Even More Disgruntled Speakers Turn Up at Thursday’s HISD Meeting

The attack of the children. That’s how it started Thursday night and it was like watching a sci-fi horror film when some cute little alien buggers suddenly bare their teeth and try to take a chomp out of the human.

The object of their wrath? Houston ISD Superintendent Mile Miles who sat there through most of the 190 public speakers who came to complain about the dismantling of libraries, who did or did not want Wharton and Helms with their dual language programs to become magnet schools, and relaying even more reports of teachers saying they are planning to leave the district, tired of what they see as a hostile, bullying workplace.

It was another lengthy and packed meeting (the overflow room was filled as well)  in which, per usual, complaints about the New Education System with its timed tests and prescribed coursework from Central Office that Miles has brought to HISD. In fact it went on so long (till after midnight) that some of those in it for the long haul ordered in pizza.

“My name is Enrique [Ubiera] and I am in the fifth grade. Please fire Superintendent Miles. Not one decision he has made has been good. He is too focused on test scores but he has never done anything effective about them. You can’t magically learn by taking the same test over and over again. We need to actually do something about the problem. Maybe one reason for the failure is the low budget for most schools. Giving them 12 percent less (projected budget cuts for non-NES school next year) would really do something. Something bad.”

Interwoven through all of this, especially among the adult speakers who followed the children, was the slogan: “No trust, no bond.” (Followed by a few references to “We’re going to burn it down.”) And although the board voted to begin the procedure for a bond election next  fall to tackle much needed renovations throughout the district, this had to at least give Board of Managers members pause that they might suffer an embarrassing defeat come November.

Once again, board members did not escape criticism either, mostly of the variety that their usual lockstep compliance with Miles’ policies is not going unnoticed.

Designating Wharton and Helms “special and unique schools” enabling the district to avoid installing an English-only Pre-K in them initially sounded like a bright idea for all, satisfying the demands of parents to keep the Spanish-English dual language programs at those schools. Problem is, as a subsection of parents explained, they’d bought homes in the zoned areas around these schools and their children would no longer be granted automatic admission based on where they lived. Only one person asked that the English-only pre-K be installed, to scant applause.

The librarians issue which has been a red hot subject early in the school year, but died down a bit in recent months, resurfaced with a vengeance at Thursday night’s meeting  mainly because with the expansion of no-place-for-librarians NES schools in the coming school year, what was once seen as a discouraging “other” has now become a not in our schools rallying cry.

In addition, reduced school budgets in 2024-25 for non-NES campuses do not forbid but make it more  difficult to hold onto the position of a librarian.  As residents have come to realize, the effects of NES extend far beyond just those schools with their timed tests and rigidly proscribed course work.

“Hi, my name is  Nova [Uribe] and I practically grew up in the school library. April is school library month so let’s celebrate by not removing certified librarians from HISD schools. Mike Miles’ new compensation plan does not include librarians at all,” she said. “Board members, some of you have children, some are even HISD parents. Would you want your children to  go to a school without access to books?

“Don’t remove libraries or librarians. Remove Mike Miles.”

Student Ashlyn Morton challenged Miles and the Board. “You may be able to threaten principals and fire our teachers but theee is nothing you can do about the youth

“The youth want a democratic system because this district is no longer here to support us,” “The. youth will burn it down until it is made for us.”

Seven-year-old Olivia spoke about the importance of the book club operated through the library at her school and urged the superintendent to leave her librarian alone. “I’m sorry sir but you picked the wrong city to mess with. This is Houston.”

Students and parents also criticized the reduction in stipends paid to arts and debate coaches, the fact that in HISD teachers of the arts including theater will be paid “less than a first year teacher” as one speaker put it and the way teachers are not accorded the respect they deserve by the administration, according to teachers, parents and students.

“One time when my teacher was teaching me and my classmates we were astonished when a stranger entered our classroom, interrupted our teacher and ordered him to cut the magnetic borders around the material on the bulletin board, fifth-grader Alejandra Ubiera said. “Was the magnetic strip more important than our learning? Not only was this embarrassing to my teacher, it was disrespectful. We deserve better. Please change the system to be more respectful to me and my teachers.”

In one teacher story, relayed by education activist Ruth Kravetz,  a student’s baby sibling died recently. The school counselor asked if she could skip the regular Thursday afterschool meeting of teachers to show support for the student and his family at the wake.

The principal denied her request saying “they shouldn’t have scheduled it on a Thursday.”

Not surprisingly gasps were heard around the room.

There were more third party accounts of teachers feeling so depressed, harassed and overwhelmed by the new regime, that they either left their jobs after a few days, quit over the winter break or plan to tell the district they’re gone by June and already have jobs in other districts lined up.

Miles, of course, has said that teachers and other employees who do not want to work in his system should leave, that he doesn’t want people in HISD that are not on board with the significant changes he is making. The question, of course, is how many people will that be after June and if the administration already dealing with an expanded summer school session, will be able to cope with filling spots for the upcoming school year.