The CVPE Educational Forum, sister organization to Community Voices for Public Education, is holding its first annual Fall Conference on Saturday, November 21, from 8:30-5pm at the United Way.   Read more

As they did in April 2015, Houston ISD is going on the offensive against their students and families. They are deliberately breaking the law and established district procedures that violate the TEA Education Code and in doing so have caused serious harm to two students. HISD is retaining a set of B+ third graders in retaliation for the parents choosing to opt them out of STAAR math last spring.  Will you email the superintendent at tgrier@houstonisd.org or call him at (713) 556-6300 and the school board members to remind them that HISD must comply with TEA Code and that this grade retention of B+ students would not have happened if they were White and privileged? The question we should be asking is what is the purpose of HISD's anti bullying policy if not to protect families from this?  Read more

Three years after Texas public schools were slammed with big funding cuts, hundreds of elementary campuses in North Texas and across the state are still struggling to comply with class size limits aimed at boosting student achievement. Read more

Houston Matters' Maggie Martin recently interviewed Ruth Kravetz, co-founder of Community Voices for Public Education, and Zeph Capo, President of the Houston Federation of Teachers. They discussed topics including the Houston ISD controversial performance bonus system and high-stakes testing. Read more

Interested in research showing that merit pay is tied to socioeconomic status?  Read more

In recent weeks, a few national civil rights organizations such as the National Council of La Raza and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have vocally OPPOSED efforts to highlight the dangers of high stakes testing by students and parents opting out of annual assessments. We strongly disagree with their position.   Read more

Bye -bye to beginning of the year practice STAAR tests (BOY)! So long to mid year STAAR practice tests (MOY). Hello to a little more instructional time for our children. Thank you to CVPE, opt out parents and responsible members of HISD Admin and Board for taking a first step. High stakes testing is not a civil right. Learning is. Read more

The Texas Association of Community Schools wrote a Legislative Wrap-Up and said "The 84th legislative session is officially over. As they say, sine die. It is hard to know what tone to take in recapping the 84th legislative session. Read more

Once again, HISD is threatening parents and misrepresenting information. The district cannot mandate summer school for a student who has failed or missed a STAAR test. That decision can only be made by the grade placement committee comprised of a parent, a teacher and an administrator. Read more

Missed the board meeting on May 14? Parents, teachers and students from across the city-Hispanic, African American, Asian and White, middle class and working class- spoke out against high stakes testing in board testimony. Read more