'God is so good': Community, volunteers respond to keep Kirby open. More help needed.

The first contingent of about 10 mentors start volunteering Monday at Kirby Middle School as part of a local church's efforts to help keep the school's doors open.

New Jerusalem Baptist Church is still seeking volunteers and donations to help Kirby stave off possible action from the state that could impact all of Wichita Falls ISD.

"We solicited mentors to assist at Kirby," the Rev. Angus Thompson, pastor of New Jerusalem, said. "What they will do is they will listen to the students and try to give them encouragement to reach their fullest potential."

About four of these mentors will visit Kirby today to begin the important work of helping students. More volunteers are needed. Anyone interested can call Thompson at 940-766-4022. 

The church adopted Kirby and formed an education committee to assist with the district's mission to improve the school's poor performance in state accountability ratings. They are based in part on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.

More:West Foundation donation to new high schools gives WFISD something to be thankful for

If Kirby doesn't improve this year, the Texas Education Agency could shutter the school or appoint a board of managers to govern the district.

Some responded to help Kirby after an appeal from WFISD Partners in Education Nov. 8 for incentives to encourage attendance and help with student behavior and classroom instruction. An Amazon wish list for the school is available.

“God is so good," Thompson said. "We thank the people who responded to PIE’s appeal."

Thompson said the church has established the New Jerusalem Educational Fund to assist WFISD schools that have high percentages of children from low-income families.

"We want to help many that are in distress," he said. "We will use that fund to help to support some of the activities, perhaps some of the parents.”

Kirby education committee members hope to receive a list of names this holiday season of the school's parents who need encouragement.

“We know that a lot of them are laboring under a heavy load and are not able to provide the kind of guidance that they would love to, and we want to help them to improve those conditions," he said.

Thompson said some parents are working two or three jobs. The church will help connect them to Workforce Solutions North Texas if they request it. If the church has a job list, which it sometimes does, New Jerusalem will share it with them.

More:WFISD trustees approve school closures, consolidation

In addition, the newly revived Kirby Parent-Teacher organization, led by PTO president Bethany Moore, met the first time Nov. 1. Another meeting is expected to be slated for December.

Thompson said the efforts to help Kirby have come a long way since October when New Jerusalem members met with parents and school staff members.

“The atmosphere is better. We think that's the beginning," he said.

Dr. Donny Lee, WFISD Superintendent, told the School Board Oct. 17 that TEA Commissioner Mike Morath briefed him on two options — close Kirby or appoint a board of managers for the district — that are possible if Kirby doesn't rise out of Improvement Required status this school year.

The school has performed poorly in accountability ratings for several years but gained some reprieves because of measures related to the pandemic. The school's latest overall score in accountability ratings was 59.

No reprieve is expected for Kirby in the next round of ratings. They will be partly based on students' STAAR test results for the 2022-2023 school year.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.