Teachers, students, and staff all agree that Fleming Middle School needs more money. What is up for debate is how to get it. Principal Devin Adams can’t officially advocate for Houston Independent School District’s $4.4 million bond. Still, he says the East Houston school desperately needs money from the bond to make repairs, especially since the building has not had any major renovations since his great-uncle graduated in the 1970s.
The turnaround
Fleming, part of HISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ controversial New Education System, is one of the few schools that witnessed a comeback this year. Now in its second year under the NES curriculum, which comprises rigorous and fast-paced learning, the school went from an “F” rating (53 points) to a “B” rating (81 points). He said the school is aiming for an “A” next year.
Adams and his staff say the NES school structure is working.
The Greater Fifth Ward school, built in 1968, offers a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) magnet program and also has courses in dance, arts, and music.
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Fleming Demographics
99.2% minority
60% Black
38% Hispanic/Latino
1% White students.
9 out of 10 come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Where would the money go?
HISD documents show that it has allocated more than $149.9 million to Fleming for a full rebuild, security upgrades, HVAC improvements, and lead abatement. Another $2.7 million will be set aside to co-locate Isaacs Elementary School students into the new combined Fleming MS campus, security upgrades, HVAC improvements, and lead abatement.
“There hasn’t been a bond for schools since 2012 and that bond was mostly about high schools, and so for middle and elementary school, there hasn’t been a bond since 2007. Keep in mind that most districts have a bond every five to six years,” Miles said. “Districts the size of Houston, with some of the extreme weather events that we get, you kind of have a bond.” Miles says despite the pushback he gets during HISD’s board meetings, the speakers are not representative of the “broader community,” adding that he has spoken with over 6,000 people from the West division.
Adams says campus security is one of the most important areas that needs improvement. The school’s attendees—students, teachers, and staff—are protected by a singular metal gate near the single point of entry to the campus, the school’s main office.
“When we’re buzzing someone in we tell them to take a left, but if they decide to go right and up the stairs into the classrooms,’ it can be concerning,” Adams said. “The security will be a really big upgrade as it relates to the bond.”
Miles says the district has placed patrol cars and police officers in middle and high schools and security guards at elementary schools. The bond asks for a single point of entry and perimeter fencing, cameras, and lighting in the parking lot. Weapon detection systems are also being discussed, despite being a controversial move “targeted at Black and brown kids,” he said.
The Houston Federation of Teachers, which represents about 7,000 educators and staff, argued that classroom doors should be locked, a safety measure implemented after the May 2022 Uvalde school shooting. However, the state-appointed board members denied it, and Miles believes locked doors jeopardize fire safety.
In addition to security concerns, Adams says the school has a host of other issues:
- The gym’s HVAC system often malfunctions, and the entire floor “buckles” under humidity. The school had to replace the floor three times.
- The AC struggles to stay on in the gym, hallways, and classrooms, while some ceilings have issues with fixtures and water spots.
- The intercom system is also old, and announcements from it can be heard in the classrooms but not in the hallway.
- The breezeways, or metal fencing, in the lobbies, get slippery when it rains and can be a hazard for students running across.
- The small elevators won’t fit a stretcher, which means a person has to be carried up and down the school’s stairs in an emergency.
Adams says all of the issues take a toll on students.
“When students have to be moved from room to room and shuffled around, it is a distraction to both the teacher preparing the lesson and the students. Many of our students come from non-traditional family structures and are economically disadvantaged. So, any resemblance of normalcy is shaken up, it gets to the kids, but they are resilient,” he said. “We make do with what we have because this is the school that we have.”
Despite the need for funds, some teachers have yet to accept the bond proposal. A math teacher at Fleming, who did not want to be identified, says the school would benefit from the money, but some educators are distrustful of the HISD leadership. His sentiments echo those of many speakers at HISD board meetings.
