3 HISD campuses saved, but charter will close

CHANGES SCRAPPED: District officials believe they have more time to improve performance at the schools

Three Houston ISD campuses have been removed from the list of schools under consideration for major changes designed to prevent a state takeover of the district’s school board.

District leaders have nixed proposals to close and restart Hilliard Elementary and Cullen Middle schools and to form a partnership with an outside organization at North Forest High School. In recent days, district officials also have nixed similar plans at Lawson Middle School and Madison High School.

The decisions leave 10 schools under consideration for closure-restart or partnership plans. All 10 of those campuses must undergo one of the two changes to preempt a potential state takeover under a new state law that targets districts with chronically

“We want to give the treatments that we’re doing an opportunity to take hold, see where they fall out and not rush to make any decisions.” Rhonda Skillern-Jones, HISD board president, on the schools removed from consideration for major changes “We’ve got three months left in school, and you’re going to make a change like this? Move a child and expect them to get acclimated? I feel like my daughter is either going to get ate up or caught up.” Gregory Lamb, parent of a seventh-grader at Victory Prep North

low-performing schools.

The five schools removed from consideration weren’t required to implement major changes to prevent a possible state takeover. District administrators still included the five schools from initial plans because they had fallen short of state academic standards in consecutive years.

‘We have more time’

HISD spokesman Tracy Clemons said the five campuses were removed because “we have more time to move their needle” in academic performance at the schools. HISD board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones, whose district covers Hilliard and North Forest, said the district “didn’t want to be premature” in making major changes.

“We want to give the treatments that we’re doing an opportunity to take hold, see where they fall out and not rush to make any decisions,” Skillern-Jones said.

Under a new Texas law known as HB 1842, any school district with a campus that receives five consecutive “improvement required” ratings for poor academic performance is subject to a state takeover of the district’s school board. HISD has 10 campuses in danger of receiving their fifth straight “improvement required” rating this year.

As a result, HISD administrators have proposed two methods for staving off the takeover possibility.

Proposed partnerships

At several schools, they have proposed partnerships with nonprofits, which would give the district a two-year reprieve from a possible state takeover. Proposed rules related to partnerships call for the nonprofit to assume control of hiring, academics and governance at the campuses, though HISD officials are hoping they will retain control over hiring and governance.

The remaining schools would all close and immediately reopen with limited grade levels and entirely new staffs. That option would reset the accountability clock at zero.

Nixing plans to form partnerships or close-and-restart campuses will allow HISD to retain all administrative control, serve all current grade levels and retain staff members at those schools.

Many community members have argued the district should sue the state over the legality of HB 1842, which was passed in 2015. However, no district leaders have advocated for litigation.

HB 1842 passed with 85 percent support in the Texas Legislature. Supporters of the law have argued it forces districts to improve chronically low-performing campuses, while opponents argue it unfairly takes away control from locally elected school boards.

Public meetings to continue

District leaders are still expected to hold previously scheduled community meetings about low-performing campuses at Cullen, Hilliard, Madison and North Forest. Those gatherings are scheduled for the next several weeks, starting with Cullen on Wednesday.

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