HISD's 'bold plan' to help cover teacher vacancies ahead of 1st day of school

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- With just days away from the first day of school, Houston ISD is already having some staffing issues.

The school district said it currently has 386 teacher vacancies but is implementing a plan to ensure that every student begins the school year with a certified teacher.

According to a release from Superintendent Millard House II, the district is trying to accomplish the following:

• Work with principals to ensure that campus-based staff that hold teacher certifications are placed in classrooms until a high-quality teacher is hired.
• Deploy about 250 central office staff members with teacher certifications to all campuses that have teacher vacancies that they cannot fill.

"In addition to ensuring that every student has access to a certified in-person instructor, we are also launching a virtual academy for students who need to quarantine to ensure they do not miss out on instruction," House wrote. "This academy will cover all core content areas across grades Pre-K through 12 and will be taught by about 80 additional teacher-certified instructors from central office."

With these measures, HISD said it will begin the school year more fully staffed with certified teachers.

"Given the detrimental effect that COVID has had on student learning, it is critical that our students have access to quality instruction. I am confident that this plan will go a long way in helping us accomplish this," House wrote.

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