It appears Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt left Houston just in time. Texas last week announced a state takeover of the Houston public school district, which is the state’s largest school district and the nation’s eighth largest.
Anchorage hired Bryantt in the summer of 2022. Bryantt served as the Houston Independent School District’s executive officer of talent. If he had waited much longer to leave, the unraveling of the school district might have left a big question mark on his resume. After all, Bryantt was in charge of recruiting and hiring.
The Office of Talent’s web page states “We are committed to getting outstanding results for our students. Human Resources impacts student achievement by:
- Recruiting, selecting, retaining, and developing exceptional people.
- Providing employees excellent support and development.
- Maintaining high expectations.
- Delivering high-quality customer service.
But last week the Texas Education Agency essentially declared the school district a failure after the performance of some schools is so bad that the agency believes the district is a candidate for House Bill 1842, passed in 2015, which mandates an intervention and sanction of a public school that has received an unsuccessful performance rating for two or more consecutive years.
TEA is appointing a new Board of Managers for the school district because of academic failures, especially at Wheatley High School, where students are failing. U.S. News ranks it between 13,383-17,843 of all high schools in its National Rankings, and the school, which is one of 50 high schools in Houston, ranks between 1,213-1,481 in state rankings. Ninety-nine percent of the students are “economically disadvantaged” and only 4% pass advanced placement tests. Reading proficiency is 15%.
“What that law requires is if that threshold is ever met, that the commissioner of education is required, it’s not discretionary, is required to either order a closure of that school or order a board of managers for the whole district,” Morath told KTRK. “It’s not in the best interest of kids at Wheatley to close Wheatley, so that leaves us with the board of managers,” he said.
At the time of Bryantt’s hiring by the Anchorage School Board, Board President Margo Bellamy said that Bryantt was chosen because of “He articulates specific and innovative plans to improve proficiency in reading and math. He is laser focused on students and their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs along with a sincere desire to ensure adequate resources are directed to the classroom to support educators and support staff.”
In his statement to the community upon his hiring, Bryantt said “Serving the Anchorage community as superintendent would be the privilege and honor of a lifetime; I want to put down roots here, and unite our complex, multicultural community around our schools. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and partner with the community to create a shared vision of educational excellence. I have a track record of leading academic gains and attracting top talent into one of America’s largest and most diverse school districts; I am prepared to lead the Anchorage School District into a bright, exciting new chapter.”
The first part of Bryantt’s exciting new chapter will occur at Monday night’s board meeting, when Bryantt will recommend the closure of one of the top-performing schools in Anchorage — Family Partnership Charter School. See story by David Boyle, Must Read Alaska education writer, below.
