Mike Miles has created a toxic culture of fear. Teachers are afraid. Students are afraid. Principals are afraid. This is not how you create a meaningful and effective learning environment for children. 

Governor Abbott could not have picked a better puppet than Miles to set the stage for vouchers. 

In an interview with Houston Public Media, “education consultant and former Houston ISD principal Steve Amstutz called the system ‘a nightmare Rube Goldberg machine.’

“The principal appraisal system — and the proposed teacher appraisal system that did not go into effect this year — both have lots of moving pieces in them," Amstutz said. "It’s hard for principals and teachers to even know where they stand along the way. You just wait for everything to happen in the black box, and a number gets spit out ... to find out whether or not you did a good job. That’s not a way to lead people or help people grow."

“The evaluation system also calls for a "target distribution" of performance ratings. Miles believes about 10% of principals should fall into the bottom rung and face automatic non-renewal. The distribution places another 22% of principals in the second-to-bottom bracket, meaning about a third of campus principals should be rated as less than proficient.” Read the rest of this in-depth Houston Public Media report here.

CVPE wrote last fall that the scoring criteria are so ambiguous and ill-defined that this principal evaluation system may not even pass the “arbitrary and capricious test.” 

Love principal Tellez explains the culture of fear and threats that led to his resignation last Friday after choosing to defy Mike Miles and opt out of the NES system. 

“Tellez said there was "very unanimous" opposition among parents and educators who feared changes to school culture, shifts in dual-language programming and increased teacher turnover.

In February, Tellez was one of five principals who rejected the reforms. “In subsequent conversations with district administrators, "the word ‘regrettable' was used multiple times," Tellez said. HISD Administration stated, "My decision was ‘regrettable for my community,' and for myself as a leader, and I was starting to read between the lines."

This is not leadership. It is dictatorship. Miles is trying to get rid of every teacher and principal who will stand up for kids.

It is time for every Houstonian who cares about public education to stand up for our children and our schools.

Be the leader you have been looking for.