HOUSTON – Houston ISD is taking a new approach this school year to make sure more campuses move into the top performance categories.
The district has identified 17 campuses as “Special Focus” schools not failing, but schools rated C or D that need more support to become A or B schools.
Sandi Massey, HISD’s Chief of Schools, says the program is about giving schools an extra push before problems worsen.
“Every year we tend to work with schools who need a little extra support that may not be getting it with the transformation,” Massey said.
She emphasized that HISD currently has no F-rated schools — a first in years. But some schools are trending downward.
For example, Durham Elementary slipped from a B to a C, making it a candidate for extra support. On the other hand, a campus that improved from an F to a C might not be placed on the list.
“It kind of depends on the three-year trajectory of a school, whether we choose them as a Special Focus school or not,” Massey explained.
The biggest change for Special Focus schools is curriculum.
All 17 schools must now use HISD’s aligned curriculum. Their master schedules are also being adjusted to match high-performing campuses so teachers can collaborate more effectively.
“We want to make sure every student in a Special Focus school gets quality instruction every single day,” Massey said.
That also means rethinking substitutes.
“We know that a traditional substitute is not the best way. So we have other avenues we can take to make sure students actually have quality instruction, not just a traditional substitute,” Massey explained.
Existing programs won’t disappear. At Durham, for example, the International Baccalaureate (IB) program will remain, but HISD says it will work to strengthen it.
Some parents at Durham Elementary told KPRC 2 they were frustrated by how quickly changes were rolled out at the start of the school year.
Massey acknowledged those concerns.
“It is stressful, and it comes with some anxiety, both from the principal’s side all the way down to the parents. If it’s done well, then students don’t really feel the change that much. It’s mostly from the adult side that we start feeling the change,” she said.
She added that improving communication with parents is a priority moving forward.
Turner asked if schools that don’t improve could eventually become part of the NES (New Education System).
Massey says that’s not the case.
“At this point, we do not have a trajectory to add any more NES schools. We’re focusing on building HISD to be an A-B district,” she said.
Right now, 17 campuses are on the list. But that number could change throughout the school year.
“As we see schools start flourishing, they might come off the list. As we see schools dipping down where we weren’t expecting, we might add them,” Massey said.
Massey says she plans to visit Durham and other campuses on the list in the coming weeks.