UPDATED with more details for bus riders and for those planning to meet us in Austin.
Tomorrow, Friday, November 2, the State Board of Education’s Committee on School Initiatives will interview BASIS and Great Hearts about their charter applications. Here is the official agenda.
San Antonio Charter Moms, with the George W. Brackenridge Foundation and Choose to Succeed, is organizing a bus trip to Austin. A large group of parents and supporters showing up at the BASIS and Great Hearts interviews will make a big statement and should have an impact on the Committee on School Initiatives and the State Board of Education as they make decisions about which schools will get charters this year. (Final decisions are expected after the State Board of Education’s November 14-16 meetings.)
Details for bus riders: Park at the Radius Center, downtown at 106 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78205. I’ll be easy to spot—I always wear a hat. Join us on the bus for breakfast and coffee. The bus leaves at 5:30 a.m. for the drive to Austin.
In Austin, we will meet up with Great Hearts and BASIS representatives and proceed to Room 1-104 of the William B. Travis Building. We will pass out T-shirts and sit in the gallery to show our support. BASIS is first on the agenda and has 55 minutes allotted. Then, there will be a break for another school. Great Hearts is third on the agenda.
After our schools’ interviews are over, we will return to the bus and head back to San Antonio. Box lunches and drinks will be provided. The bus will bring you back to your cars at the Radius Center.
Details for those planning to meet us in Austin: The agenda says that the meeting starts at 8:00 a.m., but unofficially I hear that BASIS was asked to appear at 8:30 a.m. and Great Hearts at 10:30 a.m. Parking suggestion: Capitol Visitors’ Parking Garage. If you can only come for one of the schools, that’s OK, we are still grateful for your help. Please meet us at the hearing room, pick up a T-shirt, and sit with us in the gallery to show support. Contact me at mail [at] sachartermoms.com or leave a comment on this post, and I will share my contact information to help you find us at the meeting. Or just look for a group with matching T-shirts and you’ll probably find me in my big hat.
If you want a preview of what the charter interviews will be like, videos of last year’s interviews are posted here and here.
A big demonstration of support from San Antonio will show the State Board of Education how important these high-performing charter schools are to our families and our city. It’s not too late to register, and that’s a great way to stay updated on trip details. If you have last-minute questions about the trip, comment on this page and I will contact you as soon as I can. Even if you can’t travel, it’s not too late to write a letter.
Thanks again to the Brackenridge Foundation for underwriting the bus, the refreshments, and the T-shirts. On the trip, please be sure to thank Lauren at Brackenridge for arranging the bus and the T-shirts and charter mom Meredith for arranging breakfast, coffee, lunch, and drinks.
