Houston's educational landscape was thrust into a whirlwind of speculation after reports circulated suggesting over a hundred principals were at risk of losing their jobs. HISD Superintendent Mike Miles, however, has taken a firm stance in clarification – no principals were threatened with termination due to performance scores.
In a press conference, Miles emphasized that the district's principals were instead encouraged to continue making progress, according to ABC13. Internal communications, which were leaked, suggested that 117 of the district's 240 principals needed to improve. Yet Miles says, "By the way, we never used words like, 'They didn't make the cut. They failed. They better shape up. They've been put on notice.' We never said that - that's not in writing,"
The superintendent likened the current assessment period to a 'mid-season' in sports, where outcomes are yet to be decided. “You want me to hire everybody back mid-season, even though we only played half the games? So that’s how we need to look at it and to characterize and say, well, these, you know, these principals, these high performing schools aren’t going to make they’re going to be fired. It’s like, no, that’s not the case. You know, odds are they’re going to they’re going to have a winning season. And we’re, we’re confident in that,” Miles said, as reported by Click2Houston.
Despite the superintendent's reassurances,, parents and community members have expressed anxiety over the possible implications of such evaluations. Mark LeBlanc, whose daughter attends Meyerland Middle School – whose principal was among the 117 – told Click2Houston, "We know that this simply wasn’t just a list, this was ‘get on board or you could be gone’." Ruth Kravetz, a retired administrator, highlighted the high stakes: “There is great evidence and a great body of research that said if you replace principals year over year and you replace teachers, 50 percent and sometimes 80 percent of the teachers are replaced year over year, you negatively influence graduation rates, you reduce literacy and you slow down ways for students to reach their dreams,”
However, not all are convinced by Superintendent Miles' words. Some speculate whether there's a hidden motive behind the performance scores, especially concerning principals’ alignment with the New Education System (NES) reforms. Ruth Kravetz, of Community Voices for Public Education, critiqued, "I think what Mike Miles is peddling is junk science. He's created a perverse principal evaluation system that nobody understands." questioning the fate of principals who may have objected to joining NES. Amidst these conflicting narratives, the Houston education system braces for the impact of unfolding events as the district moves towards filling approximately 4,500 teacher roles for the next school year's NES-affiliated schools.
