Good evening. This meeting is now convened at 05:08PM. I'd ask everyone to please silence your cell phones. Quorum of the Board members is present in the Board Auditorium. I don't see any elected officials here. We'll welcome them when they get here. We'll now begin, we'll be joined by a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps to lead our, pledges. I'd like to ask Board Member, Cassandra Roseanne Bandy to introduce tonight's pledge leader. Thank you. Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Christy Roselle Linares,
a senior from the High School for Law and Justice, is the battalion commander of the fifteenth battalion overseeing two zero eight cadets in the program. She maintains a four point o grade point average and is enrolled in college level classes. While being actively involved with her school, she's a cheerleader, a school ambassador, co captain of the girls flag football team, and captain of the girls soccer team. Her hobbies include playing sports, going to the gym, and planning events. When she graduates, she will she would like to enlist in the Air Force,
pursue a master's degree, and be an FBI special agent. Cadet Roselle Linares. Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to the Texas, one state under God, one and in business. You may be seated. Thank you, Cadet Linares. Appreciate that and continued success. We now have recognitions and superintendent reports to share. Superintendent Miles, you have the floor. Yes, sir. Each month, we take a moment to spotlight the incredible achievements happening across Houston ISD and the
students, teachers and staff who are learning, leading, breaking barriers, and setting records. For the month of May, we are proud to highlight our educators, a stellar athletic achievement, and an elementary spelling whiz. So we'll start with the first one, Teacher Appreciation Month. The May is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and I want to start our May board meeting by saying a heartfelt thanks to the 10,600 teachers who spend their days educating the over 170,000 students in two seventy three schools.
And just going off script for a moment, I've been in a lot of our schools, at this point probably about 180 of them, and I see teachers all the time. Today, I was at Shadydale, for example, and go to schools almost every every week. And, just like at Shadydale, the teachers across this district are working really hard for the kids and they're improving in their effectiveness. I'm very proud of them. This is May and, you know, in many places, it's a time that coast a little bit, not here.
They are still doing everything they can to get the kids the best education possible. It's showing in the results for the kids. And when the kids excel and do well, that's because teachers are doing well. So really appreciate the teachers. And, we also have, Alex, you're gonna say or show something about our teachers as well. Chief Alex Elizondo Hales, Chief, Public Affairs and Communications. The slides just need to be up on them. One of the things that we have done this year, board members, is to really make sure that we're not just thinking about teacher recognition the week
of teacher appreciation week, but to be thinking about that all year long. So the public affairs team launched a couple initiatives. The first was to do unstoppable teacher celebrations to reward teachers for high attendance and high quality instruction. The second was to build our capacity to create great and unique celebration spaces for teachers to connect and be recognized, and we partnered with Houston Loves Teachers on that initiative, which is a Good Reason Houston initiative. And then this month, we're going to be running a special social media campaign all month long called thank
a teacher. And people throughout the city are sending in messages to thank teachers. So just a couple beats on each of these. The unstoppable teacher celebrations for highest attendance were for the this one school in each division with the highest teacher attendance. And then for high quality instruction, it was the schools that had the highest scores for instructional walks. And we are glad to say that over 1,200 teachers have been appreciated so far, and we started this initiative mid year. And the schools that,
had incredible attendance and incredible high quality instruction are listed on the slide behind you. So big congrats to those 33 campuses. And we're very thankful to our partner, Good Reason Houston, and Houston Loves Teachers for making special celebrations for teachers across the city. To this month, we're a Dave and Buster's game night and Rockhouse Kitchen. So this is, Houstonians pouring into our incredible teachers. And that's, that's a wrap on that, and I will make way for the next super exciting update. Yes. As a person who ran track and cross country,
the next celebration, is special. We wanna highlight or spotlight Lamar High School track and field, the four by 400 record breakers. So the the names of the the the winners were Ryan Johnson, Bailey Hashmi, Devin Carpenter, and Jordan Godfrey, and they have set a national high school record for the boys' four by 400 relay. And, of course, no team excels that well unless you have great coaches. We have Derek Green as the head coach, and the athletic coordinator is Michael Lindsey,
and Rita Gray is the the principal. So we have the video. Check this out. Rain for it. Very exciting, and all the work that went into it, just amazing. And for, now for our last, spotlight or actually second to last and ultimately, we have another type of champion, a lot younger though. The regional spelling bee champion is Zachary Tio. So Zachary, with Zachary, we highlight an exceptional academic achievement from one of our youngest scholars. He's a second grader,
and he's from River Oaks Elementary, and he's a regional spelling bee champion. Now Zachary's talent, composure, and passion for learning is what set him apart, and just at seven years old. His accomplishments bring great pride not only to River Oaks Elementary, but to the entire HISD family. And the fun fact, Zachary's winning word was Canasta, which is a card game that originated in Uruguay and became popular in The United States in the nineteen fifties. And we'd also Zach, you're here, and if your family's here, we invite them to stand and be recognized also.
Okay. And then finally, a lot of celebrations. It is that time of year, both in a happy and sad way, when leaders retire or announce that they are moving on to their next professional adventure. And to recognize several of our principals, I asked chief Sandy Massey to share something about the leaders. Superintendent Miles and board members, thank you for giving me a few minutes to recognize four principals within HISD. These principals have served the students, staff, and communities of Houston for a combined total of seventy six years.
Their dedication to our district started well before the transformation two years ago, but they stayed to continue serving those communities through the changes and adversity. As chief of schools, I realized that Houston is not the only place where students see the best possible opportunity to reach their educational potential. So some of these leaders are at the end of their race, but some of them are continuing on and transitioning to a new journey in a new community, and that brings me great joy. So I'd like to start by bringing up Trevor Carr. Trevor Trevor came to us from Michigan eight years ago and
taken a very high performing campus, Field Elementary, and maintained the a letter grade in state accountability, but Michigan is calling him back home. And so thank you, Trevor, for your contribution and the commitment to the Houston community. We thank you. And as something that that we've gotten used to doing, just so you guys know, we like to make these magazine covers for our principals, and so this is one of our gifts to our principals that are leading us. Next, I'd like to have Devin Adams come up.
You may recognize him from the year long story produced by KPRC, where Fleming Middle School shared their story of transformation in the new education system. Devin started in the district as a student at AA Milne Elementary. He then attended as a middle school student at Welch. And then his first year teaching, he went right back to Welch. As a math teacher, he then moved to Hilliard Elementary as a teacher specialist and assistant principal until he finally took the principalship at Fleming Middle School for the last three years.
Last year, Principal Adams helped Fleming achieve a jump in state account state accountability from an f to a b. Now Devin will be moving to to Boston, Massachusetts to fulfill one of his dreams to earn his doctorate at Harvard University. Devin, we wanna thank you for your service in HISD as a student and as a principal. The next principal I would like to honor is David Nittle. Current principal at Burbank Middle School. David started his first job in HISD in 1996 as a teacher aide.
Then there, he was at Sharpstown Middle, which I don't even know actually exists at Sharpstown Middle anymore. And then he was at Lee High School, which is now Wisdom High School, and as an ESL teacher. He took his first admin role at Burbank Middle School as an assistant principal, and he has spent the last seven and a half years there as principal, where they have held a strong b in state accountability. David has selected to finish his race in HISD, and I wanna wish him the very best in whatever he chooses to do beyond this point.
But, Nittle, we thank you so much for your contribution to HISD and this and the community. And finally, Sabrina Koda King. Sabrina is the current principal of Phyllis Wheatley High School. The Phyllis Wheatley. Sabrina has worked in HISD since 1995, her entire educational career. She has served as principal in HISD since 2011, except for one year where she decided to serve as an SSO for eight principals. And then she went right back to the principalship. She served she served at
sir Wauschau Sterling High School, Fleming Middle School, and, of course, ending her career at Phyllis Wheatley High School. In her thirty years in HISD, she has withstood and suffered the changes of eight superintendents. Sabrina has run through the finish line in her HISD career and will be leaving us June 6. I especially wanna thank Sabrina who had to go through the reinterview process for the Wheatley High School. She got the job. She did the job, and she took Wheatley from a d to a b in one year.
One more at hand for our four principals. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it. Should I go on, sir? Yes. Yes. Yes. Mr. President, members of the Board, I'll move right into the superintendent's report then, if it's okay. I'm going to ask two staff members to share updates about how we are supporting the whole child. Doctor. Ina Myers, Deputy Chief of Strategic Initiatives, will share a report on the co curricular experiences on NAS campuses, including the NAS student travel opportunities. But first before Ina Myers, Naja Callender,
Deputy Chief of Family and Community Partnerships, will provide an overview of HISD's continuum of care, which is how the district structures our support for students' nonacademic needs. Najah. Can you hear me? Good evening, board members. So I'm gonna talk a little bit about the continuum of care. We launched the continuum care framework, just about a year ago. It's an internal effort to improve how our departments have been working together and better organize how around how we want to provide services to students and families in the
district. The framework, focuses on identifying student needs, meeting those needs, and either doing that on the campus immediately or in the case of more complex or longer term needs, referring that student to a Sunrise Center or an outside community partner. The continuum of care really is about acknowledging the fact that, our work within the district, across departments, should be aligned and that we need to ensure to do that to ensure that our students get what they need so that they can focus on learning.
Today, we're launching a Continuum of Care Explainer video with the idea to just help families understand what the continuum of care is, what we mean when we say that, and how they can best access support. This is just the beginning of how we're gonna communicate with families more and more about how they reach, services in HISD. I'm gonna, take a moment to thank all of my colleagues that participated in this project. You're gonna see and hear from, quite a few different people. And so with that, I'm gonna start the video.
At Houston ISD, we believe that success in the classroom requires care beyond the classroom. That's why we're committed to meeting every student's needs every step of the way. Over the past two years, we've built a strong continuum of care. This continuum is a network of services designed to meet the academic, physical, emotional, and social needs of every student. Whether it's access to school supplies, health care, mental health services, or family support, we're committed to ensuring every student and family gets what they need to thrive. If a student ever needs help,
anyone a teacher, a parent, or even the student themselves can submit a student assistance form for a staff to connect with the right support. Now let's hear more from one of our principals about how HISD campuses provide these critical needs every day. At every HISD campus, we make sure students have everything they need to succeed. That starts with creating a strong foundation. Students have access to rich after school programs that keep them learning, exploring, and connecting with their peers. We also make sure that every child has what they need to come to school
ready to learn, from transportation to school supplies and uniforms to nutritious relationships. When a student is facing a challenge, whether it's needing a warm jacket, help with homework, or emotional support, we work to connect them with the right resources. It's all part of making sure every student feels seen, supported, and empowered to succeed. When it comes to physical health, we have nurses that can help. When students feel their best, they can do their best. We're here to make sure that access to health care never becomes a barrier to learning or success. Thanks to Hazel Health, we now have telehealth with Hazel Health providers when needed.
Together, we help students with many of the day to day needs. Sometimes students and families need more support than even the school can provide. That's where our district wide family engagement team comes in. We know that sometimes students and families need additional support. If you or your student ever need any help, you can always talk to your child's principal, teacher, or counselor. You can also submit a student assistance form or staff. You can also connect directly with one of our family connections specialists who work across schools to be able to provide the support and resources you need.
Or you can visit one of our family connection centers where we offer direct help, guidance, and resources to families facing challenges. Whatever you need, we're here to listen, guide you, and connect you to the right support. Sometimes, the help a student or family needs can be found right at the school. Other times, families may need additional support, and that's where our Sunrise Centers come in. Our Sunrise Centers are an extension of our commitment to care, offering families a wide range of services that go beyond what a single campus can
provide. Families can access food distributions, clothing, mental health counseling, school supplies, after school programming, health services, and help with transportation. We also work with trusted community partners to support housing, employment, and more comprehensive family needs. If we can't meet certain needs, we connect you with partners who can't. Every Sunrise Center has a dedicated case worker to ensure students and families get personalized support. Together with our school, we are committed to meeting the needs of students and families. At HISD,
we're here for your child and for your family. No matter what challenges you may face, we wanna lend a hand and help your students succeed. If you ever need help, just reach out. Thank you. I'm happy to take any questions you all have. Thank you. Ina Myers. Hi. Good evening, elected board. Excited to present to you guys today an update on how our DIAB program is going. As you know, this is part of our NES system. The, students in grades third through eight have access to a DIAD class twice a week for sixty minutes. And so I will talk with you in just a minute.
Is Is this better? Lean down a little bit? Okay. The purpose of Dyad is to make sure we're offering experiential learning opportunities to our students that help broaden their horizons and elevate their thinking. We want to bridge the gaps in educational access to ensure equity for students in underperforming schools. We also, use this program and strive to foster critical competencies that include informational literacy, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration. When we talk about the whole child, our DIAD program helps us not just focus on the academic success of our students,
but the whole child, and help them be well rounded individuals. In our DIAD program, we have four, what we call, buckets of the diet classes. You will see most of our classes fall under STEM, twenty first century media, fine arts, or fitness, and you'll see the percentage of our classes that are offered in each of those categories. Right now, we're partnering with 27 community members and organizations and entities that also come in and help teach these die in classes. We partner with, the YMCA, Houston Ballet, the Dallas, Houston Public Library, TAPS, the Lemonade Day Program,
YMCA, Astros, Girls Inc, Texans, Dynamo. We have a lot of outside partners who come in and help teach these courses to our students during the school day. Diet travel is a part of our program of diet. It's an extension of that opportunity to help us provide these equitable opportunities to our students, and this will include, our seventh and eighth graders at our 27 middle schools that we have in NES. What we strive to do is help provide experiences to extend learning beyond just the classroom. We want to foster that cultural awareness, that curiosity, independence,
and that global partnership. How do we help produce global citizens and get them ready for Destination 02/1935 and twenty first century learning is to help them have these experiences and close some of those equity gaps. Right now in each of our divisions, you'll see how many middle schools are traveling with us. We have six middle schools in the North Division, 8 in Central, 7 in South, and six in West. We put the numbers of students per campus that are traveling this year. How students will be eligible to continue to stay on the travel list is to make sure they have 92% attendance and then have no out of school suspensions.
