What the hell is going on with the HISD board? (Houston: fit in, employment)

[hbcu]

you don't want tons of small districts also as your asking for HISD to reabsorb them also cause some don't have the capacity to stand on their own.

Kill the "magnet programs" which have contributed to the decline of certain communities because you have generations of kids never setting foot in their own zones which play a huge role.

HISD has been a district grooming kids for the suburbs cause people refuse to reciprocate their educational path

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Dumb question,
is there any reason HISD has to be so big and not broken up?

Yes. Rivers Oaks, Bellaire shuld be a district of their own. ( like spring branch)

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by SpeedThink

Interesting point.

Yes, the Houston Independent School District need to be unified in ensuring that the students are well educated.

As the demographics may change in many neighborhoods and schools, the goal remains the same - ensure that the students are well educated.

Teachers' salaries should be increased and more Gifted and Talented curriculum offered at more schools especially at the pre-k level.

However, the most profound step will be for parents to begin nurturing the child when the child is still in the womb - reading to the child, playing music for the child and eating a healthy diet (minimal fried foods, minimal sugar, minimal sodas, etc.) and light exercise such as walking while being free of stress!

I believe that every child deserves an opportunity for a great education as much as every child deserves great parents who understand the importance of a great education!

How do we ensure that every child have great parents?

Resolving cyclical inter-generational poverty is crucial along with intercession by other concerned parents, groups and other institutions.

Also, an increase in affordable housing and discounted job re-training for adults is a step in the right direction.

In fact, the local junior colleges and vocational schools should offer 50% reduction in tuition for not only adults who are maybe older than 55 but maybe having programs that allow young teenage mothers to receive mentoring by others may be beneficial.

Having a child when one is 14 or 15 or 16, etc. and dropping out of school is not a wise decision but once it has occurred, it appears reasonable to intercede and relay lessons that maybe the parents of the young lady never taught.

Anyway, just rambling but thought that I would offer some thoughts...

Instead of increasing the freebies like lunch, breakfast, english classes etc, they should make people pay for schools. That will ensure every one goes off to work - if they really value their future and children;s education. Not privatize, but at least a 100$ per month or so. After all its not a 3rd world country where people live in poverty, its USA.

I mean they should get used to the real world where nothing is free.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by shanv3

Yes. Rivers Oaks, Bellaire shuld be a district of their own. ( like spring branch)

Yeah. Should build a big, beautiful wall, too.

Though I do agree that smaller districts would be better. Geographic quadrants make more sense then portioning off rich little pockets in the middle of a swath of less-privileged areas.

[mikeyyc]

Originally Posted by shanv3

Instead of increasing the freebies like lunch, breakfast, english classes etc, they should make people pay for schools. That will ensure every one goes off to work - if they really value their future and children;s education. Not privatize, but at least a 100$ per month or so. After all its not a 3rd world country where people live in poverty, its USA.

I mean they should get used to the real world where nothing is free.

What do you think the largest portion of your property taxes is? Clearly either you've never looked, or never been responsible for your own bills. HISD's biggest problem is crushing poverty. 81% of HISD students are eligible for free/subsidized lunch. To meet that guideline, as an example, a family of four can't have an income of more than $46,500 annually. You want to take 5% of their gross monthly income on top of what they pay in taxes as well? Good luck with that.

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

What do you think the largest portion of your property taxes is? Clearly either you've never looked, or never been responsible for your own bills. HISD's biggest problem is crushing poverty. 81% of HISD students are eligible for free/subsidized lunch. To meet that guideline, as an example, a family of four can't have an income of more than $46,500 annually. You want to take 5% of their gross monthly income on top of what they pay in taxes as well? Good luck with that.

I am just wondering if the 81% pay property taxes. I assume most of them are renting ( Even though it may be factored in their rent).

[bu2]

Originally Posted by hbcu

all, Kashmere should've been closed when Wheatley was built or even send them to Booker T or North Forest. They've rebuilt Sterling and Worthing when one school could've housed all (even with Jones closing). Scarborough has always been small but they hang on when you can send them to Waltrip.

Kashmere was fine until they built Barbara Jordan and siphoned off a lot of students. Its outside 610, so Wheatley is not really a good place for them to go.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by hbcu

all, Kashmere should've been closed when Wheatley was built or even send them to Booker T or North Forest. They've rebuilt Sterling and Worthing when one school could've housed all (even with Jones closing). Scarborough has always been small but they hang on when you can send them to Waltrip.

