Several organizations, including the ACLU of Texas and the NAACP Houston branch, will be protesting against the state takeover of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) on June 8. The state’s takeover was initially announced in March and the new leadership changes were revealed on June 1. Protesters have argued that the state’s process interferes with the local electoral process and fails to address district needs such as funding and res for students in economically disadvantaged communities. The rally will include a short press conference before the 5:30 p.m. board meeting, where HISD parents, staff, and students will speak.
On Thursday, June 8, at 4:15 p.m., a protest will be held at the Hattie Mae White Education Support Center in response to the recent leadership changes announced by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) on June 1. The TEA had initially taken over the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in March. Local education and legal groups have stated that the state’s process interferes with the local electoral process. Opponents of the takeover have also said that the state oversight doesn’t address district needs, such as additional funding and res for students in economically disadvantaged communities.
The protest will be attended by organizations such as the Community Voices for Public Education, ACLU of Texas, the Houston Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter, NAACP Houston branch, the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, FIEL Houston, and the League of United Latino American Citizens. The rally will include a short press conference before the 5:30 p.m. board meeting, where HISD parents, staff, and students will speak.
One of the organizers of the protest has stated that the initiative implemented by Miles, which requires staff at 29 schools in the district to reapply for their own jobs, concerns many people who remember the program instituted more than a decade ago by former HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. As per the Houston Chronicle, Grier’s model—Apollo 20—focused on student achievement, which included longer instructional days with more test prep and ousted many educators who were deemed ineffective. “Blackshear [Elementary] had nine principals in ten years because of its unrelenting focus on chasing STAAR scores,” said Ruth Kravetz, an organizer with Community Voices for Public Education.
Since Miles announced his plans for the district, Kravetz has heard more and more concerns from parents on future focus on test scores, standardized testing, and assessments, instead of students’ As the final thought success. “More people are opposed to the takeover today than they were yesterday,” she said. “Every parent that I’ve talked to in the last few days…and other people I know are uniformly afraid for the future of public school in Houston.”
The HISD takeover has raised many concerns among the local community, and the protest aims to voice their opposition to the state’s intervention. With the attendance of various organizations, the rally hopes to bring attention to the issue and promote a discussion on the future of public education in Houston.