So So we started out the year with a lot of students through various reasons. Students and parents have, either opted out or they have been taken off the list based upon their their behaviors for out of school suspension or for attendance reasons. So here's our campuses going in the North. Our student numbers and campuses going for Central, our numbers in the South, and our numbers in our West Division. Overall, we also partner with 24 outside entities for student travel. They come into our classes during Diag. We'll offer our students experiences. We've had a pilot come in,
talk to our students what's it gonna be like to be on the plane, what's plane etiquette look like, how do we conduct ourselves in an airport. We've had cultural experiences and partner with the Hispanic Heritage Group to come in and talk about the culture that they will be traveling to. And you'll see 24 of our amazing partners and through various and generous donations from our community members here in Houston and beyond, helping ensure our students have this opportunity. So right now, we have a 211 students going at 27 of our middle schools in NES model, which means 79 flights and four destinations. That is our presentation for our travel.
I'd like to thank a huge thank you to my amazing team, who has put a lot of work into student travel. As you can imagine, taking a thousand students anywhere, is not an easy task. So we have an amazing team ready to to provide this opportunity for our students, and we could not be more excited. Any questions? Yes. Thank you so much. So exciting. So I I see the list here. I just love for you to actually, you know, put it on record where where the students are going. And when is this? Or throughout Yep. Great question. We are traveling. It takes us several weeks. We're gonna start the May,
the June. As you can imagine, all the trips will kinda go out in staggered times. So sorry. We are going to Boston and DC, for our domestic trip for our seventh graders, and our eighth graders will be traveling to Costa Rica or Panama. So our first trip actually leaves on May 23, and we'll be returning I think our last trip's coming about June 14, but again, staggered trips throughout those three weeks. Thank you, doctor Munoz. Thank you. Okay. I would like to welcome Houston ISD Trustee, Samant Moore. Thank you for being here. Before we begin hearing speakers,
I just want to note that without objection from my colleagues, we'll be pulling Agenda Item 11, which is the district wide use of district developed curriculum from the consent agenda, so we can talk about it later. We'll now hear from a public official, student speakers and speakers wishing to address agenda items one through five and eleven. Please note that Spanish live captioning is available for those viewing the meeting via livestream and live Spanish interpretation is available in person in the auditorium. Public comment during school board meetings will only be available to those persons who have
signed up to speak prior to the meeting time per current protocol. Verbal and other disruptions by persons during the school board meetings are not acceptable as they inhibit the board's ability to connect business and the public's ability to observe those processes. Persons who participate in such behavior will be given one warning and if their behavior is repeated, they will be asked to leave the meeting. We have 68 registered speakers, who will be limited to one minute each per board policy as we have more than 30 people signed up to address the board tonight.
We ask that you stay on topic and refrain from naming individuals, especially students, as their identity is protected under law, but you may name your own child. I ask that you please respect our procedures and the other speakers and end your comments promptly when the time has expired and the timer rings. We'll start with public officials. Will HISD Board of Education Trustee, Samant Moore, please come to the microphone? Thank you for your service. Good to see you again. Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible mothers on the board in the room. We also have city council member from Brazoria County here.
Thank you for turning our houses into homes. To every teacher, we appreciate your hard work and heart. And to the young sister at Busch Elementary, we stand in solidarity with you. The district will address what happened with you. Superintendent, we respectfully ask that you be present at the consultation meeting. No staff member in place of you. The leaders want to speak to you directly. The community is watching, and we are hopeful that the commissioner will begin the transition back to elected trustees in June 2025. HISD is ready. It's time to end the state intervention and return the power to the people.
I wanna thank the principals at Wheatley and Fleming. I know them personally. I wish you well in your future endeavors. You did well for our neighborhood, and we are proud. And let us not forget why we have public comment at school board meetings, to voice concerns so they can be corrected. We've been Let's start collecting the issues and let's work with one another. Thank you. Next, we will hear from speakers who identified themselves as students when they checked in this evening. Speakers, please state your name and your topic when you step to the microphone. Ms. Smith, you can call our speakers.
Jalyn Carruthers followed by Annalia Espinosa. Hello. Good evening, board members. My name is Jalen Carruthers. I'm in tenth grade at Sharpstown International School, and I want to speak about the direction HRSD has taken over the past two years. School doesn't feel the same anymore. It used to be creative and engaging, and now it just feels repetitive and robotic. The best teachers, the one who makes learning exciting, are leaving or getting fired. They're stressed out by HIC strict guidelines and are allowed to teach in ways that works for the students. They're being replaced by teachers who follow orders but don't connect with our students.
And what I think HIC should do is teachers teach those replacements on how to connect with the students. And we're not asking for less learning. We're asking for better learning. We want classrooms that feel human again. HIC needs to bring back the creativity, connection, and care that helps students grow. Thank you. Thank you. Annalia Espinosa followed by Sophie Grace Rojas. Hello. My name is Annalia, and I'm sitting here not just as a student but as someone who cares about the quality of our education and the teachers within our district. These past few months, I've seen a lot of changes in not only my school but the teachers.
Although HSLJ is a non NES school, it's being affected, and so are our educators who are now stressed to struggling to keep the classroom a fun and engaging environment. And not just them, but us, the students too. Teachers are the backbone of our education. When they are being supported, we as a school can thrive. But with current situations, they seem to only be under extreme watch. And currently, we're seeing talented, dedicated teachers being fired in the go. And that isn't just a few numbers on a spreadsheet, but a huge negative impact to our entire school community. Studies show that stable and supportive teaching environments lead to better student outcomes.
So it's simple. Happy and stress free teachers create thriving students and better class environments for them to engage in. It's shameful that despite being teacher appreciation week, those very people are facing a dismissal by our district. If anyone should be given a pink slip, it should be those and reminding the heart of our education system. Thank you. Sophie Grace Robas followed by Micah Gebay, Douglas Hurley will be next. My name my name is Sophie, and I'm gonna well, I my mom wrote a poem about my favorite teacher because I don't know. I'm
I'm gonna say, oh my gosh. Can I start over, please? Sure. Go ahead. Go ahead. My name is Sophie, and I'm going to say a poem I wrote for my favorite teacher. I'm not gonna say their name because you you like to fire the teachers I love. In you in your classroom, I found a place where kindness lives and hearts feel safe. Before I felt lost in the crowd, no one no one slowed down. No one no help allowed. But you saw me. You truly cared. You taught you you taught with patients,
and you shared. You never rushed. You you helped me grow, and now I understand, and now I know. You respect the things I value even when HASD wouldn't allow you. You gave me space. You gave me time. You let me you let me you let me learning really wait. You let my learning really shine. It hurts to know that you won't be here. I really miss you. I really miss you miss you. They didn't see Go ahead. You can finish.
Go ahead. Go ahead and finish. Put mic if I go for it. They didn't see what we all see. The HISD is better with you. Thank you for making me feel heard and seen. Thank you so much. Good job. Douglas Hurley Douglas Hurley followed by Rose Hurley. All of the greatest teachers are all of the greatest teachers are leaving because of you, Mike Miles. What you started is ending. Now all the teachers do not want to be NES because of you, Mike Miles. So now do something good.
Make a good NES. Now nobody wants to go to the teen center because they have to do a lot of so make it so nobody has to do as many maybe just one or two. My teachers are leaving because of you. Everybody's favorite teachers are leaving because of you. And people want to leave and ask because we miss our libraries and our librarians. My sister, they have it able to under their book so their teacher won't get in trouble, and then they slide their book into their desk and pretend to do a worksheet when people
come in. Sure. Go ahead. She read it in the comments. That's okay. NES is very stupid. Plus, you're not even certified to be a superintendent. Mike Miles, you ruined our school. Asking used to be one of the best, fun, and happy schools, but now that it's NES, it's all ruined. It's not the best, it's not fun, and it's not happy anymore. Our printer, miss Park, has been printing papers since I was in kindergarten and probably even longer. Miss Park is one of the best grown ups at my school. In the first few months of school, she printed over 2,000,000 copies, which is a lot of wasted paper.
All of my old teachers are leaving because of you and the board. My teachers are sick and tired of any of us, especially not having our library. My teachers are super. They teach me so much, not with NES. Thank you. Michenka Bay, followed by Eliana Gottlieb. For as long as I can remember, we've always celebrated our teachers. But lately, it's been harder to appreciate teachers when we feel like we're not being taught. Lessons become slide shows, assignments feel like busy work, and a real a real connection is rare. We understand that teachers face challenges,
but students want more than just instructions. We want guidance, passion, and real teaching. Appreciation has to be earned through effort and presence. We're ready to learn if you guys are ready to let them teach us. Thank you. Eliana Gottlieb Calvin Warren Hello. My name is Kelvin Warren. I I am here to talk about the loved ones that are being fired. Their job is very important. They they help the kids who need help the most, but you seem to care about that about that.
What's that? Are you gonna fire on those two? If you keep firing yourself, stop, we will fire you. Thank you. Are there any other student speakers that haven't been called? Student speakers, please come forward. Please say your name. I'm Neliana Gottlieb. I just got here. My name should be in here in your register. Yes. Please go ahead. It's teacher appreciation week, so I thought I would keep things positive and thank the teachers who help students every day. I want to thank the ELAR teachers who let us read books even when the district says we need to complete AI generated worksheets.
I want to thank the science and math teachers who, despite everything, have taught us more with their unique methods than basic premade slideshows. I want to thank the history teachers who teach about what mattered in the past and create questions that make students think rather than giving us confusing answer choices from the district curriculum. I want to thank the librarians who give students the chance to learn and read even when their jobs are threatened by people who don't value their work and contributions. Finally, I want to thank the fine arts teachers for igniting passions in areas like music, dance, and theater, and believing in the value of a fine arts education,
unlike some people. Even though this year has been tough, we students can truly never thank our teachers enough. Thank you. We will call in person speakers for Agenda Items one through five and eleven. Speakers one through five actually, one through 10, could you please move to the front row? And we'll start with number one. Carmen Nuncio, please go ahead. Good afternoon. My name is Carmen Nuncio, and I have a message for Mike Miles. If you plan to close Jeff Davis High School, which is now Northside High School, you are gonna have a fight on your hands. You cannot just come into our community and do horrible things to our kids and
our community. I have mentioned to you before, please stop thinking about the almighty dollar and think about our kids' education. You and Greg Abbott, the millions of the billions of dollars that y'all are gonna be making off of our kids is horrible. I don't understand how you can sleep at night knowing that all of our kids are gonna be without a school. I don't understand how you have gotten away with so many of the things that you have already done to hurt us,
our kids, our teachers, and our community. And, I'm trying very hard. Thank you. Kathy Beasley. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I would like to speak about a teacher who impacted my life in HISD. In In second grade at Bonham Elementary, a new teacher came to school in October, and I was moved into her class. Her name was Karen Jackson, and she was like a breath of fresh air. She took interest in every child in her class. She was kind, caring, and made learning fun. She was wonderful, particularly for me. That year, things at home were not so great. Sometimes I was at school with little sleep.
I didn't focus on in class well, and in retrospect, I know that she noticed. Yet, she didn't treat me differently. I just wanted to feel normal, and she did that for me. She had the perfect gift for teaching and caring that HISD wants to erase. So thank you, miss Jackson, for giving the gift of you. Honorable mention to miss Margaret Stork from Sharpstown High School nineteen eighty three, and shout out to all the teachers at Sharpstown High School and other the other NES teachers. No matter what, you are appreciated. Thank you. Using their first initial, I'm reading notes from students to one of the many teachers who's no longer at
our school. L, I miss you so much that sometimes I think of you and I just can't concentrate in class without you. Z, you're an amazing teacher. Keep doing what you do. Don't change no matter what they tell you. E, thank you for always believing in me. T, you understand kids. C, you are my favorite teacher. I hope you can be my teacher again one day. M, I miss you so much. Without you, I feel lonely. J, You taught us that studying is like a game. Little by little, we understand how and what the game consists of, and then we keep playing until we become the best at it.
You taught us to never give up. Kids and parents appreciate good teachers. We're losing them because Thank you. Thank you. One child, one teacher, one book. One pen can change the world. Malana Youssaki's worlds remind remind us of incredible potential within each to make a difference through education, Encouraging children's curiosity, providing support to dedicated educators, fostering self expression through writing and promoting a love for literature can significantly impact societal progress. Exceptional educators are inherently skilled and recognize the equitable opportunities essential for the development of
every child. So why are we pushing out 60 educators at Northside High School? With these actions, you have stifled children's curiosity. You have failed to support teachers, you have diminished the joy of teaching and with at the same time, you've directed lot of funds that are meant for the students' future. I am a 13 Haichai's parent here supporting all our teachers on Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you. Michelle Williams, Houston Education Association. I'm here to deliver a thank you to all the teachers in HISD by letting
them know that they don't have to follow the recommended pacing or your NES curriculum per the Texas Education Code. Teachers do not have to follow the pacing recommended of designated instructional materials or pacing of the recommended or designated scoping sequence for a subject and required curriculum in a particular grade level based on a teacher's determination, that the students need more or less time in a specific area to demonstrate proficiency in the essential knowledge and skills that for that subject or grade level.
The teachers control the classroom. The teachers in HISD control the classroom. Not these people over here, not this board. You all are firing teachers in violation of the law, and I'm here to deliver the message today. Be free. We don't have to follow. Your curriculum. Thank you. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I'd like to use my time to recognize and thank some truly outstanding educators: Ms. Marci Arriaga, Ms. Catherine Perez, Ms. Vicki Evans, Mr. Daniel Davison, Ms. Kara Wallace, miss Savannah Newton,
miss Jeanette Lopez, miss Helena Epps, miss Stephanie Santos, and mister Marcus Hernandez. Your dedication, patience, and passion for teaching have made a lasting impression on my family. You welcomed my nervous kinder babies into your Lego filled classroom. You guided them through the pandemic. You taught them to read and love doing it. You helped them gain gain independence and foster the love of their favorite subjects. You got to know my kids and their quirks, and even on their worst days, you showed up for them. It'll never be enough, but I'll never stop saying thank you.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Board. Why aren't you asking him the hard questions? Why do you swallow his wise whole? Are you gonna buy whatever bogus excuse he gives you for the free fall in enrollment? He is a charlatan. At what point are you going to take off your blinders and admit it? It is the duty of every man as far as his ability extends to detect and expose delusion and error. Thomas Paine. Miles is broken and continues to break board policy left and right. You condone illegal electioneering. You ignore the voices who should carry the most weight,
the educators, the parents, the students, my two students, who have been begging you to listen to them. The arrogance and audacity you show to think you, inexperienced and clearly inept, know best. You're complicit in the ruination and bankrupting of HISD. Mary Wollstonecraft says, the beginning is always today. At any point, you can course correct. And maybe just as delusional as you though by continuing to hope that at some point you will actually listen to us. Hi. I'm Van Dun Tran. I'm speaking on community engagement. I'd just like to take a moment to say hi to doctor Gatewood.
