Original Research by School Decision on Texans Can Academies
Texans Can Academies is a charter school district serving high-school-only grades, operating schools across major Texas cities including Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, and Garland. The district is mid-sized, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, drawn from communities that face real economic pressure.
The academic picture is mixed and calls for close attention. On state testing, students show widely varying proficiency across subjects. In English language arts, performance is low, with only a small share of students reaching the "approaches" level and virtually none at the higher performance tiers. In math, the pattern is similar but slightly less severe. Science testing tells a different story: the bulk of students meet the "approaches" standard, though fewer reach higher levels. Social studies shows a comparable strength. This unevenness suggests that students in this district may have notable gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy even as they can access other content.
The chronic absenteeism rate is extremely high and sits at the bottom of Dallas County's school districts, a red flag that typically reflects barriers to consistent school engagement. That alone warrants a direct conversation with the school about what support is in place for students who miss school regularly and what the district is doing to address root causes. Given the student population, absenteeism could signal anything from transportation obstacles to family instability to student disengagement, and parents should understand which of these the school sees and how it responds.
The district spends per student at the middle-to-upper range for Dallas County, so resource constraints are not the immediate explanation for weaker results. A parent may want to look into further with the school what drives such high absenteeism and what the strategy is to improve attendance and, with it, academic outcomes.
No data is available on the district's four-year graduation rate, which is an important measure for a high-school-only system. Free-and-reduced-price lunch rates, special education enrollment, and English learner counts were not reported, making it harder to assess the full scope of need the district serves or how effectively it supports students with additional learning support.
The enrollment is smaller in the ninth grade and progressively declines through twelfth grade, a pattern worth asking about during a school visit. It could reflect normal attrition, student movement to other schools, or other factors; the school can explain what drives this flow.
Texans Can Academies presents as a charter option in several Texas communities, with presence in Dallas County and beyond. The academic performance shows strength in some subjects but serious weakness in English language arts, combined with very high absenteeism. A family considering this district should speak directly with school leadership about attendance barriers, literacy support, and how the school measures and improves student progress over time.
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