Tag Archives: HISD Board of Trustees

Interview with Peter Schwethelm

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more HISD Trustee interview to bring you, with Peter Schwethelm. Schwethelm is a former teacher at Milby High School who now owns a small business and operates a non-profit that locates surplus computers for donation. He has … Continue reading →

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Interview with Juliet Stipeche

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

My next interview for the open HISD seat is with Juliet Stipeche. Stipeche is an attorney who hails from the East End and is a graduate of the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice and of Rice University. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Judith Cruz

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Next week I will begin publishing interviews with statewide candidates. There’s one other race and a couple other items of interest to take care of before then. The race in question is for the open HISD Trustee seat in District … Continue reading →

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Six candidates file for the open HISD Trustee seat

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the lineup for the HISD District 8 seat that was vacated by Diana Davila: Robert Centeno, a former teacher in the Houston Independent School District. [Judith] Cruz, a stay-at-home mom who previously was the special education department chairwoman at … Continue reading →

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Election called to fill HISD open seat

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston ISD trustees unanimously opted today to let voters choose the next school board representative of the city’s east side. A special election will be held Nov. 2 to serve the remainder of former Trustee Diana Davila’s term, which … Continue reading →

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Meet the HISD hopefuls

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The people who are hoping to be appointed to the open HISD Trustee seat made their appearance at Furr High School and made their pitch. Trustees are slated to discuss their options Thursday and must make a decision by next … Continue reading →

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Trustees still dithering about replacing Davila

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no action from the HISD Board of Trustees regarding Diana Davila’s open seat. Trustee Larry Marshall called for holding an election in November but his motion failed 3-5, mostly along racial lines. The board plans to screen possible appointees … Continue reading →

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What will the HISD board do with its open seat?

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Trustee Diana Davila announced her intention to resign on July 16. That became official on the 30th. The HISD Board of Trustees has the option of appointing someone to replace her, or to call a special election. So far, … Continue reading →

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Adolfo Santos

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigned her position. It’s not clear yet whether the Board will appoint a replacement or there will be a special election, but Marc Campos is floating the name of a possible successor. UH-Downtown Political … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigns

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. HISD trustee Diana Dávila said Wednesday she will resign from the school board Thursday, more than a year before her term ends. Dávila, who was first elected to the school board in 2003, said she is stepping … Continue reading →

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Opinions mixed on Terry Grier

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So not a surprise. I’ve expressed similar feelings a time or two myself. To [HISD Superintendent Terry] Grier’s supporters, his thick skin, independence and kids-come-first mantra are proving a successful recipe for shaking up the status quo in Texas’ largest … Continue reading →

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HISD strategic direction meetings

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From an HISD press release: HISD will be holding two interactive, live TV shows to gather comments and feedback from the community. The first will be on Monday, June 28, from 7:00–8:00 p.m., on the HISD channel, and will be … Continue reading →

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Personality matters

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg, writing earlier this week about longtime teacher Jamie Simmon leaving HISD after 27 years to take a job with YES Prep: The decision, she says, has nothing to do with the daunting challenges of educating Lee’s largely at-risk, … Continue reading →

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CEP gets a good grade

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As reported by Hair Balls, the Texas A&M consultant that was brought in by HISD and Superintendent Terry Grier to evaluate Community Education Partners (CEP), its provider for the disciplinary alternate education program, has now issued his long-awaited report. You … Continue reading →

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HISD to keep CEP

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier has been pushing for months to get HISD out of its contract with Community Education Partners (CEP), its provider for the disciplinary alternate education program. He ran into opposition from HFT President Gayle Fallon, who has … Continue reading →

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No tech vendor contributions to HISD trustees

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This seems straightforward enough. Houston school board members can no longer accept unlimited contributions from technology vendors after federal regulators alleged HISD violated competitive bidding and gift-giving rules. The new policy, which board members discussed Thursday, relates to the federal … Continue reading →

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Gallegos versus Grier

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Mario Gallegos is not a fan of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. He has made this clear through two letters he has released. This one, from April 8, raises questions about Grier’s past record in other school districts, while … Continue reading →

