DENTON, Texas — Two years ago, Tomas Rivera Elementary was one of 163 North Texas schools to receive an ‘F’ accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency.

The school was “on fire” according to Narda Harber, principal of Tomas Rivera Elementary School. It took a new approach and an entire community to douse the flames, she said.

In just one year, the school’s administrators, teachers, and students were able to turn its ‘F’ rating to a ‘B.’

The Denton ISD elementary school gained 38 points between the 2023-2024 school year and the 2024-2025 school year, representing the largest increase in all of North Texas.

“To hear that we went from an F to a B, I cried,” Sarah Bryant, who has taught at Rivera Elementary for 17 years, said. “That was the only thing I could do was cry. I wa

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