Austin ISD 'turnaround plan' for Widén Elementary pending as school faces closure

AUSTIN (KXAN)— Noemi Burgos-Chambers, a mom of twins who attend Widén Elementary, left a public feedback meeting at the school early Tuesday afternoon. She said she was disheartened and wasn't feeling great about how the meeting went.

"Kids don't understand that no matter how you explain it to them, they don't care about budgets and they don't care about, redistricting," Burgos-Chambers said. "What they care about is consistency and that stability, and that makes them feel safe. And I think that when you take that away, you make them feel unsafe and insecure."

She was among dozens of concerned parents who wanted to know why Widén was chosen as a schools that could possibly close as part of "consolidation plans" being developed by the Austin Independent School District, or AISD. It was selected by the district, partly, because of the building's poor condition.

"It does seem that the majority of these plans are happening on the east side where we're getting those F grades," Burgos-Chambers said. "We don't know what those F grades are coming from."

Widén Elementary, whose majority Hispanic, is at about 52% capacity. It has received an F rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for the last three years. That's forced the district to create what's called a "turnaround plan" to improve.

AISD Superintendent Matias Segura explained to parents at the meeting why abiding by TEA rules are important, even amid the possible closure.

"There is nothing that we can do that's going to keep us from having to submit these claims," Segura said. "And if we do not submit them, I promise you the response will be aggressive and it will take more control and hurt our students and create more harm than we could possibly in a comprehend."

Widén students would either move to the D-rated Rodriguez Elementary school, or another F rated school, Houston Elementary.