Shepherd ISD still struggling academically despite years of state intervention

SHEPHERD, Texas (KTRK) -- In 2019, the Texas Education Agency took over Shepherd ISD, citing academic failure. When the state takes over a district, it promises to improve it, but that hasn't been the case in Shepherd.

Pulling into Shepherd, the first sign of community you see is the high school.

"Growing up here, I know everybody, you know, and it's just, it's just easier to deal with even life in general when you have, you know, everybody." Shepherd council member William Lacoste said.

Just over 2,000 people live in Shepherd, and with a student population of nearly 2,000, residents said Shepherd ISD schools are the heartbeat of this community.

Lacoste attended Shepherd, and then his nine kids graduated from the district. He says his last child crossed the graduation stage in 2018.

"It was really nice because then I knew some of the teachers because they had, you know, they had me, some of their older teachers," Lacoste said.

The next year, in 2019, the state took control of the district, citing academic failure.

"I didn't even realize they were failing everything, you know, till the end," Lacoste said.

In 2015, Texas law was changed, allowing the Texas Education Agency to be much more aggressive in initiating a takeover.

In 2019, Shepherd was told their district would be taken over after the primary and intermediate schools failed multiple years in a row, according to this letter from the TEA to the district. A board of managers was appointed, and the state named Dr. Jason Hewitt as superintendent.

According to state data, the takeover seemed to turn student outcomes around at first, and then it fell apart.

TEA data shows the previously failing primary and Intermediate school rose to a B in the 2021-22 school year but has since fallen to a D. The high school dropped from a B to a C, and the Middle School from a B to a D. Overall, the district is now rated a D.

According to district documents, the takeover will end when the district as a whole receives a C and has no multi-year failing campuses, and the board of managers demonstrates they can operate a school district.

"They didn't get the education that they needed, so they dropped out," Shepherd ISD parent Martha Pate said.

Martha Pate's said her six children had mixed success being Shepherd students. Her last child is still in school, but her adult children, who have kids of their own, have either pulled their kids out of Shepherd to be homeschooled or go to other districts because of the poor academics.

"It's just heartbreaking to watch your child struggle," Pate said.

ABC13 made multiple attempts to speak with someone in the district about what has made Shepherd a particularly stubborn district to turn around. The TEA did not respond to our request to speak with Commissioner Mike Morath, and no one was made available when we visited the administration building in person. None of the board of managers responded to ABC13's inquiries, and Superintendent Hewitt declined to speak with us.

So Eyewitness News dove into school records to figure it out on our own.

According to multiple district improvement plans, the district's inability to hire and retain experienced teachers is a recurring issue.

"A lot in my family went to school to be teachers. And I know a few of mine have moved from Shepherd to a bigger district because of the paycheck," Lacaste said.

In a 2023 town hall video, we hear Superintendent Hewitt talk about this.

"So all of the things we are doing to try and attract teachers to the field range from a four-day calendar, bigger salary, benefit increases; there are just a bunch of things that are happening," Hewitt said.

The district said it's even invested $95,202.68 to pay for 8 people to earn a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate. In exchange, the new teachers dedicate three years to Shepherd ISD classrooms.

In 2024, the district's web page says they were approved by the state to begin paying teachers through the state's 'teacher incentive allotment,' which allows districts to pay teachers based on performance to try to incentivize experienced teachers to stay with Shepherd.

Shepherd ISD currently has over a dozen teacher openings listed on its webpage, and Lacoste worries that salaries alone won't keep good teachers.

"The problem that we have really is housing. There's not enough housing for the teachers to come down," Lacoste said.

Lacoste said there is a broader economic picture that needs to be considered. As much as Lacoste loves small-town Shepherd, he says neighboring communities have more houses and amenities to draw people.

"We're trying to get businesses, and we're trying to get Shepherd on the right path to where we can accommodate new teachers and new businesses and stuff like that," Lacoste said.

While nearby districts controlled by the state, like Houston ISD, have seen a dramatic turnaround with multiple failing schools leaping from F to A ratings, the community of Shepherd is frustrated that their district has been left with low grades for years.

"I pray that they can change it," Pate said.

After six years, Superintendent Hewitt is retiring at the end of the year. A district Facebook post names programs selected by Hewitt that quote "drove strong academic growth through innovative instructional leadership." A statement Pate doesn't agree with.

"I think it has gotten a little worse because, I mean, they're not learning," Pate said.

The board of managers has begun to swing back to local control, with four elected trustees currently on the board. The board now also has the responsibility of selecting its own superintendent, per the TEA.

A new superintendent has not yet been announced, but community members we spoke to hope the new leader of Shepherd ISD will find a way to implement the academic changes the state could not achieve.

"Change this place, let's get this district where it needs to be, whether it's working with the city or working with teachers or whatever it needs to be. They need to work together to make this place and the school district better," Lacoste said.

The TEA did contact ABC13 the day this report aired and said :

• The Board of Managers and Superintendent were appointed on March 6, 2020, based on Shepherd Primary and Shepherd Intermediate receiving five consecutive years of unacceptable performance in the state academic accountability rating system. As of the latest ratings cycle in 2025, there are no F-rated campuses in the district.

• When the Board of Managers and Superintendent were appointed, an average of 28% of students were on grade level in Reading and Mathematics, with 3 out of 4 campuses rated Overall F. When the Commissioner named the transition back to elected trustees (March 2024), all district campuses were acceptable, and Meets grade level performance had increased by 5 percent.

• Shepherd ISD has increased its College, Career, and Military Readiness from 58% of its graduates CCM ready at the time the Board of Managers was appointed to 91% last year.

• Shepherd ISD has increased its 4-year graduation rate from 93% at the time the Board of Managers was appointed to 97% last year.