The Texas Education Agency has decided that Essence Preparatory Public School on San Antonio's East Side will not get its charter renewed, which means the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade campus must close at the end of the current academic year. The school opened in 2022 and now serves roughly 360 students from a permanent campus on SE Loop 410. School leaders say they will work with families on transition plans while the state prepares to manage the shutdown process.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, TEA sent Essence Prep a notice on Thursday saying the agency would not renew the charter because of persistent low academic performance. The letter states that the agency will appoint a conservator to help close the campus and may oversee the process of selling the property. Superintendent Akeem Brown and board president Brian Dillard told families they would not appeal, saying an appeal was unlikely to succeed and would require significant time and resources. The school is also planning a family "School Options Fair" on Jan. 15 to connect parents with enrollment options for next year.
How state law gives TEA this authority
Under state law, the commissioner has broad power to deny renewal or revoke a charter when performance is unacceptable over multiple years. The Texas Education Code allows a charter to expire or be revoked if it receives the lowest performance rating for any three of the five preceding school years. Accountability statutes also authorize the appointment of conservators or management teams to oversee operations while students are transitioned. Chapter 39A lays out the agency's intervention powers.
What the numbers show
The San Antonio Express-News reports that last year just 16% of Essence Prep students who took state standardized tests performed on grade level. The paper notes that 27% of students tested on grade level in reading and only 10% in math, and that fifth and eighth graders posted no students meeting grade level expectations in science or social studies on STAAR exams. The school received accountability ratings of F, D and F in its first three years and recorded chronic absenteeism near 42% in 2023–24, results that the state cited in its decision.
Campus, enrollment and neighborhood impact
Essence Prep spent its first year operating out of a nearby church before moving into a two story permanent campus that opened in 2023 and was built to accommodate roughly 1,100 students, according to the Essence Preparatory Public School website. Construction costs for the site have been reported at about $17.7 million. The program was founded with the explicit goal of serving Black and brown students on the East Side. Enrollment remains far below capacity, and the student population is overwhelmingly economically disadvantaged.
Not an outlier
Essence Prep is not the only charter in the region to lose its authorization. Earlier this year the agency denied renewal for another San Antonio charter and ordered it to close at the end of the school year, according to Texas Public Radio. That case, along with broader reporting on charter oversight, has put small and newer campuses under extra scrutiny when academic outcomes fall short, and lawmakers in recent sessions have pressed for greater transparency in charter governance.
What families should know next
School leaders say they plan to help families find placements and provide transition resources as TEA names a conservator and begins formal close out work. Families can find contact information and school updates on the Essence Prep website, and the Jan. 15 School Options Fair is meant to centralize enrollment options for next fall. In situations like this, local districts and other charter operators typically accept transfers, and the conservator's office coordinates the administrative steps.
