The Texas Education Agency has named Andrew Kim conservator for Lake Worth Independent School District, a role that gives him authority to help guide improvements in the struggling district. According to the TEA, a conservator “provides support and coaching to staff, recommends improvement acti ons, and provide progress updates to the agency. The conservator has the additional authority to direct, approve, or disapprove an action of the board of trustees, superintendent, and/or campus principals.” The goal of a conservator is to help implement and maintain improvements in the school district within two years of placement, and Kim has experience with that. Recently, Kim served as co‑conservator in the El Paso area, working with former Dallas Independent School District superintendent Michael Hinojosa. Together, Hinojosa said, they were able to turn around the district faster than expected. “They cut like $40 million out of their budget, and they have no F schools and no D schools. So, this is possible, and they deserve a lot of credit, but mostly because they accepted the coaching that Mr. Kim and I brought them,” Hinojosa said. Hinojosa said Kim will bring a “calming influence and some security” to Lake Worth ISD as its new conservator. Another positive, he said, is that he and Kim have been working at Lake Worth ISD for several months, trying to make some changes. “At least he’s familiar with it, so he doesn’t start from scratch and is providing support to the school district as he goes into this particular assignment,” Hinojosa said. That relationship, he said, is crucial to the success of the district. “It all is about the attitude and approach that everyone take,” he said. The district faces a huge undertaking. According to the TEA, only 22% of Lake Worth ISD students are on grade level, and five of six campuses have an F rating. Last month, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told NBC 5 that’s worse than Fort Worth Independent School District, also facing a state takeover, with 34% of students on grade level. “Unfortunately, I think our students in Lake Worth are even further behind than many of our students are in Fort Worth,” he told NBC 5’s Wayne Carter. “So, it’s a particularly systematic problem.” Hinojosa said it is both an urgent problem and a long‑term one. “How will this third grader be prepared to go to post‑secondary achievement at the end of this road?” he said. He urged families to buy into the new conservator, who he said has been successful so far. “It’s going to be uncomfortable because a lot of things will be very tight, and the people who have had a little bit of looseness about what they do and how they do it, that’s going away. The remedy has to be tight; tightly scripted, tightly executed, to ensure success. So, people are going to have some discomfort,” he said. He also urged families to go to community meetings to get their questions answered. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 14, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Lake Worth High School Auditorium, 4210 Boat Club Road. ...read more read less