You don't know me, but I've heard so much about you, and none of it is good. Assistant principal, doctor Gatewood, told the staff, quote, what happens at Sharpstown stays in Sharpstown, end quote. She wants someone to stop speaking in front of the board. Hi. What exactly is Sharpstown hiding from the community? Why does TJ Cotter get to spend $31,000 to paint a window mural, but students at a title one school don't get their federally funded free lunch? What is TJ Cotter hiding for you that he gets to buy 2,000 office chairs,
but kids taking the STAR test don't get water bottles or snacks? What exactly is happening at Sharpstown that we are hiding from the community? All the rest of the wrap around services were fired recently. IT stuff was cut this week. Over 700 teachers were fired or non renewed during teacher appreciation week. HAIC doesn't appreciate teachers, but the rest of our community does. Thank you. For new and incoming families, one of the first questions I hear is, How much has NES affected the school? Followed closely by but do we have to use that curriculum?
While the answer is unfortunately it's everywhere, we would love to be able to say that we use an accredited program to teach our children. Speaking of our children, cutting wrap around services is one of the worst things this board will be known for. Not only do they help provide food and uniforms, but they are in person to see what kids need without being sought out. When my school hosted a social to see Dog Man in theater, the wraparound specialist was a person who filled sponsored seats. She knew the kids personally and who would enjoy attending.
Several of the kids had never gotten to see a movie in theater before. The personal touch is what children need to feel cared for. Thank you. Speakers 11 through 18, please move to the front row. It's great that you're updating legal policies. It'd be even better if the district actually followed them. HISD has become a lawless place where policies are ignored. I've had to escalate concerns to supervisors, general counsel, and even file complaints with DEA and the AG just to get HISD to follow policy. Time and again, I've witnessed directives from district leadership that directly contradict board policies.
It's ridiculous that I, a parent, have to educate HISD employees on their own policies and Texas education code. Your employees are paid to know and enforce these regulations. You should be ashamed that parents have to constantly instruct your staff on how to do their jobs. What's even more frustrating is that once parents back them into a corner by citing policy, they fall silent on email, switch to phone calls, where they continue to argue without having to put those lies in writing. When I don't answer HISD numbers, they call from outside numbers. Other parents have reported the same.
This board can update policy all it wants, but it means nothing if they're treated as option Thank you. Good evening. I'm here on behalf of Wharton Law Language Academy and other specialized schools. I visual language at Montessori in our district. These programs don't fit a one size fits all model. They require tailored support to thrive, and they've served generations of techs and students with proven success. It is time to prioritize their unique needs in district planning, align leadership with campus realities to fix operational disconnects,
retain experienced bilingual, Montessori, and IB trained educators, our teachers, our unicorns, stop applying rigid curriculum mandates that strip away what makes these schools effective and unique. This week is teacher appreciation week. If we truly value our teachers, we need to back up to back that up with action. Listen to them, support them, and create an environment where they want Thank you. When you say happy teacher appreciation week, what is the difference between nice and kindness?
Nice being well, wanting to be well liked by everyone, and then well-being, actually implementing policies that will benefit teachers in the classroom in HISD and students that are in the classroom in HISD. You have today an update from the community engagement campaign ad hoc committee chair, where you do talk about, well-being. Where is the well-being? When I have spoken to students who were either suspended, initially, it kicked out of Northside High School, which as you heard earlier,
maybe even closed pretty soon or you're proposing to close it. At the same time, you're also kicking out the teachers whose children were suspended. In addition to that, you haven't responded to any of the grievances. Thank you. In addition to that Thank you, ma'am. Your time is up. Thank you. Ruth Hoffman Lock. Your time is up. Your time is up. You need to finish. You need to be done. I'm your time is up. You may you may be please be seated. I'm gonna give you one more warning.
Please be seated. Please be seated. Please be seated now. I'm give I'm giving you one warning, and then you're gonna be asked to leave. I'm asking you to sit down now. You're not sitting down. That's second warning. Please please leave the the auditorium. Please leave the auditorium. Please please leave the the the auditorium. Since Abraham Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs was published in 1943, it has become a foundational concept in the approach to both mental health care and education. Many of you have probably heard of it. What you may not know is that the article was titled A Theory of Human
Motivation. It described his theory that if an individual's most basic physical needs are not met, miss Lindner, that they do not develop a motivation to meet the needs at the next levels. The highest of which is self actualization or realizing one's full potential. HISD is supposed to be in the business of helping each child reach their full potential. That requires making sure that these basic needs are met because children do not have the means to do it themselves. Until this year,
wraparound specialists on each campus were doing that. Thank you. My name is Ilia Martinaldo, and I'm an angry parent. A child whose basic needs are not met is not able to access even the best curriculum. This is why so many school districts offer free breakfast to all students. Hungry kids don't learn well. It's not rocket science. Providing wraparound services is also not rocket science. The key to doing it right is not requiring children to figure out how to get their needs met. And the way to do that is to have service providers in the schools,
not in off campus silos. The administration's promotion of the hospital model to justify the move to Sunrise Centers fails to recognize one glaring problem. Nobody is ashamed to go to a hospital, but they are ashamed to admit that they need help with food, clothing or shelter. Even the youngest children know this. Thank you. Brandy Douda, Angry Taxpayer. The Kinder Institute's recently released study reinforces what we have all been saying for the past two years. Sunrise centers don't cut it. Most teachers do not even know they exist.
Telling a hungry third grader their parents can get food or shell shoes for them at a Sunrise Center is not going to help that child today. If ever, a campus based wraparound specialist can meet the child's family at pickup with a pair of shoes and food staples today and can register the Child for Backpack Buddies programs to make sure food is going home this weekend. Requiring kids to go to another location, who don't have a driver's license, by the way, to receive services puts the responsibility for getting the most basic needs met on the
child, and that is just wrong. Thank you. Kelly Blickery, disheartened parent. Telehealth services are important, and having multiple locations for families to access social services is a good thing. But these locations cannot provide the same support as school based specialists. The genius of the school based specialists is that they are in the same place as the kid every day. They develop relationships. They establish trust. Sunrise Center employees can't tell you which kids wrap up their classmates' uneaten lunch portions
to take home. They can't tell you which children are teased by classmates when they come to school dirty. They can't name the children who have already lost permanent teeth to decay because they are not in the same place as the students every day. Sunrise centers should be provided in addition to campus based specialists, not in place of them. Thank you. Sarah Rivlin. When most of the wrap around specialists were given pink slips last year, the remaining few were clearly set up for failure so the district could say,
see, they aren't serving that many kids. They aren't effective. Again, this is not rocket science. One specialist cannot serve as many kids as five can. Now that false argument is being used as an excuse to eliminate the whole department. There's nothing evidence based or child focused about that. It will not improve outcomes for children. It will increase dropout rates and DAEP placements, but nobody looks at those kids' scores to determine the superintendent's bonus. It will also lower ADA, which will be used to justify cutting even more from school budgets.
A budget that does not include reinstatement of wraparound specialists on every campus does not reflect the vision and values of this community and it is not consistent with Lone Star governance policy. It's also just plain Thank you. Ruth Kravitz and another student speaker, Andrew Flores. Good evening. My name is Andrew Flores, and I'm an HISD student. I wanted to speak out about the challenges, we're faced under the new education system. This year, me and my classmates have been overwhelmed with endless bad kids.
While some teachers have found ways to make them more engaging, many have stuck strictly to strictly to the format, leaving little room for actual learning. In my math class, for example, the teacher always insists following the NES format, but it often doesn't make sense to me. It's only when she takes the time to explain things personally that I start to understand this approach. This approach isn't just frustrating. It's hindering our education. We need more than just packets. We need teachers who can connect with us, who can adapt to our needs, and who can inspire us to learn. Superintendent Miles,
the current system isn't working. It's time to listen Keep going. Go ahead. Thank you. Ms. Ruth Prabitz? Good evening. My name is Ruth Kravitz. It's teacher appreciation week. I wanna thank the teachers who have served to shape my daughters, my students, and kids across the district. I'm gonna talk about three teachers very briefly. Thank you to the best science teacher in America who sent a gazillion kids to college and took in a homeless student living on Sand Dollar's Roof. Thank you to missus Mary Poppins, that's what I called her, who made every child feel loved and taught ninth graders to analyze primary sources.
Thank you to the most dedicated special ed chair I've known, perfect district scorecard last year from you, and who drove her autistic students home during the flood when even metro shut down. They're all leaving because of you, because you treat teachers like they're in the gulag and that harms kids. You deserve a pink slip or to change. Thank you. Thank you. Now we're moving to group a speakers on Zoom. Carol Ann Shipp. You'll need to mute your other device. Are you ready for me? Yes, ma'am. Please go ahead. My name is Carol Ann Shipp.
I'm a retired HISD teacher of thirty eight years of English and French with three friends over the district. Back today to talk about approval 11. Approval of district approval of district right use of district, right, developed curriculum. Many examples of current English curriculum are riddled with errors causing classroom teachers to spend time correcting these mistakes prior to teaching their lesson. These NES lessons are spreading to non NES campuses. Please go ahead. Teaching a partial synopsis of a novel with multiple choice can questions
will not enable these students to succeed in college, much less on standardized tests. Several distant studies have proved this to be true. Students need to read complete, discuss with their peers, certified teacher directed setting the right that are shared in a feedback session. Thank you. Laura Henry, please begin. Laura Henry speaking on agenda item 11. The agenda states the district curriculum was designed to meet 100% of the TEKS, but the test prep English curriculum you're about to approve ignores non tested TEKS.
In English two, these TEKS include one c, give a formal presentation, Four a and five a involving self selected tech 10 a, composing literary techs, and most of 11, research. Next time you go into a tenth grade English classroom, look deeper than compliance. Ask a 16 year old to double space the paper, TEKS eleven one. Go to another classroom and ask a student to research something. Can they go beyond the search engine results page? Have they written creatively or presented this year? These are TEKS. Miles embraces test prep saying you shouldn't test what you haven't taught. Morath tells the senate that STAR doesn't need to be explicitly taught.
Natalie Wexler says an overfocus on skills limits knowledge building. Teachers will tell you if HISD kids can read, they lack the vocabulary and knowledge that support comprehension. Where is that in the curriculum? Do the research, deep dive. This mismatch of AI commonly in UCLA is not the strongest English curriculumization. It's test prep garden and it doesn't meet fatigue. Thanks. Sarah Terrill, please begin. Is it any surprise that Mike Miles chooses Teacher Appreciation Week to send out termination notices? He skips irony and moves right to cruelty. A few of the real educators leaving HISD
I'm sorry. Are you talking to me? A few of the real educators leaving HISD, An Ivy League educated three time teacher of the year, a special ed teacher whose daughter panicked because her dad is not only losing his job, but also won't be at the same school with her anymore, a beloved track coach who has a toddler at home, a teacher who English language learners go to when they need to cry, and a French teacher who helps bilingual students become trilingual. These are the kind of teachers that Sophie wrote her wonderful poem about and Calvin
choked up about. And as Sophie says, you fire the one she loves. Thank you. Melissa Arbero, please turn your camera on. Hi. I had to step away from my child's performance. I mean, you know, he's about to go on, but, wow, y'all chose quite a thing to schedule all these events. Anyways, I'm asking the board to vote no on item 11. Do not approve the district wide use of the district developed curriculum as a teacher who has used it and as a parent whose kids are subjected to it daily. This is this is not about the takeover, by the way.
This isn't political. This is not about Mike Miles. This is about the level of education that my children are receiving and that their peers across the district are receiving. Angela Flowers, as a fellow teacher. You know this is low quality, and it's not even a real curriculum. It's just a set of disjointed test prep lessons that are poorly structured. For the other eight board members, and if you don't understand what I'm talking about, please sit down with someone and talk. I'm willing to sit down with you and explain what a curriculum should and shouldn't
look like as a profession. Test item 11, vote no. The parents of HISD are strongly against it. The teachers are too. Don't do this to our community. Thank you. Doctor Pamela Vovland. Here. Go ahead. Doctor Pamela Vovland here. And I would like to respectfully request in lieu of termination your resignations. You have spent the last two years absolutely allowing, superintendents to run rough shot over our budget, to sell our property, and none of that supports our children. You have consistently
had bad fiscal policy and a a large amount of union busting. It is ridiculous that you are still in place. Any other job, you'd already be gone. Thank you. This concludes our speakers for Group A. Group A speakers. Great. This concludes our hearing of speakers for Agenda Items one through five and eleven. Next, we'll address the discussion of reports of items. Item two, which is acceptance of the report from the Board Audit Committee Chair. You have a report to go through, Ms. Linder?
Thank you. Colleagues, in your packet, we've, presented we include the, latest audit committee report for April. So, I hope everyone's had a chance to review it. Items of note, we are, tracking to complete the audit plan for, this year, for twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five, as planned, with a change that we've noted already, which was ProCard program was, was postponed. And now it'll it'll actually be included in the upcoming audit plan for 2526. There are a couple of outstanding,
in progress audits that, everyone, including the community, can see posted on on the HISD website. That schedule is, was, refreshed after our board meeting or, I'm sorry, our committee meeting. And, the other item of note, that I'll call out is the, proposed audit plan for 2526. Those items are listed in the report, but to call those out, IT cybersecurity governance policy assessment, business operations construction services, the contract contractor selection through closeout process.
For purchasing services, the ProCard program, as I mentioned, which was, postponed from this year. And then for, business operations, an audit of maintenance and repairs activities, and then, finally, an HR, audit for employee selection and onboarding. So I have any questions or any items of note from from my colleagues? Any questions for our members? Okay. Thank you. Okay, great. Well, do I have a motion to accept Item two, Acceptance of the Report from the Board Audit Committee Chair? You may need to So moved. You now need to, wake up your computers.
