In the community, Michelle Williams is well-known as a vocal critic of the recent Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) takeover of Houston ISD and the installation of Mike Miles as superintendent. She is also the president of the Houston Education Association (HEA), a local teachers’ union.
A teacher for 25 years, 12 of which she spent in HISD, Williams was named HEA president in 2021, a group that represents around 200 educators. HEA is a branch of the Texas State Teachers Association and National Education Association and works alongside another teachers’ union — the Houston Federation of Teachers, a branch of the American Federation of Teachers and Texas AFT, representing over 6,000 teachers.
Williams had been consistent in her social media posts regarding the issues students and teachers have been facing since the June 2023 takeover and the consequent overhaul of some campuses through the New Education System (NES) program.
Citing the timing of one such post, Williams was removed from her position as a third-grade teacher at Shadowbriar Elementary School in HISD. Soon after, she was assigned to work at a bus barn until the district decided on her termination.
HISD West Division’s superintendent Laura Stout’s memorandum said Williams had violated the school district’s code of conduct and that she would be terminated for violating board policy, alleging Williams had been using social media during work hours.
During Williams’ hearing, Stout admitted to being mistaken about the timing of the video post and learned about the scheduling after sending out the memo. In the recorded video, Williams criticized the compensation manual for teachers in HISD.
On the morning of Feb. 12, Stout and Kylene Vasquez, senior executive director of the west division, “barged into” her classroom unannounced. This came two days after Williams accepted an invitation from Miles sent to union leaders to visit NES schools.
The memo also said her students performed below the district’s expectations, ie. 60%. Williams says the allegations do not hold up as her students were at 50% on their math test, which means half the class had already met the annual target in January, while 60% was the annual goal.
“As a consequence of your continued failure to meet the District’s expectations and focus on high-quality instruction, the district is moving forward with the proposed termination of your contract,” the memo said.
Upon receiving the memos, Williams said she laughed. She knew it was long overdue.
“They were just trying to make a big deal about it because they were trying to write me up. That’s all it was. It was retaliation,” she said.
The appointed Board of Managers at HISD voted against renewing her contract at a meeting on March 21. Williams appealed that decision.
Williams clarified in two sessions of her hearing in March that the video, which the memo alleged was shot in her classroom, was filmed in her home for her YouTube channel that she scheduled to be posted during school hours. She decorated the background to resemble an elementary school classroom.
“The allegation was that I was live streaming from Shadowbriar, which was the furthest from the truth because I live an hour away from my house, and I drove through like four tolls before I even got to Shadowbriar,” Williams told the Defender. “When I got there that day, they said I was live streaming. The principal and other teachers were on duty.”
She explained to her principal that the HISD admin visited her at Shadowbriar.
“There was no justification. All of a sudden, Miles gets upset about what I said, and he sends his people after me. I had been posting all year long, it wasn’t an issue,” she said.
What’s next for Williams?
Williams, along with other HISD teachers, is planning to include community members and parents of students to visit Austin and vocalize issues the school district is facing to the Committee on Public Education.
“We don’t have any representation up there, people who are actually saying this is happening. Our goal is during the legislative session, to get some people up there, to speak to legislators, to let them know about what’s going on,” she explained.
In May, Williams started a GoFundMe page to help pay for buses, food, flyers, signs and other expenses while they are in Austin.
Since HISD missed the deadline recommended by the TEA hearing officer, she was automatically reinstated as an employee of HISD. The officer also recommended that she be given a contract for the 2024 -25 school year, along with any backpay.
Williams says HISD has not communicated with her attorney since the hearing. The attorney sent an email enquiring about why she had not been placed back in the classroom. Williams confesses — she does not want that. Instead of having to take over a class from another teacher, she would rather have her class where she can establish the routine and culture she has inculcated in the last few years. However, that had to be done before the school year started, she said.
“I shouldn’t be penalized for them [HISD] dragging their feet. Now I have to get a classroom together that may or may not have had a teacher, and school has been in three weeks,” Williams said. “I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t have a clue because what we expected was normalcy. What we got was silence.”
Stout, who has drawn criticism and protests from teachers and community members of the west division, left the district earlier in August, a few days into the new school year. HISD did not mention the reason for her departure.
“Dr. Laura Stout decided to step down from the Division Superintendent position,” Miles said in a press release to West Division educators. “She is returning to Austin, so her family can be reunited. Dr. Stout was proud to serve HISD and be part of the tremendous work in the West Division and the District’s historic transformation. HISD thanks her for leadership and service.”
While protests were going on against the district’s treatment of former principals, Williams wrote to the Texas Education Agency’s Office of Educator Investigations on Aug. 2 to file a complaint against Stout, Kylene Vazquez, and executive director of feeder Lauren Mailhiot “for their violations of the Educator Code of Ethics.”
In the email, she alleged the school administrators made “false statements” about her live-stream video that was scheduled to be posted and was not recorded in her classroom or during school hours. She also wrote that the incident was not investigated and that she was removed from her post without being allowed to present a statement or representation by Norma Castillo, the senior executive director of support at HISD.
“They did not adhere to written local school board policies and state and federal laws regarding evaluation and dismissal of personnel. They also coerced my principal into issuing retaliatory memos following my interaction with Floyd Mike Miles, the appointed superintendent of Houston ISD,” she wrote further.
Finally, she sought an investigation into the administrators and a review of HISD policies regarding educator evaluation, dismissal, and student data use from TEA.
