Within two weeks, the Texas Education Agency Commissioner will announce whether he’s extending the state takeover of Houston ISD or will set up a timeline toward restoring local control to the district and its voters. The latter could mean the beginning of a return to elected trustees making decisions for HISD.
That, and the fact that TEA Commissioner Mike Morath announced Wednesday he is extremely happy with what appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has accomplished with regards to student academic achievement, were the big takeaways from one of the rare media-come-along visits Morath makes to HISD.
Morath said he isn’t concerned about how many students and teachers leave the district, only that HISD is providing a quality education for those who are left and that these students make significant advances in academics.
“I really want to say thank you to the Board of Managers, to the superintendent, to the leadership team and really to the entire staff of Houston ISD,” Morath said at his press conference. “One year after the intervention, this is the largest academic improvement that has happened at this scale in the United States. The amount of improvement in academic potential and lifetime potential for kids is pretty spectacular.
“What was true in Houston for the last 20 years has been essentially a tale of two cities. And here we are today at this press conference happening at HSPVA. This has got to be one of the best schools in the United States. It was before we were here. It is clearly still truly amazing.
“But where I was earlier today in North Forest [Hilliard Elementary and Forest Brook Middle School] two or three years ago, if you walked the halls of those classrooms two or three years ago, it was obvious to everyone involved that .we were not honoring our moral commitment to children,” Morath said.
“Two years ago these were essentially F campuses. And what I saw [today] were classrooms that I would love for my children to be in,” Morath said. “The degree of support that we are providing them [now] is higher than it has ever been.”
Whether that will speed up the timeline of the district’s return to local control was something Morath declined to go into Wednesday.
“Under state law, I am required to opine on that intervention on roughly the two year anniversary and that’s coming up soon. I don’t have any announcement today but it is something that we are actively considering. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this visit to see how well it was actually looking and feeling for our kids in the classroom every day.”
Clearly any critics hoping that Morath will change his mind about Miles given the widespread criticism of his New Education System involving frequent timed testing and worksheets as well as the number of students and teachers who have departed the district, are due to be disappointed.
Miles, who was along on the tour but left the press conference to the commissioner, obviously is on very solid ground with Morath who appointed him to the superintendent position two years ago.
The media was allowed along on the third portion of Morath’s tour Wednesday at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Situated downtown right near the heart of the theater district, the fine arts magnet offers rigorous courses with an emphasis on the arts and depending on the year, boasts a reported graduation rate of between 95 and 99 percent.
Asked why he was visiting a non-NES school like HSPVA, Morath quickly acknowledged that this has been a great school even before the state takeover. But in its review, the Texas Education Agency has to look at a number of schools in HISD, he said.
“The Board of Managers governs the entire district. And it was important for us that what was truly great in Houston, continues to be truly great.”
As set forth two years ago when the takeover was announced, to get out of the state takeover: none of the schools can receive D or F ratings for two consecutive years, HISD’s special education program must meet all state and federal laws and the Board of Managers must spend more time focused on student outcomes.
“We have seen progress on all three of those,” Morath said, “but we also still see work that remains. What is also true is that as a function of law, Wheatley High School which was the high school that triggered the specific statutory requirements must have a rating of a C or higher for two consecutive years before whoever happens to be the commissioner can order the intervention to revert.”
Other points:
The high costs of the New Education System, are they sustainable:
“The short answer is yes.” Morath pointed to what he said has been the increased funding for education from the Legislature. “I don’t have any long term concerns about the sustainability of that model in Houston. “
A bill to do away with the STAAR test:
Morath said his office is watching the Legislature. “Clearly some change is likely to happen this session and we will implement it.”
Vouchers:
“I’m interested in families, regardless of where they live, regardless of what they look like, regardless of their background having access to great options for their kids. This is the reason why the Legislature has moved that policy forward. I think for the families that want to take advantage of that option this will be a huge help for them and their children and for the the roughly five and a half million kids that are in public schools in some form or fashion the Legislature continues to prioritize funding and supports for them as well.”
A shrinking district:
“There are many ways that we can as adults focus on managerial decisions or certain key inputs,. But the reason that we have school is for children to learn. So the thing that matters the most is whether children are learning more they did this week than last week. So we really remain focused on that as our North Star.
“Is the district, are the campuses of the district and most importantly are the students of the district improving academically, That’s the thing that matters the most.”
