“(Public Education) is an extraordinarily large enterprise, unlike any business that anybody has ever been exposed to,” said Mr. Mike Morath, TEA Commissioner, during the Texas Public Schools Post-87th Summit, hosted by Longview ISD. “This is the hardest work that anyone does, on Earth.'
After talking about how massive the education system is in Texas, Mr. Morath then went on to talk about how COVID has impacted the education of students and what can be done to course correct their learning.
Dr. James Wilcox, Superintendent of Longview ISD, thanked Mr. Morath for attending, adding that he is encouraged by how seriously more and more Texas legislators are taking the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic's impact on learning loss in the children.
'These issues are not one side against the other, it's not an us versus them scenario, we're talking about public education, which is all of our responsibility,' he said. 'I appreciate Mr. Morath's presence here today, and know he will share all the wonderful things he's seen today [at LISD campuses] with officials in Austin.'
Along with Mr. Morath, the summit saw attendees ranging from state representatives to education lobbyists, and a variety of speakers were on hand to talk about the 87th Legislative Summit that took place earlier this year.
Organized by Longview ISD in partnership with local businesses and civic groups, the summit is part of an ongoing effort by the district to raise awareness for education issues that impact all Texans and the entire nation.
First started by state Reps. Jay Dean and Gary VanDeaver in 2016, the summit focuses on looking at how elected officials can support and represent schools. Unfortunately, both Reps. Dean and VanDeaver were only able to attend the summit via online, as they were required to be in the state capitol.