Category Archives: School days

Grier departs HISD

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We await his successor. Terry Grier steps aside as Houston’s school superintendent on Monday after a six-and-a-half year tenure marked by aggressive reform efforts, high staff turnover and mixed academic results. His replacement will inherit a stubborn racial achievement gap … Continue reading →

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HISD girds for budget cuts

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the job, Ken Huewitt. Isn’t this fun? Houston’s deputy superintendent on Thursday presented the school board with the deepest round of proposed budget cuts since 2011, leaving principals to decide between slashing staff, supplies, field trips or other … Continue reading →

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HISD names an interim Superintendent

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s who we expected. The Houston school board’s search for a new superintendent took a step back Wednesday as trustees severed ties with the firm they selected two months ago and agreed to start fresh with another. The district likely … Continue reading →

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Three more HISD schools to be renamed

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The new campuses to be renamed, joining four others approved on split votes in January, are Albert Sidney Johnston and Sidney Lanier middle schools and Jefferson Davis High School. Johnston was a … Continue reading →

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What do you want in a new HISD Superintendent?

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Take the survey and let them know. The Houston school board has started seeking community input on the desired traits for a new superintendent, with the goal of hiring a new leader by July. A survey posted on the district’s … Continue reading →

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HISD board moves to change some school names

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There may be more to come at a later date. The five-trustee majority also voted to rename Henry Grady, Richard Dowling and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson middle schools and Robert E. Lee High School. Now, a committee at each school, including … Continue reading →

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New La Marque ISD trustees want to stop lawsuit against the TEA

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Last month, the La Marque Independent School District’s board of trustees voted to mount a legal challenge to the state’s decision to close the troubled Galveston County district after years of academic and financial problems. Now, … Continue reading →

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New school board for La Marque selected

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another step in the process. The Texas education commissioner on Friday announced the appointments of a new superintendent and a board of managers for the troubled La Marque school district, replacing a board that is legally challenging an order for … Continue reading →

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Two school finance stories

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Tough times in the oil patch mean tough times for school districts in the oil patch. The U.S. shale boom flooded the state’s public schools with a gusher of cash, but that windfall is disappearing nearly as fast as it … Continue reading →

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Let’s find a super Super

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The search is on for a Terry Grier successor. The search for a new HISD superintendent should start in earnest this week. The school board plans to vote Thursday to authorize spending up to $70,000 on the search and to … Continue reading →

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La Marque ISD to fight closure

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. The La Marque school board Monday voted to wage a legal battle to keep the state from dissolving the school district, the Texas Education Agency said. La Marque officials could not be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman … Continue reading →

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State to close La Marque ISD

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t know what they’re going to do with it, and that’s a problem. Galveston County’s La Marque ISD will officially be no more as of July 1, 2016, state education officials confirmed. On Thursday, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams … Continue reading →

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Do homeschoolers have to actually teach anything?

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a real question being asked of our State Supreme Court. In an empty office at the family’s El Paso motorcycle dealership, Laura McIntyre says her nine kids were learning. McIntyre’s brother-in-law says they were singing and playing instruments. Learning … Continue reading →

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Our stupid social studies

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Unbelievable, except that it totally is believable. The publisher of one of Texas’ controversial social studies textbooks has agreed to change a caption that describes African slaves as immigrant “workers” after a Houston-area mom’s social media complaints went viral over … Continue reading →

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No decision on interim Superintendent

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Board of Trustees is still deciding how to proceed in the wake of Superintendent Terry Grier’s resignation. Trustee Anna Eastman said after [Tuesday’s board] meeting that she continues to have a lot of questions about how the job-order … Continue reading →

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HISD will begin process of renaming schools with Confederate ties

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [HISD] trustees plan to start the process with a vote to revise the district’s policy to state explicitly that names should be non-discriminatory. The revised policy also details how the board can initiate renaming schools. Board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones … Continue reading →

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What next for HISD?

