Houston ISD teacher posts emotional video on students' reading ability
Houston ISD teacher's viral video sparks concern
A Houston ISD teacher has gone viral after sharing an emotional video about his concern for his students within the first few days of school. FOX 26's Jillian Hartmann explains.
HOUSTON - A Houston ISD teacher has gone viral after sharing an emotional video about his concern for his students within the first few days of school.
Houston teacher says students ‘cannot read’
What they're saying:
In the social media video posted Tuesday, Wheatley High School teacher Darius Williams shares his experience with his senior students.
Williams says the students were assigned two paragraphs to read and a sentence to write. According to him, however, the students struggled to complete the assignment.
"I gave them the scenario, we annotated together, I gave them the answers before we even had the problem, and they couldn't do it," Williams said. "I have seniors who simply cannot read, and seniors who cannot write."
According to Wheatley High School's online staff directory, Darius Williams is listed as an NES CTE teacher in a non-foundational program of study.
The Texas Education Agency says a "non-foundational" teacher teaches elective, specialized, or enrichment subjects instead of core academic courses.
HISD response
The other side:
A Houston ISD representative sent the following statement to FOX 26 in response to the video:
More on Darius Williams
Dig deeper:
Darius Williams came to Houston ISD with a large social media following.
Williams is more well-known online as a chef, a cookbook author, a restaurant owner, and more.
Williams' success has been met with controversy in the past. FOX 26's Atlanta affiliate, FOX 5, reported in 2022 that over 70 customers complained of not receiving products from Darius' business after purchasing them.
Click here for previous reports from FOX 5.
The Source: Social media post from Darius Williams, Houston ISD, and previous reports from FOX 5 Atlanta.