Yesterday, I dropped by Bonner Elementary School to visit with second-grader Athena Abarca (pictured). Athena is one of hundreds of students benefitting from our partnership with the City of Houston’s Health and Human Services Department.

Since 2011, ‘See to Succeed’ has been providing some of HISD’s neediest children with free eye exams and eyeglasses—and I think it is a fantastic program.

Before last fall, Athena had been wearing the same pair of frames for more than two years. They were too small and didn’t fit her face, but she wore them until, finally, they broke.

In October, she was allowed to pick out whatever style she wanted from among dozens of designer frames—and two weeks later, she received a beautiful new set of glasses—exactly what she needs to see her schoolwork, classmates, and teacher clearly.

I’d like to thank both Principal Josefa Olivares and Athena’s teacher, Karla Martinez, for welcoming me to their campus so graciously today.

But I want to extend my deepest thanks to the City of Houston for recognizing how important corrective lenses can be to academic success, and for ensuring our kids have all the tools they need to do their best work.

This week, Houston is playing host to the American Association of School Administrators' National Conference on Education over at the George R. Brown Convention Center. I was honored this morning to address my colleagues and tell them about the work the Houston Independent School District is doing to ensure that every child in our city, regardless of where they live, is taught by a highly effective teacher. We know without question that there is nothing we can do to accelerate learning that matters more than placing an effective teacher in every classroom.

Research reveals a proven method for erasing the achievement gap separating our children of color from the performance of white students. When students are assigned for four consecutive years to the classrooms of teachers who have demonstrated an ability to get the most out of their students, those gaps in achievement disappear.

In Houston, our philosophy is that great teachers are the ones who focus on the things we can control instead of using our students’ circumstances as an excuse for failure. There is an elementary school principal in Washington D.C. named Adelaide Flamer, who I think puts this concept best. Ms. Flamer said: "When asked what can be done to solve the achievement problem, some adults just point out the schoolhouse window. But we’re not look-out-the-window educators here. We’re look-in-the-mirror folks."

Houston is a look-in-the-mirror city. I spent some time telling other school leaders the story of how Houston’s strong Board of Education led the drive toward creating a new teacher appraisal and development system that holds adults accountable for our students’ academic progress. We created this system last year with the help of thousands of teachers, principals, parents, and the community. Working in partnership with The New Teacher Project, HISD’s Effective Teachers Initiative is producing promising results. Teachers are now receiving the regular data-based feedback they need and desire to help them do their best work. Principals, assistant principals, and deans are spending more strategic time than ever working shoulder-to-shoulder with the teachers they supervise.

Our children only get one chance at an education. We have a moral obligation to ensure that the quality of teachers in our city is consistently high in every school, not just inside a few select campuses. With HISD’s Effective Teachers Initiative, I feel certain we are well on our way to doing just that.

I had the great pleasure this morning of visiting the classrooms of two of HISD’s top teachers to congratulate them for earning the highest ASPIRE Award for the 2010-2011 school year. In all, 9,162 teachers earned ASPIRE Awards this year totaling $35 million.

Chavis Mitchell (left)

Our first stop was at Osborne Elementary School in the Acres Homes community. I was impressed as fourth-grade writing teacher Chavis Mitchell’s students told me about the “word funerals” they have conducted this year to bury words such as “sad” and “happy.” Instead, their writing is infused with more descriptive words such as “blue” and “ecstatic.” Under the guidance of Principal Jacqueline Parnell, it was clear to see that the students at Osborne are really thriving.

From there, we drove a short distance to another Acres Homes school, Highland Heights Elementary. Teacher Debra Bunton works with students who don’t speak English at home. The academic gains being made by the children in Ms. Bunton’s class are impressive, which is why she received such a high ASPIRE Award. Ms. Bunton told me that she and Principal Kettisha Jones regularly discuss each individual student’s needs, and this helps her come up with teaching approaches that take each child’s unique learning style into account.

Debra Bunton (right)

Two other HISD teachers also won the top ASPIRE Award this year: Marcos Giannotti of Hobby Elementary School, and Stephanie Spurling of Hartsfield Elementary School.

