Houston ISD’s new state-appointed superintendent wants to use the same polarizing approach he applied in Dallas schools

Mike Miles has wasted no time in restructuring Houston ISD. His proposals on teacher pay and evaluation resemble measures he implemented in Dallas, where ultimately no significant academic gains were made.

BY BRIAN LOPEZ

“Houston ISD’s new state-appointed superintendent wants to use the same polarizing approach he applied in Dallas schools” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Mike Miles, the new state-appointed superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, started his tenure in a manner eerily similar to how he ended his embattled time in charge of Dallas Independent School District: with everyone asking where he was.

During the first Houston ISD school board meeting led by the board of managers that the Texas Education Agency appointed as part of the state’s recent takeover of the district, many community members were upset they didn’t see Miles until he came in the very end. Eight years ago, after a tumultuous three years as superintendent of the Dallas ISD, Miles didn’t show up to his last board meeting.

Already, the manner in which Miles has begun his new position in Houston is drawing comparisons with his short-lived stint in Dallas. Within a week of being appointed to lead Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas, Miles announced an overhaul of certain campuses and a new program that will pay teachers more to work with students struggling academically, steps that resemble his approach during his last superintendent gig.

But while his management methods laid the foundation for some future success in Dallas ISD, they also left behind various scandals, caused veteran educators to leave the district and ultimately didn’t result in significant academic gains.

[What happens when Texas takes over a school district like Houston ISD]

The TEA announced earlier this month it would place Miles at the helm of the state’s largest school district after years of poor academic outcomes at a single campus in the district, Phillis Wheatley High School; allegations of misconduct against school board members; and the ongoing presence of a conservator who’s been overseeing the district for years. Despite community opposition, the agency says those problems required it to take over the school board and replace the elected members with temporary, hand-picked board members.

Miles’ job is to get the district back on track in accordance with TEA standards. Already, the former Dallas ISD superintendent has announced sweeping changes to 29 schools that historically serve some of Houston ISD’s lowest-performing students. Wheatley is among this crop of schools.

These schools will be placed under Miles’ so-called “New Education System,” which he describes as an “innovative staffing model that puts the focus on classroom instruction and improved student outcomes.”

At the schools that will be included in the program, all teachers and other employees will need to reapply for their jobs. For those teachers hired in these campuses, the average salary pay could reach $95,000 a year once incentives based on test results and stipends are thrown in. Such paychecks would represent a 61% increase in pay from the average teacher salary in Texas.

Under the program, Miles will also relocate librarians from those schools to other campuses, saying that his staffing priorities will be on those employees who will help students read, write and do math, according to the Houston Press.

Miles plans to cut 200 jobs from the district’s administrative offices to pay for these higher salaries.

“We will be aligning our resources — especially our most effective teachers and principals — to better serve students in underserved communities,” Miles said in a statement. “For students who need to catch up and in schools that have failed for years, we will be offering more instructional time.”

Miles did not respond to an interview request. He intends to host several community meetings to explain his plan.

Miles’ vision and his plan to get there align with the emphasis that TEA Commissioner Mike Morath and some lawmakers have put on grading school districts largely based on scores from State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests. Morath himself served as a Dallas school board member when Miles was in charge of Dallas ISD and was one of the few board members with whom Miles had a good relationship.

Miles’ plan for Houston ISD is similar to a program he started in Dallas before he resigned with two years left on his contract. That program, which launched after Miles resigned, gave teachers huge pay bonuses if they boosted standardized test scores in some of the campuses with the biggest needs. Some low-rated campuses saw improvements as part of the program, but scores fell again once funding dried up and teachers left because they weren’t getting paid the same.