As has been said in this space before, the idea of the state closing a school based on test criteria is offensive. That’s especially true when the school has shown considerable improvement.

A school is just a building. What happens inside is a community in action. Community action has helped G.L. Wiley Middle School improve what it does. Unfortunately, a state-applied stigma has made it hard to accomplish all that Wiley wants.

For one thing, it has had sagging enrollment, making it hard to provide all the opportunities that middle schoolers ought to have.

That’s a problem , but it’s not sufficient to close G.L. Wiley this fall as is being considered by Waco ISD. It’s a problem worth examining as we, the community, help cement Wiley’s gains and make it a more attractive option.

Wiley’s numbers are low compared to other schools, but not so dire as to pull the plug. The district last week supplied an enrollment projection of 269, not including transfer requests. Those requests might turn out to be many, but the key reason most likely is uncertainty about the future.

There should be no uncertainty about the immediate future, particularly with the state reprieve. Wiley needs to stay open this year.

The state education commissioner had the opportunity to order something drastic at the campus, like alternative management. That would have been an outrage considering Wiley’s improvement and the fact that it was deficient in one category alone: science scores.

The state did not do something drastic. It saw the improvement.

Closing Wiley not even three weeks from the start of classes would be drastic.

What about the future? It is in Waco’s hands and should include Wiley. Low numbers? It doesn’t have to be a three-grade middle school. It could be an elementary-middle school Montessori magnet like Lake Waco Elementary. It could be an extension of A.J. Moore Academy, the high school magnet that focuses on technology and entrepreneurship.

The program could borrow heavily from the integrated curriculum so successful at G.W. Carver Academy, the middle school magnet in East Waco. Mountainview Elementary is implementing a integrated curriculum this fall under the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate. The district talks of having this concept at the secondary level. What about Wiley?

Test scores? Put those aside. Everyone knows the status quo can’t work at Wiley in terms of having the necessary student numbers for the long haul. Changes need to be made at Wiley, and not just “more focus” on basic skills. These students deserve programs that uplift rather than simply focusing on TAKS. And by “uplift,” we don’t mean picking them up and putting them on a bus to where scores are higher.