HISD finalizes list of NES-aligned schools
Nearly 60 Houston ISD schools have finalized their enrollment in Superintendent Mike Miles’ sweeping new reform program, the district announced Tuesday.
The 57 schools that opted into the New Education System as “NES-aligned” schools is slightly less than the 62 that attended an information session last week at district headquarters, where the superintendent laid out his plan for the program and gave principals one last chance to back out. They will now receive many of the same structures that Miles has planned for the 28 original NES schools in the Wheatley, Kashmere and North Forest feeder patterns that were mandated into the program.
“I was pleasantly surprised when several principals embraced whole school systemic reform early and asked to be included in the New Education System,” Miles said in a statement. “I am overwhelmingly proud that this many HISD school leaders are ready to take bold action to improve outcomes for all students and eradicate the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps in our district.”
The final list of NES-aligned campuses serve predominantly Black and Brown students and includes 36 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, nine high schools and two specialty schools. Schools from every HISD feeder pattern – minus Bellaire, Lamar and Houston Heights high schools – are included among the 57 campuses.
The NES-aligned schools will not be reconstituted as part of their enrollment in the program, and the teachers there will not earn the higher base salaries that their counterparts at the original NES schools will receive. Teachers will, however, receive $10,000 stipends for working in a high-need school, and will operate under the “hospital model” of staffing that sees them supported by “teacher apprentices” and “learning coaches.”
The assumption of the NES staffing model also means that support staff, such as librarians, office managers and technology specialists, may be cut from the schools. While all teachers, librarians, counselors, principals and assistant principals who are under contract with HISD for next year are guaranteed jobs with the district, other employees may be left without work.
Miles, at last Thursday’s meeting with principals, gave administrators until Monday to finalize their decision to opt into the program, and asked principals to complete a survey indicating that they met with their school’s Shared Decision Making Committee before arriving at a conclusion.
Some education advocates questioned the legitimacy of schools’ enrollment, however, noting that the final decision to opt in ultimately lied with principals.
“Unless the minutes are published publicly for each campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee’s vote, we should be skeptical of the legitimacy of this list,” said Daniel Santos, vice president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, on Twitter.
“Without community input, principals are unilaterally making consequential decisions that may harm their schools,” Santos said.
NES-aligned schools will lose much of the autonomy that schools in HISD have traditionally enjoyed, using a standardized curriculum with lesson plans prepared for teachers in advance. School budgets will also be cut to just $100 per student for discretionary funds and $100 per student for supplies, with the district handling any other costs incurred by a school.
Miles has characterized the wholescale changes as a necessary step in narrowing the achievement gap for students of color, saying that “piecemeal” attempts at reform have historically left student outcomes stagnant.
“This is one more clear signal that HISD educators are ready for change. They know our children can’t wait, and they want to be able to prepare their students for the workplace and world of 2035,” Miles said. “As a district we have an obligation to help them do just that.”