What’s in store for the Memphis school takeover? Houston’s timeline offers clues.

“Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Two weeks after Texas took over the Houston school district, newly selected Superintendent Mike Miles announced his plans to overhaul 28 of the district’s lowest performing schools. He dubbed the group the New Education System, promising to raise teacher pay for certain subjects and create a regimented new curriculum. Over 50 additional schools joined the program voluntarily before the 2023-24 school year started. Every teacher in those schools had to reapply for their positions. Libraries became discipline centers and classrooms for advanced students. And the school hours were extended to help working parents, with teachers on the hook for before- and afterschool care. In just the first four months after being appointed on June 1, Miles ushered in significant instructional and staffing changes to the tune of a $250 million deficit that first year . Top Tennessee Republicans have heralded Houston’s intervention as a model they want to replicate in the Memphis-Shelby County district. In the first two years of the takeover, more Houston students achieved proficiency on state reading and math tests, and no school received an “F” rating in the state accountability system. But the Houston teachers union and some education experts say those results don’t reflect the degree of student improvement Tennessee leaders want to see. On the eve of MSCS’ state takeover, Houston’s timeline might offer a glimpse into the possible changes that Tennessee’s nine-member appointed oversight board could make. The final member still needs to be selected by House Speaker Cameron Sexton before the board can officially meet. MSCS leaders, and some district charter schools, have already moved to implement some of the Houston-style changes in the past couple of years, including offering teacher bonuses and standardizing curriculum. Here are five main changes that Miles, backed by Houston’s own state-appointed board, implemented in the local district in the first four months: All teachers forced to reapply, boosting uncertified rates Under Miles’ direction, every teacher in the Houston schools targeted for intervention had to reapply for their position in summer 2023. Those who were hired in the New Education System, or NES schools, received a $10,000 bonus . Nearly half of the employees at the original 28 NES schools didn’t return to their schools in fall 2023. More than two-thirds of the staff changed at some schools. Miles said the goal of a teacher restructuring was to put the most effective teachers in the lowest performing schools. But uncertified teachers made up a large number of the new placements, an issue that MSCS already struggles with. The Memphis district succeeded in reducing teacher vacancies this year under Superintendent Roderick Richmond, but still relies heavily on teachers with conditional licenses and online educators. Richmond proposed a budget this year that includes $1,000 bonuses for teachers who stay in their current schools next year and bumps that stipend to $2,500 for those who stay in the district’s lowest performing schools. The county commission still has to approve the budget. Central office position cuts fall flat Miles promised to pay for significant boosts in teacher salaries by eliminating unnecessary central office positions . In July 2023, he said his team had fired nearly 700 people in a reorganization of the central office, and planned to close 1,675 more vacant roles. But data showed that only 225 central office positions were eliminated by early August. And most of those came from lower paying departments, while Miles added nearly 100 more employees who were making more than $150,000. Former MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins, whose sudden firing in 2025 heightened calls for a state intervention, made drastic cuts to the district’s central office during her tenure. She eliminated over 1,000 positions , a significant amount of them administrative, during her first few months. That move garnered praise from some Memphis parents. But current leaders say it also contributed to a loss of institutional knowledge in MSCS and a breakdown of internal audit systems. Those were two key early findings in the forensic audit ordered by Tennessee lawmakers , including those leading state takeover pushes. Strict classroom curriculum redesigned by district officials Students at the 85 Houston NES schools returned for the 2023-2024 school year to an entirely new classroom structure and new required reading and math curriculums designed by Miles’ academics team. Ticking timers dictated the class pace. Teachers were required to incorporate student response exercises every four minutes. And each class period ended with a short quiz. That’s a similar classroom model reported by MSCS charter schools where student math achievement has skyrocketed post-pandemic. Tennessee education nonprofit SCORE, whose CEO will serve on the Memphis oversight board , argued in a recent report that the model is replicable district-wide. In Houston, students who misbehaved in class were sent to libraries that had been transformed into “cool-down” spaces and also served as extra classrooms for advanced students to complete more challenging work. Those changes often bled into schools that weren’t targeted for intervention . Houston students shared mixed reactions to the new policies , saying teachers inconsistently implemented the changes depending on who was observing the classroom. They also described stricter cellphone and tardiness policies. Some criticized the new student engagement requirements as ineffective and cited increased busywork in class. Some teachers scheduled for significant raises One month after taking office, Miles unveiled a Vision 2035 plan that completely rewrote the city’s teacher compensation system. Starting in fall 2025, teachers began receiving raises based on performance instead of experience. That plan translated to roughly $65,000 salaries for unsatisfactory teachers and up to $104,000 for exemplary teachers. In years past, salaries ranged from $61,500 to around $80,000. On average, MSCS teachers earn just over $65,000 per year . The district’s starting salary is just over $50,000 . Base salaries for teachers at the designated NES schools also depend on the subject and grade level taught , with reading and math educators making thousands of dollars more than those who teach social studies or elective courses. By fall 2026, all Houston teachers will be placed on a pay-for-performance model that determines base salaries, not just raises, by a teacher’s effectiveness level. A different approach to school wraparound services In his early months, Miles rolled out seven Sunrise Centers designed to serve Houston’s struggling students and families. At the new resource hubs, community nonprofits ran food pantries and extracurricular programs like gardening and offered mental health services. The district paid some students to tutor their peers. Miles budgeted around $12 million for the centers. But by the end of his first school year as superintendent, Houston public schools faced a $450 million budget deficit , which led to Miles cutting over 100 wraparound specialists in school buildings who focused on addressing issues like hunger and homelessness. More than three-quarters of Houston students are economically disadvantaged compared to around 60% of MSCS students. Both districts predominantly serve families of color, with 60% of Houston’s student population being Hispanic and 74% of MSCS’ students being Black . Hispanic enrollment in Memphis schools is rising and will be 20% of the student population this year. Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org .

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