State suggests charter option for schools here

Charter conversion could garner district a year’s grace period

In a closed-door meeting with Texas Education Agency officials, Houston ISD trustees said they were given a possible third option to address the district’s longest struggling schools — charter conversion.

“We have a little bit of time to get it right and to get them where they need to be in terms of accountability standards.”

Wanda Adams, HISD board president

In a closed-door meeting with Texas Education Agency officials Thursday, Houston ISD trustees said they were given a possible third option to address the district’s longest struggling schools.

Rather than close those schools or have them taken over by a state-appointed Board of Managers, which appeared to be the only options offered in a state law due to go into full effect next year, TEA officials said HISD trustees could receive a yearlong grace period for some schools if the board converts them into indistrict charter schools.

Trustees said the district could use that alternative on all but two of its troubled schools – Kashmere High and Worthing High. However, the Texas Education Agency will not have specific guidelines or rules relating to the new law until October or November.

“We’re looking at ways in saving their schools and saving them in a way to keep them all in-district,” said HISD Board President Wanda Adams. “This means we have a little bit of time to get it right and to get them where they need to be in terms of accountability standards.”

The agency this week notified Houston ISD that the district faces takeover or campus closures if by 2018 they fail to improve 15 low-performing schools. Those campuses have received three straight “improvement required” (IR) ratings from the state due to poor academic performance. If they do not meet state standards

in 2017 or 2018, the state could step in.

District officials said 10 campuses have received four consecutive “improvement required” ratings, requiring immediate attention. Administrators believe they have more time to prop up the other five campuses before punishments take effect.

New law gives option

The warnings come as the TEA implements the 2015 law that requires state takeover or campus closures in any district with a single school receiving five straight “improvement required” ratings as of 2018.

But Houston ISD trustees said Thursday a 2017 law encouraging district-charter school partnerships — HB 1882 — will likely give them a third option in how to address these schools.

The 2017 law was written by Sens. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) and Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), who said they were inspired by charter-district partnerships in Spring Branch and Aldine ISDs.

Two schools in one

Spring Branch ISD about six years ago embarked on a partnership with two charter school operators, KIPP and Yes Prep. The district allowed the charter operators to launch programs at two-middle school campuses and a high school that were suffering from low enrollment. At those campuses, the school buildings essentially contain two schools — a regular Spring Branch ISD school and a charter school.

A similar partnership exists in two Aldine ISD schools with Yes Prep.

But HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza said there may not be a need to look at that option. Carranza, who this week was in Austin talking to lawmakers and TEA officials about the potential school closures and district takeover, said he believes each of the long-struggling campuses could come off “improvement required” status when test results are released next August.

Turnaround plan

It will take a lot of work, he said. The 10 schools the district has identified as most at risk will receive extra support and resources this year through Carranza’s Achieve 180 campus turnaround plan, which will target a total of 32 campuses. The 10 schools will receive even more help than Achieve 180 originally prescribed, Carranza and other district officials have said.

Each of those schools will be 100 percent staffed when the school year starts Aug. 28, Carranza said, and each will hopefully have a long-term substitute teacher to help with consistency if a teacher misses a day.

He said although he knew about Texas’ accountability framework when he came to Houston ISD in September 2016, he only recently found out the state could take over the district or close some schools.

“This particular aspect to this law I became aware of just recently, so for me it’s a new wrinkle,” Carranza said. “However, the work is still really clear about how to support these campuses and get them out of IR.”