But according to an internal email to campus leaders, Miles envisions the program expanding far beyond that, eventually reaching 100 HISD schools.
To start, Miles will expand the pilot of AI-focused programs to two additional elementary and two middle schools next school year, according to a March 24 email to school leaders.
That brings the total of AI-focused "Future 2" schools to six. The district's board of managers approved the first two in February — for Gregg and Clemente Martinez elementary schools to be converted into K-8 Future 2 schools — alongside 12 school closures and consolidations.
School leaders at New Education System campuses — which follow Miles' highly structured instruction model — can submit requests to be considered for the Future 2 pilot, according to the district document.
HISD did not respond to a request for comment about which four schools, if any, were chosen to join Future 2 and when the board of managers may vote on the expansion, if at all.
Miles wrote that he planned for 25 "Future 2" schools in the 2027-28 school year. Ultimately, he wants the district to convert up to 100 NES schools to "Future 2" schools by July 2031 — a year after his current contract with HISD ends in June 2030. The district has about 130 schools in the NES reform model.
"Beginning in that year (2027-28), the district will determine which schools will transition to the Future 2 model," Miles wrote in the email. "While schools may express interest and those requests will be considered, participation in Future 2 will not be optional if selected; the district will make final decisions regarding the timing and selection of schools for conversion."
Elected trustee Plácido Gómez warned against charging toward the creation of AI-focused schools. There was a big push to roll out iPads and laptops into classrooms when he started teaching in 2013.
"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," Gómez said. He and other elected trustees have no decision-making power during the state takeover.
The big push toward that technology in the classroom was "a colossal waste of money," Gómez said.
"I am extremely concerned that the field of education in general is extremely susceptible to fads, and we love the shiny new thing," Gómez said. "So now shifting over to AI ... it seems like it's a shiny new toy that we're jumping at. And is it true that AI is extremely important in the job market and will be more important in the very near future? Yes, absolutely it is. But that doesn't mean that we have to be jumpy about making sure it's in the classrooms. Reading is important. Knowing how to do that is important. Knowing how to do math is important."
WHAT IS FUTURE 2?
Miles shared some details about Future 2 schools at a board meeting in January, explaining that the schools will train students for a future where artificial intelligence "will be ubiquitous."
Future 2 students proficient in core subjects will learn accelerated coursework on an online platform, Miles told the board in January. It is unclear how much students will learn online versus offline.
Fifth- and sixth-graders will take semester-long courses focused on AI tools, design-thinking, the study of cultures, and "how things work." The students will take those four courses over two years.
Students must learn a musical instrument to advance from sixth grade, Miles said in January. After school, students would play music, participate in team sports or complete community service projects as they gain "experiences" centered on skills Miles described as valuable with the rise of AI.
The additional four schools for 2026-27 "will not reconstitute staff," Miles wrote, though he did give more details on what he meant. However, the pilot schools will not allow teachers rated "Progressing 1," which is the second-lowest rating in HISD's teacher evaluation system. School principals, however, can recommend teachers from that level to continue with HISD, and the district will place that teacher at another campus.
The Houston Chronicle requested a Future 2 concept paper Miles said he submitted to the Board of Managers, but HISD is seeking to block the release of that record by requesting a decision from the Texas Attorney General.
"The Future 2 instructional model will begin in grades 3 and 4, with coursework and programming carefully designed to be developmentally appropriate and aligned to grade-level expectations," HISD said in a Feb. 13 statement in response to some of the Chronicle's questions. "K through 2nd grade students will continue to receive a strong foundational academic experience that supports early literacy and numeracy development."
The announcement of the Future 2 pilot's expansion comes as the district may add at least more nine schools to the NES model. HISD had about 130 NES campuses in 2025-26, but 10 of those schools are scheduled to close as the district faces a decade-long enrollment decline and aging facilities.
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