To carry out the turnaround, TEA chose Mike Miles, a former Army Ranger, diplomat, and school administrator. Miles is no stranger to controversy. He first gained national attention as superintendent of Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) from 2012–2015, where he introduced rigorous evaluation systems and central control over struggling schools.
After Dallas, he founded a small charter school network in Colorado called Third Future Schools, which prioritized fast-paced instruction, frequent checks for understanding, and centralized curriculum. Third Future Schools’ Academy of Advanced Learning is a top-performing school for student academic growth and has received a Colorado Succeeds Prize. Students at the Academy are reportedly achieving approximately one year of growth in half the time, outperforming the national average in reading and math at every grade level, especially in mid-year
His charter network’s model of structured lessons, real-time data, and heavy coaching provided the playbook Miles brought to Houston. In many ways, the New Education System (NES) in HISD is an attempt to apply charter-style reforms to one of the largest public school districts in the country.
