The overview
The extension was announced by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath in a June 17 news release, more than two years after TEA officials appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and a nine-member board of managers.
Miles, who was awarded a five-year contract extension in June, said his team has implemented major changes at almost every level throughout the district.
“The district was struggling, not just academically, but systemically through systems for hiring, providing feedback, evaluating, transporting kids and finances,” Miles said. “The solution has to be different from what we’ve always done.”
Despite improvements in student exam scores and state accountability ratings, many parents, teacher organizations and community members have continued to voice opposition to Miles’ reform.
Miles said the introduction of the New Education System, or NES model, at 130 low-performing campuses has been one of the most significant changes introduced since his arrival.
While teachers at NES campuses are required to adhere to a district-approved curriculum and instructional model, Miles said they have access to additional resources, including regular coaching, teacher apprentices and support staff.
Miles said the instructional model consists of daily structured lessons followed by a quiz, which is used to determine whether a student will receive more targeted instruction or be sent to a “team center” to complete more rigorous work.
“The kids who already get it get pushed ... and the kids who are still learning the objective get more time with the expert,” Miles said.
However, Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said many former teachers cited the structured lesson plans as a primary factor for resigning.
“They are not allowed to teach the real, authentic teaching to students,” Anderson said. “It's just scripted, and they don't want to do it because it's not real teaching.”
In addition to the introduction of the NES at 130 campuses, Miles has implemented several major changes since he was appointed, including:
- Nine days added to HISD’s academic calendar
- A new teacher evaluation system that includes special education program metrics
- A performance-based pay increase system
- Approval to hire uncertified teachers
- The conversion of libraries to “team centers,” where students are sent to work on more rigorous assignments, at NES campuses
By the numbers
In the two years since the takeover, the percentage of students who approached grade level—considered passing—increased for every STAAR exam subject except eighth-grade social studies, which saw no change, TEA data shows.
HISD students saw the most significant improvement in biology, where the percentage of students approaching grade level rose from 77% in the 2022-23 school year to 91% in 2024-25.
According to a June report by nonpartisan education nonprofit Good Reason Houston, students enrolled at NES campuses are improving at a faster rate than their non-NES peers.
From the 2022-23 school year to the 2024-25 school year, the percentage of all third- through eighth-grade students who met or mastered their grade level on the math STAAR exam rose from 45% to 48% at non-NES campuses.
At NES campuses, the percentage of students who received “met” or “mastered” marks on their respective math exams rose from 23% to 37%.
"Two years in, Houston ISD is unmatched as it relates to its rate of growth," Cary Wright, CEO of Good Reason Houston, said. "There was no other urban district in the state that grew in all 20 tested grade and subjects. HISD did."
While TEA A-F accountability ratings for the 2023-24 school year weren’t released until after press time, Miles said the district released projected ratings using the TEA’s data and methodology.
Miles said 121 HISD campuses had received “D” or “F” ratings at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The following year, 55 of those schools were projected to jump to an “A” or “B.” The number of “A” and “B” rated schools districtwide increased by 82%, jumping from 93 to 170 in that same period.
Of the 22 campuses located within Bellaire, Meyerland and West University’s coverage area, four have adopted the NES model, including Longfellow Elementary, Westbury High School, Tinsley Elementary School and Fondren Middle School.
Zooming out
Despite some district gains, HISD’s teacher turnover rate remains high, TEA data shows.
Eddie Bassey, who taught at the district for nine years before resigning at the end of the 2023-24 school year, said he believes many of the teachers who resigned felt restricted by the district’s NES model.
“They want all of us to look the same, sound the same, do things the same,” Bassey said.
Despite the turnover, Miles said the district has begun each school year with few teacher vacancies, noting the district had 28 teacher vacancies out of roughly 10,500 teaching positions at the start of the 2023-24 school year.
Parents and community members have shown up en masse at HISD board meetings to voice their concerns about changes they felt were forced upon them.
HISD parent Amelia Maldonado said she believes the district’s declining enrollment numbers are an indication of a lack of trust. In April, Miles said the district was projecting a roughly 6,800-student drop in enrollment before the start of the 2025-26 school year, TEA data shows.
“Families are leaving the district, not because they don’t value public education, but because they don’t trust this district to deliver it,” Maldonado said.
Veronica Garcia, executive director of education nonprofit Houstonians for Great Public Schools, said she feels district leadership needs to work more closely with the public to improve trust and communication.
In addition to a revamped website, Miles said the district rolled out its HISD Now livestream on YouTube earlier this year to provide parents with more locally focused information.
“There’s a lot to improve with communications, as always,” Miles said. “Those concerns are understandable.”
What's next
Morath said the district will need to ensure no campuses receive failing accountability ratings for consecutive years before local control can be restored. However, the district’s unofficial ratings for the 2023-24 school year included 41 campuses with “D” and “F” ratings.
The district’s special education program would also need to be fully compliant with all state and federal requirements before the intervention can end, he said.
The final requirement will be ensuring that Houston ISD board procedures align with a focus on students.
If HISD officials meet the requirements set by the Texas Education Agency by June 2027, the state’s transition back to the district’s elected board of trustees would replace:
- June 2027: Three state-appointed board managers with elected board members
- June 2028: Three state-appointed board managers with elected board members
- June 2029: The remaining state-appointed board managers with the remaining elected board members•
