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Hello, Houston,
When I planned a vacation for early June, I thought to myself "Surely, things will slow down by then and it'll be fine to take some time off." Reader, things are not slowing down. From severe storms to school bond proposals, the past few weeks have seen an explosion of news in Houston ISD that shows no sign of stopping before the school year ends. (I will still be going on vacation though.)
As we continue our coverage and prepare for the school year's end, we won't be in your inboxes next Friday, but keep an eye out for a special edition of The Report Card on June 1 to mark a year since the state takeover of HISD. If you have thoughts about how the past year has gone since Superintendent Mike Miles was appointed, reply to this email or tell us here.
Keep reading for more of this week's news from HISD, including a recap of last night's board meeting:
This Week's Must Read:
- HISD has formed a community advisory committee that will host five public meetings on the upcoming multi billion-dollar school bond in the next two weeks.
- Some Houston council members are urging the mayor to put pressure on HISD after widespread layoffs of teachers and principals before the upcoming school year.
 | Megan Menchaca, Houston ISD Reporter |
HISD community pushback surges amid teacher, principal layoffs
In all the board meetings I've watched this year, I've never heard an HISD principal speak during public comment. And certainly, I've never heard one openly criticize district leaders.
That changed during last night's marathon board meeting.
Neff Elementary Principal Amanda Wingard — a former Principal of the Year — spoke up after she, like several principals, was asked to resign earlier this month. She described a culture of fear in the district, particularly among principals, and demanded the resignation of Miles in a "Call to Action" document.
Wingard joined more than 200 HISD parents, students and other community members who largely condemned the controversial terminations or forced resignations of several teachers and principals during more than three hours of public comment.
Miles has said that the district is not renewing an unknown number of employee contracts due to concerns over their performance, although he has not publicly outlined how exactly these employees fell short of district expectations.
Despite the community pushback, the Board of Managers voted early Friday to approve terminations, non-renewals and resignations of HISD employees, including the "release and compromise agreements" for the Herod and Valley West elementary school principals.
The district has still not said how many principals, teachers or other employees are being let go before the upcoming academic year. Read more from the board meeting here in the latest story by the Chronicle's new education reporter Nusaiba Mizan.
What Else Happened This Week
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The Calendar Ahead
• May 25: Community-led "March to Save HISD" at 10 a.m. at Houston City Hall
• May 27: Memorial Day school holiday
• May 28: Bond Community Advisory Committee meeting at Forest Brook Middle School from 6 to 8 p.m.
• May 30: Bond meeting at Cornelius Elementary School from 6 to 8 p.m.
• June 1: Virtual bond meeting from 10 to 11 a.m.
• June 4: Bond meeting at Fondren Middle School from 6 to 8 p.m.
• June 5: Last day of school. Bond meeting at Fleming Middle School from 6 to 8 p.m.
• June 13: School board meeting at 5 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center
Shoutout
HISD names finalists for elementary, secondary division Teacher of the Year
Houston ISD named the four districtwide finalists for the Teacher of the Year in the elementary and secondary divisions earlier this month, along with all the campus-level Teacher of the Year honorees.
The district selected Brenda Ramirez, Xenia Kaniouras, Norma Romero, and Francisco Soriano Sanchez as the four finalists for Elementary Division Teacher of the Year, and Glenton Beadle, Brittny Geyens, Aaron Wempe and Mary Kundert as Secondary Division Teacher of the Year finalists.
HISD also announced the Teacher of the Year for each school in three categories: Campus, Campus Bilingual and Campus English as a Second Language. You can find the list of all the honorees here.
Know a teacher, student or maybe even a principal who deserves a shoutout? Let us know here or by replying to this email.
Meet The Team
Photo by: Susan Barber
Our HISD coverage is fueled by reporting from Megan Menchaca, Sam González Kelly and Anastasia Goodwin. Assistant City Editor Jennifer Radcliffe also helps contribute to this newsletter.
You can reach out to any of them by emailing them at their firstname.lastname@houstonchronicle.com, filling out this survey or by replying directly to this email.
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