In February, the Chronicle‘s editorial board sounded approving of Dr. Abe Saavedra’s aggressive reform ideas for HISD:
If Abe Saavedra makes good on the initiatives pledged in his State of the Schools speech Tuesday, the next 12 months will usher in dramatic changes in Texas’ largest and the nation’s seventh-largest school district. The challenge to the new superintendent will be to translate his words into action while correcting deficiencies and maintaining the support of the diverse communities whose children attend school in the Houston Independent School District.
Today the Chronicle scolds Dr. Saavedra for trying to usher in dramatic changes:
By not adequately preparing the community for his school management proposal, Saavedra created unnecessary controversy. The timing of the reconstitution announcement shortly before the end of the school year has had the same impact on teachers and their representatives.
Likewise, the district quickly backed off a proposed change to eliminate math and science requirements for high school juniors and seniors. Saavedra says he will form a committee to consider the issue. It shouldn’t take them long to decide that in an increasingly technological world, HISD students need more upper-level math and science courses, not fewer.
Now that the district has decided to use its own managers to fix the low-performing high schools, they should move swiftly to produce results. No one should tolerate public schools that fail to educate their students.
(Picture Anne with her jaw on the floor.)
I’m at a total loss.
RELATED: A clarification regarding underperforming high schools (bH), The “outsiders” outrage that won’t die down (bH), Chron‘s HISD story is very misleading (bH), HISD’s math and science proposal, in Dr. Saavedra’s own words (bH)
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: The editorial conveniently ignored the extent to which the Chronicle‘s own coverage of HISD has bordered on journalistic malpractice at times (as Anne Linehan has documented). Indeed, by ignoring it, the editorial itself verges into that very territory. So much for the ideal state.
