SPRING, Texas – Sean Tellez said becoming the principal at Houston ISD’s Love Elementary School in the Heights was a dream come true.
“My family is from the Heights. I have roots there,” Tellez said. “It really was a sort of homecoming for me.”
Tellez said things changed when state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles arrived at the district with reform plans under the New Education System. Tellez said after listening to feedback from Love parents and the community, he shared with district leaders that NES wasn’t best for their school.
“It was having a literal physical impact on my health, on my mental health, my family,” Tellez said. “It was a decision that was a personal one. Very gut wrenching and it still is. I miss the teachers I led dearly.”
He resigned shortly after.
“First and foremost, I want to make sure it’s clear and I told my community this, I absolutely love the community I was at,” he said.
Tellez now works at Spring ISD as the Associate Principal of Instruction at Spring High School.
Since his departure, Tellez said he’s written several letters of recommendations for people at HISD looking to leave.
“I was not the first and I know I will not be the last and it’s unfortunate because who’s going to be hurt in this is our kids in HISD,” he said.
Tellez remains in contact with people in the district. He said this week’s changes around principal proficiency ratings rattled many.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Tellez said. “There’s a lot of fear but unfortunately it fits the pattern that us principals have been experiencing this whole entire year, which is something is rolled out and some that’s going to impact our schools or in this case us, the community speaks up are not happy, and then the district brings it back.”
Miles addressed and clarified communication on the district’s performance screening after more than 100 principals got notices last week they interpreted as threats that if they didn’t improve, they could lose their jobs.
Miles addressed the board on Thursday, clarifying that the rating system will not be used in the evaluation of principals or other campus administrators in any adverse employment decision for 2023-2024.
“It was very clear that those principals, at least in our opinion, are not doing it his way,” Tellez said. “They’re getting the job done. They have an A or B rated school but it’s not the way he likes to see it, ‘he,’ being Superintendent Miles.”
Miles admitted the large number of ‘new voices’ in attendance for Thursday’s board meeting played a role in his decision not to use the screening for this academic year.
“A lot of it has to do with input that we received all along,” Miles said during a Friday virtual press conference. “There’s no question though that the amount of feedback that we received from the community at the board meeting is one part in a big part in why the board and I took a lot of time last night to really think through what we’re hearing, what makes sense, what would be helpful to the community and still maintain what we’re trying to do here for the kids.”
Tellez said this reversal is part of a cycle.
“It fits a pattern of putting something out there and when it doesn’t go well run it back,” he said. “It’s this nasty cycle of just inciting a lot of fear. It’s distracting from our real work which is educating our kids.”