Hello Houston,

Have any questions for Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath? We'd love for you to join the virtual Q&A that the Chronicle is hosting with him at noon on Oct. 22.

Among other topics, Morath will be discussing HISD, curriculum changes and the challenges facing Texas teachers. You can RSVP here to the live event, hosted by Lisa Falkenberg, the Chronicle’s senior columnist.

Must-reads:

• Niche named three well-known HISD magnet campuses among the top 20 public high schools in the state. Here’s which schools made the list.
• HISD enrolled the entire student body of Las Americas Newcomer School into the adjacent Jane Long Academy because of plummeting enrollment.

Megan Menchaca, Houston ISD Reporter megan.menchaca@houstonchronicle.com

Photo by: Staff photographer

1 in 4 HISD teachers were uncertified as 2025-26 school year began

Houston ISD records show that about 25% of its 10,200 teachers were uncertified as of the first day of school this year — a slight increase from the previous year.

According to district data, 71% of schools increased their share of uncertified teachers compared to last year. Atherton Elementary in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward saw the biggest percentage point increase, while Port Houston Elementary saw the largest decrease.

The number of uncertified teachers in the district as of October remains unclear. Last month, HISD announced that it had cut 160 uncertified teachers as part of a budgeting process to reconcile staffing with enrollment levels.

The increase comes amid a wider trend of more uncertified teachers working in K-12 schools statewide. About one-third of newly hired teachers in Texas lacked certification in the 2023-24 school year, according to a Chronicle analysis.

Superintendent Mike Miles has previously said that the district’s uncertified teachers get good results — even though they may not be the most experienced teachers — due to the district’s process for bringing them up to speed. 

Read more details in Nusaiba Mizan’s story here, including how many uncertified teachers your child’s school had this August.

Inside the Reporter's Notebook

HISD Board of Managers held their required “annual team-building session” bright and early at the Hattie Mae White Center Saturday. (You can find the slides the board coach presented here, and the full recording of the meeting here.)

The appointed board, the superintendent and the board coach spent about an hour walking through how the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability system works before heading into closed session for another three hours.

While he didn’t reference the Chronicle’s editorial on A-F scores directly, HISD board president Ric Campo did make sure to note during discussion that districtwide, there was only a four point difference between HISD’s 2025 student achievement and growth accountability scores. 

“We didn’t make these rules,” Miles said. “We didn’t make all the A through F (rules,) so we're doing well, and we're doing well by the rules set by the state.”

What Else Happened This Week

Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle HISD cuts, reassigns hundreds of teachers, staff members amid enrollment drop The state's largest school district is undergoing annual staff reductions and reassignments. Read More

Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer HISD makes another change to teacher evaluation form amid pay-for-performance Evaluation ratings in 2025-26 will determine pay. Read More

Photo by: Kirk Sides, Houston Chronicle HISD Westside High School student arrested for exhibiting firearm on campus A Houston ISD student at Westside High School was arrested Wednesday and charged with exhibition of a firearm on a school campus. Read More

Photo by: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer Greg Abbott names Texas' Blue Ribbon winners, despite national program cut Gov. Abbott said Texas will be continuing the Blue Ribbon program locally after it was canceled by the Trump administration as part of budget cuts. Read More

Photo by: Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images Complaints against teachers for Charlie Kirk comments surge past 350, TEA says The Texas Education Agency declined to say how many total public school teachers and staff are being formally investigated. Read More

Photo by: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Texas schools banned more than 1,700 books last school year, report finds The bans occurred across seven Texas school districts. Read More

Photo by: Kirk Sides, Staff Photographer Thank you, teachers, for sticking it out | Opinion "Teaching in today’s classroom is not easy, never was, or will be. Let’s celebrate and support those who answered the call to make a positive difference," one reader writes. Read More

The Calendar Ahead

• Oct. 6: College Fair at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church from 4 to 8 p.m.
• Oct. 7: District Advisory Committee meeting at Hattie Mae White Center at 5:15 p.m. 
• Oct. 8-28: Pre-K Parent Palooza from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 9: HISD Board of Managers regular meeting at HMW at 5 p.m.
• Oct. 20: Early voting starts for HISD District V, VI and VII trustee elections
• Oct. 23: HISD Board of Managers hearings at HMW at 5 p.m.
• Oct. 29: Trunk or Treat at HS for Law and Justice from 5 to 7 p.m.