The board of managers for the Houston Independent School District weathered another stormy meeting on Aug. 10. Protests started even before the meeting began. At the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center that evening, community members staged a “read-in” in protest of HISD’s recent policy change on libraries. (Recently, the Forward Times reported that 28 schools in superintendent Mike Miles’ “New Education System” would dismiss librarians and turn libraries into “team centers,” where misbehaving students would be sent to view lessons virtually.)

Beginning at 4:30 pm, protesters gathered in the lobby, sat down, and began reading. They sprawled across the floor with novels, nonfiction and poetry books. Once the meeting began at 5:30, they took their protest inside. In fact, the first person to speak before the board brought up the library policy – though she also spoke out on the board’s proposal to have public meetings without the presence of an attorney.

Ruth Hoffman-Lack came to the mic with a warning. “First of all, I’m not an attorney and I’m not giving legal advice. But I strongly recommend that you do speak to an attorney regarding the proposal to send disruptive students to centers, even if it’s for ‘time out,’ as Mr. Miles described last week.

As I understand it, the policy violates the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, or IDEA. It’s very clear that students enrolled in special education must receive services in the least restrictive environment possible. Removing a student from the classroom, even to a center where the student can watch the classroom on Zoom, is placing the child in a more restrictive environment. The only legal way to remove a child, even for time out, is to write it into the behavior intervention plan. So, you definitely need to have your attorney at all of your meetings because this—”

The bell rang, concluding her comments after one minute. Her mic was cut. But the second speaker, Ann Eagleton, picked up right where she left off. “I have a concern that you’re being penny wise and pound foolish,” she told the board. “Please be thoughtful. You’re new here. You don’t even know why you might need an attorney. Hold off making this policy change.”

Sim Kern riled up the crowd with an impassioned speech about Miles’ proposal to make sweeping changes to magnet programs.

“Both of my children attend public schools with magnet programs in Houston’s East End,” she said. “A magnet program can be the soul of a school. It attracts teachers and students who are passionate about what they’re studying. To deny this type of program only to those schools in the poorest neighborhoods is cruel, racist, and classist.” She continued, her voice rising: “We know the STAAR test measures one thing, more than any other metric: socioeconomic status. And therefore, by stripping NES schools of magnet programs, libraries and teachers who are invested in staying there long-term, you are punishing children for being born poor. You are saying: no music, no fine arts, no engineering or robotics or even—”

Though she was cut off after one minute, Kern continued to speak, her voice audible even away from the mic. Houston Federation of Teachers president Jackie Anderson came forward shortly afterward to speak out against a proposal of hiring uncertified teachers to fill vacancies. She said it would “paint a poor picture” of HISD and wouldn’t produce better outcomes for children: “Research shows that non-certified teachers and administrators have low retention rates.

We have been notified of people walking in off the street, simply breathing, leaving out with hiring offer letters — with no background check,” Anderson alleged. “You are demeaning the profession.”

Later, one speaker delivered a heartbreaking message. “I’m Ashley Prince, a certified educator, mother to five and children’s book author, with 15 years of educational experience,” she began. “I’m here today because I was offered a letter for hire by an NES-aligned campus and received a message that something had stopped my eligibility process. I came to Hattie Mae White Center and learned that I was terminated in 2017 by the board for performance, upon a leave I took in regards to the untimely passing of my then-12-year-old daughter.”

Prince claimed her termination letter was fraudulently signed. But before she could fully detail her plight, the bell rang, and she was dismissed, with her concerns unaddressed.

Houston NAACP President Bishop James Dixon also spoke. “In the 5th grade of Helms Elementary,” he said, “a librarian put in my hand a book on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I can say to you that if it had not been for that librarian and that book, I would not be standing here tonight. That book gave me a conviction of compassion to become a humanitarian for the rest of my life…There are many more James Dixons in many more classrooms who need libraries,” he continued, adding: “If you take a book out of a child’s hand, you take a future out of a child’s life.”

Angela Ravin-Anderson, a reverend at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, delivered three white boxes filled with nearly 2,000 signed letters from her congregation — all in opposition to the library change. She said her church was concerned about a “separate and unequal learning environment” for Black and brown children. “There is no research that supports the closing of libraries,” she said. “We know that literacy will help derail the pre-K to prison pipeline.” She presented the letters to the board, drawing rapt, sustained applause.

When Mike Miles arrived and began his presentation, members of the audience turned their backs to him. They held books and signs before the cameras.

The post “Cruel, Racist And Classist”: Protesters Stage “Read-In” At HISD Board Meeting appeared first on Forward Times.

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Forward Times Staff

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