Open Letters from Harvard Elementary PTA

November 11, 2024: Open Letter to the Harvard Community (Updated: Nov 12)

A Message from the Harvard Elementary PTA Advocacy Chairs

Dear Harvard Community,

First, we sincerely thank the Harvard parents for supporting the PTA.  Your engagement is appreciated, and it’s one of our core strengths as a community. As advocates for our children and Harvard staff, the PTA is forward-looking and solution-oriented toward progress in the following areas:

  • Our Harvard IB certificate, with recertification beginning in June 2025

  • Teachers are supported with proper training and latitude to implement IB PYP

  • Harvard remains a school that attracts and retains experienced, highly qualified educators

  • Harvard leadership creates an environment where the whole child’s educational success remains a priority

  • Harvard maintains our level 3 autonomy as defined by HISD by publication, May 2024

Since our last communication on October 15th, we committed to you all that we would follow up with Ms. Craft to continue understanding her plans to work with the teachers and how those plans align with our mutually agreed goals of maintaining an excellent educational environment within the IB framework.  We’re pleased to report that those discussions, along with meetings with Assistant Principal Dr. Perez, were encouraging, and it was becoming clear that a plan was taking shape.  The teachers’ most recent Professional Development day was to be a day where curriculum development within the IB framework was a key focus.

With this background, it is understandable that we were very disappointed to learn that our school leadership would experience another disruption with the sudden reassignment of Dr. Perez and Ms. Huntley away from Harvard.  Furthermore, we learned that Ms. Craft is no longer the assigned Executive Director at Harvard.  With Ms. Craft’s reassignment, our Harvard administrators will now work with their 6th Executive Director since June 2023.  We understand that the Executive Director position is critical to help support principals in their school’s achievement.  Lack of consistency makes meaningful improvements challenging to achieve.

Despite these recent changes, we want to reassure you that our Harvard community is resilient and adaptable. We remain optimistic about our ability to continue advancing in the five areas stated above.  We warmly welcome Dr. Spencer as our new Principal and Ms. Lashway as our new Assistant Principal.  We are eager to learn about their plans and are ready to support them in building strong working relationships with parents and teachers alike. We look forward to our future collaboration.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Calabrese, Dr. Perez, and Ms. Huntley for your unwavering commitment and dedication to our children’s success.  Your contributions will always be cherished, and you will forever be part of the Harvard community.

Sincerely,

Harvard Elementary PTA Advocacy Co-Chairs

Cathryn Estes
Claire Wrigley

October 15, 2024: Open Letter to the Harvard Community

A Message from the PTA President

Dear Harvard Community,

First, I want to extend my sincere thanks to each of you for allowing Maggie and me the opportunity to represent you on the recent town hall call with HISD. Your support of the PTA and your belief in our school is truly inspiring. I’ve personally received numerous texts, emails, and messages of encouragement, offers of help, and thanks. It’s clear that we are united in our commitment to the success of Harvard Elementary and its students.

While the call had positive aspects, I must express frustration with its format. Many parents could not participate due to how it was implemented and technical issues, leaving voices unheard and concerns unaddressed. This is deeply disappointing for such an important conversation.

That said, we did find common ground during the call. HISD and the Harvard community agree on several key points:

  • We want the best educational experience for our students.

  • Rigor is essential and necessary in education.

  • Preserving the IB PYP framework at Harvard is in the best interest of our school and community.

However, we disagree on how the district is trying to achieve these goals. Harvard has historically maintained excellent ratings and provided a rigorous education without the need for the significant changes now being imposed. It’s possible to have both rigor and an outstanding educational experience without this overhaul—this is being done successfully in many other districts, and it’s what our community wants.

The district’s coup d’etat-style takeover of Harvard has left our community frustrated and disheartened. We were promised autonomy under the district’s framework, yet we now find ourselves without local leadership, with a district-appointed overseer. HISD claims that local leaders made these decisions, but after speaking with leaders from Harvard and other schools, it’s clear they were not given real choices. For example, I’ve been told by a principal from another school that, while autonomy was granted, at the time of choosing, only NES-based curriculums were financially supported by the district and district would not provide additional teaching support for other curriculums. This left them with no real options.

Currently, our teachers are under extreme stress and fear for their jobs. Some are even considering leaving Harvard, and this morning I heard from parents who are now exploring private school options due to the uncertainty we face. This is not just about the families currently at Harvard. It’s about the entire community—the families who live here, our neighbors, and even local officials. Harvard has long been a cornerstone of this community. Families chose to live here because of Harvard, the way it was, not the way HISD is trying to change it. This issue concerns everyone in the community, including City of Houston officials, because Harvard is a public school that has helped build a thriving, highly regarded part of Houston.

Even if you don’t have children attending Harvard, your neighbors and friends do. We are asking for help from the city and the broader community. We need your support. HISD talks about accountability, but we cannot keep them accountable without help from our local leaders and the greater Houston community.

We remain committed to working constructively and respectfully with HISD. We all want the same outcome: an excellent educational experience for our students. We can find a path forward that the community and HISD can agree on. But let’s not forget that we are a community of grit, determination, and collaboration. We are a respectful community. We do this for the benefit of our children, and we know what’s best for our community because we live in it together.

I am working with Ms. Craft on a follow-up meeting to continue working together constructively. The goal of the meeting is to gain a deeper understanding of the facts surrounding the current situation so that we can work towards a win-win solution for both the district and our school community.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Anar Abasov

PTA President, Harvard Elementary