Tag Archives: charter schools

The politics of the Board of Managers

Posted on July 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Presenting this mostly without comment. A Houston Landing review of the newly appointed board’s political contributions, public statements and work history suggests the nine members likely will govern from the political center, avoiding education culture wars galvanizing the right and … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Adam Rivon, Angela Flowers, Audrey Momanaee, Board of Managers, campaign finance reports, Cassandra Bandy, charter schools, Elizabeth Santos, Greg Abbott, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Janette Lindner, Judith Cruz, Michelle Arnold, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Paula Mendoza, Ric Campo, Rolando Martinez, Teach For America, Texas Education Agency | Comments Off

The Chron asks the “will what Mike Miles is doing actually work” question

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Join the club. Superintendent Mike Miles has swept into Houston in recent weeks with confident claims that his strategies to overhaul the largest school system in Texas can quickly spur positive results at long-struggling schools. That’s mostly because his agenda … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, charter schools, Dallas, Dallas ISD, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, New Education System, standardized testing, Texas Education Agency | Comments Off

The first Board of Managers meeting

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It was raucous, and that won’t be the last time. New Superintendent Mike Miles’ interim contract was approved Thursday in a lively inaugural meeting of HISD’s new Board of Managers, over the objections of at least 150 students, parents, teachers and civil rights groups … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Adam Rivon, Angela Flowers, Audrey Momanaee, Board of Managers, Cassandra Bandy, charter schools, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Janette Lindner, Judith Cruz, Michelle Arnold, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Paula Mendoza, Ric Campo, Rolando Martinez, Texas Education Agency | 7 Comments

We’re starting to hear from the Managers of the Board

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Bits and piece, dribbles and drabs. New Houston ISD board of managers members are pledging to earn families’ trust amid outcry from segments of the community who view board members as little more than rubber stamps for state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. The public will get … Continue reading →

Mike Miles and the Board of Managers

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. Former Dallas ISD superintendent Mike Miles − described as a military-minded leader who pushes reform − is the state’s choice for the new Houston ISD superintendent. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced his long-rumored decision Thursday morning, the … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Adam Rivon, Angela Flowers, Audrey Momanaee, Board of Managers, Cassandra Bandy, charter schools, Dallas, Dallas ISD, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Janette Lindner, Michelle Arnold, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Paula Mendoza, Ric Campo, Rolando Martinez, Texas AFT, Texas Education Agency | 2 Comments

Meet Mike Miles

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing profiles the man who seems poised to be the imposed Superintendent of the taken-over HISD. A hard-charging education leader devoted to shaking up the status quo in struggling school districts appears poised to become the superintendent of Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, charter schools, Dallas, Dallas ISD, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Millard House, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sylvester Turner, Texas AFT, Texas Education Agency | Comments Off

Does the TEA already have a new Superintendent in mind?

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Turner thinks so, and wants the TEA to be more up front about its intentions. Pressure is mounting on the Texas Education Agency to name the superintendent who will soon oversee the Houston Independent School District as the nearing takeover prompts growing … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, charter schools, Dallas, Dallas ISD, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Millard House, Rick Cruz, Sylvester Turner, Texas Education Agency | 3 Comments

So now we start processing what happened and what will happen with the TEA takeover

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board points to three key items. Still, if this takeover must happen — and Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday that it is indeed happening — we want it to work. Houston’s schoolchildren don’t have time for another … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged Alma Allen, Board of Managers, charter schools, Greg Abbott, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, lawsuit, Mike Morath, Millard House, schools, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege, Trey Martinez-Fischer, vouchers | 2 Comments

The proposed HISD charter partnership policy change

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a lot of time to dig into this, but there are a couple of things I wanted to touch on. Parents, education advocates and a group of Houston elected officials including three Houston ISD trustees on Monday … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged budget, charter schools, Elizabeth Santos, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Kathy Blueford Daniels, Millard House, Myrna Guidry, schools, Sue Deigaard, TASB | 1 Comment

HISD still trying to figure out what to do with the four schools that didn’t meet standards

Posted on November 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t take too long on this. After months with little public discussion about whether to temporarily surrender control over four long-struggling schools, Houston ISD officials are expected to start ramping up talks about any such plans as state-mandated deadlines quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Anne Sung, charter schools, Elizabeth Santos, Grenita Lathan, HCC, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, schools, Texas Education Agency | 8 Comments

