James D. Calaway

HISD can be model for nation.

Former founding CEO of the Center for Houston's Future and chairman of the board of the HISD Foundation., Sep 27, 10.

Tagged with quality of life, education, houston, public schools

The documentary Waiting for Superman paints a heartbreaking portrait of America’s educational system, showing how public schools are failing millions of children who need to be rescued from an inferior education. The film is one of many vocal, desperate wake-up calls for public schools across the nation to either radically change or get out of the way of those that are actually making progress with new ideas. It’s true that public education is in trouble. Too many students aren’t learning at grade level, and too many just quit out of frustration. The Houston Independent School District has heard the alarm, and there are those who believe Houston is now well-positioned to become ground zero for this country’s education reform movement — to be the district that reinvents public education so that it works for all students.

HISD has not been waiting passively for someone to provide an answer; it has the will, the leadership and the support to transform the district into a model for the rest of the nation. The board of education, Superintendent Terry Grier and the HISD team have the courage and expertise to step outside the comfort zone and take the necessary but often controversial actions to bring about fundamental change, like linking teacher pay with their performance based on reliable data and making continued employment contingent on ongoing improvement. That level of accountability also applies to the quality of the leadership of principals and central office staff.

But beyond bold leadership throughout HISD, the district can be the epicenter for innovative ideas because of the support it enjoys from parents, business leaders and a strong reform-minded philanthropic community. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael Dell Foundation have both rewarded HISD’s innovation with substantial grants that support new ideas in education such as the ASPIRE program that focuses all district efforts on getting students prepared for college and careers. More recently, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation donated $6 million to fund initiatives to place an effective teacher in every HISD classroom.

Great teaching and leadership in every classroom in every school are basic in HISD’s Strategic Direction, a plan developed just this year with the active participation of parents, students, employees and community members. Fundamental systemwide improvements that lead to increased academic achievement for every student are possible when you have inspiring, highly skilled teachers in every class who are motivated by principals confidently leading their schools.

But the transformation of HISD into the nation’s best school district is only beginning…

Full Story: Reinventing education in Houston
Source: Houston Chronicle, Sept 25, 2010

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