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48-492: In late 1970, MAEC organized boycotts and walkouts of schools within the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in protest against the district's racist integration orders. In protest, MAEC established "huelga" schools where Mexican American children could attend school while the concerns were resolved. More than 3,500 students participated in the protests. MAEC was formed in the summer of 1970. MAEC

96-588: A community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities in addition to some unincorporated areas . Like most districts in Texas, it is independent of the city of Houston and all other municipal and county jurisdictions. The district has its headquarters in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center in Houston. In 2016, the school district

144-630: A grade of 84. In 2019 271 HISD schools were counted in TEA accountability ratings. 250 schools passed, while 21 (7.5% of schools) did not. In 2020 the HISD board voted 6-3 against naming Lathan as permanent superintendent. Millard House became the new superintendent on July 1, 2021. All board members voted to approve him and he was the only finalist for the position. He was from the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System . During

192-406: A minimum of press coverage and controversy by using a participative process that minimized conflict between various Houston neighborhoods. McAdams credits the move with being the catalyst for the 1995 establishment of 11 geographic districts patterned around high school feeder patterns. In 1994, after superintendent Petruzielo left the district, the school district voted 6-1 to make Yvonne Gonzalez

240-471: A model for other urban school districts as a way to provide a high quality education and keep top performing students in the inner city from fleeing to private schools or exurban school districts. Magnet schools are popular with parents and students that wish to escape low-performing schools and school violence. The members of the administration of schools losing students to higher-performing campuses, such as Bill Miller of Yates High School , complained about

288-674: A phase-in with each subsequent grade being integrated. Local African-American leaders believed the pace was too slow, and William Lawson, a youth minister, asked Wheatley students to boycott school. Five days afterwards 10% of Wheatley students attended classes. In 1970 a federal judge asked the district to speed the integration process. Simultaneously Mexican Americans were being discriminated against when they were being labeled as whites and being put with only African Americans as part of HISD's desegregation / integration plan. This kept both Mexican Americans and African Americans away from Anglos while satisfying integration requirements set forth by

336-517: A semi-peaceful manner. River Oaks Elementary School became the first school to implement the HISD's Vanguard Program in the fall of 1972, with a program for 4th-6th graders. This program was initially named the Elementary School For The Gifted. The Vanguard Program name was adopted a year later. A desegregation busing plan, protested by Anglo White westside neighborhoods not wanting their children bused to predominately black schools,

384-416: A special focus and draws students throughout HISD. Each vanguard program is a gifted and talented program for students throughout HISD. A neighborhood vanguard program is a program designed for gifted and talented children zoned to a particular school. As of 2011, its 113 programs served almost 20% of the HISD student population. HISD, which officially first opened its magnet system in 1975, started them as

432-731: A teacher at Prairie View State Normal & Industrial College . Whiting taught school until she married in 1941. She served on the Metropolitan Council of the Houston YWCA , and the Houston Association for Better Schools. In 1958, White was elected to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) board, as its first Black member, and as the city's first Black elected official since Reconstruction . Despite controversy and violent racist threats, White

480-558: A vendor, and HISD. Frankie Wong, former president of Micro Systems, and two Dallas Independent School District administrators received criminal charges. As of 2007 several existing HISD schools were converting to K-8 school setups while other new K-8 schools were opening. Prior to the bond election in November 2007, the district abandoned a proposal to convert several schools into K-8 campuses due to African American neighborhoods communities resisting proposed school consolidations. In 2011

528-611: A way to voluntarily racially integrate schools. The High School for Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) was technically the first magnet school in Houston; this status was mistakenly attributed to River Oaks Elementary School . In 1984 the district had 75 magnet programs. By the mid-1990s many magnet schools no longer held the goal of integration and instead focused on improving educational quality of schools. As of 2011 magnet schools continued to be popular among HISD constituents. HISD's magnet (Performing Arts, Science, Health Professions, Law Enforcement, etc.) high schools are considered

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576-794: Is more equity in its gifted and talented program. As of the 2014-2015 school year, over 59,700 HISD students reported the language spoken at home by their families as Spanish. Over 925 reported their home language as Arabic and over 445 reported their home language as Vietnamese. As of 2015 other common languages were Mandarin Chinese, Nepali, and Urdu. As of 2014 the most common native languages for limited English and/or English learner students were Spanish (58,365 students, or 92% of ELL students), Arabic (855 or 1.3%), Vietnamese (437 or 0.7%), Mandarin Chinese (319 or 0.5%), Nepali (295, 0.5%), Swahili (250 or 0.4%), French (139 or 0.2%), Urdu (143 or 0.2%), Amharic (107 or 0.2%), and Tigrinya (104 or 0.2%). As of 2013