HISD nixes charter partnership

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. Houston ISD board members adjourned late Tuesday without voting on a controversial measure to give up control over 10 low-performing schools after the meeting turned physical and police escorted members of the public — nearly all … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Anne Sung, charter schools, Elizabeth Santos, Energized For STEM Academy, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca, Houston, Jolanda Jones, Mike Morath, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, schools, Sergio Lira, Sue Deigaard, Sylvester Turner, Texas Education Agency | 1 Comment

HISD considers charter partnership

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve got to do something to keep the TEA at bay. Energized For STEM Academy Inc., an organization run by NAACP Houston Branch President James Douglas and former Houston ISD trustee Paula Harris, has been selected as the potential partner … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, Energized For STEM Academy, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, James Douglas, Paula Harris, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, schools, STAAR, Texas Education Agency | 13 Comments

Meet the latest education scam

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Free money! What could possibly go wrong? An ambitious new player has emerged in the controversial effort to use taxpayer dollars to help Texas parents send their kids to private or religious schools. Texans for Education Opportunity, which launched in … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Association of Texas Professional Educators, budget, charter schools, homeschooling, Phil Gramm, schools, Texans for Education Opportunity, Texas, The Lege, vouchers | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in School days | Tagged budget, charter schools, lawsuit, Permanent School Fund, property taxes, school finance, schools, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Charter School Association, The Lege | Comments Off

“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 →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, Chris Barbic, Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, parent trigger, Senate, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Achievement School District, The Lege | 1 Comment

Here comes the school finance bill

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a big deal. The House education chairman on Tuesday unveiled a $3 billion proposal he hopes will overhaul the way Texas funds public schools and derail a looming lawsuit in the process. “My objective when I began this was … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged budget, charter schools, Dan Patrick, Donna Howard, Jimmie Don Aycock, lawsuit, school finance, school finance districts, school finance reform, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege, vouchers | Comments Off

More on Achievement School Districts

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Barbic, the founder of YES Prep and the superintendent of Tennessee’s Achievement School District, one of the models for Greg Abbott’s education plan, weighs in on what these things are and are not. First, by law, the Tennessee ASD … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged budget, charter schools, Chris Barbic, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, Rick Perry, school finance, schools, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Achievement School District, The Lege | Comments Off

Falkenberg on Abbott’s education plan

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg has a balanced take on Greg Abbott’s education plan. Progress has been tragically slow for the students of North Forest. And their saga makes great fodder for those beating the drum to create something called an “achievement school … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged budget, charter schools, Election 2014, Governor, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, North Forest, Raise Your Hand Texas, school finance, schools, Texans for Education Reform, Texas, Texas Achievement School District, The Lege | 2 Comments

Abbott’s education plan

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some actual policy from Greg Abbott. In the 27-page, footnoted report that accompanied the press conference, he proposed to “create a swift, automatic process under which the very worst schools would be removed from the control of their local school … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged budget, charter schools, Election 2014, Governor, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, school finance, schools, Texas, Texas Achievement School District, Texas Education Agency | 1 Comment

KIPP departs Galveston

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this. The popular KIPP charter school chain is pulling out of Galveston, where it operates two campuses with about 900 students combined under a contract with the school district. Because of statewide school … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged budget, charter schools, Dan Patrick, Galveston, Galveston ISD, Greg Abbott, KIPP, lawsuit, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Teaching creationism in Texas

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Zack Kopplin reports on some unconstitutional behavior by a national charter school operator that has several campuses in Texas. When public-school students enrolled in Texas’ largest charter program open their biology workbooks, they will read that the fossil record is … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, creationism, Dan Patrick, evolution, Responsive Education Solutions, schools, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, textbooks, The Lege, vaccinations, Zack Kopplin | 1 Comment

Back to court for the school finance lawsuit

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like deja vu all over again. State district court Judge John Dietz likened the state’s school finance case to the soap opera As The World Turns when he opened Wednesday’s hearing on whether to reconsider evidence in the trial that … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged budget, charter schools, lawsuit, school finance, schools, standardized testing, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Testing and charter bills pass

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of stuff gets done at the last possible minute in the Legislature. The two big education bills were examples of this. The session’s two biggest school reform bills, one from each chamber, have danced the House and Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged charter schools, Dan Patrick, graduation, high school, Jimmie Don Aycock, Mark Strama, SBOE, schools, Senate, STAAR, standardized testing, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege | Comments Off