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Stimulus fight

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD is reducing its workforce, including teachers, due to budget shortfalls. The Houston Federation of Teachers says that this is happening while there are a lot of unspent stimulus funds. Houston Federation of Teachers leader Gayle Fallon … Continue reading →

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Everybody’s talking about Terry

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, that is. A few things I’ve noticed lately: From Rick Casey: For all his controversies in previous districts, Grier earned a reputation for improving the performance of all children, but especially of low-income and minority children. … Continue reading →

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Two trustees speak about CEP

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This week, Carl Whitmarsh forwarded to his list a pair of articles written by HISD trustees on the subject of CEP and the changes that have been proposed by Superintendent Terry Grier. Since that has been such a contentious topic, … Continue reading →

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More on Grier’s alternative to CEP

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a story about HISD Superintendent Terry Grier’s recent proposal to replace Community Education Partners (CEP) with a school swap program for some students with discipline issues. The transfer program, meant to give students a second chance in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Gayle Fallon

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I’ve been following the news in HISD lately, in particular the political struggle going on between new HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the Houston Federation of Teachers, over things like the proposal to dump CEP as the … Continue reading →

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Grier pushing to dump CEP

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier has been pushing to get HISD away from using Community Education Partners (CEP) as a provider of alternate schools for kids with discipline issues. He has now made his recommendation to the Board … Continue reading →

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Longer school year for some?

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, for some schools whose students lag behind, as a way to catch up. [HISD] is designing a pilot program to allow a handful of struggling schools to adopt an extended-year calendar starting this fall. The reform effort — estimated … Continue reading →

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HISD gives final approval to teacher dismissal plan

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier has gotten approval from the HISD Board of Trustees to implement a plan that would allow for the dismissal of teachers whose students don’t make enough progress on standardized tests. Data provided by HISD show that, … Continue reading →

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HISD to do school bus ads

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Ericka Mellon writes: *Advertising could begin showing up on HISD school buses, assuming the board gives the green light, which it will. Only newly elected trustee Anna Eastman raised a slight concern at agenda review. “Our children are … Continue reading →

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HISD may race to the top

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the earlier decision by Governor Perry to not let Texas compete for “Race to the Top” stimulus funds, school districts like HISD may get the chance to apply for them on their own. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that … Continue reading →

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HISD moves ahead with its teacher dismissal plan

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The school board on Thursday gave initial approval to a policy that allows the district to dismiss teachers whose students consistently perform below expectations on standardized tests. The change represents a move to make personnel decisions based … Continue reading →

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Evaluating teachers

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is sure to be contentious, but I think it’s the right direction. Teachers in Houston ISD could lose their jobs for failing to improve student test scores under a controversial proposal slated for a school board vote Thursday. HISD … Continue reading →

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Runoff precinct analysis, HISD I

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

To wrap up my series of precinct analyses from the 2009 Houston runoffs, we turn now to the HISD Trustee race in District I. I’ve added a sheet to the Google spreadsheet I put together for the District Council analysis … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee runoff overview

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the two runoffs for HISD Trustee. It echoes a theme from that Examiner story we saw yesterday. The outcome of the races could reshape several board debates — particularly over wages for construction workers, efforts … Continue reading →

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Meet the HISD Parent Visionaries

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the group HISD Parent Visionaries a couple of times in this space. Here’s an article about them from the Examiner. Parent Visionaries was spawned after HISD’s former superintendent, Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, voiced an interest in eliminating or reducing … Continue reading →

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Trustee Marshall endorsed by former opponents

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the runoff for HISD Trustee in District IX, incumbent Trustee Larry Marshall received the endorsement of the third and fourth-place finishers, George Davis and Michael Williams. I find that a little odd, since one presumes when they ran to … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Toyota endorses Eastman in HISD I

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the aftermath of the election, I had wondered whether candidates who didn’t make the runoff would be endorsing one of those who did. We all know about the Mayor’s race and the Controller’s race by now, but I was … Continue reading →

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