February 17, 2012

My name is Michael Soto and I represent 13 counties and 1.7 million Texans on the State Board of Education. I’m also a public school dad: My older son attends Woodlawn Elementary in the San Antonio ISD and his baby brother will follow in his footsteps in three more years.

Within an eight-block radius of my son’s elementary school are located three charter school campuses. One of these, KIPP Aspire Academy, has a hard-earned reputation for delivering a rigorous education in a supportive environment. The KIPP San Antonio CEO invited me to visit the campus long before I was a member of the SBOE simply because he knew I lived in the neighborhood and knew that I cared about public schools. My experiences with the other two campuses were utterly different: I called one principal to let him know that his students were tossing pebbles at my car as their school bus waited at a red light. My message was never returned. I asked to visit the other campus because I was concerned that fire damage had gone unrepaired for many weeks. Again my call went unreturned. It should come as no surprise that the state accountability system paints a similarly skewed picture if we compare KIPP Aspire against these other two charter schools, which shall remain nameless.

I think you can see where I’m going with this—but I won’t rehearse the mounting evidence, available in Texas and confirmed by independent studies throughout the nation, that public charter schools on average perform no better and in some cases considerably worse than similar schools in traditional ISDs. Let me instead keep you close to home for a moment longer. There are 15 ISDs located wholly within Bexar County, where I reside; of these, 4 districts, serving nearly half the student population, are recognized, and the remaining 11 are academically acceptable. There are also 26 charter holders operating within Bexar County; of these, none are exemplary or recognized, 15 are academically acceptable, and 11 out of the 26 are academically unacceptable. That’s a 42% failure rate. If 42% of our traditional ISDs fared so poorly, Texans would be up in arms, and rightfully so. But the human toll of such failure is beyond measure. Last year 4,559 Bexar County kids put their trust in these failing charter schools. And the State of Texas invested nearly 31 million taxpayer dollars in them—not to mention the millions sunk by the federal government or by private philanthropists. Frankly, there’s no good reason why these kids and these resources shouldn’t be a part of the more successful traditional ISD schools nearby. A similar story can be told about Dallas County, Harris County, or Travis County, where large clusters of sub-par charter schools can also be found.

I think we can all agree that poorly-performing charter schools were not the goal of this legislature. But charter schools won’t live up to the worthy purposes set forth in the authorizing legislation unless and until everyone in this room works in tandem toward reshaping the public school environment, including the framework for charter schools.

Some of this responsibility falls directly on the shoulders of the SBOE. We’ll soon be revising SBOE rules governing charter school applications and reporting requirements, and I hope to receive ample public input. And my colleagues and I need to do a better job vetting charter applications before we entrust charter operators with public resources and student lives. We need to do a much better job opening up the charter application process to public scrutiny—too often, the public isn’t even aware that a charter school is on the way unless the applicant is a celebrity figure, mired in scandal, or both. The SBOE also needs to develop a clear and coherent vision for how the charter system fits into the overall Texas education landscape and how individual charter schools might fit into local communities and alongside traditional ISDs. I’m sorry to report that we have no such vision as individuals or as a body.

This committee and the legislature as a whole have much larger roles to play in making the charter system truly a system, and not merely a hodge-podge of schools struggling to get by, and I look forward to working with you to bring about the kind of results that were envisioned when the charter system was first created. Most important, TEA needs additional staffing resources and legislative direction so that it can better monitor and repair or close down unsuccessful charter schools. Just think about what might happen if we were able to replace the 11 academically unacceptable Bexar County charters with a high-performing alternative? I for one would be thrilled. Unfortunately, TEA lacks the staffing capabilities and, I fear, the political will to take full advantage of the ample authority that you’ve provided for site visits, financial audits, and intervention. The administrative tools are mostly there, but TEA sorely needs your support and your leadership.

It’s also important that this committee look at those charter schools that get it right and take full advantage of their relative bureaucratic freedom to achieve lasting student gains so that similar freedoms might be extended to traditional ISDs. School autonomy works when coupled with the right kinds of ground-up accountability, and highly successful charter schools might show us a way out of the high-stakes testing mess that we find ourselves in. I hope and trust that you’ll view successful charters as laboratories for innovation and achievement so that a critical mass of Texas students might soon benefit from their model.

I sincerely believe that there’s an important place for charter schools in Texas public education, and I think you’ve already defined it in the Texas Education Code. Now the hard part: Let’s make sure that charter schools live up to the challenge that you’ve already given them

San Antonio, Texas - June 6, 2011 - Concerned science educators, business leaders, and public school advocates today joined State Board of Education member Dr. Michael Soto (D-San Antonio) in calling for public input to ensure high-quality science instructional materials for Texas public schools.

