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Hello Houston,
HISD has joined a national repudiation and reconsideration of Cesar Chavez's legacy after The New York Times revealed the Latino civil rights leader groomed and sexually abused girls.
The district has changed the name of its Chavez-Huerta Day to Farmworkers Day. Students and staff will still have March 30 off.
In other news, we've got a new tool to help you stop overpaying for your property taxes. Coming this April, the Houston Chronicle's new TX Tax guide tool can help you lower your bill yourself. Join the early access list and be among the first to use our new tool.
Must-reads:
- Some HISD schools will receive hundreds of new students next year. Are they prepared?
- HISD seeks to partner with nonprofit Collaborative for Children for pre-K starting in 2026-27 year
 | Claire Partain, HISD reporter |
Photo by: Houston Chronicle
HISD postpones vote to allow outside partners to run 4 high-performing high schools
Last night, HISD delayed its vote to outsource management of four high-performing schools to next Thursday.
If approved, the district would let campus-specific nonprofits operate Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Challenge Early College High School, Energy Institute High School and Houston Academy for International Studies. Under state law, those schools could access new funding, while the nonprofits manage their curriculum, teacher evaluations and other day-to-day decisions. They'd also have to meet a performance contract.
Although the vote was delayed, several community members spoke out about the proposal. Some welcome it, while others worry about transparency and equity. Families who talked with me beforehand either didn't know much about the plan or were optimistic about it.
The delay came a few days after we reported at least two partnership contracts were still under negotiation. None of the contracts have been released to the public yet.
Reporter's Notebook
Hi! I'm Elizabeth Sander, the Chronicle's school choice reporter. Through my reporting, I recently stumbled on a new microschool in the East End.
It was started by former Baker Montessori teachers who left after HISD's state takeover, saying they had less freedom to embrace the Montessori philosophy and emphasize sustainability.
Now the teachers run the microschool on their terms. Their 12 students build sustainability into daily routines, drying hands with individual cloth towels and using public spaces as part of the classroom. At the start of the year, each student received a hand-sewn pencil case with high-quality supplies, meant to last.
Many students eagerly showed me their cases, unrolling them in a "ta-da" fashion to show what good shape they were in. They let me watch circle-time, when students can air grievances, news and acknowledgements. I even scored a shoutout from one 7-year-old .
It reminded me of how many ways there are to educate children — and why I plan to keep covering alternative education.
-Elizabeth Sander
What Else Happened This Week
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The Calendar Ahead
• March 4-April 17: Applications open for HISD's Virtual Launchpad
• March 21: Kickoff teacher hiring event, 8 a.m.
• March 21: Hogg Middle School Centennial celebration, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• March 21: HISD Pre-K Festival, 9 a.m.
• March 26: HISD Board of Managers special meeting with SB 1882 vote, 5 p.m.
• March 28: Milby High School Centennial celebration, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Meet The Team
Photo by: Staff Graphic
Our HISD coverage is fueled by reporting from Megan Menchaca, Nusaiba Mizan, Claire Partain and Taylor Nichols. Laura Isensee is our education editor.
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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