HISD presents family sentiment survey and a long-term plan to 'Accelerate Houston' amid enrollment losses
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Summary
Superintendent Mike Miles and staff reported a Winter Family Sentiment Survey showing high favorability among respondents and outlined 'Accelerate Houston' and 'Future 2' pilot schools to prepare students for an AI-influenced workforce while flagging a $50–$72 million annual revenue hole tied to enrollment declines.
Superintendent Mike Miles and district staff presented results of HISD’s 2025–26 Winter Family Sentiment Survey and an overview of a multi-pronged strategy the administration calls Accelerate Houston.
Matt Sawyer, who led the survey analysis, told the board the district received a 25.7% response rate from a sample of roughly 43,000 invited families, with "more than 11,000 families" responding. Sawyer reported that "9 out of 10 families in the district express overall positive sentiment" and that 84% said they would recommend their child’s school.
Miles framed the district’s long-term priorities around preparing students for a changing labor market driven by artificial intelligence. He described a set of programs and pilot schools called "Future 2," which would pilot two K–8 sites next year with a curriculum emphasizing design thinking, information literacy and leadership in daily blocks of instructional time.
Miles also warned of sustained revenue pressure tied to enrollment shifts, saying the district lost roughly $60 million last year and cited a recent figure of $72 million; he estimated an ongoing annual shortfall of "somewhere between $50 and $60,000,000." He outlined potential revenue and efficiency strategies including school consolidations, taking advantage of TEA curriculum funds, expanded 18-82 partnerships (which can bring roughly $1,000 per student), enhanced teacher incentive allotments, and transportation efficiencies.
Trustees asked for follow-up detail on response delivery (bounces and successful deliveries), subgroup representation, and how the survey interacts with other family surveys such as PASIP. Sawyer offered to provide delivery metrics and question-level detail to trustees. Miles and staff said the district will present a district action plan in February and scheduled a budget workshop to align any board decisions with budget assumptions.
The presentation underscored both positive family-reported sentiment and the fiscal constraints the district says will shape policy choices this year.