Education

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.

Surveying Houston’s progressive shift through 40 years of data

Houston, a quintessentially free-enterprise, anti-government city, is increasingly recognizing the critical role of government in strengthening the safety net, expanding opportunity and building resiliency, according to the Kinder Houston Area Surveys.

Literacy by 3

The Literacy by 3 Classroom Practices and Campus Literacy Growth study is the first to examine the relationship between Literacy by 3 practices and campus literacy growth in HISD.

Kinder Houston Area Survey: 2021 Results

For the past four decades, Rice University’s Kinder Houston Area Survey (KHAS) has been tracking the changing attitudes and beliefs of Harris County residents. The 2021 survey summarizes the most consequential changes and their implications for public policy initiatives going forward.

An Alternative Approach to Measuring Student Immigrant Generation

The goal of this methodological study is to evaluate the efficacy of an innovative approach to create a proxy indicator of immigrant generation for school districts to use when data on immigrant generation or parent birthplace are unavailable.

Investing in ‘human infrastructure’ today is an investment in America’s workforce of tomorrow

In Houston and across the country, the growth in younger populations is being driven by people of color — many of whom continue to grow up experiencing high levels of poverty. To ensure the nation's economic success in the future, there needs to be more support for children in the U.S. starting now.

Long-term English Learners (LTELs): Increases in LTELs in Texas (Part 2)

This brief highlights the increasing percent of English learners becoming long-term English learners in the last two decades and points to a set of mechanisms that may serve to explain this increase.