Dominic Anthony Walsh

Dominic Anthony Walsh

Education & Culture Reporter

Dominic Anthony Walsh covers education & culture for Houston Public Media’s enterprise team. His work examines the institutions and policies affecting millions of students and families across Texas, with a focus on Houston — home to the largest school district in the state.

He comes to the Bayou City after editing and reporting arts & culture stories at the NPR station in Aspen, Colorado, where his coverage of alleged censorship at the town’s paper-of-record was cited by Poynter and in The Atlantic. He also learned to ski (and reported from the slopes).

Dominic’s hometown is San Antonio, where he got his broadcasting start in 2016 at KRTU — Trinity University’s jazz-by-day, indie-by-night station. He also interned at Texas Public Radio, where he went on to cover energy, the environment and public health as a Report For America corps member. He contributed to two national Edward R. Murrow Award-winning teams — covering protests and the pandemic in 2020 and reporting on the state’s deadly electric grid failure in 2021. He produced podcasts and radio documentaries recognized by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Public Media Journalists Association, Texas Medical Association, the Association of Healthcare Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists.

His voice has been heard on programs from NPR, American Public Media and the BBC — as well as echoing through the streets of Midtown late at night, when his dog loves to play the “run-away-into-traffic” game.

HISD

Exclusive: All Houston ISD teachers to be paid based on test scores by 2025-26 school year, schools will continue to lose autonomy

Posted on · Houston Public Media obtained a document outlining state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles’ expansive plans for the largest public school system in Texas, including details that have not yet been made public. Over the next two years, Houston ISD will implement performance-based pay for all teachers and an “earned autonomy” model for campuses across the district.

HISD NES town hall

HISD

Houston public school teachers and administrators face tough choices under state-appointed leadership

Posted on · More than a third of the district — 85 campuses — face sweeping reforms under state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles’ New Education System.

LGBTQ+

Texas Republicans target ‘life-changing’ drag shows as Pride month comes to a close

Posted on · For queer people, drag shows are a place of acceptance, community and self-expression. To some Republicans, they represent a threat. 

HISD

Parents protest ‘heartbreaking’ changes to Houston schools; Miles announces family engagement events

Posted on · Houston ISD parents, including some who hadn’t attended previous protests, are organizing against sweeping reforms to 29 schools. State-appointed superintendent Mike Miles announced eight community meetings to discuss the changes from late June through the end of July. 

Education

29 Houston schools will look different next school year — cameras in classrooms, no librarians, higher pay for teachers

Posted on · Many reform-minded community members believe the New Education System is a step towards better student outcomes. Critics argue the changes will impose a uniform education model on low-income communities across Houston who had no say in its formation, while leaving affluent communities untouched. 

HISD Superintendent Mike Miles after the TEA takeover

Education

New Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles promises sweeping reforms to 29 schools

Posted on · State-appointed leaders for the largest district in Texas were sworn in during the early morning at Houston ISD headquarters without public notice or access. Some community advocates are worried about the new superintendent, Mike Miles, who promised sweeping reforms in an interview with Houston Public Media.