Education

Student Mobility Leaving Districts in the Houston Area: Where do students go? And do they return?

This study highlights the unique patterns of student mobility and the returner phenomenon in 10 Houston-area school districts.

Flows of Student Mobility in the Houston Region

In this series of research briefs, HERC examines the between district mobility of students from the perspective of 10 public school districts in the Houston area.

Student Mobility Networks in the Greater Houston Area

This brief explores the informal networks of elementary school student mobility in the Greater Houston area across 27 independent school districts (ISDs).

Social and Emotional Skills of Students in the Houston Independent School District (Brief 1)

Two briefs analyze the social and emotional skills of a representative group of 10 and 15-year-old students in HISD.

Texas’ approach to virtual learning is another step backward for equity

Texas Senate Bill 15 is awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. Originally intended to set in place policy to fully fund virtual schooling for districts around the state, the passage of this bill could have been a proud moment for Texans, a response to the immediate needs of school districts during the pandemic.

Predictors of School Year Student Mobility in the Houston Region

This study identified student characteristics associated with school year mobility for more than 260,000 students in grades 4 through 8 who began the 2016-17 school year at a school in one of ten Houston area school districts.

Without mask mandates, Texas undermines school districts' efforts to undo pandemic learning gaps

The Texas Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on local mask mandates means the state has officially told public schools to start the 2021-2022 school year as if the COVID-19 pandemic never happened. More correctly, as if it was still not happening. Others have already pointed to the health risks posed by not having a mask mandate in place at schools, and schools around the Houston area have already had to close because of outbreaks. But beyond the dangers posed to the health of students, staff, and families, the state’s approach is undermining schools’ ability to accelerate students’ learning and close gaps created and compounded over the past 18 months.

Community Bridges work demonstrates the need for nonprofits to be responsive, accessible despite disparities

With 25 years of service, the Girls Empowerment Network's focus on listening and being responsive to its clients drove home a key lesson: For any nonprofit to be effective, it needs to continually make its services accessible to people.

Changing Schools: Differences in School Year Student Mobility by Subgroup (Part 4)

This study used seven years of data from the state of Texas (2010-11 through 2016-17) to illustrate how statewide patterns of school year student mobility differed by subgroup. Patterns of student mobility differed by race, socioeconomic status, and English learner status.

After rushing to provide virtual instruction and social supports, school districts can take stock of lessons learned

The shift to 100% online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 meant school districts around the country needed to quickly develop plans for how to implement distance learning and serve student needs. The Houston Education Research Consortium analyzed the plans of 45 school districts from 15 states for insights into the collective response to the pandemic.

COVID-19 U.S. School District Action Plans: How were school districts prepared in the spring of 2020?

HERC collected 45 school district action plans addressing continuity of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic from school districts in 15 states that were publicly available between March and May 2020.

Concentrated poverty in schools is redlining’s legacy. Undoing it should be ours.

As the school year ends, the relief is palpable. Let’s acknowledge what we went through during the pandemic. Many of us are feeling burnt out, but this is not the time to stop paying attention. Now is the moment to think big about the future of education.

Eviction Prevalence and Spatial Variation Within the Houston Independent School District

This research brief examines the distribution of eviction filings across the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in 2017 and 2018.

In its 10th year, Community Bridges projects confront ever-apparent inequalities in Houston

The inequality that exists across Houston neighborhoods has perhaps never been more evident than it has over the past year.

Exit Only or Revolving Doors: Student mobility to and from non-Texas public schools and non-district charters

To investigate this phenomenon of “returners,” Houston Education Research Consortium researchers followed two types of leavers in a cohort of Houston-area students to see if and when they return.