624-579: The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas House agreed to institute a mask mandate effective fall 2021 despite Governor of Texas Greg Abbott banning school districts from having mask mandates. Additionally the HISD board of education voted to approve the mask mandate. The vote was eight in favor and none voting against. In 2023 the Texas Education Agency announced that it will remove the superintendent and

672-590: The Philippines from 1998 to 2007. Bilingual educational services, as of 2014, are available for Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Nepali, Urdu, and Swahili speakers. According to Texas Administrative Code BB § 89.1205 a language is eligible to have a bilingual program if 20 or more students are present in a school district who speak that language as their home language. Houston ISD offers three specialized programs, magnet programs , vanguard programs, and neighborhood vanguard programs. Each magnet program has

720-457: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) had opened an investigation against the school board and ordered a halt to any efforts to recruit a permanent superintendent. By August 2019 the TEA wrote a preliminary report recommending that the HISD school board be dissolved, with a state-appointed board of managers and conservator replacing it, and to reduce the accreditation of HISD. The report alleges wrongdoing of various board members, including violations of

768-600: The Texas Education Agency ordered the North Forest Independent School District (NFISD) to close, pending approval from the U.S. Justice Department . NFISD would be merged into HISD. On June 13, 2013, the HISD board voted unanimously to absorb the North Forest Independent School District (NFISD). HISD won the Broad Prize in 2013. On January 14, 2016, the HISD board voted 5-4 to rename four campuses named after Robert E. Lee or others linked to

816-536: The 1924-1925 school year. In 1927, Houston ISD annexed the Harrisburg School District's colored school. The district also built new schools such as the former Jack Yates High School (later Ryan Middle School ) and Wheatley High School . The capacity of Houston's secondary schools for black children increased by three times from 1924 to 1929. The original secondary school for blacks was named Colored High School (now Booker T. Washington High School ). At

864-528: The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court case decision. Many Mexican Americans took their children out of the public schools and put them in "huelga," or protest schools. On August 31, 1970, and organized by the Mexican-American Education Council (MAEC), they began three weeks of boycotts, protests, and picketing. This action lasted approximately three weeks, during which up to 75% of the student bodies of some high schools participated in

912-526: The Confederacy. In October 2018 the HISD board chose to appoint Saavedra as the interim HISD superintendent, but the board later reversed its decision. The board members who did not favor bringing in Saavedra were not aware of this until a board member who did support this announced the decision at an official board meeting. The reversal meant that Grenita Latham remained as the interim superintendent. By 2019

960-754: The October 2006 "For Your Information" newsletter, the eleven HISD schools which took the largest number of Katrina evacuees were: A University of Houston study concluded that the presence of Katrina evacuees did not impact the test score grades of native Houstonian students. In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Federal Communications Commission , and the United States Department of Justice began an investigation probing business relationships between Micro Systems Enterprises,

1008-478: The Texas Open Meetings Act. The TEA initially had suggested a board takeover due to poor performance at some schools, but the alleged violation of the open meetings act when several board members attempted to re-hire Saavedra, without the knowledge of the remaining board members, became the reason to seek dismissal of the board. In 2019 HISD received a grade of 88 - "B" - from the TEA, while in 2018 it had

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1056-573: The White Oak Independent School District in 1937 and portions of the Addicks Independent School District after its dissolution. In the fall of 1960 12 black students were admitted to HISD schools previously reserved for whites. The racial integration efforts in HISD, beginning in 1960, were characterized by a lack of violence and turmoil as business leaders sought not to cause disruption. Prior to 1960 HISD

1104-673: The appeals after formation of the district was denied. HISD once served the Harris County portion of Stafford , until the Stafford Municipal School District was established in 1982 to serve the entire city of Stafford. Most of Stafford was in Fort Bend ISD , with a small amount in Houston ISD. In 1987 Olivia Munoz, the district's foreign language director, said that an increase in interest in foreign languages prompted

1152-556: The board of trustees, and therefore begin to directly control HISD. The Houston Independent School District takeover formally began on June 1, 2023 with the appointment of a new superintendent and board of managers. Millard House II was replaced as HISD superintendent by Mike Miles (school superintendent) as part of the planned takeover. HISD focuses on bilingual education of its predominantly Hispanic student body, including recruiting about 330 teachers from Mexico , Spain , Central and South America , Puerto Rico , China , and

