In a rallying cry for education reform, State Representative Jolanda “Jo” Jones, has taken the reins in confronting the pressing education crisis gripping the Houston Independent School District. Amidst growing concerns and escalating challenges, an emergency education summit took place at the Historic St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
This gathering served as an immediate response to the recent intervention by the Texas Education Agency in the management of HISD, a move that has sent shockwaves through the community and made national news.
Jones firmly believes that the time is ripe for teachers, students, parents and HISD employees to unite in candid discourse. The summit aimed to dissect the current educational landscape and shed light on the barriers that TEA has imposed within the largest school district in Texas.
Dialogue began with open statements from HISD’s elected board of trustees, Dr. Patricia K Allen, District IV, Myrna Guidry Esq., District IX, Kathy Blueford-Daniels, District II, and Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers.
“The purpose of this summit is to find out what the problems are directly from the people who are affected and to provide a safe space to do so,” said Jones. “We can’t start off with an action plan without understanding the issues and do the information gathering.”
While the state-appointed Board of Managers hosted multiple community meetings this month, some residents found these interactions to be unproductive, citing a lack of influence in the face of massive changes being implemented by HISD superintendent Mike Miles.
“As an elected board member, it is my responsibility to my constituents, to the people in my community, to be on the battle field,” said Blueford-Daniels. “We are not just rolling over.”
Allen echoed this sentiment.
“If you have a need for us and you want us to do something and you know the Board of Managers is not listening, we [elected officials] are still listening,” Allen added. “We do communicate with some of the board of managers, and the superintendent, even though he doesn’t really listen to anybody, he does try to reach out to us.”
A wide array of issues were addressed during the summit, ranging from the “pay-for-performance” model that ties teacher compensation to student test scores, to concerns about charter school vouchers, school funding, and the expanded powers granted to Miles, which include the ability to spend significant sums of money without board approval.
“As you can see, they are getting rid of all the board policies. They [Board of Managers] are rubberstamping whatever Miles is requesting from them and not asking the proper questions and certainly not coming to the community and getting your feedback,” said Guidry. “That’s the role of a board member. Miles has an agenda, and he has made it abundantly clear that you don’t follow that agenda then you can go.”
In August, The Houston Federation of Teachers took legal action against Miles, aiming to halt the implementation of his initial teacher evaluation system. The union contended that these evaluations were being enforced in violation of the law, as they had been formulated without the necessary input from Shared Decision Making Committees, a legal requirement in the state.
Recently, the union decided to withdraw its lawsuit against Miles and the Board of Managers. This move came after the board’s decision to return to the state’s standard teacher evaluations for the remainder of the school year.
“This takeover is about power and money,” said Anderson. “I have my members calling me in agony and despair, afraid and being tormented and harassed. Basically Miles is making their lives a living hell. The only time he’s backed up was when we filed the lawsuit.”
One vocal HISD educator, Rebecca Williams, expressed frustration with the new changes in her classroom. She recounted having to teach an entire grade level of 161 students, instructing 30 students per class, and the challenges posed by frequent interruptions to informally assess students’ understanding. Williams emphasized that such strategies were a distraction in her classroom, especially for the 60% of her students who are English language learners.
“I’m a history teacher and 6th, 7th and 8th grade social studies are not aligned. They are learning this information for the first time,” she said. “I don’t have the time to stop and ask them individually what they understand. It’s a distraction.”
As the summit concluded, community members left with a call to action:
– Write the Department of Justice and Department of Education
– Be present at rallies
– Go vote in your local and state elections
