Will someone who actually LIVES in his district tell us what it is that makes him unopposed? I know why Medrano is--it is the kiss of death in the Mexican community to go against one from THAT family. Doesn't matter if he is good or not. To his credit, he is learning, but like several others on that board, he trusts the execs over the teachers 90% of the time. Bad decision.

As for Bingham, she is the biggest disappointment of all. She was once a teacher, yet votes to hurt teachers on ACP's and such. She holds grudges on groups that backed her opponents, too. Also a bad thing in local politics.

Granger is the darling of teachers because she actually reads the pap they hand to the Board just hours--if not minutes --before a vote. When Garza tried to take away a part of her area --for the sole racist attitude that Molina is mostly Mexican, she stood up to him---and while he is short on common sense, he is long on grudges, too.

[Ed Note: To the last part: the Board is usually well informed on issues prior to the votes occurring. If it is controversial every one of them will have read the newspaper and websites like this one to see what is being discussed.

But speaking before the Board on the evening of the vote is a very important thing. It lets them know what their constituents are interested in.]

I'm a native of Lakewood, a proud graduate of its public schools and have been a DISD volunteer since..

I think the common feeling around here is that Lowe is more of a Hillcrest person than a Woodrow person. I've never met Mr. Lowe nor seen him at any school functions in this area.

This is very true about Mr. Lowe. He is much more involved with schools off of Walnut Hill than in the Lakewood area. So I do not think that is a fair assessment of Mr. Lowe's service.

It looks like the real question here is, has ANYONE seen Jack Lowe at a school event? I guess business experience trumps hands on knowledge every time.

DISD wouldn't be predominately Hispanic if they were not kicking out Black students and making our students and parents unwelcomed.

I work with a Hispanic teacher who doesn't want me there and puts down blacks all the time.

This is not like the issue with computers. This is a full blown invasion of a people who want to take this country and everything about it and make it there's.

Those who speak spanish are prejudice and only want to work with their kind and no one else. They have no intention on being right about their cause.

Eventually, those who are under attack will soon begin voting when they are tired and when that happens believe me Billinguals will lose again just like they lost when we fought for Texas the first time.

[Ed Note: Yes, unfortunately, this is a vicious cycle. A poorly implemented program will, shortly, become the subject of politics and lawsuits. A new, equally unacceptable "solution" will be crafted--and the cycle will repeat. It's ironic, isn't it: the biggest losers are the ones we say "we're doing all of this for."]

Apparently they are not the only ones. Additionally, a bilingual person is one who knows two languages, and the bilinguals this seems to be about would be bilingual in Spanish and... what? So, then, what is it they need to be learning?

At least two issues are really scaring me about this discussion thread. First of all, that so many of those writing in have such a limited grasp of what I believe is supposed to be their native or first language. My first language was Spanish. I did not begin to learn English until I enrolled in first grade. No kindergarten, no bilingual program/ESL classes at that time. However, I was taught by my parents that being bilingual would some day prove to be a wonderful asset. They stressed that English is the language of this country and that, in order to succeed, I needed to learn it well. However, as a Hispanic, it was equally important that I also retain and improve my knowledge of Spanish. I am very thankful for those lessons.

The other thing that appalls me is that we went from looking into why those whose first language is not Spanish can't pass the test required to be certified as bilingual instructors to accusations about one ethnic group running another out of the school district to expressions of outright racism. And, please, whether we feel we lost this territory fair and square or not, the idea that we are collectively plotting to get it back is, at best,.... Well, gosh, I don't even know how to describe it.

The bottom line, and what we should be concerned about, is the students - bilingual or monolingual. They all need to learn, and we should want them all to receive the best education possible.

We know there are problems, but how is constantly finding fault and pointing fingers at each other going to help?

Most of us are not educators. We have little familiarity with how a school, let alone a district, should be run.
What we need to do is learn how to be judiciously helpful and supportive. Sometimes that means actions as simple as teaching our children values, discipline, and that a good education is critical to their future and that of the country. Mostly, it means working together for the good of all.

Good grief, Charlie Brown. How simple and, how hard, can that be?

In conclusion, dear editor ("chuckel, chuckel"), please edit carefully. I'm good but not perfect. After all, I am bilingual.

[Ed Note: I'm not going to edit anymore :) You should see the backlog of stuff to wade through tonight!]

No, not Everyone speaks Spanish. However, when a school has a large percentage (majority) of students that ALL speak the same language, then the school, by law, is obligated to accomodate a bi-lingual program.

There are many schools where Spanish-speaking students are in schools where the ethnic profiles are high in Anglos or Blacks. Thus, they are forced to learn a foreign language without ANY modifications.

The Bi-lingual program does not cater to the few.

Most UNILINGUAL teachers feel threatened.

Despite their many years of teaching, they find themselves no longer able to compete.

This happened when the computers became a dominant force in our working fields.

We, as a working people, must either accomodate in order to succeed, or stay stagnate and fail.

This is very true.

I am a parent that has spent much time in several DISD schools to help and volunteer and I am amazed.

There are "bilingual" teachers in DISD who can not speak enough English to communicate with the English speaking staff. Therefore the children are being taught English incorrectly, if at all.

This can make passing an English TAKS test difficult, if not impossible, to pass.

I would hope the goal of DISD is to eventually get our Spanish speaking students to learn English and not just create a Spanish school within a school.

What can frustrate many English speaking teachers in DISD is that a bilingual first year teacher can make more than a 2nd or 3rd year teacher because of the bilingual stipend. Yet they are NOT truly any more bilingual than the English speaking staff.

I know there is a problem with such a large non-English speaking population, but there has got to be a better way!

[Ed Note: But you realize the "official" position of the District is that all of their teachers can speak English!]

I am at a campus that has hired 3 bilingual teachers this year and I have to help one of them with sounds. She does not know all of the sounds in the English alphabet, but she gets $4000 additional dollars a year for the 2 non english speaking students in her class.

Although it is not happening on my campus, there are many schools that only have 10 to 15 bilingual students in their bilingual classes while the regular ed teachers at the same campus are juggling 25 to 29 students. They are paid more and are dealing with less students. What is fair about that?

I am one of those people who thinks the bilingual program should start at 2nd grade. The younger the students are the easier it is for them to pick up the language. Total immersion is ideal for students from Pre-K through 1st grade. It is amazing how fast the student pick up the language. In fact, the students that have gone through our prek through 1st ESL classes do not need the bilingual classes because their foundation is in English.

[Ed Note: Yes, your story (as we have found out) is not unique. Of course, now that we have confirmed this...]

Am I the only one that is shocked at the lack of consideration and sympathy that DISD has given to the family of the TW Brown student that died this week? Aren't the students the district's number one priority? I remember how quickly Dr. Moses and staff responded to the incident at Cary Middle School a few years ago when the student was shot and killed. What kind of administration does the district have now? I wonder who is calling these shots? Celso or Dr. H?

Aside from someone mentioning it at the school next to Browne, I heard nothing about it. In fact it was business as usual when I was leaving that school and the football team was practicing.

At Browne I only saw two kids by Browne's field. It hasn't been mentioned since.

It is wrong.