From District Administration, by Matt Zalaznick, February 10, 2026
Retaining high-quality teachers strengthens the community inside the district, says Dr. Stephanie D. Howard, superintendent of Texas’ Midland Independent School District.
In her experience in a smaller district, reducing class size was not the answer to driving student achievement.
When she took the helm at Midland in 2023, the district was struggling with inexperienced educators and substitute-filled classrooms. To tackle retention and student achievement, Howard focused on Midland’s partially implemented “Opportunity Culture” model. The approach extends the reach of highly effective teachers and embeds coaching within small, empowered teams.