STAAR Scores Show Extraordinary Progress

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STAAR Scores Show Extraordinary Progress

HISD Superintendent Mike Miles took a moment to praise the district’s students and teachers for their remarkable academic gains this school year in a recent opinion piece published by the Houston Chronicle.

Miles highlighted that preliminary STAAR results show that:

Miles then credited students and teachers for achieving “one of the best years of academic growth the district has ever experienced.”

Miles also thanked principals, local organizations, and community leaders for their contributions in helping to boost student achievement.

Miles: “Our students and teachers have given us hope that the achievement gap can be significantly narrowed and that collectively we can address systemic inequity.”

What they’re saying: Several news outlets have covered HISD’s impressive STAAR results. You can check them out here:

Wheatley High School Thriving with NES

Chronic, severe underperformance at Wheatley High School was cited as a primary reason for the state’s intervention into HISD last June. Now that a full year has passed since the intervention began, how is Wheatley doing?

The Houston Chronicle explored this question in a recent article , and the answer was overwhelmingly positive.

Three Takeaways:

The Houston Chronicle’s full story is here.

What they’re saying:"There is additional pressure (on us to succeed) because Wheatley is in the spotlight, but it's pressure that's necessary because of the past history and past low-performance of the campus. It's well within time to ensure that Wheatley comes out on the other end as a successful school," - Principal Sabrina Cuby-King.

Bond to Increase HISD’s Competitiveness

Included in HISD’s $4.4 billion bond proposal are plans to upgrade small and underutilized schools whose enrollments have lagged.

Superintendent Miles pointed out that these community schools have lacked proper support for “many, many years”, so they shouldn’t be blamed for enrollment losses.

Since neighboring districts and charter schools have drawn away many HISD families with the means to leave, many schools have suffered from enrollment declines and lack of resources. By meaningfully investing in these schools, they will become more competitive with other choices, and likely attract families back to HISD.

The Houston Landing’s full story on the issue is here.

Why it matters: Since most of these schools are in underserved areas, new funding for these schools will serve the students that need it the most.

Although HISD leadership from years’ past floated the idea of closing schools, current leadership wants to give those schools a chance to grow with the proper investments.

By the numbers: The bond plan proposes to spend over $150 million on 16 campuses with low enrollment and utilization.

What they’re saying: “I think more attention can make more parents want to bring their children there,” said HISD parent Maria Umanzor.

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