Yes. Hit My Computer over there and then you have to log in with the log in. How we doing? Yeah. How we doing? Everybody up? Okay. We have a motion and a second. Any other questions or comments? If not, please vote. Okay. Voting has closed. The motion passes. Item number three is an update from the Community Engagement Campaign Ad Hoc Committee Chair. I will now hear from Board Member Rolando Martinez, Chair of the Community Engagement Campaign Ad Hoc Hoc Committee. Thank you, Mr.
President. And I want to recognize, obviously, Cassandra, who is our Co Chair as well for the Committee. Last month, April 11, we invited all of our high schools to come and participate in our second student engagement session. From my understanding, it's probably one of the rare times where we ask as a Board, we invite students to come and provide feedback about their experience in HISD. And so we invited them, 66 students, class presidents and vice presidents attended. The event, great feedback from our students, fantastic. I can tell you that none of them held back, good and bad,
indifferent. We really appreciate their feedback. So you have the report in front of you. So a couple of things I'll highlight is the one thing that was very clear is that students appreciated school choice. Like that was very clear. They appreciated school choice and they felt like this year they had more access to a lot of on ramps, advanced placement courses, so a lot of preparation for post secondary. The one suggestion they did make and the one recommendation, again you'll look at all the details but just overall was that in some campuses there's not immediate access to a counselor to provide some guidance to post secondary colleges
because of the fact that they do share counselors across some campuses and especially the comprehensive schools where they sometimes don't have enough to cover all of the seniors at least again that's their experience as well. But overall they credited Emerge, dual credit, on ramp, CTE partnerships. They talked about the pathways, all of that has been a very positive thing. They really did appreciate that aspect of our district at this time. And I try to correlate the report to our Board outcome because that's important, right, our Board goes. So that's related to goal number three.
Now when it comes to goal number four, I think this can be dependent on the campus with regard to accommodations. Some felt like they had a lot of accommodations, some felt like perhaps it wasn't enough for them. So that's something that we should look at as well as far as goal number four. And then just overall some strengths depending on which I think the challenge is that we are a large district and it's not always consistent across the Board in all of our campuses as far as experiences. Some felt like teachers were much more willing to support them, engage in true relationships while others felt like changes across the District had become a
little bit inflexible, maybe a little bit too strict. Again, mix of everything. What I would say is that, again, this is an opportunity for them to provide feedback. They appreciated the opportunity. They felt heard because it wasn't just Board members, but we had school admin present as well, school leadership. So that's important to that administration heard, they felt listened to. A couple of changes for us is making sure that we have a clear line of path in the sense that they understand what we're going to do with the information, how we use it here at the Board to ask questions during GPMs, budget cycle, things of that nature and they really wanted more time.
Although we allocated two hours, 66 students for two hours and also provide lunch, it's sometimes challenging, but it was a great opportunity. And I think this is perhaps one of the greatest opportunities as a Board that I have had to be able to meet with our students, ask questions and ask them for real feedback from their experience. So thank you to all of our students who participated and thank you to our Board members who also attended as well. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Okay. Let's see here. Okay. That was just an update. So the next one next item is
the acceptance of the Board monitoring update presentation of the goals. Number three, progress measures 3.4, three point five and goal progress measure 4.1, four point two. Yes, sir. I'm going to ask Kristen Hall and her team to come up and present this monitoring report. I'm gonna give it a second to sync so that you can see it, but it's it's ready to go. They're working on it. We're gonna switch computers and test something different. Great. Okay. Perfect timing anyways. Okay. So today we're going to talk about GPM's three point four,
three point five, four point one, and 4.2. I'll go ahead and start with goal three and then I'll turn it over to Stacy who who will pick up for goal four. Just as a reminder, goal, GPM three point four and three point five looks at a fourth through eighth grade map, and this was an additional set of metrics that we added at the most recent board meeting. So this will be the first time we've reported out on three point four and three point five as a progress monitoring report. Goal three overall focuses on the percent of students graduating TSI ready with an industry
based certification. And so looking at fourth through eighth grade reading and math scores, we believe, is an indicator that students will become TSI ready by the time, they're looking at those results in high school. 3.4 specifically looks at the percentage of students in grades four through eight who are projected at meets grade level, or above in reading on the NWA map test. And that percentage, we the target is that it will go from fifty one percent in May 2024 to fifty nine percent in May 2028.
And so if you look at the graph on the left, what we see is that at the end of the year last year, we were at fifty one percent of students who were, meeting expectations or above, or projected to meet on STAR. And then at the beginning of year and middle of the year this year, that number has increased, which indicates that we're on track to meeting our end of year goal, which is fifty three percent, this year at end of year. Then on the right, what we see is a breakout by grade. And so across all grades, we can see that at middle of the year last year compared to middle of
the year this year, we have seen a percentage point improvement across all of the grades for the percentage of kids in MAT projected to meet or exceed grade level. We also broke out the analysis in more detail, and we looked at both student groups, all the different student groups. And we also looked at it by NES versus PUA campuses. So if you look at the graph on the top left, what you see for all students is that, we saw an improvement of middle year scores this year compared to middle of year
scores last year. That growth was more significant in NES than PUA. But across the board, we really see across all student groups, both NES and PUA were growing middle of year this year compared to last year with the exception of, the student group that is classified as two races, two or more races. It's we're gonna keep focused on that student group, and, however, it's also the smallest in count that we measure. So we wanna make sure we're looking at that in proximity of the larger total number of students that we look at for this score.
But really great to see increases across the various student groups in both NES and PUA in this particular breakout. We also looked at some of the root causes as to why we believe we're getting the growth that we're getting across these grades. And a couple things. One, the curriculum does focus on the science of reading research that has been published. It's designed, both to take a strong focus on skills, outlined in the TEKS and take a strong approach to knowledge building. Additionally, for NES specifically, we actually have an extra block of time specifically focused on the science of reading.
So we both have a block of time focused on reading and writing, and then a second block of time focused on science of reading. And we write curriculum for both of those blocks so students get additional support in literacy. Additionally, we implemented the dual language implementation the first year, that we started. And each year, the dual language has expanded to a new grade, so more students are getting to access, dual language. And the goal of that is truly biliteracy, so becoming English proficient while maintaining proficiency and improving proficiency in your native language.
When we implement dual language, we actually write, curriculum for both, a general ed class and the dual language classroom so that every dual language teacher has access to instructional materials that embed a significant amount of language supports for those learners. So, that's that's a truly added benefit for, all of the students who are going through that program. We also, of course, continue to focus on quality of instruction as well as additional targeted supports for, NES through the differentiation model,
for the FOCUS 25 PUA campuses where we provide additional professional development and support, and then for all new principals, coming into the principalship. So that that also remains a focus in grades four through eight. For 3.5, it's the same metric but for math. So the percentage of students in four through eight who are projected meets grade level or above on map, and that that will increase from forty one percent in May 2024 to forty nine When we look at the graph on the left, we ended last year at forty one percent.
So the target at the end of the year this year is forty three percent. We are already showing that at the beginning of the year and the middle of the year, we're exceeding that goal. So, we do currently believe this metric is also on track. When we're looking on the graph on the right, we break that out by grade level and we see increases across all grades from middle of the year scores last year to middle of the year scores this year, so showing that higher percentages of students are meeting, expected to meet expected growth on STAR. Similar to 3.4, we also broke out this analysis by student group and by NES and PUA.
Again, if you look at that top left graph for all students, we see that middle of the year last year compared to middle of the year this year, we saw a five percentage points increase. That increase is slightly higher in NES than in PUA. But, again, across the board, we're seeing growth in the middle of the year this year compared to last year for all student groups, with the exception, in NES, the two races group saw a slight decline. But, again, that in count is small. And for NES, the the in count actually doubled from last year to this year.
So the number of students in that group is actually growing, even though the percent reduced. So we're going to stay focused on that group, but generally across the board seeing growth in NES and PUA across the various student groups. In math, again, we remain very focused on instructional materials and and the curriculum. The curriculum focuses on both building a strong conceptual understanding of the math while simultaneously building strong procedural fluency. And in math as well, we also have the the support for the dual language, classrooms. So those classrooms have a very specific set of materials that build in those language
supports, into the presentations. In secondary, in particular, in middle school, we have a strong focus on accelerated math pathways. So for all students who are meeting grade level expectations, they're put on an accelerated path that will allow them to do Algebra one by eighth grade. And that's true for all campuses. In addition, we have 10 campuses where we're piloting full school accelerated math, models where we expect all students, to be taking algebra one, by eighth grade. In addition, and this is actually true for our for for reading as well,
but we have a strong focus on, evidence based digital resources. So in addition to the instructional time, we implement digital resources where the data shows us that with high fidelity use, we will see improvements on MAP, and then ideally STAR. And we have improved the fidelity of use of those resources, and we've remained very focused on analyzing the effectiveness of those resources that, we, are pushing out into our campuses. So we have, a K through eight, math and a K through eight reading set of digital resources that we support.
Similarly in math here, we've remained focused on the quality of instruction and the additional professional development supports for the campuses that, need it most around the FOCUS 25 and any campus with a new principal. So I will pause and open it up for questions. Our mayor's questions? Go ahead, Adam. Couple of questions. I'm having a little bit of difficulty falling. The the numerator and denominator on the totals for students don't seem to add up, and I'm trying to figure out where the missing students are. Can you are you talking about this slide? Yes. Both on 3.45
on the totals. So if you look at all students, it says 55,000, but it's only 45,000 on the top and Yes. We can check on that. And then we set these goals for 3.4 and three point five after MOI, right? So and I had some conversations, but these, we're already exceeding the goal, so I'm trying to figure out how it ended up that way. All of the goals are based on the end of year results. So we're exceeding the goal at middle of the year, but whenever we have set any goal progress measure,
we have set it based on end of the year with the goal to grow by end of the year the following year, given that's when we also take STAR. Right. But these are new goals, right? So for this particular section, so we actually set those this year, correct? We set them this year, yes, but the end of year results were already completed. So we set them this year based on last year's end of year results. But we already knew middle of the year and beginning of year was higher than the goal? Yes. Okay. So I guess where I'm trying to go is,
is it that the so we got a new goal. We knew that we're currently exceeding the goal, but we set the end of the year goal lower than the beginning of the year for this year? We looked at the end of the year results, and we set targets based on that end of the year. And we have we very well could see improvements in performance at the beginning of the year and the middle of the year. But the end of year is when we took star last year. That's what drives accountability. That's what drives ratings. We want to make sure we improve from end of year last year. And that's why, again,
the end of year goal still is an improvement from last year. And if you look at the trend line, if I had, you can see we're shooting for two points a year, from a 41 in EOI last year to a 43 in EOI this year, 45 next year, 47, 40 nine. So it's consistent. We happen to do really well in the NWEA test this year. Remember, at the middle of the year, it was 10 points on average higher in math than last year.
So, the kids did well in the middle of the year. But setting a target based on end of year, the methodology is two points a year for five years, which would be really strong. Sort of. I agree two points a year, but I'm just saying if we're already at 47 and assuming that students don't drop off by the end of the year, wouldn't it be prudent for us to have set a goal that was higher at least? Because we're now on the third or fourth year in achievement on this goal.
I guess that's where I'm having a hard time. Because this is this is achievement goal. Right? Yeah. If this is a proficiency goal, yes. And I think a couple of the things, it's not I mean, even if you look at middle of the year last year, it's not uncommon for it to fluctuate throughout the year. And I think, again, what we stay grounded in is that MAP helps us project whether or not our kids are expected to meet expectations on STAR. And that ties directly to a campus' accountability rating. It ties directly to the work that we're trying to do.
So to improve two percentage points on STAR from end of year last year to end of year year is still a rigorous goal when we saw declines in math and NAEP and we saw declines in math across the state for math, and we saw across all urban districts, star declines in math. And so I think this still keeps us at improving two percentage points in proficiency levels, so two percentage points more students will meet grade level expectations at the end of year last year compared to the end of year this year.
Thank you. Can I chime in? I think the question that's not being asked is, should you set it higher? And I think what I I hear you responding to the question, but I think what I hear you saying is we set the goal for a steady incline, and what we are seeing is not a steady incline, we're seeing a jump. And so I think the question is, one, is it normal? Should we expect a steady two two point incline? Will it jump up and down the whole time? Are we trying to meet the end goal? And say we keep jumping.
It flies this year, it flies next year, it flies the next year. How do do we change our goals based on these mid year points or is your suggestion that we just wait out the steady incline? I guess the question is, wow, we did this great job. How come we don't keep moving the needle? Can you explain to us the logic about matching the real numbers with our goals? I think the primary logic in setting the methodology was set it at the end base the target based on end of year results. And then if we ever exceed our 2028 goal,
because that's our five year goal, then we should reset the target to be higher. So that's actually why you saw a number of the targets get reset the last time, which is, hey, if we've already exceeded our 2028 goal, clearly, we should continue to push the district to move to higher proficiency levels. Let's reset the targets. But, in discussions, the recommendation from the TEA board coach and the recommendation that came through a couple of discussions was that we only we set based on end of Y results and
we only reset once we exceed the 2028 target. If you continue to reset, I think, every time, all the time, you don't actually see the benefit of years' worth of work. So even though it's really high, it hasn't exceeded the end goal. So that's the mark that would might spur us to make a change if we had jumped the 49, but we haven't jumped that yet. Thank you. Can I add also two things? One, philosophically, the first semester after the first NWEA mid middle of the year, you may recall, I wanted to change the targets.
And we've always tried to set really high bar on achievement. We had to wait for the Board to come back and approve that, but the intent was, A, we're already hitting doing a great job, let's hit, let's shoot for higher targets. And half the reason we came back last month and now this month is because we want to be more rigorous. Number two, we shouldn't expect 10 increase or in this case, five point increase every year. That's incredible for our kids to do.
That's not replicated across the state or the nation. And that's why the professionals Please refrain from making comments. That's your first warning. And so we should not expect the huge star increase that we got every year, especially when all the other districts went down. So the fact that we went up five points middle of the year from last year, we should be careful to say that's what we should do every time. Any other questions? Thank you. And just to address this one because I had this question as well.
