Our obligation is to bring light where there has been neglect, opportunity where there has been inequity, and justice where there has been delay. I urge you to remain engaged to ensure that every child in Austin ISD can walk in the light of liberation.

And yet, too many of the children of Austin ISD remain in the dark tonight​; not by their own making, but by systems and decisions that continue to value comfort over courage.

As Frederick Douglass wrote, “Education means emancipation. It means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the light by which men can only be made free.”

We speak of equity and educational justice, but only ​if it costs us nothing. We need only look to Houston and Fort Worth to understand that privilege will not provide lasting protection. It is in everyone’s interest that the most vulnerable among us be lifted up, not left behind.

My comments were made in response to the new wave of calls for integration now that the district faces consolidation and closures.
Equity must not emerge only when convenient. My record stands. My commitment to equity, justice, and public education is unwavering.

Families are choosing to enroll in schools like Winn Montessori, Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, and LBJ Early College High School, among others. These schools represent the promise of what is possible when families see value and investment in their neighborhood campuses.

And for those who stay but do not wish to attend “those” schools, they were aided by the district’s liberal transfer policy which makes it easy to opt out—further eroding enrollment and investment in neighborhood campuses.
Still, the tide is turning.

...of district and city disinvestment. Only now is the City of Austin beginning to improve infrastructure in our neighborhoods. For many of those that remained, they chose not to send their children to their local school.

...underfunding, inequitable resource distribution, program exclusion, and facility neglect—particularly in the Eastern Crescent.
Some families left East Austin because they didn’t want to attend our schools, many families left the Eastern Crescent due to a clear pattern...

However, we are very much living with their consequences. The forced desegregation of Austin ISD by the federal government was met with resistance and carried out slowly. The reality is that today, many of our schools remain segregated in practice due to long-standing patterns of...

...I fully understand the gravity and legacy of school segregation—both legally mandated and systemically sustained.
Let me be clear about the meaning behind my words: the current generation of educators, leaders, and students did not create the structures of segregation.

and McCallum High School - Austin, TX & Parents and Friends of LASA (PFLASA) BIG Wins🎉
Congratulations y'all! Photos: Heller IG