Bellaire High School Seniors Nabila Wilson and Sonya Kulkarni, with the Three Penny Press, sat down with former Principal Michael McDonough as he explained what happened when HISD removed him from the school.
In the interview, McDonough said “There were two things being investigated. One was about a policy that was easily correctable if they had just told us beforehand. I don’t know why they needed to take five months to investigate it. The other issue was a disagreement about some of the day-to-day policies unique to Bellaire.”
The beloved Principal was deeply touched when “over 2,000 students participated in a walkout in reaction to HISD’s lack of transparency surrounding his removal.”
“McDonough said he doesn’t want to jump right back into a full-time position, so, for now, he will be doing some consulting work for the University of Houston in their education department.”
Read the excellent article at thethreepennypress.org.
Mike McDonough so impressed my late sister-in-love & myself, speaking at Mark Twain, that Pin Oak was our middle school of choice. We checked out several, but kept coming back to the fact that Mike McDonough was at Pin Oak & we liked & trusted him. He was principal at Pin Oak when we were there &, then, thankfully, at Bellaire when we arrived there. You could not have imagined a more involved, student/family-centered principal. He was, always out greeting students, getting to know them all and being available to them all. It’s sad, frustrating, maddening, disappointing (just every negative word that comes to mind) the way he was treated. Mike should be rewarded for all he’s done for H.I.S.D. – the accolades/awards he brought to Pin Oak and Bellaire, alone, are testament to his strong, successful leadership. Bellaire Hour is so unique and amazing; one of Bellaire’s best attributes, as is Cardinal Kickoff. I’m so, so sorry this happened to you, Mike. As you know, you have untold numbers of supporters. I, personally, appreciated having you as our principal at Pin Oak and Bellaire. You always knew the kids & me and valued us, as you did everyone else. That’s a huge accomplishment in any school, but, especially one as large as Bellaire. A huge loss the H.I.S.D and Bellaire. Best wishes in your new pursuits, including getting some well-deserved rest.
Ginny, I couldn’t agree more. It makes zero sense what they did to him.