NES: Your Questions Answered

1. Staffing and Employment

Be on the lookout on our HISD HR website or TeachinHISD.org for links to apply for the New Education System positions. These will be specific and tailored job descriptions, but will follow the standard HISD hiring process.

Principals:

  • Week of June 12th: Principal recruitment begins
  • Week of 6/20: Principal interviews begin
  • June 26: All NES principals selected

Teachers:

  • Week of June 12th: Teacher recruitment begins
  • Week of June 26th: Teacher interviews and panels
  • July 3rd: NES Teacher selection finalized
All school-based roles will need to reapply for their role at an NES. Roles that are not required to reapply include centrally housed operations roles, such as custodial staff, nutrition services, transportation services.

Roles Requiring Reapplication

  1. Principals
  2. Assistant Principals
  3. Teachers (Content, elective, Special Education)
  4. Counselors
  5. Para-professionals
  6. Office Managers / Clerical Support
  7. Registrar
  8. Teacher Specialists
  9. Media Specials
  10. Teacher Assistants
  11. Magnet Coordinators
  12. Interventionists

Roles NOT Requiring Reapplication

  1. Custodial Staff
  2. Nutrition Services
  3. Transportation Services
  4. Health Services (Nurse)

If you are a teacher, counselor, librarian, assistant principal, or principal with a current contract and are in good standing with the district, you are guaranteed a similar position with a commensurate salary by the start of the 2023-2024 school year. If you do not have a current contractyou will need to reapply at your school or another school with an opening that matches your credentials and desires. You may then be selected for a role either at an NES campus or at a different campus.

Yes, you can apply for a vacant position in any school – whether they are NES or not.

Employees looking to separate from the Houston Independent School District (HISD) are required to submit an official electronic voluntary separation form. The electronic voluntary separation form is accessible online through OneSource Employee Self-Service.

Contract employees seeking to resign must submit their electronic resignation form by July 14th, 2023, according to Chapter 21 of the Texas Education Code. After this deadline, Houston ISD can file a complaint with the State Board for Educator Certification, potentially leading to sanctions and restricted reemployment eligibility for up to two school years.

How to submit the electronic voluntary separation form in OneSource.

  1. Sign into OneSource using your district username and OneSource password.
  2. Select Employee Self Service
  3. Select Voluntary Separation under Contracts and Forms
  4. Fill out the requested information and click Send!

 

If you are eligible for retirement and have questions about the process, please contact the retirement storefront, at 713-695-5561.

Everyone must reapply for their jobs. If you are a principal, AP, teacher, counselor, or librarian on contract and in good standing, you will have a similar role with commiserate compensation at a school within HISD at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. If you are in any other role, you need to reapply, and may need to find a role at another school. Magnet programs and positions will be evaluated on a case by case basis. 

All principal applicants will be interviewed by the Superintendent and the Division Superintendents.

A maximum of 4 teachers will be allowed to leave 1 campus.

2. Compensation

Teachers are empowered and compensated for doing what they need to do and do best: Teach. The following compensation and supports are outlined in the table below:

Compensation

Average Middle School Teacher Salary: $81,400 – $86,400

Stipend to teach in NES: $10,000

Incentive pay for professional evaluation: $3,500

Stipend for summer professional development: $2,000

Note: Any previous stipends will be paused at this time.

Support

Discipline handled by administrators

Lessons plans provided by curriculum developers (grades 2-10)

Copies made and papers graded by support personnel

Four periods of duty per month (75 minutes each time)

Innovation

Differentiated compensation

Elimination of non-instructional tasks

Engagement of community consultants (for non-instructional subjects or electives)

Expansion opportunities for the reach of the best and brightest teachers

Additional support provided by “Apprentice Teachers”

Creation of Learning Coach position

Roles Eligible for Salary Increase and Stipends
  1. Principals
  2. Assistant Principals
  3. Counselor
  4. Dean of Students
  5. Teachers (Content, Special Education, Elective)
  6. Reading Interventionists
  7. ELD Interventionist
  8. Special Education Support
Roles NOT Eligible for Salary Increases and Stipends
  1. Learning Coach
  2. Teacher Apprentice
  3. Dyad Coordinator
  4. Nurse
  5. Office Manager
  6. Asst. Office Manager
  7. Cafeteria Manager
  8. Custodial Staff
  9. Bus Drivers
  10. Copy Clerk

The salary table for Middle School positions can be found in the table below. Salary tables for Elementary School and High School will be added to the website in the next few weeks.

