In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) moved to remote learning, which included distance learning, independent study, live online meetings, and completing assignments online or paper-based packets mailed to the home beginning on March 30, 2020. HISD extended remote learning through the end of the…

In November 2019, the Legislative Budget Board published a management and performance review of the Houston Independent School District. Among its recommendations was one that concerned professional development for teachers of English learners (ELs). Specifically, the report recommended: "[S]urveying teachers of ELs to determine where they…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) moved to remote learning, which included distance learning, independent study, live online meetings, and completing assignments online or paper-based packets mailed to the home beginning on March 30, 2020. HISD extended remote learning through the end of the…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) moved to remote learning, which included distance learning, independent study, live online meetings, and completing assignments online or paper-based packets mailed to the home beginning on March 30, 2020. The last nine weeks of the 2019-2020 school year were…

The Writer's Workshop is an approach to writing instruction using a workshop model. It is being implemented in kindergarten to fourth-grade in the Houston Independent School District. The Writer's Workshop sought to improve students' writing through teacher preparation by accommodating weaker students in research-based approaches that treat…

In January 2007, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) inaugurated the Teacher Performance-pay Model, 2005-2006, becoming the first school district in the nation to implement a performance-pay system of this magnitude based on individual teacher effectiveness. The experience gained in the first year and consultations with national experts…

Strategic Reading and Writing (SRW) is a reading and writing intervention course available to sixth- through tenth-grade students in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) who did not meet Grade Level standards on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) grades 3-8 reading the previous school year or who fell below the…

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) currently offers two bilingual programs and two English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for English language learners (ELs). These programs facilitate ELs' integration into the regular school curriculum and ensure access to equal educational opportunities. Bilingual programs are offered in…

The purpose of the ASPIRE Award Survey was to gain insight regarding the level of knowledge and perceptions of Houston Independent School District (HISD) teachers and staff after seven years of implementation of growth-based performance pay in HISD, as well as their perceptions regarding the overall concept of teacher performance pay.…

Concerns about the equitable distribution of school funding within and across school districts have led to new federal data collections on school-level expenditures. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) required states to collect and report, for the first time, school-level data on both personnel and non-personnel expenditures…

The Houston Independent School District's (HISD) goal is to produce capable, confident young adults who are poised to excel in whatever they do. Whether they emerge from high school with dreams of pursuing higher education or choose to enter the workforce immediately, HISD wants its graduates to be ready to succeed. One way they assess their…