Thank you for bringing this one up. I appreciate the explanation, and I understand the explanation for, like, how and why the baseline was set. I really want this problem, like, every time we look at this, which is we're exceeding, like, beyond measure. I think that, you know, the the to to your comment, you know, what what's normal? Like, I've I accept that this is not normal. Right? This is unprecedented. And so I just wanna celebrate things like this and the challenge that we're having here as a fabulous problem that I wanna keep having. So thank you.
The the, The results broken out and and thank you to the committee who helped us get this school progress measure to see the the grade level breakout four through eight. I I find it really interesting that we see these, growth numbers that seem much higher in the six to six to eight grades versus the fourth and fifth grades. And, again, growth. Fantastic. But what could you what could you say what's going on there around seeing the higher growth numbers in those higher grades, and what is what should we take away from that? We've thought about that a little bit. And in the root cause analysis,
it's part of why we did bring up, the two things around accelerated middle school math. So, even last year, we had curriculum for accelerated sixth grade math and accelerated seventh grade math that we made available to the district. And that really allows the students in those accelerated courses, to really cover more than a year's worth of TEKS in that year. And that curriculum guides them and helps them do that. When students get access to that, even in seventh grade, we believe they're actually more likely to be successful and prepared in eighth grade and
then sixth grade and seventh and so on. So the middle school accelerated math, I think, is one, hypothesis for what can be supporting this. And the other is the digital resource use. So we do actually have evidence that shows when students do, in math in particular, when they complete three on grade level lessons a week, using the digital resource, it significantly will improve their scores. And so we, put more emphasis in making sure we were monitoring that with fidelity, and we saw campuses, and many students across many campuses,
reach that goal every week, which, again, will significantly improve their scores. So, elementary had already been operating with digital resources at slightly higher fidelity than middle school last year. So we saw some middle school improvements of that this year. But I think both of those are, good hypotheses for what's driving the middle school results. Thank you. May I ask the same question for the for the, reading? I think it's not as exaggerated, but but it is it seems notable there too. Yes. The digital resource, response is also true for middle school,
and secondary as well, where we had a higher fidelity of implementation of those resources there. And I would say, because we have that additional science of reading block, students are getting that additional exposure to that lesson. The other thing that happens is our curriculum is designed to be knowledge building. So every unit is based on a topic of knowledge. And the more you build your knowledge in a space over time, the more you're able to access more complex texts that come in the future.
So we do think that knowledge building over time will have, an additional impact on students being able to access more complex texts. I have, just one clarifying question and then a maybe more complex question. On the Science of Reading you're talking about, is that done four through eight? So this double block is halfway point. It's, in the NES Master Schedule, yes. Okay. And then, question for you. So these targets that are being reported here, I've got I see your asterisk at the bottom. It relates to the the linking study.
Actually, it's from 2024. Right? Is that right? The, they're up these are updated numbers. This is not the same set of numbers as was adopted during March. Is that correct? Or these are those? So the there's two separate things to say. The, results from last year is data using the updated linking study information. That's really the only way we thought we could compare apples to apples end of year results last year with the beginning and middle of year results this year. So last year's results are using updated data.
And then the targets that, are shown here are based on the end of year results that are shown here that are also in a separate item for you all to approve tonight. Okay. So the targets, we put those because they align with the end of year results we showed on this slide, so that we could compare last year to this year. Okay. And so just from a transparency standpoint, what would it do to last I just don't remember or have that report from last year. What did it look like last year as compared to these numbers?
We can look that up, but we can't compare last year to this year because we don't have MAP scores this year with the old linking study. Cut scores. Yeah. I just mean, like, the 51%. I'm looking at page four. The percentage of four through eight students that are projected to meet plus on NWEA math. The what I can tell you is it was higher. So when when end of year results last year got updated for both reading and in math, the end of year results increased.
So, I think it was eight, it was I think it was eight percentage points in math where end of year results went up last year when the linking study was updated, if that's what you're asking. So yes. Thank you. You clarified it for me. Yes. So other people understood. Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. I have a couple of questions and maybe it's just basic and maybe it's just me. And I think just to correlate, go back to Board Member Adams' question. If we're increasing beginning of the year to middle of the year, help me understand why we would see a decrease at the end of the year. Does that make sense?
Like if we're like I'm thinking we're learning more throughout the year and then all of a sudden it goes down. Like what help me, Megan, it's a basic question that maybe I'm not understanding. I think the way I would think about it is every year at BOI, if we increase, that's the percent of students who are projected to, to meet or or exceed on STAR. At middle of the year, if we see an additional increase, that's even more students who are projected to meet. At the end of the year, if we saw a decrease, just a lower number would meet.
So even if we held flat, it would mean all of the students that have already seen that increase would maintain their proficiency growth at that same level. Does that make sense? So, like, if I'm Susie and I'm projected to meet at the beginning of year, I would have to maintain that projected meet at middle of year and end of year for me for us to hold flat that bar. So are we saying that lesser students or fewer students are not holding on to that projection at the end of the year? And while If it drops If it drops,
yes. There would be a decrease in the percentage of students projected to meet. Our hope, of course, is that it wouldn't, but it can vary. Right? If you see last year They're very flat. Even with us seeing significant improvements in STAR, we saw it stay flat, from beginning, middle, and end of year. And that really could mean that right at the start, a lot more students were projected to meet at the beginning. Even this year, you know, with the improved instruction, we saw an increase of students projected to meet, and we hope that that would still hold consistent for that same group of students
throughout the year. Okay. All right. Thank you. And I have one more question. So I know, Superintendent, you've mentioned that 95% of the campuses are using HISD curriculum. Is that correct? We have a report here that we'll show you. And it's I don't know if it's 95, it's close. Okay. So my question would be because I've always I think my concern is that we're not seeing the increase in PUA campuses and granted generally speaking they're going to be more proficient already so it's going to be harder to close that difference. But if we're using the same HISE curriculum at PUA campuses,
why what would be the reasons why we don't see those increases at the PUA campuses as well? I do think this shows that we're seeing growth in both. And I don't PUA campuses all across the board adopted at different amounts and at different times. So at NES, all at once across reading and math and all grade levels, they started on day one. In PUA campuses, you might have had a campus change in the middle of the year. You might have had them do a different curriculum the first year and adopt in
the second year. And every time you actually have a change, typically actually across the nation, when someone adopts a new curriculum, you sometimes see them go down before they go up as they're learning the new curriculum. So, the implementation at PUA has been, less standardized because PUA do have the option to choose. And if I can add, just to repeat over and over again, it's a system and the curriculum is just one small part. It doesn't teach. We NES has learning coaches.
They have teacher apprentices. They have different discipline policy. They have more, more experienced teachers or more effective teachers because we've incentivized that movement, and several other things that, that help build the strength of it. And that's why you see, schools like the special focus schools wanting to do not just the curriculum but other things. Like we talked about last time, they want the apprentices and the learning coaches. So that that may be may be one reason. Yeah. And I would agree to that.
I think, you know, research has shown the more people on campus the more effective people on campus, right, the better it does show outcomes. So that's that's that's my question. And, in some PUA campuses, they implement the first teach portion, but they don't necessarily do the LSAE portion. So that's also even when they adopt and they choose to adopt, they can choose that first teach portion of the curriculum without doing the differentiated LSAE part. And so we see that across them in UA as well. Let me, just one more. One of the questions was about the 10 schools. That's a great I know we talked about it,
that's a great opportunity for some of these students who have not had access to advanced courses. So let me just thank you for that as well. Of the 10 schools, how many of them are NES and how many of them are not? I don't memorize that. Is it nine are NES and one is not? Okay. And how was that one selected? I'm just trying to understand the the the is it just I'm sure there's a reason, right? We looked at a couple of things. We had, divisions talk with different schools to see who was interested in doing it. And when we rolled it out, we actually wanted to have folks focus on making sure they had a really strong
sixth grade math teacher because that math teacher was gonna have to move from just teaching sixth grade math to teaching sixth grade accelerated math across the full school, which means you teach 100% of sixth grade standards plus half of seventh grade standards in one school year. So we asked, for in the selection process both to make sure campuses were committed because it is a and interested because it is a kind of a full school implementation, and we actually wanted to make sure that those sixth grade teachers were gonna be
ready. I had some questions back to the math, and back to that, 14% jump. One question that the online, digital platforms that you said are are part of the solution, when and how do they happen? And I don't mean nitpicky from school to school, but, like, is this in class? Is this is it, like, is it homework? What is that? There's a specific thirty minute block built into the master schedule, where three times a week you do the math digital resource, and two times a week you do the reading digital resource. And we set that time based on what our digital resource partners tell us,
that students need to be on the tool for it to work, essentially. So when we in math, our partner is Zearn. Zearn has a significant amount of data that says if you implement three on grade level lessons, you'll see that increase. And so that three sets of on grade and really it's actually two, but you see an even more exponential growth at three. So that three, sets of digital lessons takes about thirty minutes per lesson equates to the exact time we create in NES for students to participate in that resource. And so then in PUA schools,
if they're using the platforms, that campus makes their own implementation plan? Yeah. NES schools, are respond they have autonomy over their master schedules. Right. PUA. Got it. Hold on one second. I'm sorry. So the the campuses that did the full scale, change, did you do any pull out to see what happened with their numbers? And I was wondering if a disproportionate of that 14 jump was because, like, well, 30% of it was, like, was it all concentrated in those schools? Did y'all pull out and see the difference?
We have so whenever we implemented the full school, middle school advanced math pilot, we started this year in sixth grade. Those students will expand to seventh grade, and then in another year, they'll expand to Algebra I. So what we have done is we've pulled all of the middle of year results for just those 10 campuses, and we compared them to the middle of year results for those who are not doing the advanced math pilot, and we saw that they were equally successful, with the exception of one campus that had a couple, a teacher retire we had a couple teacher turnovers for that particular class.
But across the board, in middle school, the middle school pilot, the success of sixth graders at middle of the year was just as good, and in some cases better across multiple different math metrics compared to other campuses in the district. Compared to the ones that didn't do the the year and a half accelerated. Correct. Comp yeah. And so you're saying it was the same? It wasn't high much higher? It depends on what metric you look at, because in math in math, we look at four typically, we look at four different metrics. We look at a couple growth metrics and a couple proficiency metrics.
So there was some variation, and some schools really actually were higher. Some were more on par. So we looked there was a different, yeah. The good thing I hear in that is, no, that 14% jump was not because these 10 schools blew it out, and that masked something else. What you're saying is across the board in the different ways we implemented that 14, Rosa. The 14% is eighth grade. The full school pilot is sixth. Right. But we have focused pretty significantly across the full district on making sure all kids
Yeah. Who are meeting grade level in fifth or sixth are still taking accelerated math in sixth, seventh, and then again Algebra one. Got it. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. Alright. I'm a pass over to progress for. I think we're gonna have to figure this computer out again. We cannot see it. We cannot. It just went off a minute ago. We, do not have it. Really is informing our goal, four, which states that students in grades four through eight who receive special education services will achieve growth as measured by domain two part eight of the state accountability system.
And we're looking from an increase from 63% from August 23 to 78% in August of twenty twenty eight. In order for Texas Education Agency states measures growth by a student advancing in at least one performance level in reading or math from that previous year, or maintaining meets or masters grade level in reading math for that current year. So you can see, based on last year's results, we did outperform our goal,
and tonight we're looking at our goal progress measures specifically around students with disabilities that inform that goal four, which is the percent of students in four through eight with disabilities that have met expected growth from beginning of year to end of year, in NWEA MAP reading. We'll see that increase from forty eight percent in June 2024 to fifty five percent in June of twenty twenty eight. And so you can see that, when looking at students with disabilities,
that we are on track, to meet that goal. In the end of the year, or in the middle of the year, we were at fifty percent of our students meeting that goal, so we had, actually met the end of year target in the middle of the year. So that's a great we're on track to meet that goal. You'll also see the breakdown, just like Chief Hall went over, the breakdown of the individual grade levels, and so you can see our students with disabilities met growth in four grade levels,
and there were no declines in, for our students with disabilities in the area of reading. As we break down those student groups based on PUA and NES, you are going to see that, our student groups of Asian, White, and Emergent Bilingual, have, had did not show the amount of growth as expected. And so the in size of the Asian group and the white group are smaller in size. However, our students who with disabilities who are identified as emergent bilingual,
did see, did not see that growth as expected. And so part of looking at this data and going through this process is look at reviewing the data and analyzing what can we do as a district, to as we see this data, and how do we intervene prior to that end of year timeline, so that we can meet that growth. And I'm gonna go over a few of those items with you, as we speak. Like Chief Holes, special education works collaboratively with the academic team.
So all of the thing and we have to remember that our students are general education students first. So all of the things that Chief Hull, spoke about, our students with disabilities definitely have access to those things. But what are we doing specifically in special education, outside of what is already being done overall in the district academically for all students? Well one thing that we did is worked with our academics team, specifically in the NES in the curriculum, looking at the scaffolds to support our students in that daily instruction.
How do we build scaffolds into the curriculum so that we can accommodate and differentiate for those different, learners. We did, of course, focus on reading, and, like Chief Holes spoke about, our teachers, our special education teachers, attended, the Texas Education Reading Academies, and so that was something that special education teachers did. The other piece to this is, and we continue to focus on this, because this was something that as we looked at, past years,
really training our teachers on what is special education. Our students who are identified as students with disabilities not only have a disability, but they have to meet that two prong process to qualify as a student with a disability, and those prongs are number one, they have to have a disability, and then two, they require specially designed instruction, meaning that going into the general education classroom and just receiving accommodations isn't quite enough
for them. They require that individualized education program. And so we really have spent this year focusing with our teachers on what is specially designed instruction. If you have a student that has an individualized education plan, how do you implement that in your classroom, and how do you look at progress monitoring? And we're continuing to look at, our goals of our students, every report card to see that they're making progress, and if they're not making progress on their IEP goals,
we go back and reflect on that. And so, moving on to math, you'll see that same outline. In math our students with disabilities are really achieving, and you will see that they've already, if we stay on track, we're going to, exceed that end of year, that end of year goal. You'll see that there was a great growth in math across all grade levels and the overall trend suggests that we're on track to achieve that,
goal to meet our star goal four. Looking at our student populations, again, you will see, the students based on NES versus PUA, and you will also see, I do wanna bring this up that even though our enrollment is going, our numbers are declining in special education, we're continuing to see an increase in students with disabilities. And so you will see in those district numbers, the increase from, last year to this year,
and the students that are identified. Again, looking at those N sizes for Asian and the two races, those are small groups, but also knowing that we have to continue to monitor those groups and make sure that they're progressing just like the other, groups of our students. Again, this is really the same information that I just spoke about as focusing on specially designed instruction, and really looking at how the reading academies are also impacting our math scores,
well, because we're targeting that literacy. You'll see that our students do, do better in math, because there, again, there's a lot of accommodations that they can receive in their math classes, as well as on their state assessments that help them grow in math. And so, again, going back to that specially designed instruction, that's something that we train our teachers on to say, what are the accommodations our students need to be successful, and how are we implementing those,
and, with fidelity in our classrooms. As we adjust our strategies, looking back at that emergent bilingual number, working with academics and the emergent bilingual department on how can we, look at those scaffolds that we've already started, and add to those scaffolds to address our, the linguistic supports of our dually identified students who are identified as a marginal and special education. Any questions? Any questions? Go ahead.