During its July 2011 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBOE) will adopt supplemental science instructional materials that address the revised science curriculum for public schools (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS). Because of the State budget crisis, the SBOE issued a request for supplemental science instructional materials in lieu of printed textbooks.

Soto urged the public to voice its opinion on this important public policy matter. "Texans of all backgrounds agree that new science instructional materials must rely on the latest available scientific research, prepare students for college and career success, keep politics out of the classroom, and propel the Texas economy forward," Soto observed. "With the right tools, Texas teachers and students can accomplish great things."

Alice Fiedler, Northside ISD secondary science instructional specialist, emphasized, "When it comes to student success, quality science instructional materials are second only to a gifted classroom teacher. It's only fitting that as many science teachers as possible get involved in the process."

"Quality scientists develop their skills over many years, starting well before college," noted Dr. Sara Volk, a biology professor and researcher at Our Lady of the Lake University. "For Texas high school graduates to be competitive in the sciences they must have the best possible science preparation early-on--this requires the best science instructional materials possible. As a scientist and a Texas mom, I hope that we equip our teachers with the best instructional materials so that my son and all Texas children are prepared with a strong scientific foundation to succeed as science majors and make the discoveries that will advance science."

James R. Adams, former chairman of the Texas Instruments board of directors, former SBC Communications executive, and deacon at Trinity Baptist Church, stressed that politics and personal agendas should play no role in science education: "Our state's and our nation's capacity for innovation and excellence is directly tied to our commitment to the very best in science instruction. The science classroom is where global economic competition is won or lost. We need science instructional materials developed and vetted by qualified scientists, not by individuals with an axe to grind."

Members of the public can view samples of the science instructional materials under consideration for adoption at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website. They can also file comments, including lists of alleged factual errors, with the TEA. Links to the science instructional materials and full TEA contact information can be found at www.Michael-Soto.org. The public is also invited to testify at the July 2011 meeting of the SBOE in Austin.

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KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SCIENCE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ADOPTION PROCESS:

• In 2009, the SBOE adopted a new science curriculum (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS); in July 2011, the SBOE will approve science instructional materials developed to cover the new TEKS. The new science instructional materials will be used in public school classrooms beginning this fall.
• A total of 14 companies and Rice University submitted 81 proposals for science instructional materials.
• The 82nd Texas Legislature appropriated $792 million (HB 1 and HB 4) to fund new English language arts textbooks and science instructional materials.

KEY FACTS ABOUT SCIENCE EDUCATION:

• In 2010, 83% of Texas high school students passed the science TAKS test; only 28% passed at the commended level (TEA).
• Beginning fall 2011, Texas high school students will take STAAR end-of-course exams in science and other subjects.
• High school dropouts accrue significantly fewer science and math credits than on-time graduates (NCES 2009-035).
• The Nation's Report Card concludes that "science courses [are] key to achieving standard and midlevel curriculum levels" that define college readiness: "For those graduates who did not complete a standard curriculum (25 percent), 39 percent lacked only the required three credits in science to attain a standard curriculum level.... Similarly, of the 16 percent of graduates who completed a standard curriculum, 35 percent lacked only the science coursework in two of the three major science subjects (biology, chemistry, and physics) required to attain a midlevel curriculum level" (NCES 2011-462).

For immediate release

San Antonio, Texas - January 8, 2011

Remarks of Michael Soto, Member of the State Board of Education in District 3, after he was administered the Oath of Office by Justice Rose Vela, Thirteenth Court of Appeals.

I stand here entirely humbled by the kind presence of so many and such varied and distinguished guests—devoted educators, active and engaged parents, past and present and future elected officials, community leaders all—and by the generosity of your support throughout the campaign season. I am glad to leave that season behind and to embrace the important work of supporting Texas students and Texas schools. It’s time to move beyond politics.

For that reason I am extraordinarily grateful to Justice Rose Vela for officiating today’s ceremony. You see, in Spanish she is my prima política—my cousin-in-law. She may be a Republican and I may be a Democrat, but she’s family. In fact, I’ve known her husband, Filemón Jr. and his mom Blanca Sánchez Vela for almost as long as I can remember. There are just some things that transcend mere party labels—family and friendships are two such things.

