More than 4,000 employees left Houston ISD in June, bringing the total departures since the state took over the district last year to over 10,000.
It’s not uncommon for school staff depart in the summer, but this June’s 4,000-person exodus is three times higher than the June turnover average for the past five years, according to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle.
Nusaiba Mizan, who covers education for the Chronicle, said over half the June departures were teachers.
“That would be more than 2,400 teachers separating from the district,” she said. “And then the count for principals is 48, and the count for assistant principals is 65. And there were an additional 1,500-plus employees who left the district in June.”
This also represented an increase in principal departures compared to an average year, Mizan said.
“The education team at the Chronicle has been covering principal turnover throughout the year. And what we saw was an increase, a spike in principal departures. There are 76 principals who left their positions. The majority of them were voluntary — 22 principals left for other positions in the district through reassignment or promotion,” Mizan said.
“Two were labeled ‘involuntary.’ Though of the ones that were voluntary, one thing to note is that there were principals who were asked to resign or face board termination.”
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Mizan said departing teachers described a change in culture that made the district an undesirable place for them to work.
“Some of the teachers we spoke to described a change in the culture since the state appointed leadership to the district in June 2023,” she said. “Words such as ‘fear’ and ‘micromanaging’ were used to describe the shift in culture and the pressure they’re facing.
Also want to be clear, the teachers and principals we interviewed stressed that they are following reforms and trying to do their best for students. One special education teacher, formerly with the district, said she feels that the superintendent is portraying teachers as if they have their feet up on the desk or they’re not doing enough. But she said that teachers are trying their best, and she called for a change in top leadership.”
These departures were spread out across the district, though a few campuses had particularly high exit numbers, including Bellaire High School, Westside High School, Wisdom High School, and Paul Revere Middle School.
Mizan said when she presented the turnover numbers to the district they pointed instead to the low number of vacancies.
“The comment they issued was that there are only 43 teaching vacancies to fill across the entire district, which is 274 schools,” Mizan said. “They also provided a quote: ‘This is remarkable considering that just two years ago the district began with 640 vacancies and thousands of students didn’t have a teacher on the first day of school.’ The district also said in its comment regarding principals that all but one principal vacancy was filled.”
Given the level of turnover, Mizan said teacher groups are calling for qualified hires.
“One thing I would point out is that teachers, as well as the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, the largest teachers union in Houston, have highlighted the need for qualified teachers to take the place of teachers who left the district,” she said. “They stress the need for certified teachers, and qualified teachers to step into these roles.”
