CASE Report: “Co-locations” Signal Progress, Not Prejudice

CASE is a collective of Houstonians committed to ensuring every student within Houston Independent School District (HISD) has the opportunity to receive a high-quality education.

If you would like to continue receiving updates, opt-in here.

“Co-locations” Signal Progress, Not Prejudice

It would be unreasonable for a person to claim that they want to go swimming, but only if they don’t get wet.

It is equally unreasonable for some pockets of HISD naysayers to demand immediate repairs to HISD’s dilapidated buildings while also complaining about the district’s plan to co-locate some schools while new buildings are constructed.

What is co-locating?: Co-locating is when two nearby schools are temporarily combined under one building while renovations or construction projects take place. This way, construction can happen faster and more safely since crews can work without the presence of students, staff, and parents.

At least 20 HISD schools are already co-located, a practice that spans multiple administrations.

Houston Landing’s story is here and Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

Why it matters: HISD desperately needs upgrades to its buildings and infrastructure. Classrooms are plagued by mold, rodents, lead-laden water, HVAC problems, and more. In order to fix the decades of deferred maintenance, HISD has proposed a bond that will appear on the November ballot. If the bond passes, renovations and new construction projects will take place. These projects will provide the new, state-of-the-art facilities that HISD students deserve, however, they will require some short-term co-locations. Co-locations are a temporary inconvenience that will provide long-term safety and comfort to HISD’s students, staff, and community.

What they’re saying: Marcus Winters, professor and chair of educational leadership and policy studies at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, published research that found that co-location did not have any meaningful impact on test scores.

"When we talk about co-locations, it's usually not about the quality or the effectiveness of the school. (Co-locations) probably do lead to some logistical issues in the building regarding less space, repurposed classrooms ... and those things are important, but let's not wrap it up in having a big impact, positively or negatively, on (outcomes for) students in the building," Winters said.

Go deeper: All seven of the schools proposed for co-location are located in majority Black or Latino neighborhoods, leading to insinuations of racism by some media and the local teacher union. Ironically, the fact that these schools are chosen for co-location means that these communities have been selected to receive massive investments if the bond passes.

What’s next: HISD is holding several community meetings to inform the public and educate parents about the bond; the next one will take place on 9/24/2024, at 5:30 p.m. at Deady Middle School.

What’s Driving HISD’s Gains?

HISD has enjoyed remarkable academic growth in the first year of the intervention. STAAR , NWEA-MAP , and A-F accountability scores have all improved significantly in a very short amount of time.

But what exactly is driving this growth? Is it a teaching style? A curriculum change?

HISD’s board of managers decided to dig into this question in a recent Board Q&A document , and the answer shed some light on five different measures put in place by HISD’s new leadership to boost student achievement:

Why it matters: These measures, implemented simultaneously and at a large scale, have contributed to HISD’s historic student achievement gains. Each measure ultimately supports high-quality instruction, which is the foundation of academic growth.

It is expected that HISD’s academic growth will continue to improve district-wide as leadership continues to invest in these measures and as students and staff grow accustomed to them.

HISD’s Bond Comms Limited Under Law

With the various community meetings, social media threads, one-pagers, and news articles being circulated regarding the proposed HISD bond, some have questioned why HISD has not been more vocal in supporting its own bond proposal.

There’s a simple reason why: That’s illegal.

Under the law, HISD can only use public funds to factually describe the details of its $4.4 billion proposal or produce explanatory material about what the proposal contains - severely limiting what HISD can do and say regarding the bond.

Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

Why it matters: At recent community meetings on the bond, some community members have expressed anger that HISD representatives are not present. They’ve characterized HISD’s absence at bond meetings as evidence of HISD’s disregard for the community.

However, the truth is that HISD cannot attend these events, even if they want to. Even if the event is not intended to advocate for or against the bond, HISD must take care to avoid any impropriety, and also the mere appearance of impropriety.

What they’re saying: “Of course, the school board wants the bond issue to pass. They wouldn't have called a bond election if they didn't want to pass. But they can't say, ‘We want you to vote in favor of this.’ They can just put out materials that actually say, ‘Here's what's going to be built if the bond election passes.’” - Jim Whitton of Brackett & Ellis Law Firm

Yes, but: Although HISD itself cannot advocate for the bond, the law does allow employees to express their support for a measure in a personal capacity. District employees could face criminal repercussions if they advocate for or against a bond with public resources, but they are allowed to spend their own time and resources on advocacy.

Several HISD principals have already taken advantage of this provision and expressed their strong support for the bond - in their personal capacities.

Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here to receive our weekly updates.