Superintendent Mike Miles said the Houston Independent School District is improving rapidly, but the future demands more skill-based transformation.
During the Houston ISD Foundation’s 2026 State of the District luncheon, Miles pointed to academic gains over the past two years.
Nearly 500 community leaders and partners raised more than $480,000 to “accelerate student achievement, support and retain outstanding educators, and expand pathways to college and career.”
“We fundamentally changed in just two years,” Miles said, citing that in two years, HISD went from 93 A and B-rated schools to 197. “That’s why we have a goal to have only A and B-rated campuses at the end of the following year. That’s not a pipe dream.”
Miles framed those gains as part of a broader effort to dismantle what he called a long-standing “zip code destiny” problem, which explains that a child’s academic outcomes are predicted by where they live.
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Closing the achievement gap for Black and Brown students
Miles also highlighted gains in closing the achievement gap for Black and Hispanic students in HISD, using NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) data as an example.
He noted that in 2023, these students were starting well below national averages, but through the state’s intervention efforts, Black students grew by 13% in just two years.
Miles said Hispanic students showed comparable growth.
“The intervention has not hurt, despite some people out there,” he said. “Our highest performing kids are doing even better. But we have a long way to go. Not only do we have to close the achievement gap, but we have to get kids ready for the year 2035.”
Miles added that education today needs more than the ability to read and write. He argued that the need is driven by the rise of artificial intelligence and the shift in workforce demands.
To build those skills, HISD has already introduced new instructional models.
“If you’re in my circles with former superintendents and other educators, a lot of people are talking about…It’s great that we’re transforming the school system. What are we doing to get ready for an AI-enabled world?” he said. “What is our responsibility for the kids? Is it just reading, writing, math, science? Is that our charge?”
AI-driven learning
To prepare students for an AI-driven world, he said HISD is expanding career and technical education (CTE) programs, including new investments in fields like cybersecurity, drones, and healthcare, as well as new CTE campuses set to break ground in the coming months.
A part of that effort is what Miles described as the “next evolution” of the district’s controversial reform model, the New Education System, into Future 2 schools. These campuses will pair academic instruction in the morning with hands-on, real-world learning experiences in the afternoon.
Two schools, Gregg and Clemente Martinez elementary schools, will be converted to Future 2, K-8 campuses in the 2026-27 school year, as part of HISD’s consolidation plan. Students here will take courses focused on AI tools.
Miles acknowledged the scale of the challenge ahead.
Despite academic gains, only about 17% of HISD graduates are currently earning a living wage, which he said underscores the urgency of preparing students for long-term economic success.
“Meeting this moment takes more than public funding alone,” said Miles, thanking the partnership with the HISD Foundation.
He also warned that broader trends, like the expansion of private school options and homeschooling, could further fragment public education and widen inequality, particularly for underserved students.
“It doesn’t matter what conditions you were born into. It doesn’t describe your destiny. Just because you’re born in a certain zip code or born into poverty shouldn’t mean that’s your destiny.”
Mike Miles, Superintendent of Houston ISD
“More than 80% of students in this country attend traditional public schools and about 10% attend private schools, and the rest attend charter schools,” said HISD Foundation CEO Janicca Garcia. “Yet, when you look at the outcomes, students who attend private schools are more likely to enroll in college, complete it, and ultimately earn more over their lifetimes. And that raises an important question for us all. If the vast majority of students attend public schools, why weren’t public schools designed to provide every student with the same opportunities, supports, and resources to achieve the same outcomes?”
Against that backdrop, Miles positioned Houston as a test case for what public education can become. He compared the moment to a “Project Hail Mary” pass, a new movie that highlights a high-risk space project to save Earth, to systemic change at HISD.
“We are at a point in American public education where the odds are low that we as a group are going to be able to help all kids…to have the same phrase that HISD Foundation has: every kid, every school, every opportunity,” he said. “We gotta throw a Hail Mary.”