It is my pleasure to introduce my family. [Introductions]

I hope you agree with me that this is a very special place, and I am grateful to Ms. Pollock, the Hawthorne Academy principal, and Mr. Schmidt, the vice principal, for their kind hospitality—not just today, but often. I have the great privilege of setting foot on this campus many times each week as I drop off Alejo, join him for lunch in the cafeteria, or stop by this library to check out a book or, in the past, sit in on chess club meetings. I cannot imagine a more potent or lasting source of inspiration than seeing the faces of excited students and committed faculty and staff members. Hawthorne Academy will make reaching decisions on the State Board easy for me: All I have to do is ask some very simple questions: How is this decision going to support the teachers and other staff here? More important, how is this going to help kids succeed in school, get them ready to take on the challenges of college and a lifelong career? How will this decision inspire a love of learning?

Speaking of learning: Alejo tells me that his second grade class is studying the mythology of ancient Greece, which fills me with delight. Nathanial Hawthorne, this school’s namesake, provided a modern rendering of ancient Greek myths in his children’s book, Tanglewood Tales (1853). Asked how he might overcome the violence lurking in stories about Circe, who transfigured her victims into animals, or about the dreaded Minotaur, half-man and half-bull, asked how he might make these grim subjects suitable for children, Hawthorne responded that the culture of ancient Greece imparted a magical innocence to the otherwise forbidding tales. And Hawthorne has this to say about the boys and girls for whom his book is written: “Children are now the only representatives of the men and women of that happy era; and therefore it is that we must raise the intellect and fancy to the level of childhood, in order to recreate the original myths.”

We think of Nathanial Hawthorne as preoccupied with the uncanny and dark depths of the human imagination, with the ghoulish side of belief. But these words about boys and girls reveal a lighter side, one touched by a powerful faith. Not faith in the religious sense, not faith in absolutes, but a faith in uncertainty, a willingness to reconcile intellect and fancy and to locate in the space between evidence of infinite possibility.

What a radical idea: That our best days lie ahead of us if we are willing to learn from children. That we owe it to ourselves to provide our children with the best education possible and to give them opportunities that we can scarcely fathom. A radical and quintessentially American idea.

I ask you to embrace that idea with me and to work hard by doing whatever is necessary to make this possible for Hawthorne Academy and the 8,500 other Texas public school campuses. Let’s show our faith in the kids with us here and in the five million other kids enrolled in Texas public schools.

Thank you for standing with me today. I am humbled by the opportunity to walk with you in the days to come.

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If this narrow-minded resolution were being considered anywhere besides the Texas State Board of Education, I would assume that I was reading satire rather than an earnest attempt at public policy-making. This pointlessly distracting, embarrassingly intolerant resolution is based on so-called analysis that makes a mockery of reading comprehension and, worse yet, of serious efforts to improve Texas public schools.

Even if the content analysis behind this resolution was accurate--and others have already pointed out its inaccuracies--it nevertheless betrays a short-sighted understanding of how books work. It makes a mockery of serious reading. According to the same standards held up by this resolution, Milton's marvelous Christian epic, Paradise Lost, would be considered an anti-Christian text because it gives considerably more "air time," more than twice as much, to Satan than to the Christian God. (And it gives roughly equal space to the Christian God and to non-Christian gods other than Satan.) To read Paradise Lost in this perverse way misses the point altogether. Similarly, the Book of Revelations features the "beast" far more prominently than it does Jesus Christ, a roughly five-to-one imbalance; this SBOE resolution would likely conclude that the New Testament tome is somehow anti-Christian.

I'm irked that I must waste my time thinking about such nonsense. But I'm far more upset that the SBOE is allowing itself to be distracted by such mean-spirited trivia when it should be figuring out how to fund public school textbooks in the face of a $21 billion budget deficit, when it should be working on new ways to stem the dropout crisis, when it should be giving teachers the tools that they need to prepare our kids for college.

Yet again I must say: Texas kids deserve better than this.

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He lives in San Antonio with his wife Celina Peña and their sons Alejo (a second-grade student in the San Antonio ISD) and Américo (SAISD class of 2028).

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378)

San Antonio, Texas - June 23, 2010

Statement by Michael Soto, Democratic Party nominee for the State Board of Education in District 3:

I strongly disagree with today's decision by the State Board of Education to spend valuable public school resources for a government-subsidized real estate scheme that may or may not benefit Texas charter school students.

The scheme is ill-conceived and contradicts the best advice of investment professionals, state legislators, legal experts, and education policy researchers. There is a strong possibility that this real estate scheme falls short of the Texas Constitutional requirement that Permanent School Fund investments prudently balance risk and reward. It certainly defies free-market principles.

