The Houston Independent School District board moved briskly through approvals and resolutions in December.
Still, public testimony once again revealed deep divisions between district leadership and families over data transparency, academic priorities, teacher morale, and community trust.
Read alongside November’s board meeting, the two sessions reveal recurring fault lines in how the state-run district defines progress compared to how parents and educators experience it.
November and December meetings
In November, the board focused heavily on proposed changes to how academic growth is measured for the 2025-26 school year, citing updates to the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment and a new report that shows students’ MAP growth scores can reliably predict their performance on the STAAR test. District documents said year-to-year comparisons are the “most difficult” under the new framework and recommended tracking growth rather than proficiency projections.
Parents challenged that framing. One parent, Russell Piper, argued the district labeled MAP changes a “methodological recalibration,” while previously using changes to the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test to justify declaring schools in decline and placing them under the New Education System (NES).
“Why was the STAAR used by you to claim that the schools had a decline in performance and needed to be saved by NES?” Piper asked. “You are holding our schools to a different standard than you hold yourselves to, and that is unacceptable. This is just further proof that you were cherry-picking the data.”
Those concerns resurfaced in December when students and parents discussed the restructuring of academic programs.
Will HISD end its magnet programs?
In January, the HISD board will vote on whether to end magnet programs at Heights, Northside, and Kashmere high school campuses and redirect students to the school district’s career and technical education center, the Barbara Jordan Career Center.
“I’m here because the district is removing programs that students depend on to succeed. They gave students real skills, dual credit, and motivation to stay on track for college and careers. Now, instead of strengthening these pathways, they are being eliminated.”
Micah Gabay, student
“I’m here because the district is removing programs that students depend on to succeed,” student Micah Gabay told the board, referring to programs such as web development, graphic design, culinary arts, and entrepreneurship. “They gave students real skills, dual credit, and motivation to stay on track for college and careers. Now, instead of strengthening these pathways, they are being eliminated.”
Several students raised concerns about busing to centralized career centers, stating that the travel time would cut into instructional hours and limit access to advanced coursework. Parents echoed those fears, arguing that removing on-campus pathways undermines school choice and enrollment stability.
District leaders defended the proposed changes by pointing to labor market data. Chief Academic Officer Kristen Hole told the board that the goal is to prioritize “high wage, high demand, and high-skilled jobs that prepare students for 2035,” adding that centralized career centers allow for stronger programming and access to expensive equipment.
“Our career centers are a hub and spoke model [a distribution system shaped like a bicycle wheel],” Hole said. “Our Barbara Jordan Career Center feeds nine surrounding high schools in the area. It will have 16 programs that 100% of students in the surrounding area can access.”
Teacher morale
Teacher morale, a flashpoint in November, intensified in December testimony.
A Heights High School student, Cristiana Thomas, described the impact of teacher turnover and program changes on school culture. Despite being at her school for four years, Thomas said she does not recognize most of the teachers due to a “severe turnover.”
“I won’t be in HISD next year, but my sister will,” she said. “These teachers, admin, and programs have shaped my life. Please don’t ruin this experience and the chance my sister and her other students have to have a job post-high school.”
In November, Board Vice President Angela Lemond Flowers acknowledged the “disconnect” between teachers feeling positively about their own campus but not the broader district.
“We do need to grapple with how to make that connection,” Flowers said. “I want all of us to be able to feel like we are one community and feel good about the successes here. Right now, there seems to be a great tension to that.”
Sale of properties
December’s meeting also included sharp criticism over property sales approved during closed session. Multiple speakers urged the board not to sell historic campuses during the state takeover, warning of permanent loss of community assets. Despite objections, the board voted to approve the sale of 230 acres of property, which included three abandoned schools: Harper School, Ryan Elementary, and Terrell Elementary.
Newly elected District V trustee Maria Benzon, who will assume office on Jan. 8, 2026, said the board should not sell any properties without elected oversight.
“HISD should not sell a single acre without transparent democratic input and clear proof that the decision benefits students,” Benzon said. “Before considering any sale, we need a comprehensive long-term facilities and financial plan. Selling assets to cover operating costs is unsustainable; it is fiscally irresponsible.”
Together, the November and December meetings show a district advancing ambitious reforms while grappling with growing resistance from the communities most affected. This tension remains unresolved as HISD heads into the new year.
