A New Chapter for North Forest High School: Its First-Ever A Rating

Before Mydzel Fernandez started North Forest High School as a ninth grader in 2023, she knew the campus had a troubled reputation. 

Compounded by the challenges facing a school serving large numbers of economically disadvantaged Hispanic and Black students, North Forest had seen decades of low academic performance.

Fernandez said she quickly found a different story unfolding inside the school. As the district invested more instructional resources into the campus, teachers pushed students to aim higher as students began to see their achievement as something they could shape. 

In just three years, North Forest High School has begun to change the narrative that had followed it for decades. In 2026, the campus received an A rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA)—a three letter jump from 2023. 

“Four years ago, I came to North Forest believing what other people said about this school. Today, I leave knowing what this school has helped me become,” Fernandez said. “We are more than what people have said about us.” 

North Forest senior Mydzel Fernandez spoke at the Aug. 21 celebration of the high school’s A rating. 

The Transformation 

The overhaul has been a long time coming for the former North Forest ISD campus that was a consolidation of Forest Brook and M.B. Smiley high schools. Following its own state intervention that lasted between 2008-2010, the TEA moved to close the district, prompting the annexation into Houston ISD in 2012. 

Under the 2012 bond, HISD invested $60 million in a new North Forest High School, addressing longstanding facilities concerns. 

But the instructional overhaul would come in 2023 when the campus, once again under state intervention, joined HISD’s New Education System (NES) in an effort to turnaround multiple years of D or F TEA ratings 

The NES model transformed the classroom by giving teachers uniform, high-quality instructional materials while providing on-the-ground coaching and professional development to prepare teachers across experience levels. Teachers and administrators track student progress daily, providing more challenging materials when appropriate or reviewing existing content with classroom aides to ensure all students are growing. 

“This ‘A’ represents what happens when everyone decides to take ownership of the outcome,” Principal Marie Adams said. “And countless moments when someone could have said, 'This is good enough.' But at North Forest, good enough was not our goal. Excellence is."

Since 2023, the percentage of students meeting grade-level standards on the state's End of Course exams has grown by double digits: 

• Algebra 1, from 20% to 50%
• Biology, from 28% to 77%
• English 1, from 18% to 38% 
• English 2, from 25% to 57%
• U.S. History, from 42% to 60%

North Forest High School has achieved one of the most dramatic growth on state standardized tests, district officials said. 

Rising to the Challenge 

The path to an A rating has been paved by years of advocacy from dedicated community leaders, including State Representative Senfronia Thompson, who represents northeast Houston. 

Superintendent Mike Miles recalled that three years ago, Rep. Thompson made her expectations for the Superintendent clear.

“She said to me that her expectation of me was to make sure we provided the support and the services that the North Forest area deserved and has not gotten for a decade,” Miles said. “[She said] the kids will rise to the level of expectation.” 

At a celebration for the campus, Rep. Thompson said, "I am proud of the students' achievement and the great work they did to become an A-rated school." 

Miles added that this feat challenges the local and national narrative that students from economically disadvantaged or English-learning backgrounds are not expected to succeed academically. He urged students to maintain their momentum and let their continued excellence speak for itself. 

"You keep driving hard and you keep persevering... North Forest High School, you're going to continue to break barriers and break records,” Miles said.