Sweat beads on Houston ISD eighth-grader Roberto Hernández’s forehead as he walks to the corner store for a bottle of water after soccer practice. The late afternoon sun stretches his shadow far across the grass.
Reflecting, Roberto ticks off the ways his campus, Fondren Middle School, has changed this year: Students take short quizzes each day in most classes, the library that used to have beanbags is now filled with desks, and core classes assign half an hour of worksheets after the day’s main lesson.
Those are new policies HISD Superintendent Mike Miles has implemented this year at 85 schools, including Fondren Middle, as part of a district overhaul meant to improve academics. Next year, the model will include 130 schools — roughly half the district.
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