Permanent School Fund oversight is one of the SBOE's most important duties. Allocating public school funds in this reckless way shortchanges Texas taxpayers and Texas children.

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He lives in San Antonio with his wife Celina Peña and their sons Alejo (a second-grade student in the San Antonio ISD) and newborn Américo.

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org)

San Antonio, Texas - May 21, 2010 -

Whenever the State Board of Education revises the public school curriculum standards, the new standards should be clear, rigorous, and flexible enough to allow for classroom innovation. Unfortunately, the Social Studies TEKS just approved by the SBOE meet none of these objectives.

Instead, the new Social Studies TEKS offer:

• a cumbersome list of names and dates that will stifle creativity and encourage "teaching to the test";
• individual standards that favor political posturing over sound scholarship;
• individual standards that are virtually unteachable in a real-world classroom environment because they are incoherent or hopelessly vague; and
• individual standards that are plagiarized from dubious sources.

If one of my Trinity University students handed in this work, then he or she would receive a D for the quality of ideas and an F for academic dishonesty. Texas schoolchildren deserve a first-class education, not plagiarism or politics-as-usual from the SBOE.

Throughout my campaign and, should I be elected, once I am seated in public office, I will consult with concerned parents, teachers, scholars, community and business leaders, and textbook publishers. Together we can and will work to identify and correct the errors that were incorporated into Texas' new Social Studies TEKS.

As a member of the State Board, I will work tirelessly to repeal and revise the the Social Studies TEKS so that our schools position Texas students for college and career success. And I will insist that social studies textbooks are based on sound scholarship; they must reflect the rich diversity of Texas and U.S. society as well as the intricate and splendid past that is Texas and U.S. history.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 19 May 2010
CONTACT: Kirsten Gray (512) 478-9800, (512) 809-2459

CANDIDATES TO SBOE: PUT OUR KIDS FIRST!
Democratic SBOE candidates take stand against political indoctrination in Texas classrooms

(Austin, TX) – Democratic State Board of Education (SBOE) candidates held a press conference today at the Texas Democratic Party headquarters and called on SBOE members to stop injecting politics into our classrooms. Candidates Dr. Judy Jennings, Dr. Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Dr. Michael Soto stood in opposition to the ideology-driven curriculum standards currently under consideration by the SBOE and scheduled for a final vote this week.

The candidates presented a petition signed by over 4,300 Texans who insist that the SBOE put partisanship aside and ‘Put Our Kids First’.

"Today, the State Board of Education faces an historic choice. Will they listen to the teachers who serve our children...or will they continue to serve their own ideological agendas?" said Dr. Judy Jennings, candidate for SBOE District 10. "I will explore in January the possibilities for rescinding any changes to the Social Studies curriculum made this week that are based on ideology rather than historical fact, and I challenge my opponent, Marsha Farney, to commit publicly to doing the same."

"When I look at my two young children, I feel nothing but hope. But when I look at what the current SBOE is doing to education in Texas, I feel nothing but deep concern," added Dr. Michael Soto, for SBOE District 3. "I want to join this Board so we can start doing better by our children."

"If board members truly care about education, they will postpone their decisions on curriculum. They must not play political games with education," said Dr. Rebecca Bell-Metereau, who is running for SBOE District 5. "We must set aside political battles and return our focus to the mission of the board: to provide students with a curriculum and textbooks that prepare them for higher education and for careers."

Michael Soto Blasts Plagiarized SBOE Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org

April 28, 2010

Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members of the Caucus:

As my introduction pointed out, I am the Democratic Party candidate for the State Board of Education in District 3, which stretches from my home in San Antonio down to the Valley, where I grew up. But I never would have considered entering the race if I wasn’t also a college professor and the father of two boys, including a brilliant first-grader in the San Antonio ISD.

As it happens, I am a cultural historian by training and by profession, so I could be here for hours discussing the particulars of the social studies standards that I find troubling. I agree with the consensus emerging that the proposed Social Studies TEKS distort American history and society to advance a lopsided agenda, often at the expense of adequate and appropriate representation of America’s racial, ethnic, and religious minorities. This is especially troubling to me because my son belongs to the group of students—Texas first graders—who are the first Latino-majority cohort in Texas public school history. But let me highlight just one of the controversial standards because its potential adoption illustrates vexing problems that pervade the SBOE standards revision process.

