Taken strictly at face value, some have criticized the
recent appoints by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath as not representing the nearly
5.3 million Texas public education students.
If you look at the resumes and backgrounds of the newly appointed officials,
there is perhaps cause for concern.
Rather than jump to conclusions, however, I believe that we should
carefully weigh the experience factor and some certainly do have extensive
experience in education. The fact that
much of it may not be in public education suggests that perhaps we take a bit
more of a wait and see approach rather than rush to judgment.
Commissioner Morath has spent a considerable part of his
first almost four months in his position reaching out to education groups
across the state. He has engaged in
extensive dialogue with superintendents, trustees, and advocacy groups such as
Make Education a Priority. Bobby Rigues,
founder/CEO of MEaP, and I met with the commissioner shortly after he was sworn
in in early January and found him to be very interested in understanding our
perspectives on public education. We are
grateful for that and will continue the periodic conversation in support of our
advocacy efforts. It’s refreshing to me
that he has shown interest in understanding our position.
The commissioner, as most know, served as a school board
trustee in Dallas ISD prior to his appointment so he clearly has a background
in understanding some of the needs and challenges of public education. Whether we all agree with his position is not
the issue to me. The issue is how well
we can engage in conversations with the commissioner and have the opportunity
to share why we believe there needs to be greater support for public education.
So what does this all mean?
With the lines of communication clearly open, and with a commissioner
who is willing to have conversations with advocated of public education, the
focus now shifts to those of us who advocate for the children in our public
schools. We may not agree with everything
that comes out of the commissioner’s office (or from his staff) but I do believe
his office will continue to strive to Make
Education a Priority. It’s up to all
of us to ensure that our views, and ultimately the needs of those we serve, are
heard.
Agree, Craig. Problem for me is that having been in Austin for two years now, working with legislators, I am very leery of what is said versus what is done. The old actions speak louder than word is definitely in play for me. That being said, I take your encouragement to 'wait and see' to heart.
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