Subject: Abe Saavedra

• Warehousing Minority Kids in Atlanta and Houston

  March 20, 2008

• This Just In: Texas Education Commissioner Orders Sam Houston High School Closed

  June 5, 2008

• HISD's Terry Abbott: The Top Five Moments

  August 15, 2008

• Press Secretary Search Goes On at HISD; District Creates New Position on Top of One Held by Terry Abbott

  September 5, 2008

• Hispanics Warn HISD Board Not To Fire Saavedra

  September 29, 2008

• Saavedra Is Safe For Now, Spokesman Says

  September 30, 2008

• HISD No Longer Looking To Kill All Busing To Magnets

  November 6, 2008

• HISD Gets A New Media Guru

  November 12, 2008

• Carnegie Parents Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief -- For Now

  Houston Press editor Margaret Downing wrote this week about the  continuing turmoil in HISD over plans to consolidate schools, including the high-profile proposal to merge brainiac magnet Carnegie Vanguard with low-income Worthing High.Carnegie parents have been up in arms ever since superintendent Abe Saavedra floated the idea a few weeks ago; Worthing parents haven't been too pleased with how they see their school being denigrated in the process.All the shouting and hurt feelings have had

  December 4, 2008

• We Try To Help HISD's Druggie Teachers, But Get Rebuffed

  HISD teachers, you have been warned: the drug-sniffing dog is coming for you. Superintendent Abe Saavedra told reporters the dog will be visiting every campus to check the employee parking lots.Of course, publicity about the string of teacher-drug arrests hasn't stopped teachers from bringing drugs onto campus (Drugs: They really help with the thinking process!).And even if they don't bring their stash to work anymore, that damn dog might lock on a stray seed or stem, and you're as busted as if

  December 9, 2008

• Carnegie Tech's Triumph Is Complete, For Now

  The capitulation is complete -- the parents of the "Carnegeeks" have proven they're not to be fucked with.HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra had threatened them with a pretty dire plan -- combine the school (which is magnet for the very smart and not physically imposing) with Worthing High, a tough, relatively poor school.In Saavedra's defense, he somehow thought it was a good idea. On the other hand, the Carnegie parents had been energetic supporters of the recent HISD bond election because it in

  December 12, 2008

• Fort Worth's School Superintendent Has A Bigger Salary Than Houston's

  Houston, you have been dissed by Fort Worth. Fort Worth.That cowtown up north has gone all big-time, paying its school superintendent the highest salary in the state. Abe Saavedra here in Houston has been relegated to the poverty line.Fort Worth ISD superintendent Melody Johnson received a 1.4 percent pay raise last night; it brought her salary to $328,950. That is just above Saavedra's salary of $327,010.We know what you're up to, Fort Worth. Tossing around money like you're Jerry Jones. We can

  December 17, 2008

• The Drug Sweeps Are Ending At HISD (For One Reason Or Another)

  The Houston school district is coming under heavy fire for its "no-tolerance" drug-dog searches of school parking lots, mostly because they nabbed a popular West U teacher who is very likely to be proven innocent.West U residents, when they get up in arms, tend to get results. HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra told KHOU -- and spokesman Norm Uhl confirms to Hair Balls -- that the searches are ending.Not, though, because of any uproar from well-connected parents pissed off over a very weak case. D

  February 20, 2009

• Roberts Elementary Teacher, Nabbed In Drug Sweep, May Get Fast-Track Reinstatement

  Big props to the Chronicle's Ericka Mellon for, again, live-blogging a lengthy and often-tedious HISd board meeting. Since the district can't seem to wrap its arms around 20th-Century technology to broadcast these things, it's really an invaluable service.And from it we learned that board president Lawrence Marshall fought and won to get an item on the upcoming agenda reinstating popular Roberts Elementary art teacher Mindy Herrick, who was (almost certainly) wrongly caught up in the distric

  March 5, 2009

• That Roberts Elementary Teacher Is Reinstated; Kids Learn Lesson About Protesting

