An Open Letter to Everyone about Public Schools

I’ve just been to TPAC, the Texas Public Accountability Consortium. In my previous district, we spent many years involved with this group. TPAC prioritizes accountability to our communities over state-based accountability systems that measure only a small portion of what students should know and only count one test on one day.

The idea behind TPAC is that our schools belong to the communities we serve, and we should listen to the hopes and dreams of those communities when measuring our success. When you really think about it, this group is working for so much MORE accountability than the over-complicated A-F system the folks in Austin designed then weaponized.

This year in my new role, I have been overjoyed to be part of TPAC again.

Today’s keynote speaker was Dr. Lindsay Whorton of the Holdsworth Center. If you’re not aware, the Holdsworth Center was created by Charles Butt of HEB as a place to grow educational leaders. It is an amazing facility named in honor of his mother, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth, a teacher.

(Also, if you’re not grocery shopping at HEB you’re doing it wrong.)

Anyway.

Dr. Whorton spoke about the importance of hope. In discussing what hope is not, she shared this quote:

Hope isn't just about "being hopeful" or "hoping for the best." It's about believing things are going to get better and then putting in the work to make it happen. Y'all. Your public school people are putting in the work. If you don't believe me, come spend a day with me. I will show you the work and the people doing it. My husband (and the spouses of educators around the country) will tell you that you have no idea what it takes to be an educator unless you are one or are married to one. So if you're a naysayer about public ed, I challenge you to spend one hour in my district instead of reading the latest school conspiracy on the internet. 

And please, please know that we are not complaining about this job being hard. We are here because we have HOPE. We have enough hope for our kids and yours, too, and even the kids who don't have someone in their corner. We evaluate our current reality and work toward what we hope for every single day. 

Later on in her talk, Dr. Whorton shared this quote from the book Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit:

(Yes, I immediately ordered this book and will read it post-haste)

Today it feels like public education is under attack. I won't get into political arguments with those who see it differently - I'm just here to share what it feels like to be where we are. Myths and fables about the funding public schools have at their disposal garner top headlines. The Texas school accountability system narrowly evaluates and is widely publicized. It seems the bad stuff is all folks want to talk about, and we have bad stuff. Everyone does, and we're no different. 

But we also have hope. Hope that comes with action. 

We are betting on the future so that when today is history, people will say things got better while we were here. 

All we ask is that you just stop tearing us down long enough to let us lift our kids up. 

I'll wrap this up with an anecdote from tonight. 

We held our top ten percent dinner. Each student in the top ten percent of their class was recognized and also selected an educator to honor, someone who meant the most to them in their educational career. One student chose a long-retired bus driver. The school tracked him down to invite him to the dinner, and tonight he beamed with quiet pride in his perfectly tailored suit.  When the young man explained to the audience why he chose this educator, he explained that the driver always waited for him when he was late and would make sure he got picked up even if he overslept. He expressed that the driver was someone who showed the kids every day what it was to be a good and kind person, and that he would be remembered forever for that. 

As he spoke, I was overcome with hope.