The invitation-only event to HISD educators (mostly drawn from campuses that saw at least 5 percentage point gains in math and reading in the last year) had no naysayers jumping up with the “No trust, No Bond” chant common to recent school board meetings and protests. The HISD Board of Managers will vote on whether to go forward with that $4.4 billion bond proposal Thursday night.
No, Wednesday morning was a non-stop pep rally all about celebrating success. The cheer routines weren’t limited to the students on stage as attendees carried their own pompons, flashing lights and dance moves.
The catch phrase hanging in neon lights over the stage —Upstoppable — could apply equally to students in the HISD and to Superintendent Miles and his plans, however much his critics might like to see the superintendent and his policies derailed.
If the preliminary numbers hold and Miles believes they will, then in the space of a year, HISD will have gone from 121 campuses rated D or F down to 41 schools as rated by the Texas Education Agency.
At the same time as there were fewer Ds and Fs, more schools (of course) moved into the A, B and C range. As an HISD press statement noted: “The number of “A” and “B” rated schools increased by 82 percent, from 121 in 2023 to 170 in 2024, while NES [New Education System] campuses, where only 11 schools earned “A” or “B” ratings in 2023 educators and students achieved a remarkable 480% increase, with 53 NES campuses rated “A” or “B” in 2024.”
“Twenty campuses went from an F to a B,” Miles said. “Only a handful in the state went from an F to an A , and they’re all in HISD.”
All these preliminary numbers are based on HISD’s in-house assessment – the Texas Education Agency won’t release the official numbers until August 15 – but Miles says the district used the same methodology as TEA, and does not expect the state’s numbers to differ much if at all from HISD’s findings. The data on individual campuses will be released then as well.
Even though critics railed against the expense and the spectacle of last year’s musical, Miles, doubled down on his bet and signed on for another one this year. This time however, he didn’t appear in the skit performed by HISD students and educators. But he did write it as well as lyrics to go with music written by son Anthony Miles. He waited till after the entertainment was over to begin his remarks accompanied by power point graphics.
By the way, the kids were very impressive singing and dancing up a storm. If HISD is going to continue doing these shows at convocation, we suggest they invite artistic directors from Houston's local theater companies that do a lot of musicals — we're thinking Stages and Theatre Under the Stars here — because young talent is right here, right now.
Miles began his speech with something he’s said many times before: when he arrived at the district in the summer of 2023, it was “the tale of two systems” with some excellent schools and others that were struggling.
Urban districts across the country have had difficulty closing the achievement gap between the highest performing group of students and those in the lower tiers academically, but in this case, HISD made significant strides in the past year, Miles said.
He went on to say that it's not just academics the district should be looking at but the types of skill sets its students are learning particularly for graduates who want to go into the job market right after high school graduation.
Delving into his power point graphics, Miles said that among NES schools, the number of “D” and “F” schools dropped nearly 80 percent – from 63 schools to 14, Miles said." And 33 F schools to 2. I don’t think you’re going to see that ratio anywhere in the state for this year.”
All of which, Miles offered up, means the district may return to an elected board sooner rather than later (although remember, the transition will take at least three years once it starts as the nine-member appointed board is replaced in three-at-a-time segments). Part of the intervention exit criteria set by the state is that a district cannot have any D or F campuses for multiple years.
While pointing out that numbers aren’t everything, clearly this year’s results help stake out Miles’ claim that — all detractors aside — he knows how to overhaul a school district. And that his New Education System with frequent daily testing is central to that endeavor.
Along with all this good news is the massive departure of teachers and principals who either couldn’t or wouldn’t adapt to Miles’ vision for constant testing as a means of raising the academic levels. Many of these teachers have gone on to be hired by nearby districts. And even after all those departures, that doesn’t mean that every educator in HISD has bought into Miles’ programs.
Students will have a chance to share in the celebration at the end of the first week of school when on Friday, August 16, for 30 minutes to an hour they’ll take a break from their studies to enjoy ice cream or popsicles.
"Even the schools that didn't do well , some of their students did well, their teachers did well. Celebrate what you can celebrate," Miles said.
Of course there had to be a mascot somewhere in the crowd.
Photo by Margaret Downing
Teachers arrived at their schools this week. New teachers came last Thursday and Friday with a lot of training, said Sandy Massey HISD chief of leadership and professional development. In like manner, the new principals got extra training for 4-1/2 days. “They also got training alongside all the principals with Mr. Miles and myself. And then we did specialized training for the 130 NES principals, assistant principals and lead teachers.”
In the coming year Science and Art of Thinking classes will move to extended differentiated learning which means students are tested right after a lesson and then split into groups depending on how they scored. The lowest scorers receive further instruction with the teacher.
The New Education System curriculum came under fire last school year when teachers complained the some of the material they were furnished on slides was wrong and that the curriculum writers were racing to get the material out to them. This leveled out a bit later in the year when teachers were brought in to review the lessons before they were sent out en masse.
According to Massey, more than two weeks worth of this year’s lessons are already in the system. More supports are in place for emergent bilingual and special ed students, she said. "There's a lot more support than ever before in the curriculum. We know it won't be mistake free but it'll be as close to mistake free as it's ever been."
Of course, Miles is not done tinkering yet. In a pre-convocation interview with him Tuesday he said he didn't think this year's summer school worked as well as it should have. He said he thought more teacher training was needed to make sure "that the instruction is as rigorous as during the school year.”
Another work in progress: Still at issue, as Miles acknowledges: is the question of how much autonomy each campus has. He says he has learned that he needs to be absolutely clear in this and to put thing in writing in every instance.
In the aftermath of the damage from Hurricane Beryl, all campuses will be up and running, Miles said, with the exception of Chysalis Middle School which is moving across the parking lot to the Lockwood modulars where the modulars are better.
Miles expects to pay particular attention, and extra visits, to the 45 schools that will join NES ranks this year. Some of them have already adopted aspects of NES. He pointed out, however, that some of the teaching methods like the multiple response strategy are well known in the teaching profession.
While acknowledging that he probably took on more than was wise in the first year in terms of overhauling the district — he picked 28 schools to become the first NES schools but added 57 more after their principals asked to be included — Miles added perhaps unnecessarily: “We’re not dragging our feet.”
