From District Administration, by Michelle Centamore, November 25, 2025
Teacher retention was the top priority when Dr. Stephanie D. Howard rejoined Midland ISD as superintendent in January 2023. The district was struggling with inexperienced educators and substitute-filled classrooms.
“We had hundreds of subs in classrooms where we had not been able to find teachers,” Howard said. “Coming back into the district, 37% of our teachers had five years or less experience.”
It wasn’t Howard’s first time leading in Midland. Years earlier, she served as principal of Robert E. Lee High School (now Midland Legacy High School). She later moved into district administration and served as superintendent in the Plains and Crane ISDs. Her perspective and experience as deputy superintendent in Ector County shaped her approach to teacher retention.
In a smaller district, she said, reduced class sizes had not delivered results. “Half of our kids weren’t reading on grade level,” Howard said. That “aha moment” showed her teacher quality mattered more than class size.
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.