HOUSTON – Members of the Houston Independent School District board addressed concerns Wednesday about several schools in jeopardy of being closed. The board announced its plan to talk with the Texas Education Agency to keep the school doors open despite laws that threaten to potentially close 10 schools or have the TEA take over.
According to the Texas Administrative Code, "If a campus is assigned an unacceptable rating under TEC, §39.054(e), for a fifth consecutive year, the commissioner shall order the appointment of a board of managers to govern the district or closure of the campus."
The board said the district expects that up to 10 schools will remain on the list of low-performing schools when the TEA releases its 2017 Accountability Ratings on Tuesday.
"We're the captains of this ship and we're going to make sure that we stay afloat," said Wanda Adams, HISD board president. "One of the options (is) we regroup as a board to see if there needs to be new management of an appointed board of managers from the Texas legislature to be able to govern the board and move accordingly -- that's what that bill does or it tells us to close schools."
"Sixty-70 schools did not meet standards in 2015 but since 2015 we have closed that achievement gap, and I am so proud," HISD board member Rhonda Skillern-Jones said.
Board members said the district, which manages 283 schools, deals with unique challenges of poverty as all of the schools on that list face that socio-economic challenges.
"You will see a correlation between the effects of poverty and low achievement. It's just that simple," Skillern-Jones said. "When you do not put the support in that public education needs, that's drilling a hole, and more importantly, when you allow vested interests and charters, privitization and funding and dollars to matter more than kids, that's drilling the biggest hole."
Adams said the district had worked very hard to come up with plans to bring struggling schools to meet the mark, citing hiring new leadership at Worthing High School and working with children individually to assure higher scores. However, these leaders said the public schools need more resources.
"We brought in new leadership at Worthing High School that gave the campus new resources, education and leadership that they needed," Adams said. "Even though it's going to be a challenge to turn this school around in 11 months, we're continually committed to make sure that the students at Worthing High School."
"We have 283 schools and we have 10 that are on this list, so we have 273 that are working well," Skillern-Jones said.
HISD is honing in on these 10 schools:
- Kashmere High School
- Wheatley High School
- Worthing High School
- Blackshear Elementary
- Dogan Elementary
- Highland Heights Elementary
- Kashmere Gardens Elementary
- Victory Prep North
- Victory Prep South
- Woodson School
The board leadership criticized the rules, pointing out that the TEA is again raising the bar, in March, making it more difficult to meet standards.
"It's like you meet the needle, then they move the ball," Skillern-Jones said. "This is just another gateway of dismantling public education."
However, the board said it will work with the TEA to figure out what its next steps will be.
"HISD will not fail," Adams said.
Both leaders said closing schools is not an option because that would devastate the community even more.
The board will meet with the TEA on Thursday in closed session to discuss "what's next."
