An affable, casually dressed Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath came to Houston Tuesday, surveyed the goings on at three Houston ISD schools and pronounced himself pleased with how things are proceeding at the New Education System schools.
This was the first time Morath had visited HISD since the state took over the district. During the transition and early days of the takeover, angry crowds at public HISD meetings often demanded to know why Morath had sent TEA deputies in his stead to explain what would happen next and answer questions. They wanted to hear the man himself explain why he thought the superintendent and board he appointed could run the district better than its previous elected officials.
What Morath said he saw Tuesday was a"holistic" approach to education with robust reading materials, math both conceptual and practical, an emphasis on science and the arts as well as art classes, piano lessons and yoga classes. "It's been true in Houston that Houston's had some of the greatest schools in the United States. But it has also been true that it's a bit of a tale of two cities. What I want to be able to see is that the intentional effort of the system is focused on meeting the needs of all kids not just some kids.
"What we've had in Houston for two decades or more is a system that methodically allowed massive numbers of kids to fall behind," he said"A student in middle school happens to be two grade levels behind. If all you ever do for that student is teach them the very next thing that was in fact two grade levels behind, that student will never catch up.
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