11-15-2022 Patron Presentation, Damon Barone
Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.
During the November 01, 2022 School Board Workshop Vice President Darlene Elizabeth Breaux asked Area Superintendent of Innovation Patrick Cherry, who is on the districts Education Improvement Council (EIC)?
Mr. Cherry’s response was
That the Districts Education Improvement Council (EIC) meets at 4:15pm, or 4:30pm, in the “old board room” here in the same building on the nights which school board meetings are held, and that the names of the parents who serve on the Education Improvement Council (EIC) are obtain by the districts Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Shanceler Terry, from school campuses parent center coordinators, so that the parents whose names are provided may possibly be selected by the committee to serve on the Education Improvement Council; or the district asks active parents if they would like to be a part of the committee.
Mr. Cherry went on to further state that the district invited ten (10) parents, from all different grade levels, to serve on the Education Improvement Council (EIC) but only six (6) parents responded to the district’s invitation; however, the district is glad if three (3) or four (4) of the parents who are invited and accept their invitation to serve on the committee ever show up to the meetings, because the parents are busy with their personal time.
The Education Council selection process described by Area Superintendent Patrick Cherry on November 01, 2022 is a stark contradiction to the manner in which the selection processes are explicitly stated in school board policies BQA (Legal), BQA (Local), and the Texas Education Code 11.251.
Also, hosting the Education Improvement Council (EIC) meetings at 4:15pm or 4:30pm is not equitable for parents, students, or district staff if Crossroads dismissal is at 4:30 p.m., Alief Learning Centers dismissal is at 4:20 p.m., Middle School dismissals are at 4:00 p.m., Intermediate School dismissals are at 3:50 p.m., Early Learning Center dismissals are at 3:40 p.m., Elementary School dismissals are at 3:20 p.m., and High School dismissals are at 2:35 p.m.
If the Education Improvement Council (EIC) meetings are held on the same days as school board meetings, then why is the committee never at a single school board meeting so that the public can see the people who supposedly represent us, and are making recommendations to the school board?
In short, the districts Education Improvement Council (EIC) is not operating in the manner described in board policies BQA (Legal), BQA (Local), and the Texas Education Code 11.251, nor in the spirit in which they were intended; more importantly, the districts practices of the committee are not producing equitable representation of our community which it is expected to be the voice of.
Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.