Can I just ask why, thank you first of all, but why do we not have beginning of year for our Special Ed reporting? That's a great question. Because one of the reasons is because we're really looking at comparing middle of the year to middle of the year, but we can get the beginning of the year for you. I think I think And add it to that. Yeah. Just so same data. Thank you. Great. Go ahead. Just I do believe I heard you, say that you have a plan or you're gonna seriously monitor the numbers that we have in the Asian and the I think it's the two race group.
Yes. It's just I just wanna make sure that we continue to monitor that, right? To make sure that we have some some sort of a plan to to take a look at that because the numbers are just really Definitely. Although the in group size is small, those can though that group, the Asian group specifically is, contained to about 26 campuses. And so we're reviewing that campus information to see how other students progress. Is it specifically, a school progression versus a subpopulation progression.
And so we're looking at that. Thank you. The thing that I wondered about is what's going on with I appreciate you calling out the increase in students with disabilities from year over year. It seems also though that our total number is sort of like maybe for that increase, it seems like it's decreased in our NES schools and increased in our PUA schools. Could you help me? Like, what's going on what's going on there, and then what does that mean for maybe the services we're providing and other challenges we have with those numbers fluctuating like that?
So, yes. We continue to identify students across the district. We have this year completed about, 3,600 plus referrals for special education. And so right now, our total special education number is around 22,000 students. And so we're continuing to increase that identification. We are, seeing an influx in identification at our PUA schools, so what we're doing to address that is really working with our NES schools to
say, let's look at our kids, look at the percentages of identification, Are we we don't wanna over identify, but we don't want to under identify either. It's a it's a slippery slope. So we're we're definitely breaking down those numbers by campus to see if there are any issues, with identification as well. So so it could be something like, some maybe more attention or or more attention towards identification at some schools versus others? Maybe POA versus any any aspects of differences there?
If I'm picking up what you're We don't have a root cause quite yet. Yeah. However, looking at the numbers, there definitely has, there's a couple of things happening too in identification right now. House bill thirty nine twenty eight, which is the dyslexia law where we had this year is our end of the year where we have to, evaluate students who were receiving Dyslexia services under five zero four, and evaluate them for special education if their parents, consent to that.
And so we're in the process of that as well, and so that could have an influence, not necessarily PUA or NES, but that could also have an influence on that identification number. So looking at that trend, we are going back and looking at individualized campuses to make sure that there isn't an identification issue at any campus. Part of this also, to make sure I'm understanding this, we're talking about students with wide ranging Right.
Needs. Right? So we might be seeing, let's say, more students, like, identified with, for dyslexia. But there's all sorts of needs across, our our our student population here, so I guess it's another thing to consider. I appreciate you explaining this. Sorry. I think I'm processing this out loud. Thank you for that. I appreciate that answer. Could I also ask about the the growth, numbers, which, again, this is amazing. Great growth numbers. I really appreciate seeing this period. But the difference between the growth numbers we see in reading versus math, is there something there that that we should take away from this around why we
see, like, a higher growth number in math in our in our in our students with disabilities? I think it's two fold. Number one, I would say that most students with disabilities have some type of reading disability. And when we look at our identification that they're struggling more with their reading than they are math. That could be one reason. The other piece to this is that, math is, more conceptual versus having to read and so our students,
a lot of our students with disabilities are visual learners and are able to process that. And so that's kind of, our estimation of what we're seeing, but I also think that, like Kristen said, just about our high quality instruction, I want to go back to that because most of our students are served in the general education classroom. So when they're getting that high quality first teach instruction, that's also impacting our students with disabilities just like we're seeing in our general education,
and then we special educators tap in because we help with that specially designed instruction. So if you're not making that progress, what can we do differently than what you're getting on that day to day to really fill in the gap where that disability is impacting your learning. And that's that's special education. Thank you. Sorry. No. I don't expect the answer now. I was gonna say, I'd appreciate being able to go back to understand that shift in NES and PUA,
like, end numbers or end counts from year over year. Yes. We can I don't expect to see that now, but it'd be great to be able to to maybe revisit that? Okay. Thank you. Can I put a point on that? Sure. And just to be clear, the middle of the year, twenty three-twenty four, those NES campuses were the NES campuses of that term. Correct. And then the middle of the year this time is more campuses. So in addition to the number, there's a number of campuses which presumably had students with disabilities in them. Correct. And so that should be represented here.
They would have shifted, that entire campus would have shifted over to the NES. Yes. Reporting here. Okay. Thank you for the presentation. I, will start by two things. One, in the chart that's before us, the number of Black students seems to be at a higher rate than in the PUA area, so NES versus PUA. Seems like the only category that's dramatic. I just wonder about, that and your thoughts on that particular piece.
As far as the identification or the, I think just what, we spoke about as far as the identification, when looking at these numbers, we know we're increasing across the district, but we are going back and looking at that data by school to see what, the percent for each school as far as identification for special education services to really conduct an analysis to see are we, over identifying, are we under identifying, and making sure that our campuses have the supports they need if they if there
are students that are struggling and they feel like that there's data that represents a need for them to be evaluated for special education, making sure that they understand the process and what that encompasses. Because year over year I don't see a great increase in the number of black students, NES, NES, and I see a decrease in PUA to PUA. So it it it just raises, you know, an alarm for me, a small one. It'd be good to to get some information on that. Yeah, I can follow-up with additional information on the identification across campuses.
And the and then second, I'd like, if you will, to help me marry the goal and the goal progress measure and how these two connect, because we've got a goal to hit seventy eight percent in five years. But then when I look at our targets for the GPM, they're they're much lower. And these two are measuring the same thing, correct? So our goal progress measure, if we're projecting what we're projecting in our goal progress measure, same like,
what chief whole spoke about is we're utilizing map to project what star what we're going to do on star. Mhmm. Even last year with our students with disabilities on, the meet on the growth area, At the end of the year, it we achieved higher in STAR than we did on NWA MAP at the end of the year. So if we continue growing on NWA MAP, our projection is that we are going to meet the standard that we set on
STAR. Got it. So and if I can use my own terms just to make sure I understand. Because we just got a linking study saying that, you know, these things are now close more closely aligned. Right. It may be the case that in Special Ed, that link still isn't fully merged because what MAP is telling us is 55%, whereas our goal, our actual, performance at the school level and STAAR is different, is higher. I think I'm following you. I'm not sure I understand your question.
Okay. And I think Kristen is the linking study only impacts the projected proficiency to STAAR. So it would not impact Yeah, not growth. It would not impact a student's ability to meet their growth target. Got it. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. Right. Let's I'll take a motion to accept the Board monitoring update on goal three, progress measure 3.4, three point five and goal progress measures four point one and four point two. Probably have to hit my computer again on your,
Oh, you're fine. You're good. Not you. Not you. No. This is I'm having a little trouble here. Here we go. I gotta log in again. There we go. Okay. So we have a motion and a second. Any other questions? If not, please vote. The motion passes with, eight yes and one no. Okay. Next item on the agenda is, the item five, which is consideration and approval of the new coal progress measures targets. I think we talked about that a bit. Is there going to be a broader discussion?
Board members? Any well, it was pulled off the consent agenda. We talked about it. There were questions answered in the Q and A. Is there are there questions that board members have about this item? That's why it was somebody pulled it? I pulled it. I asked if we could get a broad overview from Chief Holt. Let's do that. That would be great. Perfect. Alright. Thank you. So, this item is a proposal to update a set of targets in the in a set of goal progress measures that were impacted by the MAP linking study.
So, last year, all data was, received from MAP was completed through end of year based on the linking study that MAP had provided us. And then, we used that data, the end of year data, that was produced for last school year to set targets for the next for the upcoming year. In the summer, after the data was completed, MAP released a new linking study, that basically better aligned MAP projected proficiency targets to STAR.
So going forward, all the data that MAP produces will be based on the cut point set in this new linking study. So, because when that happens, it makes it to where last year's data, which was based on MAP's old linking study, would not be comparable apples to apples with any data in the future compared to MAP's new linking study. So, what MAP and general researchers recommend is that we go back to previous year's data and update it based on the new linking study.
So that is what we did. We went back to 2324 data for BOI, MOI, and EOI. And we updated the MAP projections based on MAP's new linking study. And then we used that to propose an updated set of targets. What this allows us to do is compare MAP results in an apples to apples way from last year and going forward into next year. So it makes the targets, be set based on the study that's going to apply to all future data. So when that happened,
we looked across the board, and there were a set of targets that had been approved where we had to take that revised end of year baseline, update it, and then reset targets based on that updated baseline. There were a set that, again, are not impacted because this linking study impacts any metrics that projects proficiency. But it doesn't actually impact what Stacy just showed, which is, you know, projecting their expected growth target. It also didn't impact some of the GPMs that had nothing to do with MAP.
So, what you see in this item is a recalculation of end of year results from last year based on the linking study, and then the new targets that were proposed. One question. So, as I understand it, we used the same methodology to set the new targets. We just shifted that based on the linking study. Is that correct? Mostly. So we looked I'll walk you through the rationale for all of the target setting. So one of the questions that,
the Board asks all the time is, how do we know that the GPMs will lead to the overall goal? And so, what we did is we said in GPM one point one and two point one, that is a MAP GPM. That is a proficiency measure of MAP. And that ties and can be compared a little bit more apples to apples with our overall goal, goal one and goal two, which is a proficiency measure for STAR. So the way that we set that 2028 target is we said that 2028 target
for MAP will align exactly with the 2028 target for STAR. And then we'll backward MAP from there based on where we are today, and where we are in the future. And that will ensure that the proficiency metrics in that will get us to where we need to go for the proficiency measures in STAR. Then, if you look at one point two and two point two, they're also proficiency measures, but they're only focused on NES schools. So NES schools have historically been behind the district in proficiency.
So the way we set targets for them is we said they must grow as fast as the full district. So if the full district is on track to meet that end of the year start goal, NES campuses also have to grow at that same rate of proficiency as the full district does, as a way to make sure that NES campuses keep us moving in alignment with the STAR goal. So, the growth of the full district matches the growth targets of NES. And then,
the last, bucket of GPMs is, sometimes we have a GPM that doesn't align with the STAR goal because it's just a different type of metric. So, the STAR the overall goal actually, what we just did today is a good example. In goal three, goal three, the overall goal is TSI readiness, which is typically looked at in eleventh grade and IVC attainment. But we actually looked at fourth through eighth grade map, So we didn't have a goal three to connect our MAP goals with. So in that situation, what we did is we said,
what is a rigorous proficiency goal to set for a district? We looked at the state scores, We looked at all urban district scores, and we looked at NAEP. And across the board, if we grow two percentage points in proficiency, we far outperform all of those three categories, state growth or state increases in proficiency, urban district increases in proficiency, and NAEP increases in proficiency. So two percentage points was a rigorous target to set for all of those proficiency metrics where we didn't actually have our own goal to directly connect to.
Does Does that make sense? Those are the three methodologies that were used in this proposal. Philosophical question. And this is for you or a superintendent. But when you describe the, monitoring and the goals for NES campuses, if they're, incrementally increasing at the same rate as the full district, one of our goals here is to close the achievement gap. And so, I'm wondering if one of you can address that. I have one thought is they actually have to grow more sometimes to even reach proficiency growth. So to increase we have higher volumes of students that are not meeting,
grade level expectations. So to increase their, their proficiency levels at meets expectations or above, you still have to see, a lot of growth and sometimes more than a year's worth of growth for those students to meet proficiency levels. So it's a the NES metrics are proficiency metrics, which oftentimes requires significant growth because they've been so behind in proficiency levels. And two other things. We know through lots of, data that kids who are further behind have a harder time raising
their achievement than kids who are already proficient even though they have a longer runway. And so asking them to, really outpace kids who are already proficient is probably a little unrealistic. The last thing I would say is you know it's not just this metric. We look at other metrics and you can see in the last exams in NWA and STAR are, kids who are behind are growing more than the proficient kids and that's for a lot of reasons. We are overcoming some of that.
So we are closing the gap. And I'm not disagreeing with that. I'm just asking if that's the purpose, which it is, how does that reflect in this? And if the answer is that it's because to achieve the, like in 1.2, achieve 49% of grade three students meeting grade level, it's more it's actually more of a growth, than achieving 56% in our overall, set of kids, then that I think answers my question. Thank you. Any other questions? Just go ahead.
Ladies first. I just had a question. Thank you, Chief Ho, on timing. I just wanna make sure I'm following here. Because, you know, as the Executive summary states, we, just updated GPMs two months ago. So the and I remember this as, a point for me personally because I remember the conversation around the linking study we had was tied to, like a 2020 version of STAR previously, I think. And and that was, kind of an asterisk to us understanding how well it would,
a map would actually forecast how well students did on STAR. So this new calibration study, is that what we're calling it, was released or sorry, linking study was released in July of twenty twenty four? Yes. Okay. So just understanding process of how you and your team work. Why didn't we do this before we updated goals in March? So, I mean, that's just my question. Because it seems like we're redoing something we just did, and I just wanna call a thing a thing. It is a good question. We knew about the linking study,
and we knew we were gonna have to make sure that the projections followed. We just were very set on not changing historical data at the time. We used the data that we reported out historically in 'twenty three-'twenty four to set our targets. We had to go recalculate all historical data to do this, and, you know, we just didn't we set the targets based on the actual data that we saw at 2324 end of year. So in retrospect, we would have updated all 2324 data
sooner, but we didn't change the data that we knew we reported out to the public accurately at end of year at the time we set the targets. Okay. So now we've done that? We have done that. Okay. So these targets so this so we reran all 2324 data based on the new linking study. And actually that's why, you heard some of the questions around, did the end of year results from last year change? And the answer is yes, based on the new linking study. So the new linking study set different cut points for for,
how students were projected to meet STAR to, again, ensure that MAP stays aligned to STAR. The MAP projections stay aligned to STAR. Yeah. And I guess that's the question that Audrey asked and I wanna re ask it so I make sure I'm clear, now that we're having this conversation. So how did that recalculation impact end of year results? Yeah. '23, '20 '4 end of year assessment results. It did increase them. So our scores last year, we had a higher percentage of students who were projected to meet STAR.