Please join me in congratulating these fine educators, and thanking them on behalf of the children they serve each day. I came away from these visits more convinced than ever that placing a quality teacher in every HISD classroom is our city’s best chance for a bright future.

This week, we celebrated Lyons Elementary's designation as a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School. I served cake to the school's staff and we had a great time sharing stories.

Talking to Principal Cecilia Gonzales gave me a clear understanding of why the school has been successful. At Lyons, teachers, administrators, students, and community members are all working together to make sure our students succeed.

If you stop by Lyons on a Saturday, you find students being tutored. If you stick around after the school day, you see involved parents meeting with teachers and working with our kids. This school does whatever it takes and knows how to work together to get results.

The Blue Ribbon award honors public and private schools whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress toward closing gaps in achievement between students in various racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Challenge Early College and Eastwood Academy high schools are also on the list of HISD's 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

Excellence lives at Lyons Elementary and at many of our HISD campuses. I'm so proud of the work our educators, parents and students are doing to make sure our students flourish.

I was blown away by the powerful speeches HISD students delivered during last week’s Gardere Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition. Students who compete in the annual contest write their own original three- to five-minute speeches and incorporate ideals from Dr. King's writings, speeches, and other records.

Fifth-grader Matthias McBride of Pleasantville ES placed first in the annual contest. Fifth-grader Donovan Williams from Cornelius ES earned second place, and fourth-grader Samaya Watson from MacGregor ES came in third.

This year, students answered this question: As a student of Dr. King’s life, what message of hope do you think he would have for the world today? The students’ answers were thoughtful and moving.

One of the most powerful quotes came at the end of Matthias’ speech. He said: “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor popular, nor political. But one must take that position because it is right.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Congratulations to all of the students who wrote speeches and competed. You gave me and many others a lot to think about as we observed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Please take the time to watch the winning speeches:

I had a wonderful time Wednesday serving cake and celebrating with Challenge Early College High School students like junior Priscilla Ruiz (pictured) and their parents. That school, along with Lyons Elementary and the Eastwood Academy, was named a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. We are so proud of this amazing accomplishment.

And we had more good news this week. We learned that five of the 26 Texas schools nominated for Blue Ribbon status this year hail from HISD.

Over the past 29 years, the U.S. Department of Education has honored more than 6,500 of America's most successful campuses through the Blue Ribbon Schools program. More than 300 American public and private schools received the award this year.

Blue Ribbon Schools are selected on the basis of two primary criteria: 1) they are among the highest-performing schools in their state, and 2) they are schools with at least 40 percent of students from low-income households who have improved student performance to high levels.

Congratulations to our Blue Ribbon winners and this year’s nominees!

Growing up, I learned very quickly that when someone does you a good turn, it's only polite to express your gratitude.

That's why I took time out Monday to say 'thank you' to four outstanding central office employees during my regular quarterly staff meetings.

Dora Arzola is one of the first employees visitors see when they come to this building, and as the front desk receptionist, she greets more than 10,000 people each month. I can't tell you the number of times folks have told me what a wonderful representative she is for our district, so it gave me great pleasure to present her with a Team HISD hat today and to thank her for her service.

Thomas Longoria is one of our IT professionals, and he has helped me out on several occasions when I had a technical question or a problem to resolve. One of Thomas' best qualities is his ability to provide you with answers or assistance without making you feel silly. It's not just his knowledge that makes him special—although he is great at his job—it's his positive attitude. So I was very pleased to thank him personally, too.

Felecia German is our senior manager of Professional Standards, and she is a huge support to our principals, school improvement officers, and chiefs. People call her at all hours of the day and night, but she is always helpful and guides them to do what is right for our students. Staff members know they can count on her for guidance when making difficult decisions, and that is no small thing.

Finally, I wanted to recognize Gavin Dillingham (pictured with me above), our energy manager in Facilities Services. Gavin is in charge of helping us conserve natural resources such as water and natural gas, but in the short time he has been with us, he has also helped us save money, too. In fact, he helped negotiate a contract recently that will save the district about $5 million a year on electricity!

