HOUSTON – Students at Fleming Middle School in the Houston Independent School District have completed their first semester as a New Education System (NES) campus.
KPRC 2 reporter Candace Burns, who is currently embedded at Fleming MS this school year and documenting the changes brought to the campus by state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, revisited administrators, parents and students before their winter break to get their perspectives on how the first half of the school.
Fleming Middle School Principal, Devin Adams, said although the campus met its goal of having a third of students testing at grade level by the end of the first semester, there is still room for improvement.
“I think things have been going good,” Adams said. “The NES system is working at Fleming. There are parts of it that are difficult to uphold and sometimes it can be difficult.
Some of those difficulties, which KPRC 2 highlighted in our previous coverage of NES and its effect on students at Fleming MS, included the strict “level 0″ or no talking policy, the fast-paced, timed learning environment and the lack of peer-to-peer interaction.
“It’s mostly strict and we can barely talk in the hallways,” student Kamerandera Scott said. “I’m learning stuff because I get A’s in my class, but they go too fast.”
Adams said although the numbers show students are learning in the new system, it’s also causing anxiety in some students.
“We are here in support of the student’s academic, social and emotional well-being,” Adams explained. “It’s incumbent upon us as a campus to figure out how we can make sure that those things are happening for the students within the model.”
Parents at Fleming MS seem to be on board with the changes as well, but like the students, they share concerns about the pace of the lessons.
“My daughter can’t keep up with that,” parent Christine Frazier said. “My daughter is Special Ed. She had a lot of accommodations and in-class support, and when the TEA came in, they did away with all the accommodations, so she is in regular population, and there is nothing we can do about it.”
Fraizer said he would like Miles and other HISD leaders to provide better accommodations for special ed students.
“They deserve a proper education, and they need the help that they need,” Fraizer explained.
Adams said he’s working with the district to help get teachers trained and students the help they need.
“There are some classes, some teachers who have higher data than others,” Adams said. “But overall, I am seeing a positive trend. I would not say that I’m surprised, but there is always room to grow.”
Principal Adams said over the winter break, he will be working on a state of the school presentation for teachers to present data on how the school is meeting students’ needs and what needs to be improved.
SEE MORE FOCUS ON FLEMING COVERAGE
First look inside Fleming Middle School, the HISD campus KPRC 2 will spend a year chronicling