First of all I would like to say a round of applause is needed for the Chamber of Commerce. For speaking the truth about the lack of faith that BISD has in its students. I always believed that a teachers main objective was to teach the value of education. They should know by the years that they have invested into their own educations. They need to know that they are molding our future society. Yes, teenagers are hard headed but they are also still children and need to be guided through life until they are adults and can make their own decisions. Nothing in life is easy and yes you do have to want something bad enough to go out and get it. But as a teacher you should not classify your students as the good ones or the bad ones. You need to just suck it up and make the student want to learn give them praise show them that their efforts are to better them selves and if the student still lacks the confidence in being able to understand I think you should take some extra for that student have them talk to a Counseler. Find out the root of the problem. Let me end this by saying not all teachers are BAD AND DONT CARE they just need to rethink the way that they teach and then maybe the students will come around.

I am a teacher at Moreno Middle School and I know for a fact that you can lead a horse to water but you can't force him to drink!

Teachers can do everything in their power to equip their students with what they need to pass these tests but if they don't care or don't want to take it, they won't even try!

I have had students go through the test booklet and circle answers without reading the questions and then transfer the answers to their scantrons and be finished in 15 minutes; when a student who really tries takes about 2 hours. I have also had students that pull their shirt up over their head and laid their head down on their desk and sleep during the test. It did not matter how many times I walked by them and asked them to wake up and please take the test, they would ignore me. These students are usually the same students that we have discipline problems with.

I have had numerous students that did not want to do their work, tell me that they can't wait till their old enough to quit school. There is no amount of encouragement that I can offer to turn most of these kids around, but Inever give up on them. I do everything that I can to help them succeed. They have to want it; we cannot make them want it! They don't care about the test; we cannot make them try! Bottom line is; they don't care, they fail and the teachers get the blame!

The schools cannot turn a student away because they don't want to be here, because they are not smart, because they have learning disabilities, or because they have parents that don't care and will not discipline or encourage them. The school has to take every one that walks in the door! We have to serve all of them. I promise you parents are sending the best they've got, they don't keep the good ones at home!

I am a teacher at Moreno Middle School AND PROUD OF IT!!! I am proud to work with the teachers and staff at Moreno. We work extremely hard to make sure these students succeed. It is so hard when we see students that do not care if they pass a test, turn in homework or even come to school, yet we still come early and stay late to help them. Did you ever once consider that those hand full of students that don't care are the ones effecting our scores? The majority of the students here are successful.

The effort I see from the Moreno Teachers and Staff is amazing and for the COC to say we aren't doing what we should be doing is a slap in the face. Shame on you for not believeing in us and for not supporting us.

Furious with the Chamber of Commerce

“The Chamber recognizes the fiscal constraints on Beeville ISD brought on by the new state funding formula and declining student enrollment. We also recognize that although, as a district, BISD met the 2008 Annual Yearly Progress federal accountability standards, A.C. Jones High School and Moreno Middle School did not.

The Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to stimulate economic growth and we believe that outstanding schools are a crucial tool in the ongoing development of Bee County .”



I have two problems with the statements above. The first is from the quote “The Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to stimulate economic growth and we believe that outstanding schools are a crucial tool in the ongoing development of Bee County ” is not your mission statement. Your mission statement is as follows- “Lead the business community in the progressive development and stimulation of economic growth and opportunity, and assist in the generation of new commerce.” The COC mission statement has nothing to do with the education of Beeville’s students. I spoke with my wife who is an elementary school teacher here in Beeville. She said that in her 12 years of teaching, the Chamber has not done anything for the benefit of her school, let alone the district. Why do you care now? This being said, let BISD handle its own situation and you handle yours.



In regards to the second comment, “The Chamber recognizes the fiscal constraints on Beeville ISD brought on by the new state funding formula and declining student enrollment.” Logic tells me that lack of jobs or better opportunities in other cities is why the population of Beeville schools is dwindling, not because there are fewer kids are enrolling in school. These kids have no choice, they have to go where their parents go.

I feel that the COC should put our economy first and their opinions about BISD on the back of their list. My wife and I chose to stay in Beeville. I have commuted to Alice five days a week for the last eleven years. Yes, eleven years. Why you ask? The reason is because there aren’t many jobs here in Beeville. My wife and I still try to support Beeville. I always get my fuel here, we buy our groceries here, and we support as many local businesses as we can. We buy in Beeville first.

After eleven years working with professionals in business, I do know how the business world works. If you want to go far, you have to pull your boots on tight, get your hands dirty, and work hard. However, unlike an employee that can be fired and a more qualified applicant be brought in, you can’t fire students. Beeville parents are sending their best kids to Beeville schools. Some of these students work at different levels than other students because of their background, upbringing, or some could have special needs. For the COC to encourage its members not to support the .06 cent tax increase because the some of the students did not meet to your expectations is ludicrous.

Teachers cannot replace students that don’t meet the task. All the teachers can do is assess and respond through intervention to help these kids to pass. When I say pass, I do not mean pass the test, but to also become leaders in their classroom and in life. I have seen and heard about different kids that made it into my wife’s class that many have given up on. Not her. She worked with them and got them the help they needed. With this they learned self respect and respect for others. These kids are now on a career path for college, working for local chamber members, making a difference in the community, and the COC says that the kids don’t deserve it. Some of the assistance that these kids may have had in the past will be cut, such as dyslexia tutoring, and reading intervention.These are the type of programs that will be cut because of the COC’s “recommendations”. Also on the block is the step increase in pay for all BISD staff from teachers to paraprofessionals. Unlike the business world, the education system does not go by performance base pay. The State gives the staff a step increase for each year of service for cost of living adjustment. Usually this bump is offset by the rising cost of insurance, electric service, and gasoline each year. Did you know that hundreds of dollars worth of school supplies are bought each year by teachers for the kids in their classrooms? I know this because my wife is one of the many here in Beeville that spends our own money to insure that every child in her class has everything they need to start the year off right. However, the COC feels my wife and other BISD employees do not deserve the step increase, even though her campus has been TEA recognized for five years in a row.

I ask you this COC. Why would you think cutting programs that help kids be beneficial? If you want to help the schools, you should encourage businesses in Beeville to support the schools. There are many things that you, the COC, can do for the students in Beeville to make this a better community for all of us.

“These students are the future of this community, and we, as the business people here, have to hold ourselves, and the rest of the community, accountable for the quality of our schools,” he said. “The schools in Pettus ISD met the fundamental federal performance standards, some in Beeville ISD did not. I think the Chamber is simply thinking like the business people in that they are in rewarding performance.”

I didn't realize that our business community was locked in step with the federal governent nowadays. I guess I've been out of town too long.

I can tell you that the federal system that "rates" our schools is unfair and is designed to make public education look bad. Did you know that there are dozens of measures that a school must meet? Did you know that if they fail to meet JUST ONE the ENTIRE school is labeled a failure?

So let's go ahead and think like a business for a second. If business is producing a good or a service for a community and one day they put out ONE faulty product, does that make the whole business a failure? I don't think so. If the business community here were held to the same standards as our school, you would ALL be labeled as failures.

Also, the comparison of Beeville to Pettus is a simple case of comparing apples to oranges. Smaller schools are not measured by as many indicators as bigger schools. They don't have to meet as many requirements and therefore do not have the burden larger schools have under the federal rating system.

Beeville. Everything I say here is true. Read up on the federal accountability system. Did you know that by 2014 100% of the kids will have to pass 100% of their tests? If one fails then the ENTIRE school will be labeled a failure. We need to realize that the federal system is flawed and we need to be real careful about how we choose to support our schools. It's our children who are at risk.