American Exceptionalism

I wish to address the “American exceptionalism” standard, which falls under the U.S. History since 1877 course that high school students must pass to graduate. The specific standard requires that the student—including my older son when he takes the course sometime around 2019—“understands the concept of American exceptionalism.” This requirement was added by Dr. McLeroy to the seemingly endless roster of amendments during the January SBOE meeting (but not voted on until March).

“Exceptionalism”—the idea, to quote the proposed standard, that “American values are different and unique from those of other nations”—is an important concept in American intellectual history; in fact, I’ve written about and discussed the concept numerous times because it’s inseparable from the varieties of cultural nationalism that shaped the modernist movements that I study and teach. But the Social Studies TEKS mishandle the concept in ways that leave me deeply concerned for many reasons.

My first concern: The concept belongs more to ante-bellum American history, and in particular to colonial and early national history, than to the post-Reconstruction period where the amendment placed it. Even the primary text referenced to illustrate American exceptionalism—Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (1835-1840)—is a product of the early nineteenth century. I can excuse this period misplacement, though, because ante-bellum and early national history are covered in the middle school TEKS; exceptionalism is a concept that’s too difficult to handle at that early age. (One version of American exceptionalism—that offered most influentially by Frederic Jackson Turner—obviously informs how the middle school TEKS approaches westward expansion during the ante-bellum era.)

My second concern: The standard for “American exceptionalism” oversimplifies Tocqueville’s seminal work: The standard claims that Tocqueville identifies (and I quote again) “five values crucial to America’s success as a constitutional republic: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire.” It’s worth pointing out that the words “egalitarianism,” “populism,” and “laissez-faire” do not appear in Democracy in America; the latter, French phrase can’t even be found in the original French edition of the book. Instead, the five values are lifted from Seymour Martin Lipset’s American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword (1996) in a manner that’s not altogether fair to Lipset: Lipset distills these five values from a wide array of thinkers, not just from Tocqueville. The standard is thus a product of shoddy scholarship.

My third concern: It’s no mystery why one might offer an over simplistic version of Tocqueville: Tocqueville’s own idiosyncratic views on religion—he believed, for example, that democracy inclines individuals toward pantheism—aren’t in tune with the religious right’s coded language, in which the phrase “American exceptionalism” conjures America’s Christian mission, the view that the United States is the “city on a hill” referenced in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:15). Here, too, history tells a much more complicated story than the Social Studies TEKS could ever hope to illuminate.

The “city on a hill” metaphor was first applied to this continent in 1630 by Puritan minister John Winthrop as he and his flock sailed to America aboard the Arbella. “For wee must consider that wee shall be as a citty upon a hill,” Winthrop preached to his shipmates. “The eies of all people are uppon us. Soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our God in this worke wee haue undertaken, and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” The “work” that Winthrop espouses throughout the sermon is nothing less than a sharp repudiation of English mercantilism and an embrace of a New English communism. Yes, Winthrop was a small “c” communist; his “Model of Christian Charity” sermon reads the Bible in a manner that anticipates Marx’s “from each … to each” sloganeering: “thou must give [thy brother] according to his necessity,” Winthrop instructs, “rather then lend him as he requires.”

Am I proposing, then, that Texas high school students learn about the communist strand in our nation’s colonial history? Certainly not. To do so would be to make far too much of an isolated (though admittedly important) sermon. To do so would be to grind an ideological axe at the expense of historical truth. To do so would be to play politics with our kids’ education. To do so is unacceptable to me as a college professor and as a dad.

My fourth concern: As a Texan, I’m embarrassed to say that the “American exceptionalism” standard is not just a shoddy misrepresentation of Tocqueville; this part of the standard was plagiarized from a UCLA Graduate School of Education website, a source that conflates Tocqueville and Lipset in potentially confusing ways (ww.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/american-exceptionalism.htm). And sadly, other parts of the “American exceptionalism” standard were lifted almost verbatim from Wikipedia. If one of my Trinity University students handed in this work, he or she would receive a D for the quality of ideas and an F for academic dishonesty. Let me be absolutely clear for the public record: The Social Studies TEKS are plagiarized work. Can we all agree that Texas kids deserve better than this? Shouldn’t’ the State Board of Education be held to a higher standard?

Let’s Get Things Right

With this in mind, I must insist that Chairperson Lowe postpone a final vote on the Social Studies TEKS until Commissioner Scott and TEA staff have fully vetted the integrity of the standards. I must also insist that Gov. Perry call on the SBOE to postpone a final vote until all Texans have a social studies curriculum that they can believe in. Anything less would be to aid and abet intellectual property theft; anything less would be to sell out Texas students. If Gov. Perry is unwilling to stand up for Texas school kids, then I hope Texas voters send a clear message this November: Enough is enough.

