Houston ISD to launch AI 'Future 2' schools in 2026-2027 school year

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(The Center Square) – Texas' largest school district, currently under a state takeover, is launching nine artificial intelligence focused schools.

Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles launched a Future 2 Artificial Intelligence pilot school program for the 2026-2027 school year through “Accelerate Houston.” It’s the first program of its kind in the state.

Miles was appointed in 2023 after the Texas Education Agency took over HISD, citing years of failing grades and corruption. He launched a New Education System reform model and two years later, grades have gone up. 

In a recent meeting with teachers, Miles said that Future 2 “builds on the NES foundation and evolves it by expanding innovative student programming and thus, student worldview.” There’s an “urgency” to create virtual schools, he says, in order to “narrow the growing Year 2030 competencies gap and provide students with the skills and knowledge to compete.” 

HISD spokesman José Irizarry said Future 2 is “not a regular school.” Teachers will use AI to teach. While they will still teach core subjects, they will provide “personalized tech-supported instruction” and students will use AI-powered tools to learn. 

The school day will be broken up into three parts. The first will focus on coursework with core classes and “AI literacy and design thinking.” The second will focus on “experiences where students will build real-world skills, including hands on projects and even travel opportunities.” The third will focus on “workshops where they can focus on specialized skills like music, sports or other interests,” HISD explains.

Eligibility requirements were posted for parents to apply through a virtual launchpad for their children to attend a new virtual school model.

“Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, nine campuses will transition to PreK-8 grade Future 2 programs, offering families the opportunity to enroll in a school experience built for the future, not the past. By aligning education with the skills required in a modern economy, Future 2 Schools are designed to help Houston grow a resilient, adaptable, and competitive generation of learners,” HISD explains. 

“Future 2 Schools combine strong core academics with a deliberate focus on human-centered skills – the abilities least likely to be disrupted as artificial intelligence automates an estimated 57% of jobs by 2030. Students will develop advanced problem-solving, leadership, collaboration, and interpersonal skills while learning how to think critically and adapt in complex environments.”

Five existing elementary schools and two middle schools will be transformed into AI Future 2 schools. They include Bonham Elementary School, Clemente Martinez Elementary School, Deady Middle School, Forest Brook Middle School, Gregg Elementary School, Hartman Middle School, Shadydale Elementary School, Southmayd Elementary School and Sugar Grove Academy Middle School.

Nearly all appear to be located in low-income neighborhoods.

School days at these campuses begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m., with campuses open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. “Some required learning experiences may occur after school, on weekends, or outside the school building. HISD will provide opportunities to complete requirements during or after the school day, but families should expect a differently structured school day,” HISD says.

If parents don’t want their children to participate in AI focused instruction at these schools, they will have to enroll them elsewhere, HISD says. The schools are also expected to have new principals and teachers.

Future 2 schools are “the next stage in changing the American public education system,” Miles maintains. “Schools must shift focus from ‘what to know’ to ‘how to think.’ What is our competitive advantage in an AI-enabled world?”

“Future 2 is a departure from traditional education by incorporating critical thinking into core instruction rather than treating it as an add-on,” HISD explains.

HISD has also published an AI guidebook that explains HISD strategy, guidelines and resources for staff and students to engage with “generative artificial intelligence.”

In an email sent to campus leaders, Miles said the pilot phase would be expanded in the 2027-2028 school year to 25 schools and to 100 by 2031, Government Technology reported. His current contract with HISD ends June 2030. 

The AI push comes after virtual learning has proven to be a failure in public schools and digital learning has resulted in failing cognitive capabilities and worse learning outcomes, The Center Square reported. 

A critic of the plan, elected trustee Plácido Gómez said, "What these ed-tech programs tend to do is, they use the same model as social media addiction by having games and gimmicks and short bursts of dopamine ... which really isn't the same thing as learning."