Six years after the Texas Education Agency stepped in to fix things, Shepherd ISD is still stuck in the low-performing lane. The small East Texas district, which serves roughly 2,000 students, remains mired in disappointing state grades and rising community frustration. Parents say the steady academic turnaround the state promised has been more theory than reality. On-time graduation and some career-readiness indicators have climbed, but campus A–F grades and “meets grade level” scores keep telling a much harsher story.
The state takeover followed years of failing campus ratings. The Texas Education Agency installed an outside board of managers and named a new superintendent in early March 2020, according to the Texas Education Agency. Today, Shepherd still enrolls just under 2,000 students across four campuses, as shown in the Texas Tribune Schools Explorer.
Early on, it looked like the state’s playbook might be working. Primary and intermediate campuses climbed to B ratings in 2021–22, a rare bright spot that officials were quick to highlight. Then the momentum fizzled. Both schools slid back to D ratings, while the high school and middle school each dropped a letter grade. Those shifts left Shepherd with an overall D in recent accountability cycles, according to ABC13.
District files point to the same headache, year after year: hiring and keeping experienced teachers. Shepherd’s own plans spell out a buffet of strategies, from stipends to paid certification programs to trying to grow local talent. The district’s Teacher Incentive Allotment guidebook and its district improvement materials outline performance pay, credential supports and coaching as key recruitment tools. Even so, district documents show multiple open teaching positions heading into the new school year, a worrying signal in a four-campus system where every vacancy hits hard.
What the numbers show
On paper, some metrics look solid. Shepherd’s on-time graduation rate has hovered in the mid-90s in recent reports, according to the Texas Tribune, and several college-and-career-readiness indicators have inched up. The problem is what sits underneath those wins. STAAR-based “meets grade level” results, which drive campus A–F ratings, remain stubbornly low. On top of that, the Texas Education Agency’s cyclical monitoring review flagged special education compliance issues that now require corrective action, according to the Texas Education Agency. Put together, it helps explain why districtwide grades are not climbing, even as graduation and CCMR numbers provide more flattering headlines.
What's next
Shepherd is now staring down a pivotal year. Superintendent Jason Hewitt is set to retire at the end of the year, and the board, which has begun shifting back to elected trustees, will be responsible for picking his replacement. Local parents told ABC13 that some families have already pulled their children from the district, a quiet vote of no confidence in the state-managed experiment. The Houston Chronicle takeover tracker notes that two elected trustees joined the four-person board in March 2024, a small but symbolic shift back toward local control.
Residents say the next superintendent will have to confront some unglamorous basics: pay, housing and instructional stability. Without progress on those fronts, they worry Shepherd will struggle to meet the Texas Education Agency’s exit criteria and will keep watching campus grades slide, no matter who is technically in charge.