There's a lot of things you could think about that. I think one thing is when when TEA released the new STAR test, they did things that, I think, some would say increased the rigor of the test. And so, when MAP's linking study was released, the cut points for what were projected to meet on STAR were lowered. And so, more of our students met them, which showed an increase in projections. But because we've updated historical data with the new linking study, it should be equally rigorous for us to hit those targets,
because the old data has now been updated to the same cut points that are required as any new data going forward. Okay. Yeah, I mean, that's a great story that we did better than we thought, right? I just want to make sure of Yes, yeah. Thank you. Adam, do you want to go ahead? Yes. My mic is numb. Thank you again for your presentation. I was just trying to marry a couple things. So on 4.3, is it true that we're looking at third through eighth? Yes. 4.3 let me go back. 4.3 was a metric that was not changed in March,
so we actually didn't update the metric. That metric was always third through eighth. But because it was a map metric, we had to change the target itself. So 4.3 actually wasn't on one of the the list that we just updated. It it got added, because of the linking study update. So 4.3 historically whenever we looked at the the GPMs, one of the things we did was focus on GPMs that had CGI within them, and this wasn't one of those.
This one also hadn't reached our 2028 goal. So when we actually looked collectively at all GPMs, this wasn't one that we touched at that time. We brought it back, again, because it was a proficiency metric and therefore impacted by the linking study. Got it. Thank you. Thank you again for the information. What makes it challenging, obviously, when we're changing metrics, it's hard for us to for me I'll say, I want to speak for me to kind of track our real progress. So that's challenging. But I want to talk about the 2020 goal that we're trying the target that
we're trying to reach. So if I look at the ones that were approved in March, '1 point '3 in particular, our target was 50 let's see. I'm sorry. Give me one second. Yeah, 1.3. Our target was 56. The new proposed target is 51, which seems To be fewer I mean a smaller amount. So tell me the logic behind that because if I'm just taking math, right, basic math, right, 1.3%, our baseline was 41%, our target ultimate fire rate was 56%, that's a 15% increase. But here, we're only seeing a 9% ask. So tell me about those. That's because when we were trying to set targets the first time,
we were really anchored on, let's make sure for GPMs GPMs, our target, whenever possible and whenever it makes sense, aligns directly to the overall goal. So I think, goal one and goal two are good examples, where one point one and two point one, they are proficiency map metrics. And that aligns directly with a proficiency star goal. And therefore, the twenty twenty eight target and the overall goal matches the overall goal for the GPM. We tried we originally said, let's follow that methodology in one point two and two point two.
But when we actually looked at it, that requires a proficiency jump just for NES schools that is far outpacing what we think is is is potentially achievable for NES proficiency. Because if we think about the bands, right, we have does not, does not meet approaches meets. We have much higher volumes of kids in the does not meet than in our PUA campuses. So to set, to have our NES campuses jump to the same proficiency level as the overall district was a was a really high percentage point jump.
So in this version, for NES campuses, when we said, hey. We're looking at just NES campuses, we want them to grow proficiency. We wanna keep that target high. We're gonna keep them on pace to grow at the same rate as the district. So you actually can see here is in 1.1, the the target they right now, the end of year actual is 47 and they jumped to 56 by the end of the year at 1.1. That's nine percentage points of growth. If you look at 1.2, just NES, they start at 40 and jump to 49. That's also nine percentage points growth.
So we had them follow the same growth rate that's expected of the district. Yes. I was asking about 1.3 in particular. Oh, okay. And there's other GPMs as well. So yes. So one point three second grade, that's a second grade proficiency metric. And and so we're projecting at in second grade what they're gonna do by the end of third grade. So to say at the end of second grade, they're at the same, proficiency level as, end of third, I we said that that that's a big jump for second graders to get to
the same to grow at the same rate as third graders in proficiency. So that's where we said this metric doesn't actually directly align to the overall star goal. So then we focused back on the methodology of the two percentage points proficiency increase in a given year for a given group of students, which which was back to the same methodology we took with, you know, three point four and three point five where the metric itself didn't directly align to the goal. Just to be clear, we're not changing the goals. Just the project just the measures, the end of the goal,
trying to align with the new data that was, connected with this updating of the data relative to matching what STAR might look like, right? Correct. None of the the GPMs that we're talking about now have changed from previous. It's just what we said as the 25, 20 six, 20 seven, and 28 target. Okay. Anybody else? Okay. Let's, so may I have a motion to approve Item five, consideration of an approval of the new goal progress measure targets? I'd like to say something. Go ahead. Oh, I can get your motion. Go ahead. We have a motion and a second.
So is there any other, questions or comments? I guess there is. Yes. Yeah. I, I will say I specifically talked to our coach about these. I think she answered or we can answer, as well. But I specifically asked her if she supports this, and has done the math herself, and she said yes. So Okay. Good to know. Okay. Let's go ahead and please vote then. The motion passes, with one abstention and one no. Okay, the next item is item 11 I believe which we pulled and that relates to the approval of the
district wide use of district developed curriculum. Is there a that was pulled, I believe. Martinez? Yes, thank you, Mr. President. They answered some of the questions in the Q and A when we got this past Monday. Give me one second. Let me pull them up real quick. I know we've talked about superintendent, you've talked about how teachers have a lot of opportunities to provide feedback, which is fantastic, through the process. Some of the response to the question was about some of the recommendations that they suggested. I guess the question I would have is, of those recommendations what has been implemented throughout? I know there was a reference to GT further instruction for Tier one.
Can you discuss maybe perhaps the other recommendations to what extent have they been implemented? Yes, I could pull that Q and A. But one of the things, for example, was the integration of novels. And so in third through eighth right now, all campuses are reading a novel. And and, in fourth and fifth, they already had one novel. In the curriculum, we've added a new one. And then next so everyone's going through that right now. And then in next year, we're looking at a second, especially in sixth through tenth. And so we even actually we we run these focus groups generally around the spring to prepare for all of
the writing for the following year, but that one in particular we implemented more quickly, as one example. And I know you've mentioned in the past that we don't go through the state because we would have to then suspend any changes or hold off, is that correct, right? It's one of many reasons. Yes, but you're right. So I appreciate again the fact that we're making these changes on an ongoing basis. Can you share with me a little bit about how we actually make those corrections? Who makes them? What resources do we have whether external or internal people, companies, vendors that help us to kind of create this curriculum?
The majority of the changes are implemented by our HISD curriculum design team. So we have dedicated writers for every content area and grade band and in some instances, multiple writers. So all of those groups of people come together. And then for every content area and grade band, we have the writer, and then we have two or three additional people that come together for what we call a brain trust, who also give feedback on every single lesson that's produced, vet it to make sure, it's out there.
And then all of those writers will typically go and walk campuses. So that's one good way where they can visually see how the curriculum is being implemented based on what they're writing. That allows them to continuously improve. And then we have Mr. Miles and Chief Massey continuously, calling us and giving us feedback for how we can improve. So one example of an improvement is I'm sure he does. We welcome it. One example of an improvement is, our writers add a lot in a lot of resources and materials into the presentations,
for our teachers. And one of the things we also want to make sure teachers do is get directly to that learning objective. So we've actually done things to make adjustments in the materials themselves to help them get right to that learning objective right away. Sometimes that actually requires removing stuff. Sometimes it requires visual cues to help them know how to stay paced and stay on track. So everything from, you know, like high level agenda slides to clear breaking points in the presentation where we're saying, Hey, this section should take about fifteen minutes. This section should take about twenty minutes.
Visual cues to help the teacher, with pacing, so that as we're walking and we're seeing, Hey, we we want to see them get to the learning objective faster and get through the lesson so that kids can get that in-depth independent practice by the end of every class period, then those things we can embed into the curriculum to, again, help that teacher. So those are examples of things that we've done real time as we, as we hear them and see them based on implementing in the field. And and if I can add, I I talked last time about the close integration of curriculum and instruction,
instructional practices. That's the real magic. It's a huge undertaking. It's been improved over the last two years. We're still working on it. It's not riddled with mistakes. It's a really good curriculum and, even today, we're working on the nuance of this close integration of curriculum and instruction. I was at Shadydale. They were doing a great job. The curriculum was good except fourth grade language arts. The differentiation between the l the the learners and the s two's, the kids who are secured and proficient,
was not as strong as it should be. I picked up the phone and called Paige, so that they could work on it. And that happens, you know, so that we perfect it. It wasn't bad. It wasn't there wasn't a mistake. It just wasn't as tight of differentiation. And as a result of that and because we provide all of these materials, you asked earlier, the schools that are using the numbers. So two fourteen campuses are using the curriculum in at least five or more subjects next year will use it next year two fourteen in five or more subjects.
An additional 41 campuses are using the curriculum in one to four subjects. And only five campuses are not using the HISD curriculum at all, not counting the early childhood centers. There's a couple and then there's Roberts Elementary School, Cultural Elementary School, and Lamar High School. So and then most of that, because there's only a 30 NES schools where it's required, is because the teachers in the schools wanna use it. And, they don't have to, and and they're using it.
It's a good curriculum, and it will continue to be a strong curriculum. And we will pay for Amplify, Eureka, and those others that are on our approved list, but they're choosing this. I have one more question but I forgot. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Can we get a motion to approve Item 11, Approval of the Districtwide Use of District Developed Curriculum. We have a motion and second. Let's go ahead and vote. The motion passes. All yes. Okay. Okay. We are going to take a break. I know a lot of people have been sitting here for three hours so, we're gonna take about a fifteen minute break and we'll be back in a few
minutes. Okay. We're, ready to get started again. Let's go ahead and, get started. We will now hear from our remaining registered speakers beginning with those who are in person, for both the agenda and the hearing from the community. They will be followed by our speakers who are in Zoom. We will call in person speakers to microphone the groups beginning with speakers number one through 10. We have seats in the front row now reserved for the for those folks and the next group of speakers as well. So please occupy those seats if you're up next. Please state your full name, before you begin your remarks and please come to the microphone and the number,
order of Group B. Thank you. I'm sorry to interrupt. Go ahead. Doctor. Benzon, is Adita Sage Bittner available? We're calling for student. Yes. Okay. And then we have in person speakers before we come to our stage. Let's go ahead and do that one first. One student. Perfect. Go ahead. Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Start Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead. Hi. My name is Anita Sage Bittner. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! I've had awesome teachers in HRSP. Certified and experienced teachers, not subs. They helped me learn math. They helped me learn math, reading, and writing, but also how to work in teams,
lead, and be kind. My mom was one of those teachers. She had a doctorate, tutors at kids in math, coaches volleyball, and really understands how kids learn. But you took her out of the class in Westgate because she spoke up. You continue to reassign or fire others who challenge your authority. I'm just a kid, but I know that firing great teachers hurts kids. My friends in younger grades deserve amazing teachers too, not long term subs for hard classes. Even high schoolers are saying the same thing. You're not listening. Mr. Miles isn't helping. You should give him a pink slip,
and maybe look in the mirror too. Thanks again for appreciating teachers. The best way to do that is to stop pushing them out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In person speakers? First up. Good evening, everyone. I am Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. Today, we honor our teachers not for the lessons they taught, but for the strength they've shown. In a year where creativity was stifled, where we were not given the space to teach freely, and where constant interruptions, every four minute spots, every disruptive IRT visit that made their jobs harder and they never should have been,
you still showed up. You stood tall, focused on your students, and gave your best. Through the frustration, exhaustion, and lack of support, you continued to care, to teach, and to lead with grace. That was not professionalism. It's heart. To every teacher who pushed through when it wasn't easy when it would be would have been easier to walk away, thank you. You have done a fine job. You have done a remarkable one. We see you. We appreciate you, and we thank you deeply. Happy teacher appreciation week from the Houston Federation of Teachers.
Thank you. Speakers two through nine. Next. Good evening. Good evening to my fellow educators. I'm doctor Coretta Mallifontno, and I'm here I stand here today with the deepest respect for all the educators who serve the children of Houston ISD. To be an educator in any capacity is one of the highest acts of public service any individual could give to society. I sincerely appreciate those educators who lead with love and have a pure desire to serve all the kids in HISD.
Though times may be difficult as you give your very best each day while navigating such tyrannical working conditions in classrooms and offices across this district in its project twenty twenty five form. Please know that the good work you do, your pure efforts the good work that you do, you pour your efforts into the I'm sorry. Please know that the good work your your, your pure efforts into daily into the daily, lives of kids has not gone unnoticed. Thank you.
We in the community see you. We thank you, and we pray for your continued success through these perilous times. During teacher appreciation week, when teachers are being dishonored in Houston ISD, HFT and the Houston community stand with you. We see you, and we believe that your faithful efforts will be restored. We honor your service and sacrifice for the sake of the students at Houston ISD. One morning time is up. Take that mic, would you? Thank you. Jane Taylor. Please go ahead. Please respect the next speaker.
Thank you. Hello, board. My name is Jane Taylor, and I'm a proud HISD grad and a parent of two students who attend Hamilton Middle School. My question to the board today is about should should a child's ZIP code determine the quality of their education? The answer for me should is a resounding no. My family is from what we call South Park, Texas. I know a lot of you are not from Houston. I'm a Houstonian, and it's a working class community, the home of the fighting, the mighty Falcons and Sterling Raiders, back when we had schools that we could be proud to be educated at.
