HISD’s new chief has some high expectations
constituents, including administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents and the community at large. Anne Sung, HISD parent, Member, Community Voices for Public Education
When Richard Carranza arrives in Houston, he will find that many of us have joined the Houston ISD board on the path toward fulfilling its vision of “providing (all) children with a high-quality education that aspires to the highest academic standards,” no matter their ZIP code. We are on the path, but not there yet.
I urge Mr. Carranza to immerse himself in our communities. He will find we have many great assets — courageous families that won’t give up; incredible educators committed to student success; a dozen public school districts and three of the best public charter systems in the country, two of which were born inside HISD, working toward similar visions; and Families Empowered helping families navigate our city’s extensive system of school options. Together, we have the tools to forge the future.
To achieve our educational vision, Mr. Carranza will need to prioritize the allocation of dollars to eradicate the impact disproportionate funding has had on neighborhoods, ensuring that kids from low-income communities like southwest Houston, where I grew up, receive high-quality educa- tions. Although districts are constrained by state law, he should establish priorities through his budget decisions.
As he considers the needs of Houston’s children, Mr. Carranza should reflect on the recent accomplishments of Spring Branch and Aldine ISDs and consider districtcharter partnership schools. The possibilities are endless if we work together to meet the needs of over 30,000 Houston-area students on wait lists for Harmony, YES and KIPP.
Successful school systems require entire communities to be engaged — business, labor, civic leaders, parents, educators and school boards — to come together as a coalition to support public schools. As a community, we are unified by the school board’s vision and recognize the urgency of our children’s needs. How we attain high-quality education for all children will depend on Mr. Carranza, his team of educators and our community working together.
Rocio Mendoza, member, KIPP Houston Executive Board the standardized test. Our kids need a truly well-rounded education that includes art, music, foreign languages and social studies. We should be working to improve collaboration with businesses and our community colleges to provide career and technical programs that give students an alternative pathway to high school graduation, good-paying jobs and higher education.
For disadvantaged students and their families, we should be developing community schools that provide health care and social and academic services to help counter the devastating effects of poverty. Community schools have been key to turning around student performance in low-income school districts in cities across the country and should be created here in Houston.
Collaboration, not conflict, makes a huge difference. A 2010 study by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research showed that the most effective schools had developed an unusually high degree of “relational trust” among their stakeholders. That means teachers and parents are treated as true partners with principals and other administrators, and that their input is respected.
We welcome Mr. Carranza to Houston and extend an offer to help him quickly overcome the learning curve of familiarizing himself with our communities. We have high expectations for him as a superintendent and as our partner. There is plenty to do and no time to waste, so we say to Mr. Carranza, “Let’s get to work!”