AISD’s IDEA: Unanswered Questions
To the AISD Board of Trustees:
I have serious concerns with the proposal to partner with IDEA putting charter schools into East Austin. I’m no expert, but in listening and reading I still have three questions that deserve honest discussion before you move forward.
First, what’s wrong, and what’s right, in our Eastside schools? Inadequate yearly progress is a metric, not a reason. Coming from Lee Elementary, we’re blown away by Metz. Mr. Sanhueza is not only the best teacher my daughter’s ever had, he’s the best I’ve ever known. And he’s not alone. These folks are exceptional. I know Metz won’t be directly affected, but have you learned all you can from them? Have you tried to spread the quality you already have in the Eastside? If you can’t identify and explain exceptional from mediocre, how do you know what to preserve and what to replace?
Second, how does IDEA work? What have they figured out? What can they do that we can’t? Curriculum? Teachers? Or, are they simply not educating kids with the most difficulty learning and behaving, thereby improving test scores without even having to increase student performance? Not clear. How will IDEA keep its promise, and at what cost to other priorities such as dual language instruction?
Third, is it right for Austin? At your meeting last month, I heard the frustration, and I also heard how others have placed their hope in charter schools, so why shouldn’t we? Not good enough. Desperation and peer pressure make bad decisions. This is Austin, Texas, and you’re our school board. If you can’t tell us why this is right for Austin, it’s not.
Bottom line: I don’t want to feel my district is punting when they should be huddling their team and figuring out how to move down the field. This is Austin, these are our kids, and we deserve better.
By Luke M. Muszkiewicz
Public comment at AISD Board of Trustees Meeting on 12/12/2011
