Red Jacket Lady: November 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Great report on the dedication of Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Middle School

DISD Trustee Carla Ranger wrote a wonderful report about the official dedication for the new Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Middle School. It was one of those rare moments when students could meet living history - Rev. Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. himself!

Click here to see Ms. Ranger's report and pictures.

About Me

After years as a DISD parent with kids in a wide variety of DISD programs, it struck me that parents asked the same questions every year about how the "system" works. Teachers had the same complaints year after year. The same types of things got reported in the newspapers. Year after year after year.

It didn't seem to matter who was in charge at 3600 Ross. To the "end user", the results always seemed to be about the same. Why?

I always wondered about that, but never did much to find out anything. Then the big budget crisis of 2008 happened. It was of DISD's own inadvertent making, and it took out the learning centers and nearly took out the magnet system.

That woke me up! It was no longer enough to sit back and wonder. I had to know! I had to know how the system worked, so I could know how to lobby for the quality programs I personally knew worked. I couldn't bear to see them and the children they served swept away and forgotten.

I've been attending as many Board Briefings and Board Meetings as I can since 2009 - and I'm still learning "how the system works"! It's huge, but it's not hopeless!