Houston ISD's new superintendent expected to start June 2021
HOUSTON - HISD has named a new Superintendent. Millard House II has led a Tennessee school district for the last four years. Now it appears he’ll head Houston ISD.
"The Board of Education has unanimously voted to appoint Mr. Millard House II to serve as our next permanent Superintendent of HISD," announced HISD Board President Dr. Patricia Allen.
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So who is Millard House II?
"I’ve had the opportunity to work in three school districts over the course of my career," House explains. He's leaving Clarksville-Montgomery County School System in Tennessee to take the job as Houston’s Superintendent. He's also been the Deputy Superintendent in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Chief Operating Officer in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg School District in North Carolina.
"We feel that it’s not just his leadership profile. He has the goal and his entire conversation is on children and being successful and helping the children to accomplish. All of his conversations with us is to put the children first, not the leadership. Children first," says Dr. Allen.
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"I want to focus on ensuring that we provide the equitable experiences to make sure our students are college and career ready. That takes work. That takes planning," House adds. House is coming from a district of 37,000 kids to HISD’s more than 200,000 students.
"He wants to come in and build our teachers up. Right now teachers are the most powerful resource that we have," says HISD Board Member Elizabeth Santos. The Houston Federation of Teachers released a statement saying in part "Houston educators look forward to a productive partnership with Millard House" who knows along with the new title comes challenges such as the state potentially taking over HISD. House says they'll work together as a team to avoid that.
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"Conflict happens in many instances but drama is a choice. We look forward to working through conflict. We look forward to ensuring that we don’t have drama at any level," House says. House is a graduate of a magnet high school in Tulsa and says he's in favor of HISD's magnet program. He’s also a member of the non-profit Chiefs for Change, an organization for leaders in education.
Dr. Grenita Lathan who served as HISD’s Interim Superintendent for the last three years is headed to lead the Springfield (Missouri) Public School District.
Houston residents have 21 days to make their opinion about House known. The board will then take a final vote and House is expected to start as HISD’s new Superintendent next month in June 2021.