HISD teacher and principal resignations climb drastically under TEA takeover

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Brandie Dowda is a veteran teacher who has spent eight years in the classroom. She has a master's degree and is a library expert who suddenly found herself without a library to work in.

"Because my campus became (a New Education System school), they don't have staffed libraries, and the libraries were converted into team centers," Dowda said.

With no job progression in sight, she made the hard decision to leave the district and work elsewhere.

"It was a rough year. I'm really happy in my new position in my new district, but when (Superintendent Mike) Miles leaves, and he will at some point, when we have our autonomy back, I would be happy to come back to HISD to rebuild the library program," Dowda said.

SEE ALSO: More resignations from HISD leadership posts as TEA takeover looms

Dowda wasn't the only one to make this choice. According to Houston ISD, 2,634 teachers resigned from the district in the 2022-23 school year, a huge jump from the school year before the TEA took over, when there were 1,023 resignations.

Principals are also resigning at an alarming rate; 54 resigned in the 2022-23 school year compared to 30 the year before.

Dowda said these numbers don't surprise her.

"I'm teaching at a large campus that is fully staffed for the first time in years. A lot of us come from HISD," Dowda said.

She didn't name her new district for privacy reasons. Dowda said she hopes to return to HISD one day but said there need to be some major changes before she does.

SEE ALSO: HISD students plan walkout as investigation launches into state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles

"Miles needs to go. He doesn't value his teachers and he doesn't value the input of the community," Dowda said.

HISD told ABC13 that despite a spike in resignations, as of now, they have less than 50 teacher vacancies.

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