Three HISD schools' fates uncertain

There is no word from HISD yet on whether three schools, Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School, will open again next fall. HISD officials wouldn't discuss the issue, saying only that they're they're waiting on the Texas Education Agency to analyze students' test scores and decide whether or not these three campuses are "academically acceptable." The high schools are both located in north Houston, while McReynolds is east of downtown, just off I-10.

Kashmere and Sam Houston are among the most consistently underperforming high schools in HISD. However, Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra has praised the gains made at Kashmere, Sam Houston and McReynolds this year. He has declined to comment on whether test scores improved enough to meet the acceptable mark. The schools have all earned unacceptable ratings for at least three consecutive years. Last summer, the HISD board voted to close any of the three schools if they did not make it off the unacceptable list. Officials have said that HISD probably has a reasonable guess as to whether or not the schools will open in the fall, but are discouraged from speculating publicly.

Board member Diana Davila, who represents McReynolds Middle, told the Chronicle that she has not seen a contingency plan for the schools. She stated that she is "sure there's a plan that exists" and it's a "matter of if I want to sit down and actually hear it." Most board members and officials did not say much about the situation.

These schools have historical significance in Houston and are part of family traditions. Sam Houston was founded in 1878 in downtown Houston, and has undergone several name changes and a relocation since then. They print the oldest high school newspaper in Texas and started the world's first girls' Military Drill Squad.

Update: The Chronicle is reporting that the schools will stay open next year, regardless of their rating. Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra will ask the school board this month to reverse its decision from last year to consider closing the schools, he said, because the district will not receive the accountability ratings from the state until August, leaving little time before classes begin.