Notes...

GCISD Trustees,

I’ll be doing my job tonight on a White House call and cannot attend in person to tell you to do yours.

The simultaneous crises of COVID-19 and racism have taken hold in the district where I graduated and where I thought was a good place to raise our children.

Right now, the GCISD name is stained with the way this district has betrayed my son’s principal, the first Black man to ever lead CHHS.

GCISD alum across the nation are embarrassed by Dr. Whitfield’s treatment, but you can stop all this tonight.

I read with interest this weekend’s lengthy blog of Dr. Cindy Ryan. If you did not, it was the sad story of a wealthy White woman who experienced hours-long discomfort in her home when her husband’s terrible decisions followed them there.

His decisions don’t have to follow you home.

You don’t work for Dr. Robin Ryan. You work for the students, families, and taxpayers of GCISD.

You don’t have to go along with forcing Dr. Whitfield out. He’s a kind, caring, strong Black man who advocated for himself, the way he advocated for my son and all our children.

You have the power. Fix this.

145 students will back to online only.

My comments tonight to the GCISD school board on reopening:

I’m Kathleen Thompson, a working mom, speaking for my three awesome kiddos, and my husband.

Our state government is playing politics with people’s lives. That’s why we are here tonight.

School reopening has become politicized, like mask wearing and hydroxychloroquine (for which the FDA has pulled its COVID approval), and ingesting bleach before it. Our governor, lt. gov, and attorney general are prioritizing politics over safety and reason.

The Texas Attorney General’s lack of concern for the health and safety of students, teachers, and administrators is reckless and disturbing. Why do we encourage our students to pursue STEM, grow up to become high achievers and experts in their fields TO THEN ignore local health departments, when lives are at stake?

It’s important to watch what the people in power do—not what they say. Tonight GCISD votes on in-person schooling. Are you meeting in-person? No.

Because it’s not safe: The White House and TX Governor’s mansion are closed to tours The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s child support offices are meeting only virtually The Texas Supreme Court meets only virtually The GCISD School Board meets only virtually

Trustees, if it was safe for you to meet in-person, why haven’t you done so since March—with or without repairs to the admin building. This isn’t 2010—you can broadcast to multiple platforms and websites, cheaply, with the computer you carry in your pocket—your cell phone, or a laptop, when you all gather in-person together. Candidates running for office in 2020 (with fewer resources than GCISD, do it monthly and many even do so weekly).

This April, Board President Lisa Pardo said, during a virtual meeting, “We are meeting via video conference due to COVID and we still have to stay separated.”

Has the situation improved since April? No.

You should vote on the best interests of the community, apart from how that matters to ideology and national politics and that’s what has just happened in other Tarrant districts and elsewhere in Texas. Superintendents in FW, Arlington, Dallas, and beyond say that health and safety are the number one priority for THEIR students, faculty, and staff, and are delaying opening until late September, with the exception of opening for students with special needs.

Tarrant County is experiencing substantial community spread. Adults and children can shed this virus without symptoms.

The Tarrant County Health Department has already issued its guidance recommending an in-person start date of late September. Let science and data lead us, not University of Facebook School of Medicine degrees.

Does yours district? GCISD does not follow minimum stipulations for lockdown drills that experts have found can help protect students’ well-being:

1. Drills should not include simulations that mimic an actual incident;

2. Parents should have advance notice of drills;

3. Drills should be announced to students and educators prior to the start;

4. Schools should create age and developmentally appropriate drill content with the involvement of school personnel, including school-based mental health professionals;

5. Schools should couple drills with trauma-informed approaches to address students’ well-being; and

6. Track data about the efficacy and effects of drills.

📸 Got on a plane and flew very far to see Sea Wall / A Life, in its final weekend.

UNT's Constitution Day is tomorrow! I'm one of two featured speakers and I'll represent Texas Gun Sense. 📓📜🇺🇸