Local Community Organization Finds State’s Attempted Takeover of Houston Independent School District Aggressive and Unfounded

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, March 6, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Houston Area Urban League stands alongside local community leaders in the condemnation of the state’s attempted takeover of the Houston Independent School District, asserting that the strides made in the district over the last two years should be heavily considered when evaluating the needs of Houston Area students and families.

Under the direction of Superintendent Millard House II, the Houston Independent School District earned a B rating from the Texas Education Agency for the 2021-2022 school year. The ratings were based on performance on state standardized tests, graduation rates, college, career, and military readiness outcomes. HISD scored in the 88th percentile and saw significant improvement at previously struggling campuses. Additionally, Wheatley High School, a school that received a failing score in 2019, is doing much better than previous years.

Worth noting that these district ratings are identical to the ratings in Austin ISD, a district that received an overall B rating, 88 out of 100 points, from the Texas Education Agency for the 2021-2022 school year. This district is not facing an attempted takeover by the state.

“As we sit here today, almost half of Houston Area students are not at reading level before entering kindergarten. The literacy gaps in this city are a barrier for families before they even walk into the doors of HISD,” says John Robinson, Director of Education at Houston Area Urban League. “We ask that the governor support all Houston Area families by providing resources that promote literacy from birth, not take away their say in how their children will be educated.”

Robinson has led HAUL’s hallmark literacy program, Project Ready, in partnership with HISD for the past 15 years, seeing first-hand how literacy gaps continue to directly impact low-income, underrepresented communities in the Houston Area. Project Ready, founded in 2008, was designed to provide Black Americans and other historically underserved youth with a spectrum of support services and opportunities not always found in our schools’ classrooms.

Robinson also spearheaded the Houston Area Urban League’s signature program, Parent Leadership Academy, which empowers parents to advocate for their children's education and had its first graduating class in HISD just last month.

“HAUL remains focused on creating a pipeline of future Houston leaders, who will be prepared to enter our workforce, contribute to our local economy, and give back to our local communities in meaningful ways.” says Houston Area Urban League President and CEO, Judson Robinson III, “how can the community continue to support the development of local young minds when we don’t have a say in how they are educated?”

The Houston Area Urban League calls on Rep. Harold Dutton to amend the bill that allows for the state-mandated takeover of the district in this legislative session and requests that the legislature provide comprehensive case studies that reflect successful takeovers in other states that have improved test scores and administrative performance prior to any action taken against HISD.

“The future of Houston’s children cannot be gambled away for the sake of political theatre and predictably failed presidential bids." says Judson W. Robinson, III.

For more information about the Houston Area Urban League’s purpose and programming, please visit the website at https://www.haul.org.

Emaan England
Houston Area Urban League
+1 404-668-2329
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