HISD reported an enrollment of about 183,900 in late October, a drop of more than 6,000 students since the 2022-23 school year and more than 30,000 students since the 2016-17 school year, when the district hit a 10-year peak of 216,106 students.
While annual enrollment data counts the number of students in a district on the last Friday of October, membership data reflects the number of students enrolled in the district on a specific day who have attended at least one day of school. HISD, for example, had 183,439 students attending school Feb. 23, a nearly 3% decline from the previous year.
Families appear to be fleeing to suburban districts, private and charter schools, and even homeschooling. Coupled with lower birth rates, most urban school systems across the U.S. have seen declines, and the National Center for Education Statistics projects that 2 million fewer students will be enrolled in American public schools through 2030.
However, Duncan Klussmann, an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston, said the state takeover may be expediting declines in HISD.
State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles implemented the New Education System, a controversial whole-scale systemic reform, at 85 schools that largely serve Black, Hispanic and low-income students — this year to attempt to improve student outcomes. The reform model includes a standardized curriculum, timed lessons, daily quizzes in core classes, less autonomy and a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruptions.
NES “is a very different model, and so not every parent wants their child in that model,” Klussmann said. “There are many parents who are very happy with the model, but there may be parents who do not want their children in that type of model, and I think those parents are questioning if they stay in the system or if they should seek out alternatives.”
Even parents whose children attend high-performing schools have expressed concern about the constant changes and cuts that have come during Miles’ reign. The instability has made them question whether HISD is still the right fit for their families.
Miles said he’s not that worried about the district’s enrollment decline. Instead, he said he’s concerned with making sure that the district’s schools are providing the best education possible, which he believes will eventually lead to more students enrolling in the district.
“You’re gonna see over time that we’re gonna run effective schools,” Miles said. “We’re gonna make education meaningful (by) getting ready for the year 2035. I think that’s gonna bring up enrollment.”
Well, I’m certainly glad that Mike Miles isn’t losing any sleep over this. I don’t know how much of the latest decline is part of the overall trend, which includes a declining birthrate and other demographic issues, and how much is attributable to the chaos that has been post-takeover HISD. I’m sure that the latter is greater than zero, however. And I’m also sure that the potential for long-term damage could well be greater than whatever educational gains we might get out of this. I’ve been worried from the beginning that some uncomfortably large number of people will just decide that they don’t want to deal with HISD, regardless of any improved academic performances. Nothing in this story reassures me about that.
According to Houston Public Media, Miles said in a statement that he was outraged by the publication of the list and that he would order “an independent investigation into the source of this information.”
“It is irresponsible and unethical, and the HISD community and the Chronicle’s readers deserve better,” Miles wrote.
He then sent an email to the principals about the leak, suggesting legal action against the Chronicle.
“We are investigating the release of the names, and we have asked the Chronicle to take the names down or face legal action from us,” Miles wrote to principals.
The Houston Chronicle took down the list, saying it had received a tip that some names may have been mistakenly included in the distribution.
The newspaper did not provide a response or comment on Miles’ criticism, and HISD did not respond to Houston Public Media’s question about what specific law the administration believes the Chronicle may have violated.
“While we are pleased the Chronicle has removed the list from its story, it does not change the fact that its publication has already adversely impacted good people,” Miles said. “The Chronicle violated these employees’ rights by publishing this information and inaccurately characterizing them as low performers.”
What a blowhard and a bully. Again, even if he does the things he says he wants to do, I fear the collateral damage. We can’t be rid of this guy quickly enough.