  As promised last week, the Houston school district is trying to fast-track reinstatement for some teachers caught up in the drug-dog sweeps that caused such a kerfluffle.The district announced today that Mindy Herrick, the Roberts Elementary teacher whose arrest sparked protests from parents and students, is getting her job back, as is a Yates teacher.Says the district's statement: "The district is working to resolve all cases related to the recent district-wide drug searches as soon as possible

  March 9, 2009

• Mack, Turkeys and Beaver's

  What a Turkey

  December 11, 2008

• Backlash Upon Backlash at HISD

  December 4, 2008

• White-Washing Those Black Rodeo Gala Tickets

  Well, Warner Ervin, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District's south region, must be feeling pretty good today. He's the administrator being reluctantly investigated by the Texas Education Agency -- after a lot of urging from citizen and former HISD high school teacher Del Murphy -- for tapping into HISD discretionary funds to buy tickets to the Black Heritage Western Gala. Reportedly, principals and other administrators, working with and for Ervin, were persuaded by the regiona

  April 16, 2009

• Opt In, Opt Out

  HISD continues to send students to CEP. Whether they go there, stay there or return successfully to their home school is anyone's guess.

  October 5, 2006

• Such Nice Kids

  Immigration protests put HISD in a bind

  April 6, 2006

• Letters to the Editor

  Letters

  December 22, 2005

• Don't Worry, Be Happy

  HISD parents want information about possible changes in the GT/Vanguard program. The administration calls any fears baseless.

  December 15, 2005

• Take My Wife, Please

  TABC nabs a sheriff's spouse in a sting

  July 7, 2005

• Frontier Justice

  January 20, 2005

• Book Learnin'

  Another year of textbook follies

  November 18, 2004

• Eating It Up

  Are HISD and Aramark cooking the books to feast on federal breakfast subsidies?

  November 4, 2004

• On the Case

  Our new TV series is ready to roll

  September 30, 2004

• Seventh-Inning Stretch

  HISD's Stripling stalls while opposing sides clamor for a decision about the T.H. Rogers playground

  January 9, 2003

• HISD's Saavedra Leaving In August, Paper Reports

  Photo courtesy HISDIf it turns out to be true -- and since it's the weekend it's tough to tell -- full kudos to the Bellaire Examiner for this scoop -- HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra's last day on the job will be August 31..HISD board member Dianne Johnson told the paper that Saavedra has told the board he's gone as of the end of August; previously it was assumed he would stay on until a successor was named.The paper said Johnson wasn't sure how the announcement would affect the timing of anno

  June 15, 2009

• Saavedra Tells HISD When His Last Day Will Be, By E-Mail

  Turns out, Houston ISD superintendent Abe Saavedra sent out an e-mail to district administrators last Friday, giving them his last day news. HISD spokesman Norm Uhl found out about it Friday afternoon and planned to release the news today, "but the Bellaire Examiner got a tip and scooped me. Good work on their part. In his farewell notification, Saavedra gave himself and his administrators a pat on the back before cutting to the chase. The full e-mail is after the jump.

  June 15, 2009

• HISD To Announce It's Done Better Than Ever In State Rankings

  ​HISD has broken its record for schools ranked as "exemplary" or "recognized," spokesman Norm Uhl says.Last year 57 percent of its 296 schools achieved that ranking; this year 70 percent of its schools have."This is one for the HISD history books and a highlight for me as I end my career at HISD," outgoing superintendent Abe Saavedra said in a release. "Once again there has been tremendous academic growth across the district, but the story of Sam Houston really puts a face on the story. Sam Ho

  July 30, 2009

• HISD's Gets On The Rankings Roller Coaster

  ​Oh, HISD. You didn't get to enjoy your "We Got Great Rankings!!" moment for long.Just a week after crowing about their improvement in the state's assessment of schools, the district got slammed by the feds for failing to make the grade in No Child Left Behind rankings.The dispute comes down to statistics, racial subgroups and different methods used to measure success. The feds also put an emphasis on drop-out rates, and coming up with a "drop-out rate" is an art that is not very disciplined."

  August 6, 2009