Outrage swept through the Houston Independent School District's latest meeting, as parents, students, and community members took to the podium to blast the outcomes of a new principal evaluation process. Superintendent Mike Miles, who spearheaded the procedure, was met with overwhelming disapproval from Houston's school board attendees, based on an article by the Houston Chronicle. Protesters lined up during an elongated three-hour session of one-minute speeches to defend their school leaders and to seek a cessation to the implementation of such evaluations.
The Chronicle reported earlier this month that around half of HISD principals were informed they're at risk of losing their positions come next academic year if they do not measure up to the standards set by a second evaluation. The resulting public frustration was exacerbated when the Chronicle published a list of 117 principals falling short under the new criteria, which the paper retracted following an admission of possible inaccuracies.
Miles remained tightlipped on the matter during the school board meeting, despite a consistent flow of criticism towards his methods. He has since stood by the evaluation results, claiming that a major fraction of school principals are expected to be retained, suggesting that all will come to understand the district's priorities lie with student success. In a statement gathered by the Houston Chronicle, he assured that “If what I say continues to be out there and ... we stay this course, the community will come along.”
Simultaneously, the Houston ISD Annual Report flaunted a badge of academic honor, with Superintendent Miles reflecting on Houston's students soaring past the national average in mid-year exams. However, the mood was far from celebratory as the meeting turned into a hotbed for criticism on the new evaluation technique for school principals and faculty. According to FOX26 Houston, over 140 registrants, from concerned parents to educators, aired grievances over what they viewed as a flawed system.
Despite the outcry and a palpable undercurrent of dissent, the school board proceeded with approval of numerous agenda items, ranging from budget amendments for instructional leadership to renewals of contracts like the one with Teach for America, detailed the Houston Chronicle. Yet, the cloud of the debate lingered, with parents like Paul Calzada questioning the entire evaluative mechanism after Principal Ramon Moss from Carnegie Vanguard High School — lauded as one of the best — failed to secure an exemplary rating. "Superintendent Miles, you know your evaluation system is flawed. If you don’t, you should. And we're going to remind you of that for as long as you refuse to admit it," Calzada told the Houston Chronicle.
