On Tuesday, Miles met with over 300 Pugh parents. One parent told Miles that “Every single teacher at our school is gone. How is that good for our kids? Pugh and Eliot parents asked hard questions to an uncaring and dismissive Miles. Watch the video here.
One parent explained how important dual language was. She lives in a multi-generational household and wants her children to be bilingual so they can talk in English with their parents and in Spanish with their grandparents. Miles responded by stating that he was not getting rid of dual language but instruction would be in English. Wrap your head around that.
Another parent raised concerns about how the new zoom room discipline strategy would impact children with disabilities like her child. Miles answered by implying that if a child ended up in a zoom discipline room, it was the parent’s fault.
Our children need to be supported, nurtured, and loved like children in the more affluent communities not corraled into an NES school. Learning needs to be fun so children become lifelong learners. Miles is offering zoom discipline rooms, scripted instruction, everything about STAAR scores, and teacher attrition so high that many students will return to schools full of strangers, no matter how well-intentioned the new staff is. When Miles mentioned proudly that HISD has already ordered many spin bikes for young children at Pugh, parents were aghast that this was his priority.
We need to strengthen our schools but not like this.
Mike Miles is treating the seventh largest school district in the country like it’s a little charter district where he can make up the rules as he goes along and sidestep pesky policies. Here is the week in review.
Last week, 2000 staff did not get paid on time.
Last Friday, Miles eliminated almost 600 Central Office positions. It should give us all pause that he gutted homeless services and other positions that support students and their academic success. He also eliminated the SSO position but most have new titles and bigger paychecks. So much for eliminating bloat.
NES teachers are being asked to accept a position without a contract, without their salary, and without their teaching assignment even though July 15 is the last day to take a job in another district without risking losing your teaching certification for a year.
It should come as no surprise that almost all of the 57 schools that “voluntarily” chose to become NES aligned are in neighborhoods with poverty and challenging STAAR scores. Many of the principals stated privately that they were strong-armed into joining NES. Some were told that they would be reconstituted next year if they did not join now. Others were misled into believing that they would have significantly more funds for hiring staff if they joined NES aligned. SDMCs were not informed and many faculty found out that their new NES status when it was reported in the news.
Yesterday, Miles removed three NES principals at Worthing ,Yates and Sharpstown who became NES-aligned the previous day. Vera Moore, a 16-year-old student at Sharpstown High School said that she believes that the unilateral decision to remove the principal with no input was “wrong and unfair,” mirroring the undemocratic nature of the state takeover of her school.
Miles is moving very quickly and his decisions are often questionable and always heartless. Speak out. Show up tonight at Marshall MS for Miles “community meeting. There is no need to RSVP and you can ask your question by getting in line after he speaks for 40 minutes.
- Marshall MS, Thursday, July 13, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm (1115 Noble St, 77009)
- Hattie Mae White, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm (4400 W 18th St, 77092)
- Virtual, Thursday, July 20, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm. Click here to get HISD zoom link.
- Sugar Grove, Thursday, July 27, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm (8405 Bonhomme Rd, 77074)
- West Briar, Saturday, July 29, 2023, 9-11:30am (13733 Brimhurst Dr, 77077)
- Stevenson MS, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm (9595 Winkler Dr, 77017)
- Attucks MS, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, 6pm-7:30pm (4330 Bellfort Ave, 77051)
CVPE Teach-In Meeting on July 29th at 7725 Sandra St at noon.. RSVP here
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