They want their principal back. They want their IB program and the students in it left alone. And they don’t want to be told that the New Education System techniques aren’t being used at Harvard Elementary when their children and the school’s teachers say it is.
More than 160 people signed up to speak at Houston ISD’s school board meeting Thursday and besides Harvard Elementary, most complaints were about the departure of so many HISD teachers and the disappearance of libraries. As has been common in recent school board meetings, one after another speaker said they could not support the upcoming $4.4 billion bond issue because they did not trust Superintendent Mike Miles, his administration or the appointed Board of Managers.
Adding to the tension: with little warning, the Board adopted a new order of engagement with the public that had to discourage the number of public speakers. Speakers were divided into two sections. The first group was comprised of elected officials, students and speakers to the first agenda item on how the district is doing in regards to students’ college and career readiness.
However the rest of the people who signed up for public speaking had to wait until after an administration report on that college and career readiness before public comment could resume — which in this case meant 7:40 p.m, This was at a meeting scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. It was about 9:45 when the last of the public speakers said their piece and the board went into executive session.
Earlier this week, Harvard Principal Shelby Calabrese was put on administrative leave. The school was rated a B for the last year — down from an A the year before — in HISD’s own rating system employed it has said using Texas Education System methodology. (TEA has been blocked by the courts from releasing its own data).
The main reason for the drop was because of math scores, Central Division Superintendent Luz Martinez told parents in an email. While assuring parents there were no plans to get rid of the International Baccalaureate program at Harvard, additional instructional support has been brought in, she said. What the administration describes as a helping hand is characterized as an unwanted and unneeded intrusion into operations at the school. This is despite Harvard being designated a Level 3 school which means it supposedly has the autonomy to determine its own curriculum.
Harvard parents are furious, calling any aspects of the NES program with its “rote learning” the complete opposite of IB which they maintain encourages creative thinking.
“As a Harvard parent, I’m here because I’m concerned about the future of the IB program. The IB program is the reason we decided to send our son to Harvard and it truly is what makes Harvard a special school,” said parent Bridget Kushiyama. “While you say there are no plans to eliminate it, I worry about that because to be frank I do not trust a single one of you, especially Mike Miles.
“Although Harvard is not an NES school, teachers are required to implement the broad NES strategy. Not because they choose to but because they must in order to receive favorable observations. The IB curriculum nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning,” she said.
“In contrast. the NES model focuses on worksheets that lack critical thinking, relies on scripted lessons and prioritizes test scores only. Not the students.”
Parent Joanne Vest scoffed at the idea that lower math scores when the students were tested in January should have been used as a determinant of how well Harvard is educating its students.
“Have you forgotten there was no heat at school that day and only one functioning bathroom for over 600 students? Testing was not rescheduled and those students who showed up were told to put on their coats and gloves and test. Who could preform at A’s level in these conditions? This is not on Dr. C, this is on you. We are not fooled by your gaslighting and we will not give up.”
Jacob Margolin, another parent, started by saying that obviously he would not support the bond “until we have an elected and accountable school board. It basic Finance 1010. You don’t give money to people who are unaccountable unless you want that money to be squandered.
“The people of Houston see what you’re doing. We see you manipulating the school grading system so that NES schools forced into a curriculum that resembles daily test prep appear to excel while all the other schools are forbidden from preparing their students for tests. We see you disappearing principals that defend their school’s teacher and records. We see you leveraging money to those who kowtow to your agenda and punishing those who don’t.”
In Miles’ previous presentations of the bond proposal to the board, he said there would be no accompanying increase in tax rate even with the $4.4 billion bond, the largest in the district’s history. . However, with interest payments, the total debt incurred by the bond will be closer to $9 billion. Miles has said prior administrations sidestepped the need for larger bonds, ignoring the needs of schools across the district for years.
Ruth Kravetz, cofounder of Community Voices for Public Education termed the bond the worst one ever. “We always support public ed bonds until now. How can we trust HISD with a bond? Since the takeover half of the libraries are closed. Kids can’t read novels in school and buildings are falling apart. Miles, you gutted the number of HVAC technicians; was it to use our schoolchildren as hothouse pawns to get this bond passed?
“This is the worst designed bond in HISD history, $4.4 billion, $9 billion with interest, but only 35 schools with major renovations. Suspending disbelief, you have advocated tens of millions of dollars to schools slated for closure. That is why many are opposing the bond,” Kravetz said.
Several speakers cited HISD statistics showing 50 percent of all principals and 40 percent of all teachers are gone and spoke on behalf of teachers who either left or were forced out from their HISD jobs..
Jennifer Blessington, a former HISD teacher who has gone to work for another local district, spoke for herself and gave an emotional address that resulted in sustained applause across the room.
“Recent headlines suggest half of HISD teachers who left were low performing but what the stories don’t make clear is many outstanding teachers who were pushed out refused to comply with poorly written spot forms resulting in low scores.
“My own scores were high, mostly out of fear. I pressured my own sweet students to perform a highly scripted routine whenever I was observed and I still feel enormous guilt over this. Board of Managers, I get the desire to cling to a narrative that all of this is worth it and that you’re on the right side of history but the truth is you have been sold a story full of manipulated data and lies. Use logic. If this were working, enrollment would not be plummeting and outstanding certified teachers like me would not have fled to neighboring districts.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