Today I sent this holiday message to the hard-working principals, teachers, and staff in HISD. I wanted to share it with all of you.

One of the great myths about working in public education is that school employees enjoy extended holiday breaks when they can forget about their work duties and relax. We know better.

The upcoming winter break is intended to be a much-deserved time for you to reconnect with family and friends and recharge your internal batteries. I know that, especially for educators, much of this time will be spent preparing for a strong finish to the 2011–2012 school year. You do this not to meet the expectations of your campus or department, but to meet the high standards you have set for yourselves and, more importantly, the students of HISD.

I am constantly amazed by the willingness of our valuable Team HISD members to go above and beyond for the children of Houston. At high schools throughout HISD, for example, teachers and administrators will open their doors during winter break to offer credit recovery classes to students who have fallen behind. Some of you will be knocking on doors of your at-risk students just to show them that you're counting on them being back in the classroom come January. HISD teachers will be answering e-mails from students in need of advice as they tackle long-term projects. Coaches will be traveling with their squads to competitions here in town and across the state. Those responsible for tracking our budgets, both districtwide and on the campus level, will be reviewing the numbers to ensure that we are being good stewards of our shrinking resources. Our facilities workers will be working feverishly to complete much-needed work before the children return. The list goes on and on.

I want each of you to know how much your selfless dedication to Houston's children is appreciated. Your work matters, and it is paying off for the students who rely on us to guide their learning. I also want to encourage you to use this winter break to get the rest you deserve and to reflect on the great work you are doing. I look forward to seeing all of you back at school in 2012 as we put the finishing touches on what is shaping up to be a fantastic year in HISD

In October, I held a series of Community Conversations where I invited parents, students, staff, and community members to talk directly to me about their concerns and pose any questions they might have. Yesterday, a small group of parents and other community members and I kept the conversation going on a more intimate level at a luncheon held inside my conference room.

All those who were invited had attended one or more of the October Community Conversations and signed up to "win" a lunch with me. I'm not sure how much of a prize it was for them, but I do know the food was good and the company and conversation were even better. We talked about everything from the upcoming STAAR exams to the effect the state budget cuts have had on teachers and students. While a few had specific issues they wanted addressed by me, the majority of the group expressed many of the same concerns I have on a daily basis.

Koffey Smith wanted to know how HISD is ensuring that we have effective teachers in all the classrooms at Wheatley High School where her son is a freshman. HISD dad Vincent Sanders wanted to know what we are doing to close the achievement gap and increase parent involvement.

The answers I gave were not simple or clear cut, but the bottom line is that we as adults need to have high expectations for all HISD students—and do everything we can to ensure they graduate ready for college or a career. I appreciate the time that everyone took out of their busy day to come have lunch with me and speak openly about their experiences with HISD. During this holiday season, I am even more appreciative of the efforts of our parents and community members, who are working together to make a difference in the educational lives of our children. I can't wait to see what the New Year brings!

See the video clip above to hear what Koffey and Vincent had to say about our lunch meeting.

Today is a day for us to celebrate the hard, smart work of HISD principals, teachers, and students who bring a no-excuses attitude to school with them every day. The 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows students in HISD are quickly gaining on their peers in Texas, while generally outperforming their counterparts in America's large cities.

The results of tests taken earlier this year by HISD fourth- and eighth-grade students show students here are now much closer to reaching the statewide average than they were in 2003, despite HISD's much higher percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and students who were not raised speaking English.

Overall, HISD students exceeded the national large-city average in three of four areas: fourth-grade reading, fourth-grade math, and eighth-grade math. HISD was below the large-city average in eighth-grade reading.

And HISD's Hispanic and low-income students posted the best eighth-grade math scores of any of the 21 large urban districts that participated in the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) program. HISD's African-American eighth graders beat all of the other participating districts except Boston.

I am so proud of HISD and all of you who make these successes possible. We are not there yet, but each day we are getting closer to reaching our goal of making HISD the best school district in America.

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