HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ‘Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center 4400 West 18% Street * Houston, Texas 77092-8501 Grenita F. Lathan, Ph.D. ‘wns HoutontSD.org Intern Superintendent of Stools wvtvittercom/HoustenlsD September 13, 2019 Mr. Mike Morath Commissioner of Education Texas Education Agency 1701 North Congress Avenue ‘Austin, TX 78701-1494 Commissioner Morath: Pursuant to the directive that I received from the Board of Trustees for the Houston Independent ‘School District (‘the Board’), the district submits an appeal to the accountability rating issued for Wheatley High Schoo! (101912018) in Houston ISD, Wheatley’s preliminary rating is an F based on the scores below: 57 (F) 68 (D) 59 (F) 50 (F) 59 (F)* “Overall score was reduced from 63 to 59 based on step 10 on page 48 of the Accountability Manual (i.e. the “3 out of 4 rule"). In reliance on the statement in the 2019 Accountability Manual allowing districts and charter ‘schools to appeal for any reason, the Board seeks consideration of the following basis for an appeal. 4. As a high school, Wheatley is evaluated on multiple lagging indicators. In particular, the College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) Components of both Domain 1 and Domain 3 are based on the 2017-2018 graduates who were seniors when Hurricane Harvey struck. If only 2 additional students had met CCMR in Domaint, it would increase the Domain 2, Part B component score from 28 to 29 resulting in a 60 (D) scaled score. As a result, the "3 out of 4 rule” would no longer apply, and the overall score would be 63. 2. In their discussion of this issue at the September 5 meeting, Board members expressed that students, staff, and the Wheatley community would be unfairly impacted by an F rating. The broader argument, as presented by the Board, is that a lower rating makes it harder to educate children and keep strong teachers at the school. Based on the traumatic nature of Harvey and the impact the hurricane had on HISD students and their families, the Board asks that the Commissioner take a second look at the district's accountability data and exercise his discretion to change Wheatley's rating to Not Rated: Harvey label. ‘The Board also discussed two possible remedies: 1. Assign Wheatley's rating without applying the “3 out of 4" rule (ie. 63 (D))..2. Assign a label of Not Rated based on the commissioner's discretion to otherwise determine a campus will not be rated as set forth in the 2019 Accountability Manual pages 4-5 (last bullet point). On information and belief, | have accurately recounted the basis set forth by the Board for appealing Wheatley’s 2018-2019 accountability rating. Sincerely, Shen le» Grenita F. Lathan, Ph.D. Interim Superintendent of Schools Attachments cc: Felicia Adams, Area Superintendent, Achieve 180 Schools Joseph Williams, Principal, Wheatley High School Carla Stevens, Assistant Superintendent, Research and Accountability