HISD considering closing Jones High, Fleming Middle, and Dodson, Port Houston, and NQ Henderson (Bellaire: layoffs, transfer)

[Vicman]

HISD considering closure of five campuses at end of school year | abc13.com

HISD is considering closing:

• Jones High School
• Fleming Middle School
• Nat Q. Henderson Elementary
• Port Houston Elementary
• Dodson Elementary

Jones is in South Park and parts of southeast Houston are zoned to Jones. Fleming is north of the Fifth Ward and half of the Fifth Ward is zoned to it. The Port Houston neighborhood is zoned to Port Houston Elementary. Much of the Third Ward is zoned to Dodson Elementary.

[key2thecity]

I think this is awful. What's even worse is people's apparent lack of interest in it. Had this post referred to schools in Katy, Cypress, or in and around the Woodlands, Memorial area, Galleria area, etc., I'm sure there would have been much more interest. Demographics has A LOT to do with the lack of interest and the fact that these closures are happening in the first place.

Anyway, as someone who grew up near these areas but was not zoned to these schools, I feel that this is horrible for the community. I've been out of grade school for a little over a decade and these schools have always been in danger of closing and were consistently considered "bad schools" that kids did not want to attend and parents transferred their children out of. HISD has failed these areas, specifically because they gave up on these schools a long time ago with very little effort to turn them around. HISD is (and perhaps always will be) to large to keep a consistent standard of quality amongst their schools. I feel bad for these areas as I know the schools near their zones are not much better.

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by key2thecity

I think this is awful. What's even worse is people's apparent lack of interest in it. Had this post referred to schools in Katy, Cypress, or in and around the Woodlands, Memorial area, Galleria area, etc., I'm sure there would have been much more interest. Demographics has A LOT to do with the lack of interest and the fact that these closures are happening in the first place.

Anyway, as someone who grew up near these areas but was not zoned to these schools, I feel that this is horrible for the community. I've been out of grade school for a little over a decade and these schools have always been in danger of closing and were consistently considered "bad schools" that kids did not want to attend and parents transferred their children out of. HISD has failed these areas, specifically because they gave up on these schools a long time ago with very little effort to turn them around. HISD is (and perhaps always will be) to large to keep a consistent standard of quality amongst their schools. I feel bad for these areas as I know the schools near their zones are not much better.

What do you suggest to improve it? History have indicate once a school is failing, it is next to impossible to bring it back. Since those schools have failed the students OVER AND OVER, what else could be done beside closing it? I am so glad they doing this. If this is Chicago or New York, the black leaders, teacher unions, hispanic leaders, and gods know who else will be protesting and rising a stink. Of course none of them will have a solution, but they all got what they wanted, attention and no layoffs of failing teachers.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by key2thecity

I think this is awful. What's even worse is people's apparent lack of interest in it. Had this post referred to schools in Katy, Cypress, or in and around the Woodlands, Memorial area, Galleria area, etc., I'm sure there would have been much more interest. Demographics has A LOT to do with the lack of interest and the fact that these closures are happening in the first place.

Anyway, as someone who grew up near these areas but was not zoned to these schools, I feel that this is horrible for the community. I've been out of grade school for a little over a decade and these schools have always been in danger of closing and were consistently considered "bad schools" that kids did not want to attend and parents transferred their children out of. HISD has failed these areas, specifically because they gave up on these schools a long time ago with very little effort to turn them around. HISD is (and perhaps always will be) to large to keep a consistent standard of quality amongst their schools. I feel bad for these areas as I know the schools near their zones are not much better.

According to the article, the closing are population driven - not enough students to justify the costs.

Why is this not reasonable?

[key2thecity]

Originally Posted by ipuck

What do you suggest to improve it? History have indicate once a school is failing, it is next to impossible to bring it back. Since those schools have failed the students OVER AND OVER, what else could be done beside closing it? I am so glad they doing this. If this is Chicago or New York, the black leaders, teacher unions, hispanic leaders, and gods know who else will be protesting and rising a stink. Of course none of them will have a solution, but they all got what they wanted, attention and no layoffs of failing teachers.

I agree with you 100% about the minority leaders. A lot of talk, very little action. However, it's the district that should have turned the school around. The same resources and attention are not distributed amongst the schools equally. As I said, I grew up near this area, this was a decades old problem. What will closing the school do? Push them into another school, possibly Sterling or Worthing, that has historically been just as bad. Then what? Close those too? Then there would be no schools in the area.

I don't have a suggestion. I'm on the outside looking in and have had no professional experience in Education. However, HISD did not do their job and definitely failed the students in this area.

[key2thecity]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

According to the article, the closing are population driven - not enough students to justify the costs.

Why is this not reasonable?

If that is the real reason, then it is justifiable.

[Schumacher713]

Seems they are closing them for low enrollment not performance. Things change and we have to adapt.

[ipuck]

LOL. I never read the article either. I was commenting on the 2nd posters opinion.

Reading about bad school and still operating reminds me of thisSchool of No | New York Post.

[jradMIT]

Ya'll are really good at setting up straw men and knocking them over. You can blame HISD and minority leaders in Chicago next time. Enrollment driven.

[hbcu]

HISD is the problem....

they let the Vanguard School parents talk them into leaving Jones...never replaced the program with something attractive enough..the "old" residents of South Park never cared to get the school back like the push was to regain Reagan

also...HISD has let school transfers get out of hand...they see all these kids transfer out but what's done to keep them there? Kids bussing across town at 5 a.m. just to play sports, etc.....they turn a blind eye

if the good kids keep bussing out to Bellaire, Lamar, etc. how can a bad school turn around? HISD needs to get a grip on that