HISD to Explore Bond

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.

HISD to Explore Bond

HISD’s Board of Managers passed a resolution formally approving the exploration of a 2024 bond at last night’s board meeting. The bond would raise money to address decades of deferred maintenance at several of HISD’s aging campuses. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

HISD’s infrastructure challenges are well-documented. Several facilities need major upgrades to the HVAC system , ingress and egress points need to be made safer, and old, worn-out materials need to be swapped out for newer, safer, and sturdier materials.

Bottom Line: A bond would provide equity-achieving resources to invest in vulnerable neighborhoods, far surpassing the current influx of funds already being infused at NES campuses.

Why it matters: All students deserve facilities that are safe, comfortable, and conducive to teaching and learning. It is the right thing to do to invest in HISD’s infrastructure so that no student has to experience discomfort or danger in their school buildings.

Investments in safety technology would also be provided by the bond. Superintendent Miles has spoken about the need to better secure points of entry at several campuses and to implement technologies that can help identify threats before they affect our students and staff.

By the numbers: While most Texas school districts pass a bond about every 5 years, HISD has not passed a bond in over 10 years. HISD’s last bond was in 2012 , and largely targeted upgrades for high schools. This means that middle and elementary schools have not seen significant facilities investments since the bond prior to that, which was in 2007. This inaction has resulted in a crumbling infrastructure that is expensive to patch up when things break down.

What they’re saying: “Too many HISD students are learning in facilities that, quite simply, are not acceptable. Our kids need and deserve better, and we look forward to talking to the broader HISD community about the investments we can make to provide all our students with safe, healthy, and effective learning environments.” - Superintendent Mike Miles.

Improvements Seen in Special Education

HISD has made “significant progress” in the area of special education, according to a new Houston Landing report. Students have been able to qualify for services earlier in the year due to an increased focus on compliance with special education laws, including timeliness of family meetings.

Why it matters: Compliance with special education laws is one of the metrics the state will use to determine when the district is eligible to return to local control. Improvements in this department therefore signal that the intervention is on track to meet its objectives.

Earlier qualification for services also means that students are being provided necessary supports at an earlier stage, which will lead to better academic outcomes.

By the numbers: According to the district, the number of students receiving special education services increased from about 17,320 last school year to 18,910 this year, the biggest single-year increase in at least seven years.

This drastic increase in students served is likely due to the district’s major investments in special education, including raising special education teacher salaries , hiring dozens of new staff, and basing principal evaluations partly on compliance with special education rules.

What they’re saying: “This year has been one of our best years. The teacher teaches, (the students) do the questions and, if they don’t understand it, they stay behind with the teacher … so it gives the kids a lot of the one-on-one that’s needed.” - Rita Martinez, HISD parent.

Test Stress Reduced by New Policies

HISD is no longer spending valuable instruction time on onerous STAAR prep, according to the district.

HISD parents and teachers have complained for years that there was too much emphasis on STAAR prep and that daily lessons should provide enough knowledge to pass standardized tests. “ This extra time spent preparing for one test is nothing more than gaming the systems with "strategies" and taking kids away from what they should be learning.”

Now, those parents and teachers have gotten what they asked for - a school system focuses on reducing pre-test preparation in favor of providing high-quality, rigorous instruction every day, so that test prep is not necessary. Check out the Houston Chronicle’s full story on the issue here.

Why it matters: Erin Baumgartner, the director of the Houston Education Research Consortium at Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research , said that “there is no evidence that explicit test prep necessarily leads to greater outcomes on the assessment itself.” Since test prep is not shown to have a positive effect on outcomes, it makes sense that the district would do away with the strict STAAR prep mandates of years’ past.

What they’re saying:"Direct instruction and a reasonable amount of (differentiated instruction) spent reviewing key concepts is OK. However, there should be little test prep — whereby students take a series of assessments to prepare for STAAR or NWEA," said Superintendent Miles. "Neither the STAAR exams nor the NWEA and EOY assessments should be overemphasized for teachers and students."

Looking ahead: Students will take NWEA MAP tests, which measure their growth throughout the year, between May 14 and May 16.

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