1200-472: The boycotts. To advance their cause, they petitioned and received $ 65,000 in funding from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1970. During the protests MAEC demanded twenty issues to be resolved and HISD began rezoning school areas within its jurisdiction in response. However, this rezoning encouraged "white flight" since minorities were now entering "white schools" in large numbers. At first

1248-459: The boycotts. During the protests MAEC demanded twenty issues to be resolved and HISD began rezoning school areas within its jurisdiction in response. However, this rezoning encouraged "white flight" since minorities were now entering "white schools" in large numbers. At first the district used forced busing , but later switched to a voluntary magnet school program in order to discourage "white flight". The district eventually integrated races in

1296-421: The district to add foreign language languages to four high schools. In 1992, the district, under superintendent Frank Petruzielo, massively rezoned Houston schools, moving students from overcrowded ones to underutilized ones. Donald R. McAdams, a former HISD school board member and author of Fighting to Save Our Urban Schools-- and Winning!: Lessons from Houston , wrote that Petruzielo accomplished this goal with

1344-529: The district used forced busing , but later switched to a voluntary magnet school program in order to discourage " white flight ". The district eventually integrated races in a semi-peaceful manner. Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District ( HISD ) is the largest public school system in Texas , and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as

1392-451: The effects. There are 55 elementary magnet schools, 30 magnet middle schools, and 27 magnet high schools. Some magnet schools are mixed comprehensive and magnet programs, while others are solidly magnet and do not admit any "neighborhood" students. In April 1997 a lawsuit against HISD seeking to end race-based admissions to magnet schools was filed on behalf of two white applicants to Lanier Middle School who were denied admission because

1440-417: The employment of the district over one decade before Oberholtzer started. By the 1930s the two men were in a power struggle. The number of students in public schools in Houston increased from 5,500 in 1888 to over 8,850 in 1927. In the 1920s, the school district expanded its infrastructure to accommodate a growing number of black students. There were 8,293 students in Houston's schools for black students in

1488-530: The expected decline for fall 2019 was 1,500. HISD officials cited enrollment in charter schools as a factor. The district chose to engage in advertising as a way to combat this. Until 1970 HISD counted its Hispanic and Latino students as "white." Between the 1970-1971 and the 1971-1972 school years, during a period of white flight from major urban school districts across the United States, enrollment at HISD decreased by 16,000. Of that number, 700 were African Americans. The HISD student body had white students as

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1536-465: The first Black member of the Houston Independent School District 's board in 1958, she was also the city's first Black elected official in the 20th century. Hattie Mae Whiting was born in Huntsville, Texas , the daughter of David Wendell Whiting and Hattie Gooden Whiting. She was raised in Houston, where she attended Booker T. Washington High School and Houston Colored Junior College , and trained as

1584-574: The interim superintendent; the school district board members described this as a "symbolic" motion as Gonzalez was the first Hispanic interim superintendent. Gonzalez served until Rod Paige became the superintendent. In 1995 HISD had a performance audit; As of 2019 this was the last such audit done. In the 1990s, after voters rejected a $ 390 million bond package, Paige contracted with The Varnett School , River Oaks Academy , and Wonderland School to house 250 students who could not be placed in HISD schools. The schools were paid $ 3,565 per student. This

1632-482: The largest group until the 1972-1973 school year, when the largest group became the black students. The white student body decreased, while the Hispanic student body increased and became HISD's largest student demographic in the 1989-1990 school year. In 1975 the student body was 39% White and 19% Hispanic. In 1981 the district had 190,000 students; 31% of the district's students were Hispanic, and 21% were White. In 1990

1680-537: The long term within the Houston ISD boundaries. Walnut Bend Elementary School 's enrollment increased from around 600 to around 800 with the addition of 184 evacuees; Walnut Bend, out of all of the Houston-area elementary schools, took the most Katrina victims. Nearby Paul Revere Middle School, located in the Westchase district, gained 137 Katrina victims. Revere, out of all of the Houston-area middle schools, has taken in

1728-497: The most Katrina victims. Houston ISD's "West Region," which includes Walnut Bend and Revere, had about one-fifth of Houston ISD's schools but contained more than half of the 5,500 Katrina evacuees in Houston schools. At the start of the 2006-2007 school year, around 2,900 Hurricane Katrina evacuees were still enrolled in Houston ISD schools. Around 700 of them were held back due to poor academic performance. 41% of evacuee 10th graders and 52% of evacuee juniors were held back. According to

