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Page 2b created April 23, 2008  THE PICKETING OF EL MIRADOR Carrol Academy, Horace Mann Academy, & Travis Elementary gathered their signs and took to the sidewalk of a downtown mexican eatery this past Saturday afternoon to protest the unfair closing of several SAISD schools. We are very grateful to WOAI's coverage of our event. Thank you so much! They aired footage and the interview on the 5pm news. It aired again at 10pm, without the interview. The restaurant was chosen because it is owned by Julian Trevino, the president of the SAISD board of trustees. Incidentally another trustee, Carlos Villarreal, is employed by Trevino. Are we the only people in San Antonio that wonder how impartially Villarreal is able to vote on important issues before the board? Wouldn't most people find it difficult to vote against the person who hands you your paycheck? To read more about the protest, view more pics, & watch video click here. |
SPREADING THE WORD One of our YouTube videos has been picked up by another website, www.Technorati.com! The board of trustees and the superintendent should take heed because this means more people will be hearing about our plight and their hasty decision. We are very excited to have moved past the local arena! It's the world wide web after all. It was only a matter of time. Who, or what is Technorati? Well, according to their website they track 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. Impressive! They are the recognized authority on what's happening on the Web, right now. Read more about them. You can see our clip on their website here.
DID YOU KNOW? Superintendent Robert Duron revealed to KTOCG* members that he has been meeting with Tom Frost and the Greater Chamber of Commerce. These three ~ Duron, Frost, and the Chamber of Commerce ~ have apparently been planning a college prep high school for some time. read more here. The last time Tom Frost and the Greater Chamber of Commerce became involved with a SAISD superintendent was back in the days of Diana Lam. That fiasco ended up costing the SAISD $800,000 to buyout her contract. Money that should've been used for our children's education. *Keep Travis Open Community Group
More About Superintendent's Pet Project Who really is behind this college prep high school There are several players in this cast. They are: Dr. Robert Duron- SAISD Superintendent Dr. Julian Trevino-SAISD Board President Dr. Robert E. Zeigler- President of SAC Dr. Richard Romo-President of UTSA Tom Frost- Elitist Greater Chamber of Commerce
This high school college prep academy being considered for the campus of Travis Elementary is being pushed by Tom Frost & the Greater Chamber of Commerce. The program implemented will be coming from UTSA. SAC, due to it's close proximity to the elementary campus, will be a participating college. An accesory if you will. Back on Feb. 25, 2008 the amendment for a college prep academy on the campus of Travis Elementary was manipulated by Dr. Julian Trevino in order to achieve their desired high school college prep. If you will recall, or go back and listen to the tape, Mr. Tom Lopez (the trustee who made the amendment) never used the words 'high school'. This college prep high school idea appears to be a pet project of the superintendent. He put one in back in El Paso, Tx as well. They had a pretty good number of students entering college from that high school. Who wouldn't, if you gathered students from around the district that were college bound already? Let's look at what will happen if this high school college prep academy is placed on the campus of Travis Elementary. First of all, 320 elementary school children will be displaced to three other schools in the district. Some of these children will need to walk nearly 2 miles to their assigned schools. For what? So that 60 high school students can attend their college courses next door at SAC. The con to close Travis began with the false declaration of declining enrollment. The next reason they cited for closing our school was limited resources and opprtunities for campuses like ours that have the capacity for fewer than 500 students. The fact is that the receiving schools also don't have the capacity for 500 students. Therefore, they will not be eligible for those extra resources either. Let's not talk about portables. We were assured our children wouldn't be placed in portables. Does any of this make any sense? --Gene Garcia
| Did you Know? Superintendent Duron had hired Jesus Chavez as principal for Thomas Jefferson High School and Chavez's wife, Jeannie Meza-Chavez as the principal for the yet-unnamed all-girls academy? If you did know that then the next question I have is: Did you know that they are compadres to Duron? Compadres~ godparents to Duron's child/children. How's that for nepotism?! Our sources say that Meza-Chavez had been on the payroll for nearly a year, even though the school does not yet exist. Reportedly, her salary was $91,000. Boy, that's alot for not even having a school! Travis Elementary, Horace Mann Academy, & Carroll Academy communities have come together to fight the unfair school closures. These three schools have come together in the past for the International Women's Day March and the picket of El Mirador. They will again join forces when they march in solidarity Saturday, March 29, in the Cesar Chavez March for Justice. The Coalition plans to continue meeting together and sharing information and resources to reveal the truth behind the February 25th school closures. Their goal is to have that vote rescinded and the schools reinstated. Coming Soon ~ Carroll Academy's website! COLLEGE PREP ACADEMY PAGE UPDATED!!! Read a PDF version of a Powerpoint slideshow outlining why a college prep academy for elementary students is needed. View footage of this PTA presentation on the College Prep Academy page. Information the board & superintendent hasn't even seen
A QUICK FIX WILL HURT US IN THE LONG HAUL The board claimed that closing schools was in part due to the declining enrollment of the district. They blamed it on all those families moving out towards Loop 1604. Well, there is some truth to what they said. Unfortunately for us, their vision is short-sighted and they stopped thinking at that point. The news reported it correctly when a SAISD official referred to the school closures as a "a quick fix". What they fail to realize is that at some point this move towards 1604, or 'urban sprawl', must stop. It has to, because there will simply be no place else to grow. As it is now this growth is nearing it's maximum reach. And we haven't even mentioned the price of gasoline, $4, $5, maybe $6 a gallon eventually. People, families will want to and need to move back into the city. And then what will you do SAISD? What will you do when you've closed 20 or more of our schools? Where does the superintendent expect these children to be educated? Will you overcrowd the schools he deigned to leave open? Will you have to go back and ask for another $483.5 million bond package because now you have to buy land and build new schools? C'mon! Let's look past our noses and see the bigger impact your decisions have on the community and on the future.
Did You See? The Express-News had an article about Travis Elementary in Thursday's paper March 6 on 3b of the Metro section by Michelle De La Rosa. Read it here. We are grateful for the coverage on this issue but we disagree with the information SAISD is providing the media and the public. Email Michelle De La Rosa at mdelarosa@express-news.net if you would like to give her your thoughts and opinions and don't forget to thank her. She will continue to follow this story.
Did You Hear? Superintendent Robert Duron was on KTSA with Ricky Ware Thurday March 6. It has been reported that he said that he's has 'tremendous community support for the school closings'. I wonder which communities he's referring? The Greater Chamber of Commerce?? Tom Frost & his monied elite?? It certainly is not the communities in and around the school's targeted for closure. As a side note, because chances are you won't hear this on the news or read it in the paper ~ while the superintendent was on with KTSA there was a lockdown going on at Jefferson High School. Sources relay that the campus officer had to pull out his club! Arrests were made on campus as well. Read one mother's account of the incident here.
posted Feb. 26., 2008 approx. 12:15am The vote is in. All seven trustees voted YES to close the schools on the superintendent's list with an amendment that allows Travis Elementary to remain open and become a college prep academy!
Take KSAT 12's Survey that asks: Do you think the San Antonio Independent School District board of trustees made the right decision to close six schools? http://www.ksat.com/education/15409729/detail.html
**************WANTED************* All SAISD Parents & Students This time around it was our schools. Next time. It could be yours*. Join the fight now before it's too late. ********************************* *the SAISD is already planning the next round of closures. Watch the video here. and read the story here.
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