HISD sees hundreds at job fair amidst reform program under new superintendent

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- With less than two months before school starts for Houston ISD, some questions remain about what the landscape will look like for teachers and staff now that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has officially taken over the district.

HISD's new superintendent, Mike Miles, announced a new reform program at the beginning of June called the New Education System (NES). It will overhaul 28 selected schools that feed into what he called three "struggling" schools in HISD. Employees working at those campuses must either reapply for their jobs or go elsewhere.

Last week, Houston ISD began conducting interviews for openings at those NES schools. On Wednesday, it held a job fair at Delmar Fieldhouse that was extended to all 275 schools in the district, although not all of them participated. It was not the first job fair held since the TEA takeover.

While some teachers, parents, and community members worry about the impact of the reform program, Detra Pegues is optimistic. She was one of hundreds of people who attended the job fair and hopes to find a job in mathematics or special education.

SEE ALSO: New HISD superintendent announces new principals, says more staffing changes to come

"I was initially excited about the new NES program that the district is putting together. I feel like it gives a lot of support to those campuses and teachers," Pegues said.

William Solomon, HISD's executive director of talent acquisition, said some of the positions they were hiring for at the job fair recently became available under the implementation of NES. Other positions, he said, are vacant for multiple reasons, including a critical shortage in competitive positions such as special education or bilingual education.

"We are seeing traffic (Wednesday) from those folks who have decided that they didn't want to pursue that challenge (of reapplying) at a New Education System school, and they wanted to seek other opportunities within the district," Solomon said.

Despite all the changes under the new leadership for HISD, Solomon says they saw anywhere between 300 to 400 people show up at the job fair. Some recruiters offered on-the-spot hiring, mainly aimed at teaching positions, but also offered for nurses, counselors, librarians, general clerks, and more.

Andreka Provost came to the job fair in search of positions in instructional coaching, data management, and coaching. She said all of the drama surrounding the state's takeover of HISD won't keep her from trying to work for them and feels partly incentivized by the fact that NES employees will make a dramatically higher amount of money.

"The takeover doesn't deter me because I know I'm an effective teacher. I've had a history of that in the classroom. I know what I'm doing, and as long as I have the support of the administration team, I know I can continue to thrive in any environment," Provost said.

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