EDUCATION
Top education stories to watch in 2023
2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
HISD adds new magnet schools in push for equity Houston ISD students looking to get involved in a magnet school will have seven new options for the 2023-24 school year. BY SHAWN ARRAJJ NEW NEXT YEAR New specialized magnet programs are being established at seven Houston ISD campuses in the 2023-24 school year.
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The Houston ISD board of trustees approved the establishment of seven new magnet schools at its November meeting, following up on promises made by Superintendent Millard House II in his ve-year plan to address “magnet deserts”—parts of the district where students previously could not access magnet programs close to them. New programs were added at Attucks, Fonville, McReynolds and Patrick Henry middle schools; Mad- ison and Worthing high schools; and at the Houston Math, Science & Technology Center High School. Several trustees initially called for delaying the November vote due to concerns that ranged from HISD not providing enough information on the programs to schools not receiving additional funding to support them. District 9 Trustee Myrna Guidry expressed concerns about Worthing High School in particular. “They’re barely maintaining their [career and technical education program], and now you’re saying their CTE funds are going to be used to manage this magnet,” she said. “They don’t have the funding, and it will fail.”
Attucks Middle School: science, technology, engineering, math Fonville Middle School: STEM Patrick Henry Middle School: medical careers McReynolds Middle School: STEM, public policy
Madison High School: STEM careers Houston Math, Science, & Technology Center High School: careers in medicine Worthing High School: agriculture and aquatic science careers
Houston ISD to consider new trustee district boundaries As of press time Jan. 9, the Houston ISD board of trustees was set to consider new boundary lines at a Jan. 12 meeting for nine trustee districts as part of the decennial redistricting process. The boundary lines need to be redrawn due to state laws that require districts to have balanced populations, according to information submitted with the Jan. 12 agenda item. However, some trustees have called on the district to delay the vote until February to reconsider plans in Southwest Houston. Several speakers at a Jan. 5 agenda review meeting argued the proposed boundaries divide southwest Houston communities, such as Gulfton and Sharpstown, limiting voter power in those areas.
SOURCE: HOUSTON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
HISD o cials said coordinators at each campus will be added to help market the new magnet programs across the district. “As they market it, the hope is increased enrollment, which would derive additional funding based on the ... allocation we get from the state,” said Michael Love, executive o cer of innova- tion, at the November meeting. As part of the strategic plan, the district is also looking at its magnet funding model to identify possible changes, Love said. Students can apply for magnet schools through Feb. 2. Noti - cations on acceptances will begin being sent out on April 5. HISD o ers magnet programs at around 100 of its campuses.
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