Pros
Great to have an impact on children. I will always value the things I did in my years at HISD. Competitive starting salary. If you're thinking about becoming a teacher, realize that this is going to be hard, but rewarding work. The people I worked with were some of the most caring individuals I've known. HISD has some great staff - teachers, admin, clerical, operations, you name it! These people care deeply about their jobs and work very hard for their passion projects. It's amazing.
Cons
Poor district culture. Terry Grier didn't even show up to the Teacher of the Year awards last year (even though he was on the program to speak). Culture of persecution. It is seriously a witch hunt. During my first years teaching, I was threatened constantly with punitive action due to my low test scores. I was a new teacher, and needed time to grow, learn, and experience. I almost quit, before I changed to a campus where I was more free to teach and experiment. My test scores went through the roof, my kids loved me, and I finally realized I was a good teacher. Carrot or stick? Teaching is difficult, and for most people, the skills take some time to develop. The main reason I am moving on is feeling a lack of advancement. I see no way to raise my salary substantially without becoming an administrator, something I was not interested in. Felt the only way to advance was to change careers. If I was paid more, I probably would have stayed. Aspire money helped a lot, but ultimately I can make a lot more money working somewhere else. The difference was just too great. Obviously, this is a problem that extends far beyond HISD, as HISD has one of the most competitive salaries/benefit packages I have seen for teachers. Kudos, and a step in the right direction, but there is far more to be done.