Thursday, April 14, 2011

Katy ISD Students Take to the Streets for Their Teachers


So on Tuesday, 500 new teachers with three or fewer years employment in Katy ISD were notified that their contracts would not be renewed for the 2011-2012 school year. Katy ISD expects a $50 million decrease in funds that they will receive from the state over the next two years and the admins felt compelled to eliminate their future.

If I were a student teacher right about now I would be considering another line of work.

But an interesting, and most unexpected thing happened today. At four of their high school campuses, Morton Ranch, Cinco Ranch, Seven Lakes, and Katy, students simply walked out of these school buildings during the passing period and armed with protest signs, lined up across the street and shouted at passing motorists about their anger and frustration that good teachers were being terminated.

Apparently the protests were organized Egyptian-style, on Facebook. And apparently they aren’t done, as they plan on picketing the district offices this afternoon and evening.

The protests attracted lots of attention in the media, and some attention with local police.

Here is raw footage of this impromptu protest rally taken from the KHOU helicopter flying over the Cinco Ranch rally.


The district superintendent responded with an email message sent to each student email address that the district has on file. That message can be read here.

Appropriately no disciplinary action is planned.

Now, if only these students can convince their parents that it might be a good idea to vote for a temporary two-year a tax increase to help tide over the district. They need to do the right thing and the courageous thing. Something that our state legislature simply lacks right now.

2 comments:

Greg said...

Appropriately?

Hell no!

That sort of walk-out is unacceptable, even if you aggree with their reasons for doing so.

And i'm curious -- did KISD have immigration walk-outs a few years back? Were the Mexican kids who did it punished? If so, then it seems to me that we have a serious discrimination issue here, with the district unwilling to punish white kids for conduct that netted punishment for minority kids.

Hal said...

Love it that you invent an issue and raise a question where there was none before. You have learned a lot from your Republican peers.

Immigrants. Muaaah-ahh-ahh-ahh.

Greg. Got job?

If you still do, no thanks to the people you elect and support. They want your head. They want your job. Teachers who vote Republican and get the axe don't have my sympathy.

They vote against themselves and their profession. Go charter, Greg. While you do that, I will withdraw my knowledge, skills and service. Social studies teachers are a dime a dozen. Try and replace an AP physics teacher.

Yes, I know they will. That's what they do. But with what or whom.