Terry Grier | |
---|---|
Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District | |
In office September 1, 2009 –March 1, 2016 | |
Preceded by | Abelardo Saavedra |
Succeeded by | Richard Carranza |
Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District | |
In office March 2008 –August 2009 | |
Superintendent of the Guilford County Schools | |
In office 2000–2008 [1] | |
Terry B. Grier [2] is a former superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD),the largest school district in the State of Texas,as well as San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and Guilford County Schools.
He was born into a low income family,in which members were poorly educated,in Fairmont,North Carolina. He was the first member of his family to attend university and received his PhD from Vanderbilt University. Mimi Swartz of Texas Monthly stated that his PhD "was no doubt a source of pride,an indication of just how far he had come." [3]
In a twenty-five year span,Grier worked for eight different school districts. He initially served as an athletic coach and later as a teacher. He first became a school superintendent at age 34. [3]
Grier served as the superintendent of Guilford County Schools for fewer than eight years. Swartz stated that this length of service was "a lifetime in the annals of superintendents" in the U.S. [3]
He served as the superintendent of San Diego USD for one and one half years;Swartz described his SDUSD term as "combative". [4] Once the SDUSD board ended supporting Grier,he looked for other employment opportunities. [3]
Grier,who arrived in Houston in August 2009, [3] began his term at HISD after all members of that district's board voted to hire him in September 2009. [5] Grier's wife saw promotional material for HISD and suggested going to that district,which had two times the budget and overall size of the previous one. HISD board members wanted to improve the district's perceived standing - among the best of urban districts but still below average overall - without installing too much radical change,and they felt that a stronger personality was needed to check Gayle Fallon,the head of the Houston Federation of Teachers. [3]
While the previous superintendent,Abelardo Saavedra,decentralized management at HISD,Grier re-centralized it. Grier established the Apollo 20 program,using a more rigorous curriculum at schools known for having low test scores. Swartz characterized Apollo 20 as being similar to that of KIPP,a charter school network. [4] Swartz explained that rising superintendents tend to enact innovative programs as those who are perceived as doing too little are often fired,and that for Grier Apollo 20 serves as his "novel program that attracts attention and helps them advance when the end comes,as it inevitably does." [3] Grier also commissioned a study that concluded that magnet school programs - previously seen as being highly successful in HISD - should be severely curtailed. [3]
Swartz stated that initially Grier,who was perceived as being "brusque",was seen as a potential reformer who could make necessary changes and that in July 2010 Grier "was still a pretty popular guy". [3] The Houston Chronicle initially ran content supportive of Grier. However Swartz stated that by 2011 several vocal groups made heated rhetoric against Grier. [3] She explained there were members of the public who believed Grier was too ambitious and trying to change too many things at once,contrasting him with Saavedra,who she stated was perceived as having accomplished relatively little. [4] A May 2011 editorial by a teacher leaving HISD in the Chronicle was the first article in that paper that was critical of Grier. [3] Swartz described Grier as "smart and articulate and charming" but that since people often have different facets of their personalities,it means other characterizations may also be accurate. [6] The business networks of Houston and the HISD board were in favor of Grier. [3]
Grier resigned effective March 1,2016; [5] his work was to end on February 29. His contract was originally scheduled to end in June of that year. [7] Laura Isensee of Houston Public Media stated that the length of Grier's term outlasted the three-year average for a superintendent of a large school district. [8]
Roderick Raynor Paige served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige,who grew up in Mississippi,moved from college football coach and classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African American to serve as the U.S. education chief.
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas,and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities in addition to some unincorporated areas. Like most districts in Texas,it is independent of the city of Houston and all other municipal and county jurisdictions. The district has its headquarters in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center in Houston.
Bellaire High School is a comprehensive,public secondary school in Bellaire,Texas. Part of the Houston Independent School District,it serves the incorporated city of Bellaire,the Houston community of Meyerland,and other adjacent Houston neighborhoods. It has a racially and socioeconomically diverse student body.