They threw a fit when they talked about closing Scarborough in the 80s. The Waltrip people probably weren't that enthused since many of them would have had to be rezoned to Washington.

[hbcu]

some folks zoned to Waltrip should've been at Booker T anyway as parts of Acres Homes off 249 was zoned to Waltrip but it should've been Booker T. Didn't realize how close Scarborough was to the Aldine border anyway as that school needs to be evaluated.

Forgot about Barbara Jordan, that school could've been combined with Kashmere as they've taken their fair share of kids from across the district also.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by bu2

Kashmere was fine until they built Barbara Jordan and siphoned off a lot of students. Its outside 610, so Wheatley is not really a good place for them to go.

Interestingly Barbara Jordan is not a high school in its own right any longer. Now it serves as a vocational center for students attending other high schools. The deaf program moved to Milby.

Originally Posted by hbcu

you don't want tons of small districts also as your asking for HISD to reabsorb them also cause some don't have the capacity to stand on their own.

Kill the "magnet programs" which have contributed to the decline of certain communities because you have generations of kids never setting foot in their own zones which play a huge role.

HISD has been a district grooming kids for the suburbs cause people refuse to reciprocate their educational path

Exactly. Also people should remember that HISD did *not* have a choice on whether to absorb North Forest; the state ordered them to. The arrangement was an advantage IMO as it meant North Forest wasn't broken up into pieces (although representation-wise it was divided between two different HISD board districts, and parts of its attendance boundary were given to Key and Kashmere, with small sections given to existing non-NF HISD elementaries).

If there weren't big mega-districts the state would likely break up some poorly-performing small districts. I saw Inkster School District in Michigan broken into pieces and that was bad for that city.

Magnet programs will not be killed in HISD; if they were, all it means is more people will leave, especially middle/upper class African-Americans. There has been de-emphasis of magnet programs in the West U/Bellaire areas for elementary schools, though, as the zoned schools have become so full that they can't have magnet programs anymore. This, IMO, is the better route to "kill" magnet programs, make it so the desirable neighborhood schools have so many zoned students they can't have magnets.

Originally Posted by Dopo

Dumb question,
is there any reason HISD has to be so big and not broken up?

Also civil rights complaints (why won't we be with the rich folk anymore), and some of the new resulting districts may completely collapse, and the State of Texas has to do something about them and merge them a la North Forest or Wilmer Hutchins.

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

Which parts of Cyfair? The Fairbanks area? That's already hood and a drag on Cyfair. I'm sure they would give it up quick like I'm sure Klein would to the KF feeder pattern schools.



HISD needs to be chopped up into about 3 districts. Look at the DFW area. HISD up there would be about 5 districts. They have so many little districts and I feel like as a whole, they're better off. HISD is just too big with too many low performing schools.


Is HISD a Title 1 district? When I was in high school someone told me that a district can be Title 1 if a high school is and that KF should be a Title 1 high school but the district has been pushing back to not be labeled as a whole Title 1

There are small parts of CFISD in the Houston city limits to the southeast, and I think that does correspond with the Fairbanks community. No high schools are in the zone but Dean Middle School and a few elementaries are in the Houston city limits. The map of CFISD is here https://www.cfisd.net/download_file/26479/5036/ - it doesn't seem to have the Houston city limits but you can see them here http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/An..._city_11x8.pdf

DFW does have its own mega-district, Dallas Independent School District, and suggestions of cutting it up had been printed in Dallas newspapers. Yet this hasn't happened, and DISD absorbed Wilmer-Hutchins back in the day. Fort Worth ISD is also a pretty big district.

Originally Posted by shanv3

Instead of increasing the freebies like lunch, breakfast, english classes etc, they should make people pay for schools. That will ensure every one goes off to work - if they really value their future and children;s education. Not privatize, but at least a 100$ per month or so. After all its not a 3rd world country where people live in poverty, its USA.

I mean they should get used to the real world where nothing is free.

HISD understandably has gone in the opposite direction, making meals free for everyone. This is because many of the students are poor (you don't want to make them pay!), and trying to determine who is eligible to pay takes up administrative money and time.

shanv, as per "I mean they should get used to the real world where nothing is free.", IMO that's insulting to the poor: they fight like hell to get benefits from stingy government agencies when they deserve the help, and they have the right to be upset at the bureaucracies. Considering how the amount of employment will go down (as in there will not be enough work for people who want it), we should move towards basic income to keep people alive and in decent *basic* conditions.

A better way to say it is: "They fight like hell to get what should be free to low income citizens."