MIDDLE SCHOOL SALARY TABLE
PositionSalary RangeMinimum for 3yrs of Experience (Avg. Base Salary)
MinimumMaximum
6th Grade ELA$86,000$111,000$91,000
6th Grade Science of Reading$86,000$111,000$91,000
6th Grade Math$81,000$106,000$86,000
6th Grade Science$81,000$106,000$86,000
6th Grade Art of Thinking$83,000$108,000$88,000
6th Grade Social Studies$74,000$99,000$79,000
7th Grade ELA$84,000$109,000$89,000
7th Grade Science of Reading$84,000$109,000$89,000
7th Grade Math$81,000$106,000$86,000
7th Grade Science$81,000$106,000$86,000
7th Grade Art of Thinking$83,000$108,000$88,000
7th Grade Social Studies$74,000$99,000$79,000
8th Grade ELA$84,000$109,000$89,000
8th Grade Science of Reading$84,000$109,000$89,000
8th Grade Math$81,000$106,000$86,000
8th Grade Science$81,000$106,000$86,000
8th Grade Art of Thinking$83,000$108,000$88,000
8th Grade Social Studies$74,000$99,000$79,000
Elective teachers$65,000$90,000$70,000
Reading Interventionist$85,000$110,000$90,000
ELD interventionist$85,000$110,000$90,000
Learning Coach$55,000$80,000$54,000
Teacher Apprentice$68,000$93,000$64,000

Subject areas and grade levels have starting salaries based on the value that subject brings to goals of the district. For example, a reading teacher provides an essential skill that applies to all subjects and post-secondary careers.

The $10,000 stipend applies to all teachers within any NES school. Stipends for additional programs that have been allocated previously will be suspended at this time.

The Teacher Assistant role will be transitioned to the Teacher Apprentice role and will receive salaries based on the salary table above. The Co-Teacher role will be transitioned to the Special Education Role. These positions will receive salaries based on the salary tables above.

3. Curriculum and Instruction:

Special education students will have all of their IEP services met within the NES structure, but in an enhanced way. One of the priorities across the district is to greatly improve services for our students with special needs.

These decisions will be made in the coming weeks. Magnet programs will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

The teacher evaluation system will be changing for all schools in the future.

Curriculum and lesson plans will be standardized for all NES schools. The lessons teachers teach and the pace at which content is delivered will be constructed by the school supports team. Within those lessons, teachers will have the ability to lead projects and other diverse learning experiences.

4. School Operations:

Athletics and Fine Arts will not immediately change as a result of NES implementation.

At this time, we do not anticipate changes to school start and end times for the 2023 school year. Please note that free before and after school care will be provided from 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM, but those are not “school hours.”

NES initiatives are academic and instructional improvements. There may be minor  to breakfast and other routines to increase learning and instruction time.

Becoming an NES school does not impact class size. You can anticipate they will stay roughly the same barring any dramatic changes in student population at the school.

5. Specific Schools and Programs:

The following schools are NES-designated campuses:

Kashmere High School Feeder Pattern

  • Berry EL
  • Cook Jr. EL
  • Elmore EL
  • Kashmere Gardens EL
  • Kashmere HS
  • Key Middle
  • McGowen EL
  • Roderick R. Paige EL

North Forest High School Feeder Pattern

  • Forest Brook MS
  • Hilliard EL
  • Shadydale EL
  • North Forest HS

Wheatley High School Feeder Pattern:

  • Atherton EL
  • Bruce EL
  • Dogan EL
  • Eliot EL
  • Fleming MS
  • Henderson N EL
  • Isaacs EL
  • Martinez R. EL
  • McReynolds MS
  • Pugh EL
  • Scroggins EL
  • Wheatley HS

Other:

  • Patrick Henry MS
  • Highland Heights EL
  • Marshall EL
  • Sugar Grove Academy

All NES schools will be impacted in the same way in order to improve and make consistent performance across the feeder pattern. We are ultimately going to improve performance for ALL students at the middle school and secondary level, so will immediately begin improving performance at all elementary schools.

The NES schools will implement the NES model. The details for Opportunity Culture and NES overlap will be clarified over the next few months.

There will not be changes to where students are assigned to school as a result of NES, nor will NES impact which elementary schools feed into which middle schools, and which middle schools feed into high schools.

6. Training and Professional Development:

Professional Development dates for NES schools are August 7 – 11 and August 14-25. These dates are mandatory and staff will be compensated for their additional time.

Advanced Placement Summer Institute will continue as scheduled.

7. Other Concerns:

Employees on approved protected leave, as outlined under the Family Medical Leave Act, will not be impacted. Summer plans should not be impacted unless they conflict with the required PD dates. If you have an immovable conflict during the teacher selection window OR summer PD schedule, reach out to your hiring manager. If a solution is not readily available, you need to consider applying for a role in another school outside of the NES.

We do not anticipate any changes to your student as a result of them having a parent in the school. All NES students will experience the same enhancements of the standardized, high-quality curriculum, dyad experience, trips in the 7th and 8th grade, and well-rounded experience that will set them up for a future of success.

Who can I reach out to if I have any questions?

Please email questions to [email protected]