We feel it is important to keep our Askew Community informed.
Please read our letter and choose which form of advocacy you would like to participate in. 
The full letter with live links can also be downloaded (MS Word document).
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ASKEW ELEMENTARY
Parent Teacher Organization

​Dear Askew Community,
 
The Askew PTO is a group of dedicated individuals who volunteer in support of the students, teachers, and staff at Askew Elementary. Typically, this support includes classroom enrichment, teacher appreciation, community events, fundraisers, and various efforts to help foster a positive and productive learning environment. This school year, we have had to broaden our scope to more closely follow the ongoing changes occurring as a result of the state takeover of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).  Those changes have greatly impacted our westside jewel, in unfortunate and negative ways.
 
HISD was taken over by the State of Texas Education Agency (TEA) in 2023, in accordance with House Bill 1842, which allowed the TEA to remove the Superintendent and appoint a new one, Floyd Mike Miles. The TEA Commissioner then appointed a new Board of Managers to replace the democratically elected board. Upon installation as Superintendent, Floyd Mike Miles instituted numerous sweeping changes, which have impacted all schools in HISD to some degree, with the heaviest disruptions at schools who were instructed to fully implement Superintendent Miles’ untested and unproven New Education System (NES).
 
Askew was not initially made an NES campus due to its “B” TEA accountability rating based on data from the 2021-22 school year. While the TEA accountability data from the 2022-23 school year is tied up in litigation and has yet to be released to the public, HISD alleges to have obtained the raw data and test score calculations from TEA to rate and rank HISD schools.  Based on this questionable and unreleased data, Askew was issued an “F” rating for the 2022-23 school year now forcing Askew to become an NES school in August 2024. Askew was not the only campus who saw accountability ratings drop significantly in this 1-year timeframe.  Only 10 campuses in HISD were rated as a D or F in 2022, but in 2023 that number jumped to 123 campuses, accounting for nearly half of the district. Schools that are made into NES campuses will remain for a minimum of 3 school years. The executive board of Askew’s PTO has been involved in the day-to-day activities at the school during both these years and can attest that the current rating issued to Askew does not reflect what is happening in our school. 
 
This letter to the Askew community serves as a resource, providing information regarding current concerns, actions taken thus far, and calls to action for our community. We strongly urge you to utilize the information found below to learn more about the obstacles Askew faces due to the TEA takeover and what actions you as an individual can take to advocate for Askew Elementary.
 
Sincerely,
Askew PTO Board
 
Resources 
The Askew PTO is asking the Askew community to help in advocating for our students, our teachers, and our school. To better advocate, we direct you to these resources to stay informed on HISD:  
Additionally, the following are community groups to join and resources to stay informed and assist in advocacy:

  • Supporters of HISD Magnets and Budget Accountability – Facebook group
  • Community Voices for Public Education (CVPE) – houstoncvpe.org
  • Texans for Public Education – t4pe.org
 
To follow Askew Elementary and the Askew PTO online, please see:


NES 
  • Pre-K through 2nd grade will be less affected, while 3rd through 5th grade will fully adopt the NES model.
 
  • NES curriculum utilizes the LSAE (Learner, Securing, Accelerated, Enriched) approach, which is essentially a “push out” model. Teachers are provided PowerPoint slide decks from the district and the lessons are taught in 45-minute blocks, after which the students take a ten-minute Demonstration of Learning (DOL) quiz. The grades from this quiz determine whether the students stay behind in the classroom with the teacher because they didn’t show acceptable understanding of the lesson, or they are “pushed-out” to the Team Centers for 35 minutes to work on supposedly “higher level enrichment activities.” These higher-level enrichment activities so far solely consist of worksheets completed independently by students.
 
  • NES requires teacher to use very specific Multiple Response Strategies (MRS) and timers during their 45-minute lesson block. Some of these strategies are not effective for the grades or ages which they are being told to apply them.  Teachers are then observed and judged on their use of these MRSs, and given low scores if they are observed at a time when their students are engaged in DOLs or writing exercises. 
 
  • Askew currently has 6 ancillary “specials” classes (Art, Computer, P.E., Music, Drama, and Library).  It is still being determined how many of our current ancillary classes will remain in the NES system, but current NES campuses were only able to maintain two to three of their ancillaries from previous years. DYAD programs are being brought in and they are determined by the district DYAD coordinator, with the principal deciding on the DYAD instructors. These can range from photography, yoga, spin bikes, etc., but are taught by uncertified individuals, with no teaching background necessary. DYAD specialty classes are only available for 3rd to 5th grade.
 
  • Additional staffing requirements are part of the NES model: Learning Coaches are tasked with running the Team Centers but are not certified teachers. Teacher Apprentices are in classrooms, assisting teachers, and while not certified, have typically been identified as individuals seeking certification. The Librarian position has been eliminated by the district. Askew will no longer have a dedicated Wrap-Around Specialist and may only have a shared resource to support our students.  At Askew, the GT Vanguard Magnet Coordinator position has also been eliminated for next school year with the responsibilities being absorbed by one of the Assistant Principals.

Concerns 
  • As the first and only school with a GT Vanguard Magnet program to become an NES school, how does the NES curriculum align with GT Vanguard standards? How will the NES curriculum prepare our GT students for middle school and beyond? In eliminating the GT Vanguard Magnet Coordinator position, how will the district provide support for growing and sustaining our GT Vanguard Magnet program?
 
  • With a large population of Emergent Bilingual students (EBs) and Emergent English Language Learners (ELLs), what are the growth metrics used in assessments? What is an appropriate expectation for testing and proficiency? This year the NES curriculum was not provided in multiple languages.
 
  • What peer-reviewed studies have been done to show the effectiveness of the NES model? Why is systemic implementation of an unproven model at extreme cost being forced on a district where only a single school met the criteria for the state takeover? As NES is intended to be an intervention, what is the exit criteria? The emphasis on learning time in the NES model doesn’t seem to align with the time lost going to and from Team Centers. Why are students being removed from classrooms?
 
  • Logistically, where will the Team Centers be located? Typically, libraries have been utilized, but Askew is a two-story building with the library on the first floor on the far west side of the campus, and students walking across the building several times a day, to a Team Center in the library, to work on worksheets seems unfeasible.
 
  • How are teacher “Spot” observations and “IRT Spot” observations by review teams being performed? In conversation with HISD staff at various schools, the quality feedback from the IRT reviews has been nonexistent and scores have been processed incorrectly amongst other things. How is this being improved and corrected?
 


PTO Actions 
  • Since the determination of Askew as an NES school, the executive board of the Askew PTO has met with the West Division Executive Directors, Senior Executive Director, and the West Division Superintendent.
 
  • The PTO board has toured Ashford Elementary School, an NES-Aligned campus with district employees, to observe and ask questions about the NES model.
 
  • The PTO board has requested additional follow-up meetings to acquire promised data, and to continue conversations regarding how to best serve Askew.  Our follow-ups have gone without any response.
 
  • A request to tour an NES school similar to Askew in student population and building makeup (two-story specifically) was indirectly answered with HISD-wide NES school tours. It is not known whether the schools selected meet our requested criteria.
 
Calls to Action   
  • Speak at Board meetings.
    • CVPE has put together an information how-to for registering to speak. Find it here: www.houstoncvpe.org/how_to_speak_bom_2024_0319
    • The state installed Superintendent has consistently shown retaliation for HISD employees who speak out and because of this fear of retribution, we have created an anonymous form for Askew teachers and staff to submit comments they wish addressed to the board. Please sign up to speak for an Askew staff member here: https://tinyurl.com/yc66wedf

Community Events and Advocacy Opportunities: