The details
Board managers were originally scheduled to vote on ending the program at Heights, Kashmere and Northside high schools during the board’s Dec. 11 meeting before opting to table the vote until January.
If the programs are ended at the high schools, HISD Chief Academic Officer Kristen Hole said the district would instead send interested students to the Barbara Jordan Career Center to take the courses.
“When a program is [no longer offered] on a campus, all of those students would still be able to access all of the programs at Barbara Jordan, including many, many new ones that we'll be adding to the space,” Hole said.
A closer look
Hole said the effort to shutter the programs at the three campuses is coming through an effort to provide students with more opportunities to gain higher-wage employment after graduation.
“From a living wage perspective, [graphic design] was significantly lower than the other programs,” Hole said. “The number of open jobs in the Houston market also did not meet the threshold that we would want to ensure students can get a job when they leave us.”
Hole noted that while the programs would not be available on the three high school campuses, interested students would be able to enroll at the programs at the Barbara Jordan Career Center.
According to HISD’s website, the Barbara Jordan Career Center offers a variety of vocational and CTE programs to students at:
- Furr High School
- Heights High School
- Houston High School
- Kashmere High School
- North Forest High School
- Northside High School
- Washington High School
- Wheatley High School
- Yates High School
At the Dec. 11 meeting, Christiana Thomas, a senior at Heights High School, said she worried that ending the graphic design program would result in more teachers losing their jobs with the district.
“Cutting these programs would also force you to either fire or move those teachers, and they are people who are pillars of our community,” Thomas said.
Christina Witney, a parent of a student at Heights High School, said she feared transporting students from their schools to the Barbara Jordan Career Center could disrupt their school days.
“It’s removing easy access [to the programs],” Witney said.
What’s next
HISD board managers will consider taking final action on the graphic design programs during the board’s Jan. 15 meeting.
