4 long-struggling HISD schools progress, but principals see remaining uncertainty
The principals of four Houston ISD schools in danger of triggering major state sanctions are encouraged by progress at their campuses, but administrators say it’s too early to predict whether the schools will stave off punishment by meeting academic standards.
The leaders of Highland Heights Elementary, Henry Middle, and Kashmere and Wheatley high schools told HISD trustees Saturday that early returns show improvement following chronically low performance at their campuses, which have all been rated “improvement required” by the state for four-plus years. Some grade levels, however, continue to struggle mightily, particularly in reading, and attendance issues still plague the high schools, the principals warned.
“Despite some of the setbacks, we’re moving in the right direction,” said Joseph Williams, the second-year principal of Wheatley, which has not met state standard since 2010. “Kids are getting it that we’re very serious about their education and being successful this year.”
Performance of HISD’s longest-struggling schools dominated eight hours of discussion at a rare Saturday school board meeting. Those schools likely will dictate whether the Texas Education Agency replaces the district’s locally elected school board, a possibility that has drawn significant condemnation from Houston-area leaders.
Under a law passed in 2015, the TEA must take over the school board or close campuses in a district once any school receives five straight “improvement required” ratings. TEA leaders have all but confirmed they would replace HISD’s school board before closing campuses. Results will be released in August.
“I’m not going to predict that schools are going to exit out of (‘improvement required’),” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “To give you that 100 percent was not part of what the plan is for today.”
Trustees also were briefed that little has changed to projections for a $76 million budget deficit in 2019-20, equal to roughly 4 percent of the district’s total spending.