Hello SAISD Parents and San Antonio Community,
I hope our students and families are starting the new school year with no issues. This summer has been so hot, even for those who stay inside during the day. As most of you already know, our school district is working hard to fix all of the school’s air conditioners. According to Channel 4 I-Team, our school district records show 4,765 open work orders; out of those,1,725 are for heating and cooling. We also have over a thousand plumbing issues. The district is working hard to fix these issues and has prioritized fixing all the cooling systems. We are waiting to see how long it will take to resolve the different schools’ cooling systems.
Tea Blocked by Texas Judge
On a positive note, a Texas judge made a significant decision that affected the state school ratings of A-F. The Judge has blocked the TEA from releasing the ratings for a second year, citing the lack of clear guidelines for our high schools to prove our seniors are college-ready. The new rules now require 88% of our seniors to pass a benchmark to demonstrate their college or military readiness, a substantial increase from the previous 60% requirement
The Rath of Mike Morath, Texas Education Agency: You Will Teach the Bible
Let’s review the new proposed curriculum that would affect K-12 students based on the Bible. This is an issue that the State Board of Education will be voting on in November. So, even if they pass this new proposed curriculum, our school boards must also approve it. If it passes, TEA will offer a $60 student incentive per student. The man behind this is Mike Morath, the head of TEA; he believes that our schools would approve this new curriculum due to the need for more funding. The more significant question is: “Is this new bible curriculum overstepping the boundaries of our parental rights, and how will it affect our child’s life if our children don’t under all the religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.?”
The idea for this curriculum is based on HB1605, which states that teachers may not be required to produce unit or weekly lessons if the district has adopted instructional materials that contain these plans. The bottom line is TEA is stating that we are trying to help our teachers by offering school districts their materials, which comes at a cost. Now, Morath has found a loophole and wants to teach using different biblical texts in other subject areas. For example, the proposed curriculum would prompt teachers to relay the story of The Good Samaritan — a parable about loving everyone, including your enemies — to kindergarteners as an example of what it means to follow the Golden Rule. The story comes from the Bible, the lesson explains, and “was told by a man named Jesus” as part of his Sermon on the Mount, which included the phrase, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
Many other religions have their version of the Golden Rule, which the lesson plan acknowledges. The page below explains what the Golden Rule means in different religions.
Bible or No Bible?
Parents, now we need to ask, is this right, and does the state have the right to teach our children about different religions? We all know the inherent answer. Then, we need to ask how many teachers we will lose if our school district approves this curriculum or how much training our teachers would need to do to teach the new biblical curriculum.
If anyone has any questions or concerns please email at lena.lopez@observer.com.
Have a Wonderful Week,
Lena Lopez
