Southwest
Houston school district trying to woo parents while losing students amid school choice competition
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Houston Independent School District (HISD) has to win back parents as more appear to be turning away from large urban school districts across the country.
“If you’ve been looking at the national statistics, a lot of places have experienced enrollment loss. In Houston, right after COVID, this district lost 15,000 kids that didn’t come back,” HISD Superintendent Mike Miles told Fox News Digital.
“A lot of districts lost a lot of kids, and they never came back,” Miles added.
HISD presides over 274 schools and 184,109 students. Historically the largest school district in Texas, despite some fluctuations in recent years after COVID, the district touted academic progress across all grades and subjects and “more than doubled the number of A and B rated schools in just two years.”
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HISD reported a significant drop last week. Houston Public Media obtained a document from the district confirming that their enrollment declined more significantly last year than officials expected. (Houston Independent School District)
“Additionally, the District is retaining its best and most effective teachers. Last year, more than 84% of teachers rated Proficient I or above and 89% of teachers rated Exemplary I returned for the 2025-2026 school year,” a district spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
However, despite its success, the rise of school choice policies has forced public school districts to compete. Charter schools have intensified that competition because they aren’t regulated the same way as traditional public schools. Most states restrict parents to schools within their ZIP code or district, but charter schools give families alternatives. Additionally, more parents are choosing to homeschool their children since the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re looking forward to capturing some of the kids who may have gone to charter schools and getting them back,” Miles told Fox News Digital. “I think we’re getting to a point where we will be competing well with any other school, charter, voucher, virtual, private, and that’s we’re trying to do,” he added.
HISD reported a significant drop last week. Houston Public Media obtained a document from the district confirming that their enrollment declined more significantly last year than officials expected. Houston Independent School District lost 8,300 students this year, totaling more than 16,000 students leaving the state’s largest school district over the past two years, according to the Houston Chronicle.
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HISD presides over 274 schools and 184,109 students. Historically the largest school district in Texas, despite some fluctuations in recent years after COVID, the district touted academic progress across all grades and subjects and “more than doubled the number of A and B rated schools in just two years.” (Houston Independent School District)
“What we do know aligns with larger national and statewide patterns. Large urban non-charter districts across Texas are experiencing enrollment drops, while suburban and rural districts are seeing increases,” a district spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
School districts across the country — especially in urban areas — have experienced enrollment declines. Texas is among several states enacting universal school choice legislation in response to parents seeking alternatives to traditional public schools. The state created an Education Savings Account program with an initial $1 billion investment.
The legislation introduces new competition into the education landscape, giving parents options outside the neighborhood school their child is zoned for — posing challenges for districts struggling to retain students.
HISD told Fox News Digital that “there is no single cause for enrollment decline.” Miles echoed that point, citing multiple issues driving the drop, including challenges facing large metropolitan areas — rising housing costs, poverty, and declining birth rates.
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“The biggest loss in enrollment was pre-K, first and second grade. And you already know that in the United States, but also in Texas and in Houston, demographics are changing. In other words, we don’t have as many kids born here. That’s one, so the birth rate has declined, and you can see that in our earlier grades having an impact,” Miles said.
“Houston is one of the poorest cities in the nation,” he continued. “The poverty rate is high and people move because of changes in the market. People who have fewer resources often are more impacted by increases in inflation or just property … What’s different in Houston is that we are now experiencing such good academic growth.”
Teachers unions often criticize school choice policies, saying they siphon per-pupil funding from traditional public schools by allowing parents to opt out of their neighborhood campuses. Critics argue that money taken away from those schools could instead be used to raise teacher pay, improve facilities and recruit more educators.
Houston skyline. (iStock)
The Trump administration has made strides in expanding school choice nationwide. Among them is instituting a federal tax credit scholarship, giving individuals across the country an opportunity to support school choice programs within their states, circumventing anti-school choice measures.
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Authorities are investigating a shooting that left a man dead in a car in Boyle Heights on Sunday night.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a “multiple shots fired” call came out at 9:45 p.m. near 4th and Mott streets.
“When officers arrived, they found a vehicle stopped in lanes,” an LAPD spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “Upon further investigation, they found a man … suffering from a gunshot wound.”
The victim, who was only listed as a Hispanic man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene by L.A. Fire Department paramedics, the LAPD spokesperson said.
There was no information on a suspect right away. Video from the scene showed investigators centering their probe around an SUV, with the area blocked off and a white tent erected.
Nancy Fontan and KTLA photojournalist Dan Lunsford contributed to this report.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Robert Bolanos has died after a “lengthy illness,” the sheriff’s department announced Sunday.
Detective Bolanos joined LASD in 2000, working in the North County Correctional Facility and the Men’s Central Jail. He completed his patrol training at the Century Sheriff’s Station, where he later became a school resource officer.
He ended his career as an LASD detective working out of the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones, friends, and partners in tan and green during this difficult time,” the sheriff’s department said.
Los Angeles, Ca
A strong El Niño is coming to California. You may notice something different at the beach
El Niño is known for bringing soaking storms to California, especially the state’s southern half. A lesser-known side effect of the climate phenomenon? The Pacific Ocean’s famously frigid waters may be a little more welcoming.
El Niño tends to be associated with warmer-than-average ocean temperatures all along the West Coast, NOAA research scientist Dillon Amaya told KTLA’s parent company, Nexstar.
Just how warm are we talking? There’s a range of outcomes, Amaya explained. If you look at the two strongest El Niño events on record – the one from 1997-1998 and the one from 2015-2016 – the water at Scripps Beach in La Jolla got as warm as 74 or 76 degrees in late summer. That’s compared to around 68 degrees in an average year.
This year’s El Niño could be one for the record books, as well. The latest forecast showed an increased chance of a “super” (or very strong) El Niño.
“Much of the U.S. West Coast is currently experiencing a strong marine heatwave,” Amaya pointed out. “Add in El Niño and long-term warming from climate change, and we could be looking at record-breaking ocean temperatures this year.”
To get a better sense of what we might be in for, take a look at the chart below of sea surface temperatures from Scripps Beach.
The black line shows the average water temperature when you look at every year since 1950. The orange and purple lines show the water temperatures during our strongest El Niño events.
“These ‘Super El Niños’ kept ocean temperatures much warmer than average for almost the entire year,” Amaya said.
Now focus your attention on the columns of the chart shaded in red. Those are the winter months when an El Niño was present. While it’s more likely you’re brave enough to get in the water in the summer months, the effects of El Niño are more pronounced in winter and spring, Amaya said.
You can see the range of all El Niño water temperatures in that band of gray, from as low as 54 degrees to as high as 64 degrees in winter. But there’s a lot more gray above the black line than below it, Amaya pointed out, showing more often than not the water is warmer-than-average during an El Niño winter.
In addition to bringing the heat, El Niño tends to have other impacts on West Coast beaches, as well. It can create higher tides and stronger swells, pounding California’s beaches and contributing to erosion along the coast.
Not to mention the other problems associated with warming oceans. “The last time we had a very intense and sustained marine heatwave, we saw mass seabird die-offs, whale entanglements, kelp forest degradation, harmful algal blooms which poisoned shellfish (and surfers!), sea lion starvation and northward fish migration,” Amaya said. “These impacts could resurface if El Niño prolongs or even intensifies the ongoing marine heatwave.”
Warmer waters can also make storms more intense, and in rarer cases bring tropical cyclones to the California coast.
It’s too soon to tell how El Niño will play out this year. It’s favored to begin soon, at some point between now and July.
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