I believe every student in every ZIP code in every neighborhood in Houston should have a great public education experience. For me, that looks like students having proper resources that they need to learn, rigorous education standards that prepare them for a competitive future, and lasting and lastly, investing in school culture, which so many kids today talked about being missing from our school. Thank you. Thank you. Your time is up. Thank you. Laura Rojas. Thank you. Thank you. Do you guys have the resources I sent in or the copies?
Okay. Can I get two minutes? No. You can, it's one minute for speaker. Okay. Go ahead. I do agree I should not be on my campus next year. I do not agree I should not be here at Houston ISD. I'm a strong teacher capable of growth. My summative score last year was a 74 at the Accomplish. I grow my students. This year in MOI, I had 30 kids double digit growth on MOI. I also had 74 students pass, or I'm sorry, pass MOI, show some kind of growth. I my struggle is I do not have support.
As a science teacher, I had to internalize slide decks with new science takes and curriculum that didn't always align with curriculum and conflicting district expectations and campus requirements. On tenthree, I went to a PD where you guys the district presented a coaching video. At that time, I had not been coached by my admin team. That was two months into the school year. At that time, I made a meeting with my appraiser and addressed it. Thank you. Cora Noel, I wanna talk about that, news item from yesterday.
Houston family demands action after second grader allegedly assaulted at HISD elementary school, which is my daughter's elementary school. What I found especially galling aside from it happening at all was this part. The school stated that their hands are tied due to TEA's current management of HISD. This makes it sound like you've stopped the teachers and administrators from acting on their own to help. Why? And why did I have to learn about this from the local news and not from your office coming to us parents with a plan of action on how to address this and ensure safe practices in the future?
Communication is important and being proactive would go a long way. Why would you demand high attendance rates, but fail to make sure our children are safe while they're in your care? Why would you drastically reduce the availability of counselors, wraparound specialists, and nurses who can see and address these types of situations? It's almost like you want the district to fail. Now we parents didn't hire you, but you work for us, and we say that failure is not an option. Thank you. Pictures here of what happens around Shadydale since I live in that neighborhood. Please don't start the clock because this is just for you,
a superintendent. They had trucks there, telephone poles they were building, they were doing infrastructure, telephone poles waving over our heads, round the corner, Winfield Road, little two little schools you got over there. Thurgood Marshall, which is a primary school, and then YES Prep. Terrible. Couldn't even get a flag, man. Dollars 40,000,000. Houston isn't growing, baby. You can look and tell it's not growing. Why? You have horrible schools. One thing I wanna thank all of you. My older sister isn't live moving here from Altadena, California. She prefer she prefers the burn Chris Altadena and her neighbors to the drama that's
going on in these three schools. A thousand thanks, Mike, because she is horrible. Thank you. Thank you. Hi. Hi. My name is Devonna Trimble. I am a parent of two students that attend NES campuses, and I am happy with my kids' school. While the additional resources may be improving learning outcomes, I have not seen it improve my kids' social and emotional development. Our students are carrying more than just backpacks into the classroom. My child has ADHD. In my experience, my son's campus does not have the appropriate resources to support the diagnosis.
Academic success is dependent on the whole student's well-being. If we do not address student mental health, we are not just affecting their test scores, we are affecting their lives. Five zero fours and IEPs are a start, but things can be improved. Our schools need more trained counselors, social workers, and mental health support. I am asking you to prioritize just as much funding for the social and emotional development of kids as you do for their academic development. I urge you to prioritize resources for Thank you.
Anna Lizuriaga and Jessica Campos, are you present? Anna Lizuriaga and Jessica Campos? Okay. We're gonna move to Zoom speakers. Doctor. Binzon, please go ahead. Teacher appreciation week. But while some children are blessed with certified teachers, too many are left without. While some teachers endure the chaos of Miles' NES experiment, many skilled, seasoned certified have been driven out by a toxic, disrespectful system. He promised excellence, but delivered exhaustion.
He promised results, but delivered spin bikes for children too tired to dream. To my colleagues who got pink slips instead of praise, I see you. One special ed teacher with over twenty years of service was reassigned to work from home today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Paperwork said April. Today, he was sent away. In agenda item three, students spoke of fear, burnout, and lost passion. Our children are worried for their teachers. So I say, fire not the teachers, but the tyrant. Give Mike Miles a pink slip.
And, Board, go ahead and find yours too. Thank you. Your children deserve better. Thank you. Thank you. Zimina Acosta, please turn your camera on. You may begin. So I wanted to mainly just talk about, mainly, like, my issues with the NES program and how it mainly affects, IB programs at school. At my high school, Cesar Chavez High School, we have an international baccalaureate program. And, of course, the program, works very differently compared to traditional classes. And typically, from what I've seen, especially,
like with my teachers and my classmates, is that there seems to be, like a dissonance between, how IB structured classes work and then NES programming or, HISD, like, programming. And typically, my teachers tend to struggle when balancing both of these out, especially because IB curriculum is, like, very nontraditional and, to consistently, like, abide by these programs. It makes things, like, really tedious, very difficult. Thank you. Thank you. Eduardo Brito, you may begin. My son started hearing that his teacher wasn't coming back.
I asked him if he wanted to say something to Mike Miles. He said, who's that? I thought, wow. I wish we could all live in such bliss where we didn't know you. I heard that the district announced there would be no more expansion of NES next year, but our non NES campus actually has to conduct classes with the NES structure. What guile. It's not the teachers, it's the resources and support. You could have turned libraries into Sunrise Centers, but instead use them to bolster the school to prison pipeline. Worksheets over textbooks, teachers are the print houses.
Computers are tools, not replacements. You use them to destroy curriculum and the educational environment. You are the reason enrollment numbers are down. Mister Don't Play Politics with Our Kids is funneling them into privatized schools while turning the remaining kids into cat and potter to fill his pockets. Thank you. Thank you. Sarah Castillo, please turn your camera on. And you may begin. Hi. Hi, I'm a resident of the near Northside and a mom of two HISD kids. I'm a proud graduate of former Jeff Davis and now Northside High School.
And I'm here because I heard that there are over 60 people that have been fired or otherwise not renewed at Northside High School and several at my daughter's school at Lanier Middle School. I'm asking you to rethink how you value our teachers' contributions. I may be a little bit biased, but at Jeff Davis, our graduating class was one of the most special to come out of the Northside. Our graduates went to high ranking universities such as UT, Drexel, Princeton, Rice, and so many more. But most of us would have gotten there without the push from unconventional teachers, some of whom I still keep in contact with thirty years later.
One of whom is my PhD advisor. I say unconventional because their methods were anything but textbook. But they showed up every day and they were invested in me. Their impact was so much more than progress on standardized test scores or the traditional student outcome measures. Many of these teachers I had then and now those at my daughter's school Thank you. I ask you to just reassess how you're reevaluate how you're evaluating teacher and discontinue the non renewals. Amy Erickson, you may begin. This, Amy Erickson, HISD parent. This Teacher Appreciation Week, volunteers across the district showed up to uplift educators.
However, teachers deserve so much more than a celebration. They need real support and reassurance during the chaos and demoralization this administration brings. I think back to a teacher from my chat I consulted, who believed in me, who made me feel seen. That kind of impact stays with you for life. I know so many of you have a story like that, A teacher who changed the course of your life. Our children deserve the same chance to be inspired. But when that only happens, when our teachers are empowered, not ignored, when they are treated like professionals, not obstacles. Our teachers show up every day for our kids despite the challenges,
but how long can they keep doing it without real support? This district cannot thrive as teachers are ignored, dismissed, and driven away. Let's listen and leave with respect, because when we support teachers, we support students and our futures. Thank you. Thank you. Sister Mama Sonia Lucas Roberts, you may begin. Because you know, it's always disrespect us. Y'all don't really care about us. Mike, how the will you take home? A half a million dollars when you're getting with a wrap around specialist who do awesome things for our children just because you don't have the money.
Teachers, this week, we adore you. We worship you for all that you do. And by the way, here's the pink slip from Mike Miles and the board. You know what? You know what? You know what? Goodbye. Can you see the pink slip? If not, imagine it in your head. Hey, Dusty. Y'all disappoint us. Y'all don't really care about us. Thank you. Audrey Nass, please begin. Hi. My name is Audrey Nass. I'm a parent of a kindergartner at Wharton Dual Language Academy. And in honor of teacher appreciation week,
I want to say that my daughter's teacher, Samira Casarez, has been doing a phenomenal job. My daughter right here comes home telling me everything in English and Spanish. And I just wanted to say that in spirit of teacher appreciation week, our teachers don't need more micromanaging. Our teachers need support. Our students need support. We need our wrap around services. And it's disheartening to me to see teachers being forced out. And I just want to say, it's not our teachers that need to be leaving. I think that the pink slips need to be going to the unelected Board of
Managers. Thank you so much. Thank you. Crystal Norman, please turn your camera on. And you may begin. Good evening. My name is Crystal Norman. I'm a proud parent and an HIV taxpayer from Northeast Houston where I grew up. Tonight, I'm speaking on behalf of my neighbors and community members who really want to share how this takeover is hurting their kids. And scared and pain. Honestly, having children with hurting kids, hard to just work, paying the fence out of their own pockets, and shut up with hope. This takeover makes that harder.
There's been more fights unreported. Kids tell me that the ENS curriculum doesn't challenge them at all, and the food has gotten worse since October of this this year. Boiled milk, the meat smells off, and sometimes there's mold. Is this just in our schools in Northeast Houston, or is this across the district with my question and our concerns? Our kids deserve real healthy meals. They can't focus, behave, or learn when they're distracted by hunger or discouraged by what's on their tray. Our students and our teachers,
deserve better. Thank you. Russell Piper, please turn your camera on and you may begin. Good evening. My name is Russell Piper, and I have a first and fifth grader who have been HSC students from pre k and kinder. They both used to enjoy their school days and would come home with stories of what activities they've done and what they had learned. Now we see them both struggle to get excited about school, where they get to go, they get cookie cutter instruction, and then are sent to new packets as a reward for showing understanding and comprehension. The coolest part is that they can order the team's center in the bones of their old library. The library was once a constant source of joy and retrieved them during the prevenius
days when they were still allowed to read books and have fun at school. NAS has completely decimated our one vibrant loved neighborhood school. We've made a difficult decision to leave our community and use other non NAS campuses within HIC, and we are far from the only family doing this. You admitted that the majority of the enrollment declines projected for the next year at NES schools, and that's because those who can are fleeing as far from NES as possible or just outright move in other districts or private charter schools. If you you wanna keep the families like us still willing to give HISD a chance at not NES schools, I advertise funding for non ESL schools in the budget section for next year.
Thank you. Franklin Tamberillo, please turn your camera on. And you may begin. Hi. So why under the currently considered budget do PUA schools only get 30% of new state allotment money, not 85% like they have in the past? I'd like an explanation, please. No? Okay. This budget cut to PUA schools on top of last year's cuts will have the worst impacts at schools serving poorer students. Schools with richer populations will more readily absorb the budget cut. That's not the equitable solution we need.
No transparency, no accountability, no democracy, no trust. Thank you. Thank you. Alina Sotelo, please turn your camera on, and you may begin. I'd like an explanation, please. To the teachers of the district, thank you for prioritizing your children amongst the chaos, amongst the timers, amongst the ridiculous curriculum. Thank you. We appreciate you. We are backing you, and I personally thank miss Ignatius, miss Trabino, miss Angel for teaching and guiding my child in the last three years in HIV.
Please don't give up to those that are left. We are behind you, and we appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Patrice Wright, please turn your camera on. You may begin. My name is Patrice Wright and I serve on the Blackshear Elementary PTO. I'm speaking tonight because HISD's recognition of teachers, especially during teacher appreciation week, has been sorely lacking, and it's unacceptable. As a PTO leader, I've seen firsthand how hard our educators work, often going above and beyond without support from the very system they serve. During a week meant to celebrate them,
too many teachers across HISD feel forgotten, frustrated, and fired. No real gestures of gratitude. Let me be clear. A tweet is not appreciation. A poster is not a policy. If HISD claims to value educators, then we need to see that reflected in action. Intentional, visible, and equitable action. If the district is short on funds to do teacher appreciation, partner with community organizations and businesses to donate to support educators instead of prohibiting school leaders from celebrating their staff. Encourage and promote activities that build strong school teams where teachers know they are valued
and cared about by their leaders. Our teachers show up for our children every single day. The question is, when will this district truly show up for them? Thank you. That's it for our Zoom speakers. Is that it? Okay. That concludes our hearing of speakers. We have an item on the agenda. Do I have a motion for the consent agenda to approve the remainder of tonight's agenda items by consensus? Okay, we have a motion and a second. Members please vote. How are we doing? Okay. Okay, motion passes. We have another Closed Session?
We do. Okay. This time, the Board will recess the Closed Session under Chapter five fifty one of Texas Government Code Open Meetings Act Subsession 05/2004 through 05/1989. Should Board final action, vote or decision on any matter considered in the closed session be required, such final action, vote or decision shall be taken at an open meeting convened by this notice upon reconvening of this public meeting or at a subsequent public meeting of the board upon notice thereof. Board has recessed to closed session at 08:47PM,
May eight, twenty twenty five. Good evening, the board is reconvening at 09:25PM. We're now ready to consider items discussed in the closed session. Are there any motions? Yes, sir. I move that the Board adopt the agreed corrective action plan, TEA, reference number SRD 2020Four-seven-eleven on the terms discussed in Closed Session effective 05/08/2025. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Hopefully, your computers are on. Let's go ahead and vote. Okay, motion passes. All in favor? Thank you.
That's it for the closed session, right, Hitoshi? Okay, good. All right, so we're now to hear any reports or comments from Board members. We'll start on this end. Anything going on? Go ahead. Just real quick, again, happy, Teacher Appreciation Week. To all of our teachers, the year is almost out, but thank you for teaching our kids throughout the year. So thank you again. I'd like to say thank you for starting our meeting off very positive today with all the positive things except for the principles that we're gonna lose to bigger and better things, I get it. But it was a beautiful way to start our meeting.
Thank you. Okay, great. No further business, the meeting is now adjourned at 09:26PM. Thank you. Our next board meeting is on June twelfth of twenty twenty five and we do have a budget workshop on the twenty second I believe, okay? And Board members, you need to get your questions in. Oh, they're in, good, sorry. Thank you. Yeehaw. No. No. No. You should have gotten them in. If you didn't, snooze, you lose.