Good public schools in Houston? Yes!
Bad schools get a lot of attention, and correctly so. Here in Houston we have spent a lot of time and media on the 10 Houston ISD schools designated “improvement required,” which the state has ordered closed or changed. What we don’t spend enough time on are examples of top schools and the extraordinary job that they are doing. Texas’ top schools are some of the best schools in the country: DeBakey High School for Health Professions, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the top-notch Eastwood Academy with 84 percent low-income students, Carnegie Vanguard and Alief ’s Kerr High School. There are some of the finest schools in all of America.
The state is in the midst of creating a legislated A-F rating system for our schools. Similarly, for the past 13 years, Children at Risk has been ranking and rating schools across Texas to provide insight into where our educational system is strong and to shine a light into areas that need improvement. In Children at Risk’s most recent ratings, we saw that nearly 40 percent of schools in Texas are “A” or “B” schools, a slight increase from the previous year. In Greater Houston alone, we continue to see yeoman’s work when it comes to our schools. Additionally, we are seeing an increase across the state, but especially in Houston, Dallas and the Rio Grande Valley in the share of highperforming schools amongst those that are high-poverty, with examples that need emulation across all school districts in Texas. Overall, schools are getting better. But there is still significant work to be done.
Almost 800 schools across Texas are failing. Furthermore, an overwhelming 79 percent of students in those failing schools are classified as economically disadvantaged. We know that these students need additional support and resources that their more affluent counterparts do not. These students need more time on task, supported administrators and teachers, a culture of high expectations, enriching summer learning experiences and a high-quality early education. Students, particularly those who are low-income, who attend a high-quality, full-day pre-kindergarten program and later attend a high-quality kindergarten through third-grade school have significantly higher odds of success.
When it comes to school accountability, the stances of school boards, teachers, administrators, parents and other key stakeholders in the education system vary widely. Resistance to accountability systems is driven by the belief that standardized test scores neither predict school quality nor predict long-term success for students. Others argue that without accountability we have no real way of measuring learning and whether or not our students are receiving the support they need to succeed in life.
As a third-party, unbiased research organization, Children at Risk has chosen the path of accountability in an effort to ultimately hold the decision-makers at the top accountable, especially the politicians who underfund the system. Without adequate funding and necessary resources, we know that it is very difficult for schools to improve. Without the improvement of schools, the state puts us in a precarious position in which future economic development is stifled. More and more parents will opt to leave the public education system, placing their money and resources elsewhere. Taxpayers and constituents will lose faith in their local schools and education becomes more and more devalued.
Our public school system doesn’t have to crumble. With an increase of funding from the state, we can implement more programs like the Accelerating Campus Excellence initiative in Dallas ISD, which identifies and places their best performing teachers at their most struggling campuses. It’s not surprising to see Dallas ISD nearly doubling its number of high-poverty, high-performing campuses and increasing its share of “A” or “B” rated schools by the largest percentage of any large urban school district in Texas. Change is possible. We can also do things like provide incentives for strong school leadership, raise expectations for students, and increase positivity and belief in the school system. No accountability system is perfect but accountability is a step in the right direction toward ensuring that every kid has his or her shot at a high-quality education.
Sanborn is the president and CEO of Children at Risk, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that drives change to improve the lives of children.