Governor Abbott is coming to town on his voucher/ state takeover tour on May 2nd. Can you join a protest to stand up for democracy and public education on Tuesday from 5-7 pm? 

For the sake of our children, we must oppose the state takeover and do whatever it takes to hasten their departure and reduce the harmful impact on our children.

A participant at last weekend’s Board of Manager (BOM) eighteen-hour long training session said that the trainers utilized textbook cult indoctrination tactics. The goal of the training that AJ Craybill and other Texas Education Agency officials conducted was less to inform and more to determine who among the participants is most likely to align rigidly to the Mike Morath takeover plan.

Another participant told us that, after 15 hours of indoctrination, she could not get the phrase “resistance is futile”  from Star Trek's antagonist Borg out of her head. 

This is not democracy. This is a sham board of managers that are being carefully curated to rubber stamp the plan that Morath and likely superintendent Mike Miles have already written. Expect school closures, mass layoffs, and wholesale replacement of staff with people unfamiliar with Houston, our students, and our schools. Expect them soon.

And expect the closures to happen mostly in Black and Brown neighborhoods. Straight from the TEA BOM FAQ: “Changes in support to campuses will be tiered, so that more support is provided to campuses with greater need, while high levels of autonomy are sustained at high performing campuses.” It sounds reasonable until you read between the lines. 

If your STAAR scores are low (open enrollment schools in poorer neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic), you will receive “supports”  - meaning even more STAAR prep, scripted worksheet-driven curriculum, principal and teachers replaced and eventually chartered.

If your STAAR scores are high (magnet and schools in more affluent communities whose parents can hire tutors and pods during the pandemic), TEA will let your school choose your curriculum and keep your teachers. Or will they? Mike Miles, the rumored new superintendent is known for his my way or the highway management style. 

If this is what help looks like, you can keep it, TEA. This takeover, like those around the country, will worsen inequalities. 

RSVP for the Say No to Gov Abbott Protest on Tuesday. It is at The Rock Church, 4101 Broadway 77087. This church is run by a pastor who has been reported to hold far-right Branch Davidian sensibilities. RSVP at houstoncvpe.org/events.