You are invited to a press conference announcing community opposition to the undemocratic state takeover of HISD.

Wednesday, Aug 21, at Hattie Mae White, 4400 W 18th St at 4:30 pm. 

RSVP on FB or here. Bring signs.

Join Houston Federation of Teachers (HFT), Houston Educational Support Personnel (HESP), the Harris County Democratic Party, Texas Gulf Coast AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Houston GLBT Caucus, United We Dream, ROADwomen, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats -Harris County, Harris County Tejano Dems, Community Voices for Public Education (CVPE), Texans for Special Education Reform (TxSER), HISD Parents for Inclusion (HPI), Kashmere Feeder Pattern Community Council, Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, Meyerland Democrats, East Houston Democrats, Southwest Dems, Our Revolution, Promoters of Education, Awareness and Community Engagement, PAC of Texas Progressive Women, Students Need Libraries, elected officials and many others.

If the board is replaced with an unelected token board of managers, you can expect a rollback of progressive gains. These gains include wraparound services in schools in need, reduction in test prep, the end of the use of STAAR for promotion at grades 3, 4, 6 and 7, minimum wage increases for our low wage workers, Aramark bad vendor cafeteria food contract ended, and the end of the use of EVAAS to evaluate teachers.

This unlawful takeover is taxation without representation. Our voice and our vote should matter.

HISD has a B+ (88) rating on the discriminatory A-F rating system and an "A" financial rating. Three out of four schools on the hit list met the accountability standard - Kashmere for the 1st time in ten years. Wheatley, the one school that missed the target, had a passing grade which TEA is taking away due to a technicality called forced failure.

There is also the forgotten Harvey waiver. Up to 54% of a high school's rating is based on the results of last year's seniors. Many of the students at Wheatley were among the most severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey in the city last year. But the TEA did not give Wheatley the Harvey waiver this year even though half of the rating is based on the performance of students who were displaced and traumatized by Harvey. This callous disregard for our kids is happening in Fifth Ward (Wheatley community) in one of the poorest zip codes in the state.

Our students, parents and teachers have worked hard to make the state targets using this flawed STAAR-based accountability system. And when they did, the state changed the rules.

The A-F rating system and the investigation are part of a carefully orchestrated move designed to undermine confidence in the democratically elected school board and replace them with an unelected and unaccountable token school board. 

Whatever you think of the Board, we have democracy on our side and you can vote out whoever you do not support. It is our democratically elected school board who should be choosing our superintendent and setting policy, not TEA.

This is about power and politics, not students.

Stand with students on Wednesday, Aug 21, at Hattie Mae White, 4400 W 18th St at 4:30 pm. RSVP on FB or here.