1776-479: The numbers of ELL learners by home language were: 56,104 for Spanish, 662 for Arabic, 538 for English, 528 for Vietnamese, 277 for Nepali, 271 for Mandarin, 212 for Swahili, 159 for Urdu, and 1,750 for other languages. In the 2015-2016 school year, 58% of HISD students went to the schools of their attendance boundaries, about 27% attended other HISD schools, and 15% attended schools in other school districts and/or charter schools. Of high school students, 54.7% attended

1824-673: The quota for White students was filled. The lawsuit was funded by the group "Campaign for a Color-Blind America". That year, as a result of this lawsuit, HISD removed the ethnic guidelines to Vanguard enrollment. For the 2017-2018 school year the district reported a total enrollment of 214,175 As of 2015, 7% of black students, 13% of Hispanic students, 36% of white students, and 43% of Asian students in HISD were labeled as gifted and talented. Students from wealthy families were twice as likely to be labeled as gifted and talented compared to students from economic disadvantaged backgrounds. HISD has been implementing multiple strategies to ensure there

1872-524: The schools they were zoned to, 33% attended HISD schools that they were not zoned to, and 11.5% attended charter schools or public schools in other districts. In the 2015-2016 school year there were 4,894 students transferring to four comprehensive high schools located in communities in which 33% or more of the students were Anglo White (Bellaire, Heights, Lamar, and Westside high schools) and 4,073 students transferred to other comprehensive high schools. The student population declined by about 4,000 in 2018, and

1920-468: The story in an attempt to discredit the Bush administration 's new accountability standards for school districts nationwide, which were partly modeled after HISD's system. In 2005, HISD enrolled evacuees from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina who were residing in Houston. The Houston Astrodome , the shelter used for hurricane evacuees, is located within the HISD boundaries. Many Katrina evacuees stayed for

1968-439: The student body was 43% Hispanic, 40% Black, and 15% White. At the time 45% of HISD schools had no white students. By the 1990s HISD's student body was increasingly made up of racial and ethnic minority groups. In 1999 4,400 students in the HISD boundaries were attending state-chartered schools. Hattie Mae Whiting White Hattie Mae Whiting White (May 22, 1916 – July 30, 1993) was an American educator and politician. As

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2016-416: The time, the district's three secondary schools for black students had junior high and senior high levels. There were 12,217 students in the black schools in the 1929-1930 school year. William Henry Kellar, author of Make Haste Slowly: Moderates, Conservatives, and School Desegregation in Houston , wrote that conditions in black schools "improved dramatically" in the 1920s. Houston ISD absorbed portions of

2064-454: Was 10% lower than the district's own per pupil cost. A 2003 The New York Times report which asserted that HISD did not report school violence to the police created controversy in the community as teachers, students, and parents expressed concern about the district's downplaying of campus violence. HISD officials held a news conference after the publication of the story. During the conference, HISD asserted that The New York Times published

2112-434: Was headed by Leonel Castillo and an activist nun, Sister Gloria Gallardo , served as interim director for a while. On August 25, 1970, Castillo spoke at a hastily-planned press conference, explaining the position of MAEC. On August 31, 1970 MAEC began aggressive boycotts, protests, and picketing. These actions lasted approximately three weeks, during which around 60% of the student bodies of some high schools participated in

2160-401: Was outspoken in favor of school desegregation and federal funding programs, and was re-elected in 1961 and 1964. She was defeated for re-election in 1967, and in a run for the Texas legislature in 1968. White returned to schoolwork after her political career, and retired from teaching in 1986. In 1985, she gave an oral history interview to Jon Schwartz, for the documentary This is Our Home It

2208-515: Was rated "met standards" by the Texas Education Agency . The Brunner Independent School District merged into Houston schools in 1913-1914. Houston ISD was established in 1923 after the Texas Legislature voted to separate the city's schools from the municipal government. In the 1920s, at the time Edison Oberholtzer was superintendent, Hubert L. Mills, the business manager of the district, had immense political power in HISD. He had been in

2256-469: Was rejected by the court system but white flight began by the 1970s. Circa 1972, a group of citizens in western Houston tried to form Westheimer Independent School District out of a portion of Houston ISD. It would have removed 23 square miles (60 km ) from the HISD territory. At the time 90% of the students in the area were white. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected

2304-409: Was the largest racially segregated school system in the United States. In the mid-1960s Gertrude Barnstone and Black board member Hattie Mae White , the sole politically liberal members of the school board, often clashed with more conservative board members in meetings held on Monday nights; the two women made efforts to racially integrate the schools. During the 1960s, HISD's school board instituted

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