We hope you read the important column that journalist Jim Schutze recently penned for these pages about the wonderful news out of Houston ISD.
Houston students are seeing remarkable and rapid improvement in state assessments in both reading and math.
Remember that this is a district that was underperforming so badly that the Texas Education Agency was forced to take over its operations and replace its elected board in 2023.
Education Commissioner Mike Morath then appointed Mike Miles as HISD superintendent. As Schutze reports, Miles brought with him a “no nonsense and no excuses” plan similar to the one he implemented in Dallas. But the Houston plan was put on steroids.
Miles’ New Education System requires teachers to adopt tested and proven pedagogies while it adds teaching resources for kids falling behind and advances kids who have mastered the material at hand.
Almost across the board, the improvements in outcomes are in the high single or double digits in percentage points.
It’s worth remembering that the usual suspects, especially teachers’ unions, fought tooth and nail to prevent the state from stepping in. Miles’ landing in Houston was rough from the start, just as it was in Dallas. But his perseverance in insisting that every kid must learn and that excuses will not be accepted is Step 1 in improving traditional public schools.
Low-income, minority kids in Houston ISD are now beating state averages in subjects like Algebra I.
In too many school districts across this country, adults serving their own interests are getting to set the agenda for how kids are taught. And too many of those kids aren’t learning as a result.
The work Miles is doing in Houston is a signal that there is another path. It’s a hard road, where accountability and standards are unrelenting and adults who aren’t meeting them will face consequences.
Our kids deserve no less. We are so grateful they are getting it in Houston.
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