Crowley ISD’s new Breakthrough Schools model to impact these four campuses
The Crowley Independent School District is implementing a new instructional model next school year at four schools that will provide students with a longer school year and more individualized support.
The Breakthrough Schools model is aimed at boosting academic achievement at Mary Harris, J.A. Hargrave, Jackie Carden and Sycamore elementary schools with the goal of those campuses receiving at least an A or B in next year’s state A-F accountability ratings. The latest letter grades available show all four campuses receiving a D rating from the 2024-25 school year. The ratings are based on school achievement, school progress and closing the gaps between student groups.
“Success will be all of our elementary, middle and high school campuses being A’s or B’s. That is the goal for us,” Crowley ISD Superintendent Michael McFarland told the Star-Telegram. “We feel like with the right kind of structural changes and resource allocation we can get there.”
Texas school districts are at risk of state intervention if a campus receives five F ratings in a row from the state. Campuses that receive three D’s in a row are considered to have their first F rating. Although Crowley ISD isn’t at risk of state intervention, McFarland said the Breakthrough Schools model is a way to proactively prevent that from happening.
The rollout of the model comes forward as two Tarrant County school districts, Fort Worth and Lake Worth ISDs, are under state takeovers due to years of stagnant academic performance. The takeovers were prompted by campuses receiving five failed accountability ratings in a row.
During a virtual parent meeting on Tuesday for Crowley ISD parents about Breakthrough Schools, one parent asked district administrators if they were concerned about the prospect of a state takeover, noting that she felt the changes were sudden. McFarland said conversations started in the fall semester about innovations.
“We are nowhere close to (a state takeover),” McFarland responded. “I’m not one that is going to wait to see something over time before we act. We want to act right now.”
In spring 2025, 38% of third-graders in Crowley ISD were reading on grade level, according to state test scores. Third-graders at Mary Harris Elementary trailed behind this metric by 1% with 37% of students meeting this benchmark. At both J.A. Hargrave and Jackie Carden elementaries, there were 29% of third-graders reading on grade level, while 18% of third-graders met this metric at Sycamore Elementary.
What changes will Breakthrough Schools see?
The model is essentially a combination of two programs the district has already utilized before, including the extended school year and J.A. Hargrave’s Accelerating Campus Excellence program that was introduced before the COVID-19 pandemic, McFarland said. These programs weren’t able to continue long term due to funding constraints, but new school resource funding has allowed Crowley ISD to invest in these four campuses.
“What we’re doing for Breakthrough Schools is really based upon research within our district and what worked in the past: increasing instructional time, compensating and attracting high-performing teachers and paying them a stipend and… extending the school year,” McFarland said.
The individualized support for students will be seen through smaller class sizes and high-dosage tutoring in small groups, McFarland added.
Students at these campuses will return to school for the 2026-27 school year on July 13 and stay in class until June 3, 2027. The extended school year will have 30 additional instruction days compared to the regular school year, which starts on Aug. 11 and ends on May 21, 2027.
Teachers at these campuses will receive an annual stipend of $11,000 for the extended school year while paraprofessional staff will receive a $3,500 stipend. Teachers with Teacher Incentive Allotment designations, which is the state’s reward system for top-performing teachers, will receive a one-time $5,000 stipend for working at a Breakthrough campus.
Another change includes dividing up elementary grades onto two different campuses. Mary Harris Elementary will become an early learning center that serves students in pre-K through second grade, while Jackie Carden Elementary becomes an upper elementary school serving students in third through fifth grade.
This change was reflected by the demand for pre-K seats for families who don’t automatically qualify for free pre-K in Crowley ISD based on state requirements, McFarland said. The district will now be able to serve more pre-K families through its tuition-based program with the classroom space available at Mary Harris Elementary.
“We’re already about 100 students more right now in early childhood than what we had last year. So we feel like that was the right move,” McFarland said.
“We also felt like with (early childhood) through second grade, we can really focus in on early literacy, and we can really make sure that literacy was the driving instructional priority for that (pre-k through second grade) campus,” he added, noting students would be able to build on this foundation at Jackie Carden Elementary.
A different parent asked Crowley ISD administrators on the Tuesday call about the changes with transportation. She has one child in pre-K and another one in fourth grade who would be attending the two different campuses in July.
“They both get out at the same time. So it’s a big inconvenience,” the parent said, noting she also has a middle schooler and a high schooler. “How is that going to work?”
Shemeka Millner, deputy superintendent of leadership, accountability and district improvement, said district staff would help the parent find options for her family’s transportation needs. The Breakthrough Schools also have 21st Century after-school programs that would give one of her children a place to go after class until they’re picked up.
“There are other means for us to be able to take care of those timing issues. So we just need to hear from you, and then we can work with you and your family to try to come up with a solution,” Millner said.