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The board ponders its options for Superintendent while they prepare to search for a successor to Dr. Terry Grier. The Houston Independent School District board is set to meet Tuesday morning to discuss the district’s next steps after Superintendent Terry … Continue reading →

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Grier to step down as HISD Superintendent

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This was sudden. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier announced Thursday that he is stepping down effective on March 1. Grier became superintendent of Houston in 2009, leading the nation’s seventh largest school district to win the Broad Prize for Urban … Continue reading →

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One more chance for LaMarque ISD

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they can take advantage of it. Headed into the new school year with La Marque Independent School District still facing an uncertain future, Superintendent Terri Watkins pledged to continue upward momentum in student achievement, keep a handle on … Continue reading →

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HISD bond concerns

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always something. A key Houston ISD school board member called Sunday for audits of the district’s 2012 bond program amid estimates of a $211 million shortfall and concerns about breaking promises to voters. Juliet Stipeche, chair of HISD’s audit … Continue reading →

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Idiots protest at school

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jeez. The kindergarten and pre-K students experienced an early civics lesson Monday morning when they entered Houston Independent School District’s new Arabic Immersion Magnet School for the first day of class. At least a dozen protestors, some wearing red, white … Continue reading →

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“Let’s just be real” about charter schools

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. “Let’s just be real,” Chris Barbic wrote last week when announcing his resignation as superintendent of Tennessee’s Achievement School District. Then Barbic admitted what skeptics of charter schools have preached for years — “achieving results in neighborhood schools … Continue reading →

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The debate over changing Confederate-named schools in HISD

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Predictably, not everybody likes the idea of rechristening HISD schools that were named for Confederate generals. Houston ISD board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones has said she wants her fellow trustees to consider renaming six campuses, following the June shooting deaths of … Continue reading →

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HISD Board President backs changing Confederate school names

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Amid a growing move to shed symbols of the old, slave-owning South, the Houston school board president said Thursday that she supports renaming six campuses named after Confederate loyalists. Rhonda Skillern-Jones said she plans to discuss the … Continue reading →

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HISD’s test scores

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not so good. Needs to be better. Houston ISD high school students continue to struggle with reading and writing, passing state exams at significantly lower rates than the state average, new results show. The district’s scores in algebra, biology and … Continue reading →

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What now for Terry Grier?

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Superintendent is in the last year of his contract, and it’s not clear whether it will get extended or not. Kashmere has made limited strides as one of the schools in Superintendent Terry Grier’s signature reform effort, called … Continue reading →

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HISD mostly declines to rezone its schools

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of noise, not nearly as much action. A divided Houston school board on Thursday rejected most of the rezoning proposals designed to reduce class sizes after dozens of parents expressed concerns about families having to send their children to … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend ISD

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A lot going on over there. With a fifth-grader in Palmer Elementary School in Missouri City, Steve Brown has begun to think about where his son should attend middle school. The campus is just a two-minute drive from the current … Continue reading →

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La Marque ISD gets a stay

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not so fast. Galveston County’s La Marque ISD received a lifeline Wednesday when state Education Commissioner Michael Williams agreed to put the district’s closure on hold. Williams said he would not shut down the district in July, as he had … Continue reading →

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HISD postpones redrawing school boundaries

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This stuff is hard, y’all. The school board [had planned] to vote Thursday on the district’s biggest rezoning plan in recent years, involving more than two dozen campuses. The proposal mostly would redraw attendance boundaries to shift homes from more … Continue reading →

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A slowdown in construction would be good for school districts

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One potential upside to a weakening real estate market. Since the Houston Independent School District passed a historic $1.9 billion bond issue in 2012, the construction market has boomed, driving up costs and drying up labor. But now, with the … Continue reading →

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State moves to close La Marque ISD

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I hadn’t realized this was in the works. Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams has ordered the closure of Galveston County’s La Marque ISD in July unless the school district successfully appeals. Williams notified leaders of the 2,500-student district this week … Continue reading →

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HISD considers a different kind of redistricting

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It would likely be just as contentious as the usual kind. Houston school officials may rezone students from roughly two dozen elementary schools over the next few years in an effort to meet the state’s class size limits. District officials … Continue reading →

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HISD Student Congress

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Kids today, with their “getting involved” and their “having their voices heard”, I tell you. The high school students gave up their Saturday afternoon, meeting at the downtown library with laptops and legal pads to brainstorm ideas for improving the … Continue reading →

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