financial resources required to implement the turnaround.

“I am ecstatic about the acceptance of the Kashmere turnaround plan,” HISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones added.  “I thank the Commissioner for recognizing the hard work and tireless efforts the students, faculty, parents, community and administration are putting into turning this school back into a beacon for education. Their progress has been astounding and I could not be more pleased. This approval is an affirmation for the village that will go far in encouraging us to continue the fight.”

This is the eighth consecutive year for Kashmere High School to be deemed as “improvement required” — one of the designations used by the TEA to determine whether schools are meeting state standards.

In the letter, TEA also stated that the campus will submit an updated implementation plan with data on December 15, 2017, and an assigned TEA consultant will be working closely with HISD on the implementation and monitoring of the plan throughout the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year.