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Houston ISD slated to adopt strategic plan inMarch HOUSTON ISD Superintendent Millard House will soon release a new strategic plan document for the district in March, which he said will better outline the actions the district takes to advance its priorities over the next ve years. House—who joined Houston ISD last summer—said the plan will cover Although the new strategic plan for Houston ISD will continue to be developed through March, Superintendent Millard House laid out ve main areas the plan will cover. AN EARLY OUTLINE 1 Cultivating world-class talent: SOURCE: HOUSTON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER 2 Providing equitable opportunities and resources at every school: recruit, develop and retain e ective and caring teachers, principals and support sta develop turnaround strategies at struggling campuses
Rice University expanding income bracket for full-tuition scholarships Rice University announced changes to its student nancial aid plan Dec. 16, including grants covering tuition, room and board and mandatory fees for any student whose family’s annual income is lower than $75,000. Full tuition scholarships will also be available to any student whose family income bracket falls between $75,000 and $140,000. All nancial award changes are set to be available at the start of the fall 2022 semester. Changes were announced shortly after Rice University launched a capital campaign in October with the goal to reach $2 billion by 2025. More than $1.2 billion in commitments has already been raised with large donations from organizations such as the Moody Foundation, a charity based out of Galveston. Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School wrapping up renovations after more than four years After its K-12 campus was ooded in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey, the most damaged building of St. Thomas’ Episcopal School, Shaw Hall, is scheduled to open in February. Shaw Hall caters to the school’s middle and high school students, who attended school in temporary building spaces during the repairs. Also part of the school’s rebuilding project is a new playground and sports pavilion slated to cost $750,000, although construction has yet to be approved. A capital campaign at Rice University aims to fund a new student center. (Rendering courtesy Rice University)
ve areas: cultivating world-class talent; providing equitable opportu- nities and resources at every school; promoting high-quality teaching and learning; ensuring great schools in every community; and delivering exceptional services to students with exceptional needs. Each of the district’s priorities have been assigned an “owner” on district sta who has been charted with developing the action plan. In the months leading up to March, owners will set up metrics to track the e ectiveness of each program. HISD has also been working with a technical provider that has helped gather data, House said at a Nov. 18 board meeting. “This plan will provide us with a blueprint for the next ve years … and will outline the major actions we will take to advance each of the district’s priorities,” House said. The plan will shape how the dis- trict allocates budgetary resources. House said it was heavily informed by community feedback he heard at listening sessions that took place over his rst 100 days as superintendent. Hiring quality teachers is among the district’s top priorities, House
3 Promoting high-quality teaching and learning: bolster professional development opportunities
4 Ensuring great schools and programs in every community:
address magnet deserts
5 Delivering exceptional services and supports to students with exceptional needs:
implement high-quality systems and services that increase performance
said, but he emphasized the import- ant role support sta play as well. “We plan on implementing an ambitious comprehensive strategy to recruit, develop and retain e ective and caring teachers and principals, as well as support sta ,” he said. “A lot of times, school systems can leave out the idea of support sta . We want to make sure we cover the gamut.” The process of guring out how to recruit teachers starts with an assessment of HISD’s human capital strategies and an evaluation of how the district identi es its strongest teachers. Stronger teachers can then be provided incentives to work at schools with higher needs. Part of the process will also involve bolstering the professional development o ered by the district, a strategy House called “developing
your way to success.” “For those that need additional support, we build the kind of pro- fessional development systems that will allow us internally to ensure that we’re giving educators exactly what they need so they can grow,” he said. The details of the plan were discussed as HISD looks to leverage federal coronavirus relief money to more aggressively hire counselors, special education teachers and other support sta . The plan will be released in time for priorities to be incorporated into budget workshops in the spring, House said. “If we are going to focus on these particular priorities, there will have to be a rearrangement of how we allocate our funds,” House said. “We’re going to have to look at everything.”
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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