TEA takeover: Here’s what we know about the agency’s search for managers for Houston ISD

Fewer than half of the applicants attended a mandatory workshop and have been removed from consideration

The TEA announced its intention to take over the Houston Independent School District as of June 1st. (KPRC)

HOUSTON – The Texas Education Agency plans to remove Houston ISD’s elected school board and superintendent.

The agency said Superintendent Millard House II and the current school board will finish out the school year before being replaced by a board of managers on or about June 1.

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The TEA’s jobs description said appointed managers have to be eligible voters living within district boundaries. It also outlined that the board should include district parents, people with leadership experience, and people with backgrounds in fields such as social work, psychology, business, finance or law.

The TEA accepted applications for managers for HISD until April 6. Hundreds of Houstonians applied.

Of those, fewer than half completed a governance training required to move forward in the application process, the agency confirmed.

The agency said 225 applicants completed the mandatory two-day Lone Star Governance training. Those who did not attend the training, left early, or did not complete the training were eliminated as candidates.

Lone Star Governance workshops are designed for school board members and superintendents. Here’s what we know about the training sessions.

What is Lone Star Governance?

The TEA described Lone Star Governance this way on its website: “LSG is a continuous-improvement model for governing teams—boards in collaboration with their superintendents—who choose to focus intensely on only one primary objective: improving student outcomes. Governance teams express this intense focus through a tailored execution of the five aspects of the Texas Framework for School Board Development: vision, accountability, structure, unity, and advocacy. In addition to driving a focus on improving student outcomes, the LSG philosophy and practices provide a system for managing the vital, though secondary, legal and fiscal responsibilities of the board.”

What is the time commitment for Lone Star Governance?

Lone Star Governance workshops are two-day workshops held with a Lone Star Governance Coach.

What is the purpose of Lone Star Governance?

On its website, the TEA said the purpose of the sessions is “to develop the mindset, the knowledge and the skills on how to work collaboratively together as a board and with the superintendent to develop: a vision of improving student outcomes; student outcome goals; methods to communicate local values, and effective local accountability by monitoring the progress towards achieving the student outcome goals.”


Houston, what questions do you have about the TEA takeover?

We want to know what questions you have about the TEA takeover. Ask yours below. And we’ll try to answer them, with the help of experts.

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About the Author:

Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.