On Wednesday, hundreds of students are anticipated to participate in a student sick-out organized by a group of Houston ISD parents who are critical of the district’s board of managers and state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles.
A small group of HISD parents on Monday described their participation in the sick-out as a last-resort measure to protest Miles’ policies, and they did so just a short distance from the district’s administrative office, the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.
According to Kelly Blikre, who intends to keep her student at home on Wednesday, “Houston ISD families can participate in one of three ways: choose a full-day absence, pick your student up after attendance is taken, or pick your student up after lunch.”
A request for comment regarding the scheduled protest was not immediately answered by the HISD press office.
This is another strategy they are taking to voice their dissatisfaction with the state’s takeover of HISD, which started in the summer of 2023 after Wheatley High School had a series of failing ratings from the Texas Education Agency, according to Ruth Kravetz, who is coordinating the sick-out. Many of Miles’ actions, including his significant emphasis on testing-based training and extensive staffing changes, have drawn criticism.
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Kravetz remarked, “Our children are our special blessing,” “And when he doesn’t take care of the safety and well-being of our kids, people who would never let their children be absent ever are standing up and saying enough is enough.”
Around 168,000 pupils were enrolled in the district at the start of the academic year. According to Kravetz, up to 3,000 students from 118 schools were anticipated to take part in the sick-out as of Monday.
Crockett Elementary School student Fred Woods announced that he will be keeping his child at home on Wednesday.
“This is just a continuation of us trying to show that we do not support Mike Miles, the board of managers or what they’re doing,” Woods stated.
Later, he said, “I am unable to think of a policy that originated in the community… I cannot think of a single instance in which the board deviated from what we have all stated we do not desire.