A Flawed Process

This flawed “American exceptionalism” standard is emblematic of the flawed process that led to a virtual encyclopedia of crassly politicized, short-sighted propaganda posing as history. Let me conclude by highlighting where this process has gone wrong.

The Social Studies TEKS are simply too long, too caught up in nit-picky details about what should be taught at a given point along a child’s thirteen-year primary and secondary school experience. At 149 pages, the TEKS is longer than many of the books that will emerge from its design. It’s almost comical that the standards encourage teachers to share “a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as biographies, autobiographies, landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court, novels, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs, and artworks.” Let’s face it: Teachers know that they’ll be rewarded for cramming a list of names and dates in preparation for a high-stakes test, and they know that too often they’re punished for actually teaching, for providing the kind of challenging and inspiring lessons that transformed this first-generation college student into a college professor.

The hardworking committees who put together the original TEKS drafts—mostly teachers and other content experts appointed by SBOE members—knew full well that their work would be retooled to score political points once the draft reached the SBOE. That’s why they crammed the document so full of thick detail to begin with: They didn’t trust SBOE members to leave the curriculum in the capable hands of classroom educators. And as we’ve heard all-too-often, enough SBOE members don’t trust teachers to do what teachers are trained to do, what they’ve devoted their professional careers to: Preparing kids for success in school, at work, and at life. The scores of amendments—including amendments stitched together on a wing and a prayer and a sixty-second Google search—reveal a profound lack of trust in public school teachers and, I can only presume, in college professors like me, who are tasked with preparing future generations of classroom teachers.

Putting Texas Kids First

For better and for worse, the world has taken notice. The Texas SBOE has drawn ire and derision and laughter—sometimes unfairly, sometimes well-deserved—from all corners of the United States. A profound and pressing question is this: How can we restore trust in a process that is supposed to be about preparing Texas students for college and career success? What will it take before we reach a point where we can leave our kids’ education where it belongs: In the hands of professional educators who know the real needs of their community, be it an urban, inner-city school in San Antonio or a small campus in rural Tilden.

Should I be elected to serve on the SBOE, I will do all that I can to bring credibility to the standards revision process. I’ll reach out—as I have throughout this campaign—to parents and teachers and students so that their voices inform this crucial conversation about the public school curriculum. I’ll confer with TEA staff and textbook publishers to ensure that Texas school kids have access to the very best textbooks available. And I’ll look forward to working with members of this Caucus and the full Texas legislature to put Texas kids first.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org

Austin – Public school parent and college professor Michael Soto today officially filed for a place on the Democratic Party ballot to represent Bexar County and deep South Texas on the State Board of Education in District 3.

“I’m deeply concerned that some on the State Board of Education are out of touch with the 4.7 million Texas schoolchildren that it serves. Today I took the first step in a much longer process to bring responsive, common-sense leadership to the SBOE,” said Soto.

“I’m proud of the support that I’ve already received from thoughtful, concerned leaders like former State Senator and former State Board member Joe Bernal and former San Antonio mayor and former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros. During this campaign and well beyond it I look forward to working with folks who care deeply about our kids and schools and about the future of our great state.”

Soto’s vision for the State Board of Education and Texas public schools rests on four pillars: relying on educational experts, not on partisan ideologues, in developing school policies; listening to teachers and other front-line educators when adopting new standards and textbooks; restoring public trust in how Texas manages its Permanent School Fund; and preparing Texas schools for a longer school year and the highest academic standards in the nation.

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He is married to Celina Peña and their son is a first grade student in San Antonio ISD.

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.

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Michael Soto Announces SBOE District 3 Candidacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org)

San Antonio – Public school parent and college professor Michael Soto today announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination to represent Bexar County and deep South Texas on the State Board of Education in District 3. With his family at his side, Soto made the announcement before a crowd of supporters.

“I’m deeply troubled by the direction taken by the State Board in recent years, but I’m also quite optimistic about what’s possible in Texas public education,” said Soto. “There are exciting things going on at all levels of governance, and the State Board can and must be a part of this larger movement to transform public education. I envision a State Board that creates exciting opportunities for students and school districts and that restores public trust in how our schools are run.”

