In protest of state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, an advocacy group called for a student sick day on Wednesday, which Houston ISD denounced.
In a statement released on Tuesday, district spokesperson Alexandra Elizondo said that the nonprofit group Community Voices for Public Education’s encouragement of kids to skip class in defiance of Miles and the district’s state-appointed board of managers is completely reckless.
Which bygone eras do they wish to bring back to the district’s most disenfranchised children today? Elizondo uttered such words. Do they wish to return to the days when just 17% of graduates made a decent wage, when our poorest schools produced children who left with empty degrees, or when the state had to intervene because special needs students were so consistently underserved?
Following a news conference at district headquarters on Monday to announce the planned sick-out, a group of HISD parents who were skeptical of Miles and his instructional innovations issued the statement.
Co-founder of Community Voices for Public Education Ruth Kravetz said the demonstration is another way the group is voicing its displeasure with the state’s takeover of HISD, which started in the summer of 2023 after the Texas Education Agency repeatedly rated Wheatley High School as failing.
According to her, our children are a unique blessing. And those who would never permit their children to be missing are speaking up and saying enough is enough when he fails to look out for our children’s safety and wellbeing.
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“Every data point shows that HISD’s students and schools, especially those neglected by previous administrations, are making significant progress,” Elizondo said in the district’s statement on Tuesday.
According to her, while some pupils may have benefited greatly from the previous HISD, the majority did not. The best chance to guarantee that every Houston student has an equal opportunity at the education and life they deserve is through the systemic change currently taking place at HISD.
Elizondo continued, “Unfortunately, a small group of adults still prioritize their interests over students.”
Although there has been a significant increase in staff turnover, Miles reforms have helped HISD’s benchmark scores initially improve. In what could be viewed as a referendum on Miles and his leadership, Houston voters rejected a $4.4 billion bond package in November.
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.
According to Community Voices for Public Education, HISD families have three options for taking part in the sick-out: picking up their student after lunch, picking up their youngster after attendance is collected, or choosing to take a whole day off.
We support involvement and consistency in education. Kelly Blikre, a parent of Houston ISD, stated, “We take attendance very seriously.” Additionally, because financing in this state is determined by attendance. I thus take part in this after giving it some thought.
This story includes contributions from Colleen DeGuzman.
