ReportWire

Tag: sharpstown

  • Op-ed: About those HISD School Ratings

    Op-ed: About those HISD School Ratings

    Earlier this week, Houston ISD Superintendent F. Mike Miles released his version of school accountability ratings for all the HISD campuses. These aren’t the official Texas Education Agency ratings, because those have been tied up in litigation for 2 years after the TEA Commissioner Mike Morath changed the ratings formula, and it disproportionately hurt some districts and campuses.

    The official formula has not been publicly released by the TEA, but Miles claims that he obtained a copy of the legally questionable formula from the TEA. Miles then had his HISD team run the numbers which he released on Monday.

    Since the formula isn’t available to the public, we have no way to verify the numbers that Miles released. We also don’t know how much the formula has changed since last year. Like any good math teacher would say: show your work.

    Let’s pretend, for a moment, that the TEA ratings system was just and legal, and the numbers Miles released are accurate.

    The School at St. George Place had a respectable improvement from a B- to a B+. 1 point from an A. Give Principal Sean McClish a pat on the back when you see him. It won’t be at St. George though because HISD leadership removed him as principal.

    Furr High School and Neff Elementary posted huge improvements from D to a B. You’d think Principal Tammie Moran and Principal Amanda Wingard would receive awards at a banquet, but instead HISD leadership removed them both as principal.

    Lantrip Elementary pushed hard and went from a B to an A. Can principal Rhonda Schwer expect a bonus in her next paycheck? No, because HISD leadership removed her as principal.

    Sharpstown High School was getting hated on all year but now the scores are in so we know how effective their principal really is. Principal TJ Cotter’s campus received an F rating. Termination-happy HISD leadership probably ran him out of town, right? Principal Cotter is still head principal of Sharpstown HS.

    Back to reality. It’s in the court’s hands to decide if this rating system is fair. We don’t know if the numbers Miles present are accurate. We don’t know how changes in the formula over the last two years have affected the ratings.

    More importantly, we as a society need to decide if rating schools solely based on a multiple choice test is best. Shouldn’t we factor in a school’s ability to meet students’ social emotional needs? Should we factor in student and parent satisfaction? Should we factor in student to certified teacher ratio?

    It’s time to stop taking Miles’ and Moraths’ word as gospel and start pressuring them to answer the tough questions and face consequences for their failings.

    Brad Wray is a teacher in HISD who currently serves as an elected member of the District Advisory Committee, and has a child enrolled in HISD.

    Brad Wray

    Source link

  • First Day of School For HISD and Let’s See How That Bus Route Consolidation Works

    First Day of School For HISD and Let’s See How That Bus Route Consolidation Works


    In a last weekend push, Houston ISD got most of its students assigned to bus routes – 700 kids still didn’t know how they were getting to class – but Monday morning’s effort was much improved from the week before when one mother was told by a district employee that “10,000” kids still didn’t have assigned  routes.

    A quick survey of bus and student arrivals Monday morning showed the usual successes and bobbles. Josue Avelai and his younger brother David were waiting outside Sharpstown High for their bus to take them to Carnegie Vanguard High School. The bus was supposed to be there at 7:45 but it was already past 8:15 with no transfer pickup in sight. Asked if this was usual, Josue, a junior, said no, this was not.

    At issue may be the money-saving consolidation of bus systems announced by Superintendent Mike Miles in late July. At the same time, it was announced that any students going to school choice schools would have to provide their own transportation for up to three miles from their homes. Previously that had been two miles.

    The district has said it would save $3 million consolidating and shortening distances that school choice students are on buses with further transportation efficiencies estimated to save the district a total of $10 million in 2024-25.

    By the following school year, she said, “The district hopes to take our transportation costs down from roughly $56 million to $40 million.”

    All this may not be good news for bus drivers. We talked to one bus driver over the weekend who showed up on August 5 to get their route assignment only to be told there was no route for that person and many other drivers. Instead, for now, they are being assigned to ride along on buses to handle any misbehaving students.