Joining Soto for his announcement were State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer; newly appointed Alamo Colleges Board Member Blakely Fernandez; and Soto’s campaign treasurer, Colleen Casey. The kick-off reception was hosted by Dr. Joe Bernal and Mary Esther Bernal, Charles Butt, Dr. Antonia Castañeda, Blakely Fernandez, Dr. Arturo Madrid, John Montford, Debra Salge, Susan Smith and Tommy Smith, and José Villarreal and Maria Villarreal.

Also on hand in the audience were current and former state and local officials, community leaders, and numerous public school parents and advocates.

“As a college professor, Michael has the right tools to get the job done, and get it done well,” stated Martinez Fischer. “And he’s got the right heart to put aside politics in favor of what’s in the best interests of Texas kids and schools.”

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He is married to Celina Peña and their son is a first grade student in San Antonio ISD.

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.

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December 1, 2009

Like many of you, I’m deeply troubled by the direction taken by the State Board of Education in recent years, and like many of you, I fear that what’s been going on in the SBOE is a symptom of a larger breakdown in the discourse surrounding our public schools. Some of the things being said about public schools these days would’ve been inconceivable when I was a student growing up in Brownsville in the ’70s and ’80s.

I’m worried that some on the SBOE are out of touch with the 4.7 million Texas schoolchildren that it serves, that they have little understanding or worse yet little concern for student needs.

I’m worried that the SBOE would rather score cheap political points with the public school curriculum and with textbook decisions rather than move Texas schools in the direction that they need to go.

If you’re here tonight, then you probably know many of the disturbing details. For too long, the SBOE has been needlessly distracted from the important business of preparing Texas schoolchildren for success in college and in their careers.

Tonight, let me ask you to put all worries aside, because we’re on the cusp of a revolution in Texas public education. There are exciting things going on at all levels of educational governance—from the neighborhood school and the local school board to the U.S. Department of Education—and the SBOE can and must be a part of this larger movement. I want you to put worries aside and share this vision with me.

Imagine a Texas in which the dropout rate—long a problem, and now a full-blown crisis statewide—no longer threatens our economic and social future. This past year some 238,000 Texas public school students graduated from high school, but sadly, the class of 2008 lost 63,000 students somewhere along the way—at a cost of $630 million per year in lost wages. The future I see has these young men and women finishing high school ready for college and ready for the workforce and ultimately contributing great things to our economy and our society. The future I see has the SBOE building upon the 4x4 curriculum so that schools and school districts no longer face unnecessarily rigid dictates or the perverse incentives of a high-stakes testing regime that does little to prepare kids for twenty-first century opportunities. The future I see has the SBOE giving schools and school districts the flexibility that they need to innovate and create pathways to knowledge and careers that today exist only in our most far-reaching dreams.

Imagine a Texas that’s known worldwide as a leader in science and math education, not the butt of jokes and suspicion. The future I see has the SBOE working with—and listening to—real experts, not partisan attack dogs brought in to score quick political points at the expense of our kids’ prospects. The future I see has families and corporations relocating to Texas because they’re excited about what’s going on in our classrooms and in our laboratories and out in the field.

Imagine a Texas in which the teen pregnancy epidemic—and whenever 1 in 20 inner-city high school girls is pregnant at any given moment, we’re facing an epidemic—is a relic of history. The future I see has the SBOE taking the lead in reducing teen pregnancies by supporting proven, abstinence-plus sex education coupled with valuable character education and life-affirming options for long-term accomplishment.

Imagine a Texas in which education policy-making works. The future I see has the SBOE in touch with the realities facing Texas public schoolchildren, and in those realities it sees not insurmountable social problems but untapped and virtually limitless potential. The future I see has the SBOE reaching out to front-line educators—to teachers and administrators and school boards—and listening intently to their concerns and relying on their experience and insight. The future I see has the SBOE working with the Texas legislature so that responsibility and respect and fairness—the pillars of character that my son learns about in first grade—guide our decision-making. Change is a constant in education, and as the SBOE tackles such looming issues as the digital transmission of the curriculum or a longer school year, it would be comforting to know that the process is guided by something other than politics-as-usual. The future I see has the SBOE upholding the highest possible ethical standards, so that phrases like “passing the smell test” and “appearance of a conflict of interest” are no longer relevant in the context of educational discourse.

Here’s what I plan to do—during this campaign and in the SBOE—to help bring this future closer to reality.

I’ll listen to anyone with a stake in public education—students, parents, teachers, school leaders, researchers—when creating educational standards and adopting textbooks. If my own education has taught me anything, it’s taught me humility. For our system of public education to work, every single stakeholder must be a part of the conversation.

