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Our Students Deserve a Bright Future

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About Michael Gurwitz:

-B.S. in Math from M.I.T.
-Business & Tax Attorney (2 Law Degrees)
-Math Teacher in SA 2003-2021 (H.S. & College)

-Taught 1,000s of recent H.S. grads, many with good High School GPAs who were not college ready

-Passionate to prepare students to "Live Long & Prosper"

-Father to 5 and Grandfather to 10

-Understands Teacher concerns  
-Will Solicit Teacher input
-Will Encourage Parental involvement
-Respects Parental concerns
-Passionate to prepare students to "Live Long & Prosper"
-As a retiree, can and will treat this as a full-time position

 First 90-Day Agenda:

-Establish trustee right to visit any school at any time

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-Improve parents' access to their child's school

 

-Institute a zero tolerance policy for classroom disruptors so that teachers can actually focus on teaching

 

-Establish a schedule of frequent local town halls in SMD 1, in part to improve communications with parents/guardians

 

-Actively seek teacher input over a wide variety of topics including enhancing their work satisfaction and improving student success

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-Promote senior citizen volunteers to help tutor the next generation

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-Intense review of K-3 reading & math curricula to reduce the number of students struggling in those subjects

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Disturbing Facts and Attitudes regarding NEISD
All data obtained either from NEISD or Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Massive grade inflation hides serious learning deficiencies in many of our students from their parents.  Here is the evidence:

  • Over the past five years, the average grade point average (GPA) of all graduating seniors in the entire District exceeds 90%. That corresponds to a grade of A/A-.

  • More than half of all graduating seniors during that period graduated either Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, or Cum Laude.

  • STAAR tests, given annually in grades 3-8 and then in high school after completion of  English 1, English 2, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 show the following at each grade level: 40-45% of the students tested show that they are reading below grade level; and more than 50% of them show their math skills to be below grade level. Question: Is there any way to reconcile the grades reported above with the STAAR test results reported by the state? Answer: No.

  • In 2014, student enrollment peaked at 68,000. Today, 10 years later, enrollment is down to 57,000 a 15% decline. Question: If the grades reported above were accurate reflections of performance, why would so many parents remove their children from such a well performing system? Answer: They would not.

  • A constant concern mentioned at virtually every Board meeting and listed as a major issue by most of the candidates in this election, is that of teacher retention and recruitment. Question: If the grades reported above were accurate reflections of performance, wouldn’t teachers in the system want to stay and wouldn’t teachers outside the system be lining up to apply. Answer: Of course they would.

 

I BLAME THIS MASSIVE GRADE INFLATION ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, NOT ON THE TEACHERS. Let me explain. Teachers do not become teachers to punish their students.  If you even suspect that a significant number of teachers are “easy graders,” you are faced with a moral dilemma. If you give your students honest grades, you are harming their class standing relative to the students of the easy graders. That a typical teacher will not do, so easy grading becomes the norm.  The party charged with oversight should notice the problem and work to fix it.  That responsible party is the Board of Trustees.

 

Receiving grades you did not earn frequently turns a student into a passive participant in their own education, intellectually lazy, intellectually uncurious, and with an unearned sense of entitlement. This leaves such a student unprepared for the adult world they are fast approaching, and quite susceptible to propaganda and groupthink. [Michael Gurwitz comment: “Having taught several thousand recent graduates from local ISDs, I have witnessed this outcome far too many times. To me, this is the most heinous act a supposed educator can inflict on a student.”]

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Parental rights are minimally acknowledged, the important role parents play in the education of their children is not appreciated, and the parent’s primacy in instilling values in their children is contested.

Support Michael Gurwitz &
Help NEISD Achieve its Important Mission of Educating Students Well.

Why did I leave legal practice in California, relocate my family to San Antonio, and then teach for the next 18+ years?  I can promise you it wasn't for the money.
 
Over the years it became clear to me that my passion was to teach and my favorite subject has always been mathematics.  I decided to follow my passion.

My two careers as a lawyer and then as a math teacher, teaching exclusively in San Antonio classrooms, uniquely qualify me to competently and thoroughly carry out the duties and responsibilities of being a Trustee of North East ISD.

If elected as your next Trustee, I make two promises: I will work relentlessly to have the Board of Trustees seek to have the voices of all interested parties heard, especially those of teachers and parents as advisers to the Board; and I will never lose sight of the primary reason the Board exists, to work tirelessly to improve the quality of education we provide for our students.

To me this means students able to think for themselves, to be engaged citizens, and to have the ability to learn new skills as technology continuously transforms both the economy and daily life. These skills would put our students in a position to be able to create for themselves and their families a successful future.  
 
To achieve this result, our students must be able to read with comprehension, to be able to critically analyze new material and controversial topics, and to be able to communicate clearly and succinctly to others. To achieve this, the educational focus must be on the core subjects of reading, writing, and math, with a strong emphasis on civics.
 
This will involve parents in new and powerful ways and it will involve inspiring and reinvigorating teachers and all support staff for the challenging work they do.

If you entrust me with your vote, I promise to work for a brighter future for students and the district.
 
Students get one chance at a K-12 education. Let's give them the best!

Let's get better policies in place. This is a School Board duty.

Michael Gurwitz

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Teacher Writing a Formula on a Blackboard


Go With Gurwitz

If you live in the gray area shown on the following map, vote for Michael Gurwitz for NEISD School Board.

Early Voting April 22-30, 2024 - Brookhollow Library and elsewhere.
Election Day, May 4, 2024 - various locations. Click here for the nearest polling station.

Not sure if you live in Single Member District 1?
Look up your address here

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Our children get one chance at a K-12 education.
 

They and their parents deserve a Trustee uniquely qualified for this position and a sense of urgency to get to work for their benefit.

 

Michael Gurwitz is exceptionally qualified in all regards.

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