House approves charter expansion bill SB2

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A big step forward for those who would like to see more charters. Senate Bill 2 passed on a 105-34 vote on second reading. It now faces a third reading before it can be reconciled with a similar version the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Bill Zedler, charter schools, Dan Patrick, Harmony, Jimmie Don Aycock, SBOE, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Where things stand with two weeks to go in the legislative session

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

With the Thursday midnight deadline for bills to pass on second reading in the House, I figured this would be a good time to take a look at the status of some major legislation and legislative priorities. There are two … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged abortion, beer, budget, charter schools, gambling, Medicaid, microbreweries, redistricting, schools, Senate, special session, Texas, The Lege, TxDOT, vouchers, water | 2 Comments

North Forest still fighting as the deadlines approach

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Never give up, never surrender. North Forest ISD has spent more than $595,000 appealing the state’s order to shut down, newly obtained records show, and the school district is continuing the court fight as its July closure date nears. Despite … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, HISD, Houston, lawsuit, Michael Williams, North Forest, schools, Sheila Jackson Lee, Terry Grier, Texas Education Agency | 1 Comment

Legislative quick hits

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is the time of the session where there’s lots happening, and there isn’t always the time or space to stay on top of it all. So here are a few quick updates on things that are happening in an … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Alma Allen, Barry Smitherman, Bob Deuell, Carlos Uresti, charter schools, Christi Craddick, Cindy Burkett, Dan Patrick, Eddie Rodriguez, electric cars, Empower The Vote Texas, Equality Texas, ethics, fundraising, gay rights, Glenn Hegar, Jimmie Don Aycock, John Whitmire, Leticia Van De Putte, Mark Strama, Mary Gonzalez, Railroad Commission, Robert Nichols, SBOE, Senate, sex crimes, Tesla, Texas, The Lege, voter registration | 2 Comments

Charter bill passes Senate, voucher bill passes out of committee

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Sen. Dan Patrick. As colleagues praised Education Chairman Dan Patrick’s efforts at building consensus, a significantly altered version of his expansion of the state’s charter school system quickly passed out of the Senate Thursday afternoon. Patrick, R-Houston, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged charter schools, Dan Patrick, Eddie Lucio, Jose Rodriguez, Raise Your Hand Texas, Royce West, schools, Senate, Texas, vouchers | 1 Comment

Their charter school legislation and ours

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

How much of this sounds familiar to you? Charter schools would be given free rein if a proposal from Republicans in North Carolina’s state Senate is passed. Under the plan, oversight of charters would be taken from the state’s board … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, Dan Patrick, North Carolina, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

TEA drops the hammer on North Forest again

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much as expected. North Forest ISD announced Monday that the Texas Education Agency had upheld the decision to close the school district and annex it to Houston ISD this summer. The ruling, however, does not end the school district’s … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, Harmony, HISD, Houston, KIPP, lawsuit, Michael Williams, North Forest, Texas, Texas Education Agency, YES | Comments Off

HISD and KIPP debate North Forest’s future

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

HISD SUperintendent Terry Grier and KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg meet with the Chronicle to discuss their vision for North Forest ISD. Under either scenario, students could face longer school hours to help them catch up academically, and some employees may … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, HISD, KIPP, Mike Feinberg, North Forest, schools, Terry Grier, Texas Education Agency | Comments Off

The prospects for increasing charter schools

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

According to the Trib, it’s trickier than it might look. Senate Bill 2, the centerpiece of Patrick’s plans for the session, is the most ambitious attempt to expand the state’s charter school system since it was established in 1995. To … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged charter schools, Dan Patrick, Jimmie Don Aycock, Rob Eissler, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege, vouchers | 1 Comment

North Forest still fighting closure

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how successful they’ll be, nor do I know if I should wish them luck. Texas Education Agency officials on Friday made their final case for closing North Forest ISD, while district leaders countered that the school system … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, HISD, Houston, North Forest, schools, Texas Education Agency | Comments Off

Not so fast on the North Forest charter plan

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone is convinced that the plan to allow a consortium of charter schools to take over North Forest ISD is a good idea. In interviews Monday, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Sens. Rodney Ellis and John Whitmire, all Democrats, … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged charter schools, Dan Patrick, Harmony, HISD, Houston, John Whitmire, KIPP, Michael Williams, Mike Feinberg, North Forest, Rodney Ellis, schools, Senfronia Thompson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Education Agency, YES | 2 Comments

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