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House out as director of schools, takes job in Houston




Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Director of Schools Millard House II was named May 21 the new superintendent of Houston Independent School District in Houston.

“I will miss the students, employees and community members with whom I have built strong relationships over the past four years,” said House. “I have learned a lot from the talented educators and leaders in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. I will utilize my professional experiences from Tennessee, North Carolina and Oklahoma and my continued focus on equity and innovation to lead Houston ISD.”

With about 30,000 employees who serve more than 200,000 students in 276 schools, Houston ISD is more than five times larger than the Clarksville school district. It’s the largest school district in Texas and seventh largest in the nation.

“I will be working with the CMCSS school board and my senior leadership team to make recommendations for the smoothest and most orderly transition possible over the coming weeks,” House said. “The 2020-21 school year was likely one of the most difficult school years we’ve ever faced in public education, and I want to ensure as I exit that CMCSS is set up to have a great 2021-22 school year.”

House has served as the local district’s director of schools since 2017. Under his leadership, the district continued to advance as a high-performing school system, receiving state and national recognition for its accomplishments and innovation, including CMCSS K-12 Virtual School, the Early Technical College at TCAT, Barksdale Elementary School Spanish Immersion Program, one-to-one technology for students in K-12, and teacher residency pathways, to name a few. During his tenure with the Clarksville district, 26 schools were named Tennessee Reward Schools for performing in the top 5% in the state, and all eight high schools ranked in the top 25% in U.S. News and World Report.

Recently, House was named the Tennessee Mid-Cumberland superintendent of the year. While leading CMCSS, he was selected for Chiefs for Change, one of the most prestigious honors for a director of schools with a membership that includes the current Tennessee education commissioner and superintendents from Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

He was selected by the state education commissioner and his colleagues to be the director-at-large for the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents. Additionally, House was invited to meet with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Scarlett Family Foundation and other major national philanthropists because of his reputation for strong leadership and focus on innovation and equity.

House is a Tulsa, Oklahoma native with nearly three decades of education and nonprofit experience. Before he was named CMCSS director of schools, he served as an executive consultant and executive director of New Leaders Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also served as the chief operating officer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System in Charlotte and deputy superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools.

Prior to his hire as a member of the executive cabinet in Tulsa, he founded and led a college preparatory middle school in one of Tulsa’s most economically underserved communities. During the course of four years, his school became one of the highest performing and most sought-after schools in Tulsa.

Before founding his school, House was one of the nation’s youngest public-school administrators, as he served as assistant principal for one year and principal for four years at Marian Anderson Elementary School in Tulsa at 26.

During House’s tenure, Anderson Elementary School went from a designation as one of the lowest-performing schools in Oklahoma to one of the highest-performing Title I schools in the state.

In 2003, House was voted Tulsa Public Schools’ principal of the year. He was the first African American person to earn this honor. He also was named the outstanding administrator of the year by the Tulsa Area Alliance of Black School Educators.

House earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montevallo in Alabama and his master’s degree in school administration from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. He also graduated from the Fisher School Leadership Program at the Hass School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

For more information on Houston ISD, visit houstonisd.org.

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