Stephen F. Austin High School is a secondary school located at 1700 Dumble Street in Houston,Texas,United States. The school handles grades nine through twelve and is a part of the Houston Independent School District. In 2013,the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Meyerland is a community in southwest Houston,Texas,outside of the 610 Loop and inside Beltway 8. The neighborhood is named after the Meyer family,who bought and owned 6,000 acres (24 km2) of land in southwest Houston.
Margaret Long Wisdom High School,formerly Robert E. Lee High School,is a publicly funded secondary school located in Southwest Houston,Texas,United States 77057. The Houston Independent School District,the 7th largest school district in the United States,operates Wisdom,a public admission school that enrolls grades 9 through 12. The school serves the neighborhoods of Uptown,Briargrove,Westchase,and Gulfton areas of the city of Houston. Houston Independent School District will submit construction documents in 2016–2017 school year. After the construction documents are submitted,They will vote to seek approval for the new school.
North Forest Independent School District (NFISD) was a school district in northeast Houston,Texas. Established in the early 1920s in a low-income white area,it later became majority-black and black-run. The district had a history of financial and academic issues from the late 1980s until 2013. On July 1,2013,it was closed by order of the state and absorbed into the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
Sharpstown High School is a secondary school at 7504 Bissonnet Street in Greater Sharpstown,Houston,Texas,United States with a zip code of 77074. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.
Jones Futures Academy,previously Jesse H. Jones High School,is a public high school in South Park,Houston,Texas,United States. It has Dual Credit Magnet Program with emphasis in Health Sciences and Petroleum Engineering. Students who maintain the course of the entire program would graduate high school in May/June of their Sr. year and will have the ability to receive an associate degree in August following their graduation in one of their offered degree programs. Jones,which serves grades 9 through 12,is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Jones was named after Jesse Holman Jones.
Evan Edward Worthing Early College High School is a secondary school located in the Sunnyside area of Houston,Texas,United States.
Ebbert L. Furr High School is a secondary school located in Houston,Texas,United States. Furr,which serves grades 9 through 12,is a part of the Houston Independent School District.
Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston,Texas that serves grades 9 through 12;it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood,and its namesake is the nearby Kashmere Gardens neighborhood.
Abelardo Saavedra is a former school district superintendent. He previously served as the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) headquartered in Houston,Texas,United States. In addition he formerly served as superintendent of the Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) and the South San Antonio Independent School District (SSAISD).
Port Houston is a neighborhood located on the East Side of Houston,Texas,United States.
William H. Wharton K-8 Dual Language Academy,formerly William Wharton Elementary School,is a public school in the Neartown area of Houston,Texas,and part of the Houston Independent School District. Also known as the Wharton Dual Language Academy,the school serves gifted and talented students in the Language Magnet program from Pre-K through 8th grade.
Richard A. Carranza is an American educator who was the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education from 2018 to 2021. He was appointed by Mayor de Blasio after Alberto M. Carvalho publicly turned down the job in March 2018. He previously was the superintendent of the Houston Independent and the San Francisco Unified School Districts. He is Chief of Strategy and Global Development at IXL.
Joan M. Raymond was a school district superintendent. She was such of Houston Independent School District (HISD) from 1986,until 1991,as well as for the Yonkers Public Schools,Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205,and the South Bend Community School Corporation.
Yvonne Gonzalez is a former school superintendent,serving in that capacity in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) in 1997 as well as in Santa Fe Public Schools from 1994 to 1996. She also served as interim superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in 1994. Her career in education ended after a conviction in federal court for embezzling money from DISD.
F. Mike Miles is the current superintendent of Houston Independent School District. He previously served as the superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) from July 1,2012 to June 25,2015,and previously in Colorado Springs.
The Houston Independent School District takeover is a 2023 takeover of the state's largest school district by the Texas Education Agency,replacing the superintendent and elected board of trustees with a board of managers and a new superintendent appointed by the Texas commissioner of education.