HOUSTON, Texas — Nineteen more HISD schools have opted in to become NES schools for the 2024/2025 school year, bringing the total to 130, Superintendent Mike Miles announced Friday.
That's half the district, according to Miles.
The New Education System is the controversial program ushered in amid the state takeover aimed at improving academics. NES campuses feature more rigorous and targeted instruction, different staffing models, and so-called TEAMS centers that fill former library space.
"There's no question there to the spot observations and the quality of instruction is higher in NES schools than in non-NES schools," Miles said.
Miles claims the most recent assessment of math, reading, language and science performance showed district-wide improvements with "significantly higher" scores for the NES schools.
“And that’s why you see these schools, after checking it out, after talking to their colleagues, are learning about it, are still wanting to be NES, why is that?” Miles asked.
He said an internal team used raw state data and methodology to determine the ratings and which schools would be moved to NES.
When we sat down with him last month, he said 26 low-performing campuses would be added next year.
“Twenty schools have an 'F' rating that are not already NES schools,” Miles told us in January. Six others with low “D” ratings were also added.
Twenty-four other campuses with mid-to-high D ratings had the option to opt in, and Miles said Friday that 19 of those were chosen.
That brings the total of new NES schools next year to 45.
Eighty-five other schools were added to the model this year.
NES’s initial rollout prompted criticism and even protests by parents and students. We asked Miles if he expected a similar backlash.
"Yeah, we’re prepared for that," Miles said in January. "But I think you won’t have as much anxiety as we did back in August.”
Miles said the NES model has made a positive difference, but also said there's not enough data in one year to show it.
Meanwhile, local teacher unions continue to voice their opposition.
"It is flawed because he has inexperienced people who are not educators writing a curriculum that is flawed," said President of Houston Education Association, Michelle Williams.
Williams has been an educator for 24 years, half of that being at HISD.
She said the issues some of the NES teachers have expressed are about lack of support.
"The teachers in that system, they are not happy because he has told a lot of untruths about what type of support the instructional poor support does not exist," Williams said.
Miles said the unions should visit those schools to see what's happening. Williams said she'd love to, but that hasn't been offered.
Williams wants to sit down with Miles to talk about what she said are issues with the NES model.
List of 19 HISD schools that opted in to NES next year
- Austin High School, 66, D
- Bell Elementary School, 66, D
- Deady Middle School, 69, D
- Foerster Elementary School, 69, D
- Frost Elementary School, 69, D
- Gross Elementary School, 65, D
- Jefferson Elementary School, 69, D
- Ketelsen Elementary School, 69, D
- Marshall Middle School, 69, D
- Montgomery Elementary School, 69, D
- Navarro Middle School, 66, D
- Neff Elementary School, 67, D
- Petersen Elementary School, 66, D
- Reynolds Elementary School, 67, D
- Ross Elementary School, 68, D
- Sanchez Elementary School, 69, D
- Shearn Elementary School, 66, D
- Southmayd Elementary School, 68, D
- Tinsley Elementary School, 68, D
- Valley West Elementary School, 69, D
26 low-performing schools added to NES next year
Here is the list of schools that will be joining NES because of their ratings determined from raw state data, according to HISD.
- Almeda Elementary School, 64, D
- Anderson Elementary School, 56, F
- Askew Elementary School, 54, F
- Browning Elementary School, 59, F
- Clifton Middle School, 57, F
- Codwell Elementary School, 51
- Crockett Elementary School, 63, D
- Fonville Middle School, 55, F
- Golfcrest Elementary School, 64, D
- Gregory-Lincoln PK-8, 59, F
- Grissom Elementary School, 59, F
- Kelso Elementary School, 58, F
- Longfellow Elementary School, 59, F
- Milne Elementary School, 47, F
- Mitchell Elementary School, 55, F
- Northside High School, 63, D
- Ortiz Middle School, 59, F
- Peck Elementary School, 60, D
- Sharpstown High School, 50, F
- Stevens Elementary School, 54, F
- Thomas Middle School, 56, F
- Walnut Bend Elementary School, 58, F
- Welch Middle School, 59, F
- Wesley Elementary School, 45, F
- Westbury High School, 64, D
- Woodson Leadership Academy, 57, F