As I listen to folks in the 72 school districts located within SBOE District 3—and to anyone else who’s willing to offer constructive input—I’ll put educational excellence ahead of politics.

But when educational excellence requires organizing like-minded persons and groups, when excellence requires speaking out on behalf of our schools and our kids, you better believe that I’ll speak out loud and clear in Austin and anywhere else that I have to. We know that great public schools are a sound investment in human capital—they embody our society’s best hope for itself. That’s a message that needs to be driven home here in San Antonio, throughout South Texas, up in Austin, and across the state.

And you can count on me to put educational excellence ahead of personal gain. Service on the SBOE is a special privilege. To help rebuild public trust, I’ll push for the highest ethical standards and I’ll not accept gifts from anyone who wants to profit from business with the SBOE.

As you can see, I’m very hopeful for our future, and I have every reason to be. Every success that’s ever visited my life happened because I’ve been surrounded by folks with vast intelligence and even bigger hearts. I’ve been blessed by caring and thoughtful teachers, with loving and brilliant parents. I share a home with the most inspiring woman and the most amazing boy that I know.

And as we go forward, I know we’re going to succeed—not just in a political campaign, but in this larger moment to shape the future of Texas education—because I’ve surrounded myself with you.

Michael Soto lives at 2034 W. Kings Hwy. with his wife, Celina Peña, and their son, Alejo. A product of South Texas public schools, he graduated with honors from Stanford University and received a doctoral degree in English and American literature and language at Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University.

Education

• James Pace High School (Brownsville): class salutatorian
• Stanford University: B.A. with honors
• Harvard University: M.A. and Ph.D.

Employment and Experience

• associate professor at Trinity University
• director of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at Trinity University
• former chair of the University Curriculum Council at Trinity University
• former director of African American studies at Trinity University
• former teaching fellow at Harvard University
• experienced and dedicated teacher
• award-winning scholar and author

Public Service

• San Antonio Education Partnership board member
• Hawthorne Academy PTA member
• Jefferson Neighborhood Association member
• Woodlawn Lake Community Association member
• Teachers as Scholars program faculty
• National Hispanic Institute trustee (former)
• San Antonio ISD Community-Based Facilities Task Force member (former)
• Benitia Family Center board of directors (former)
• Trinity University Press editorial board (former)
• public speaker at numerous at schools, churches, & community groups
• active member of several higher education professional societies

Press Release: 11/5/2009

Michael Soto Announces
SBOE District 3 Candidacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Michael Soto (cell: 210-685-8378; email: michael@michael-soto.org)

San Antonio – Public school parent and college professor Michael Soto will seek the Democratic Party nomination to represent Bexar County and deep South Texas on the State Board of Education.

Citing a need to prepare Texas schoolchildren for global opportunities and to restore confidence in the management of the Texas Permanent School Fund, Soto will vie for the District 3 seat.

“For too long, our State Board of Education has put politics and personal gain ahead of our children’s success,” Soto declared. “The controversies swirling around current Board members are a call to action. I can’t sit idly by while Texas schoolchildren fall behind their peers in other parts of the nation and the world.”

Beginning with the backing of key Democratic Party, community, and business leaders—including former State Senator and former State Board of Education representative Joe G. Bernal, former San Antonio City Councilwoman María Antonietta Berriozábal, HEB Chairman and CEO Charles Butt, State Representative Joaquín Castro, former State Senator and AT&T Vice President John Montford, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, State Representative Mike Villarreal, and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff—Soto pledged to take a spirited and positive campaign throughout the thirteen-county district.

Soto stated that his vision for the State Board of Education and Texas public schools rests on four pillars: relying on educational experts, not on partisan ideologues, in developing school policies; listening to teachers and other front-line educators when adopting new standards and textbooks; restoring public trust in how Texas manages its Permanent School Fund; and preparing Texas schools for a longer school year and the highest academic standards in the nation.

��The State Board of Education must get back to the serious business of preparing our children for success in college and in their careers,” Soto said. “I will work tirelessly to put Texas kids first.”

After attending public schools in Brownsville ISD throughout his childhood, Soto received a B.A. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. He is presently associate professor of English and director of the McNair Scholars Program at Trinity University. He is married to Celina Peña and their son is a first grade student in San Antonio ISD.

The counties in SBOE District 3 are Atascosa, Bee, Bexar, Brooks, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, McMullen, Medina, and Wilson.

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