    The driver was concerned that they wouldn’t get enough hours in the new position to make their rent. The drivers were told that later in the year when it gets colder they may pick up driving assignments.

    click to enlarge

    Buses at North Forest.

    Photo by Faith Bugenhagen

    Over at North Forest arrivals were going smoothly with the exception of one bus that had to be turned around and redirected as it entered the student parking lot rather than the bus drop-off lane.

     Last week, Superintendent Mike Miles has predicted that all campuses would be up and running on the first day of school. The one exception, he said, would be Chysalis Middle School whose students  is moving across the parking lot to the Lockwood modulars explaining that the modulars are better there.

    Shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, HISD sent out the following email:

    In preparation for the start of the 2024-2025 school year, Houston Independent School District has been hard at work ensuring that all students, educators, and families have a great first day. So far, the district has assigned bus routes to over 17,000 students for the upcoming year and has communicated these routes to families through several communications.

    Around 700 students are still being assigned their stops. The district has reached out to all of these families to let them know that if they have not received their school bus route and stop information, they can call their campus or one of HISD’s transportation services helplines for assistance between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

    Any student who has not been assigned a route may get on a bus at any stop or route serving their campus. Drivers will pick students up and drop them off even if they are not assigned to a route or stop. The district expects all students to be assigned a permanent stop within 72 hours of their entry into the transportation assignment system.

    Families who need further information about their bus stop can call their campus or one of HISD’s transportation services helplines for assistance between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at one of the numbers below, based on the first number of their route:

    1 – Barnett Terminal: (713) 845-5022
    2 – Butler Terminal: (713) 726-2100
    3 – Central Terminal: (713) 676-9432
    4 – Northwest Terminal: (713) 613-3049

    Transportation Customer Service main phone number: 713-556-5963

    Margaret Downing

    Source link

  • USPS delays: Miami woman says $2k clock sent to Houston stuck in transit 114 days

    USPS delays: Miami woman says $2k clock sent to Houston stuck in transit 114 days

    SHARPSTOWN, Texas – 114 days have gone by, and the clock keeps ticking as Amanda Herro waits for her package to be delivered.

    “It was a Jaeger-LeCoultre 13-Joule Atmos Vendome clock. It was a mantel clock. So, it was big, and it was heavy,” said Herro.

    Herro sold the award-winning clock on eBay. She shipped the clock from a Miami post office to Houston on November 28.

    “It literally just disappeared off the map for ten days. No tracking updates, no nothing,” Herro said.

    “Then miraculously, it appeared in Houston, Missouri City initially,” Herro said.

    Herro’s tracking information shows the clock bounced back and forth between the Houston North and Missouri City distribution centers. She was able to file a refund through eBay for the customer, but getting the package back has still been a mess.

    Herro said the last update she got from the post office was back on January the 9.

    “It was sent to the recovery center, which I believe is in Atlanta, if I’m not mistaken,” Herro said.

    Herro has insurance on the package, but she said it has not helped her time-ticking situation.

    “I obviously hope to either get the clock back or be rightfully reimbursed, because I paid for insurance on the clock. It’s the worst part about it. I insured the clock for the $1,775, which was its value with proof of purchase from eBay that the customer paid for it. I just want the money, or I want the clock back,” Herro said.

    KPRC 2 Received this response from USPS:

    While a vast majority of mail in the Houston area is being delivered in a timely manner, the Postal Service is continually working to improve mail processing at the North Houston Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) and South Houston Local Processing Center (LPC). Our goal is to provide timely and reliable mail and package delivery in the Houston area, which is and will remain a high priority for the management of the Postal Service. Customers are reminded that, if they need assistance with mailing or shipping concerns, they have a variety of options for reaching us, including contacting a manager or supervisor at their local Post Office, calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777), or visiting our website at www.usps.com. As we continue to modernize our processing facilities in the Houston area, we will report on our efforts.

    Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.

    Corley Peel

    Source link