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HOUSTON, Texas — Todo cambió. Everything changed.
That’s how Arturo Monsiváis described the transformation his fifth-grade son experienced at Houston ISD’s Raul Martinez Elementary School this year. Teachers rushed through rapid-fire lessons, students tackled daily quizzes, and administrators prohibited hallway conversations.
Monsiváis, a construction worker, noted that his son often found the new assignments too challenging. Yet, he encouraged his son to persevere, emphasizing the importance of hard work for a better future.
“I tell my son, ‘Look, do you want to be working out here in the sun like me, or do you want to be in an office one day? Think about it,'” Monsiváis said.
The sweeping changes witnessed by Monsiváis’ son and over 180,000 students across HISD are the result of the most significant state takeover of a school district in American history. This grand experiment could potentially reshape public education throughout Texas and the nation.
In a remarkably short period, HISD’s state-appointed superintendent and school board have restructured teaching and learning district-wide. They’ve linked teacher pay more closely to student test scores, significantly increased some teacher salaries, and cut spending on many non-classroom expenses.
These changes in HISD are some of the most substantial shifts in a public school system, yet they’ve received limited national media attention. However, district leaders claim that education professionals across the U.S. are closely observing HISD’s efforts, considering their potential as a model for replication. Texas lawmakers have also looked to policies used by HISD’s new superintendent, former Dallas ISD chief Mike Miles, as inspiration for statewide legislation.
“I think people are watching and waiting,” HISD Board Secretary Angela Lemond Flowers said. “We’re stepping out there big, and it’s important because we are a big district, and we have lots of students that we need to make sure we’re serving better. Not in the next generation. Not in five years. Like, immediately.”
Miles, the primary architect of HISD’s new strategy, pointed to early successes, including significant improvements in state test scores this year, as proof that his model works. For decades, Black and Latino children in urban school districts like Houston have lagged behind wealthier and white students.
Miles’ critics argue that his approach is an unproven, unwanted imposition by Texas Republicans. They highlight high teacher turnover and long-term financial concerns as signs that the effort might fail.
Regardless of whether the HISD intervention becomes a major success, a historic failure, or something in between, it could address one of the most pressing questions in education: Can a large, urban public school district significantly improve student achievement and close long-standing performance gaps, ultimately helping to bridge America’s class divide?
“Back to the Future”
The HISD intervention represents “by far the most bizarre state takeover that we’ve ever seen,” said Jonathan Collins, a Columbia University Teachers College associate professor who has worked with another takeover district, Providence Public Schools.
Typically, states take control of districts following significant academic or financial scandals. HISD, however, has maintained a “B” rating under Texas’ A-through-F system and managed its finances well.
In 2019, HISD allowed Wheatley High School to receive a seventh consecutive failing grade, triggering a Texas law that allowed Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to replace the district’s school board.
After years of legal battles, Morath appointed Miles and nine local residents to run the district in June 2023.
Instead of focusing solely on the lowest-performing schools, Miles overhauled 85 of the district’s roughly 270 schools in his first year, relying on practices from the “education reform” movement of the 2000s and 2010s.
Miles implemented a similar playbook during his tenure at Dallas ISD, improving student test scores but contributing to a near-doubling of the district’s teacher turnover rate.
While the reform movement has lost favor in recent years due to inconsistent results and declining popularity of high-stakes testing, Miles believes it failed because it didn’t go far enough.
Miles required over 1,000 HISD teachers to reapply for their jobs, ultimately replacing about half of them. He restructured teaching methods, required frequent student participation, and introduced daily quizzes.
Thomas Toch, the director of Georgetown University’s FutureEd think tank, described Miles’ approach as a “back to the future” moment and noted that HISD’s overhaul is the largest school improvement effort at scale.
While significant public school reforms are not new, the scope and speed of HISD’s changes are unparalleled.
“This is an effort, the largest in the country, to turn around a traditional, urban district,” Miles said. “That’s what we’re engaged in.”
A Wider Model?*In the first year, Miles’ administration achieved some notable successes. The elementary and middle schools targeted for changes saw an average 7 percentage point increase in students scoring at or above grade level on statewide tests, compared to a 1 percentage point increase in other HISD schools and statewide averages that either remained flat or declined.
HISD also made progress in meeting legal requirements for serving students with disabilities, an area of long-standing struggle.
However, the administration faces challenges. As of early June, about a quarter of HISD’s teachers had left their positions, significantly higher than the usual 15% to 20% turnover rate. Many teachers complained of micromanagement and frequent evaluations.
The financial sustainability of Miles’ plans is also uncertain. HISD ran a nearly $200 million deficit on a $2.2 billion budget in Miles’ first year, with much of the shortfall tied to increased staffing and pay. The district is budgeting a similar deficit next year, with plans to mitigate it through property sales.
If HISD continues to post strong test scores, Miles’ model could gain wider acceptance. Inspired by Miles’ work, Texas lawmakers passed legislation in 2019 that allocated funds to districts adopting similar teacher evaluation systems and allowed struggling campuses to avoid closure by replicating Miles’ turnaround plan.
Miles has suggested that his Houston work could serve as a proof point for others. Harvard Graduate School of Education economist Thomas Kane believes HISD’s overhaul could interest many district leaders.
“If there have been substantial improvements in student achievement gains simultaneously with improvements in student attendance, I think that will grab a lot of attention nationally and will make people curious about the Houston reforms,” Kane said.
Community Response
Even if HISD achieves remarkable gains, many elected school boards might not support such extensive changes. Miles’ policies and leadership style have prompted protests and criticism. Despite this, he argues that many families quietly support his administration, though public endorsements have been limited.
At HISD’s overhauled schools, some parents are willing to accept the changes as long as their children benefit academically.
“I don’t care about the changes,” said Christina Balderas, a McReynolds Middle School parent. “The only thing I care about is when my daughter gets home and she tells me, ‘This is what I learned today, mom.’ They can have all the changes in the world that they need.”
In the coming years, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will likely begin gradually reinstating some of HISD’s elected trustees. They will decide which of Miles’ policies to keep or reverse.
Three of HISD’s nine elected trustees expressed cautious optimism about the changes. They want to see more data before making final judgments but are encouraged by early academic improvements.
“If I had to make a decision right now of whether to continue [the overhaul model], I would,” said trustee Plácido Gómez. “There isn’t enough data to say, ‘This definitely works,’ but there’s enough for me to want to continue on this path.”