You know things are bad for DISD when Supt. Michael Hinojosa clearly and directly apologizes to teachers — and then people start whining that the apology isn’t good enough. That was the case Wednesday, when Hinojosa spoke to a symposium of business and education "leaders" (this is according to the DMN story), and he said: "I want to apologize to all the teachers that left and the teachers that stayed. Everyone was affected." LIke the guy or not, that’s a pretty clear statement of contrition. And then the complaints started. A teachers association president complained that the apology didn’t really count since few if any teachers could be there to hear the apology, since it happened during the school day. And complainers on the DMN education blog continued to thirst for blood, one saying that an apology without a resignation was meaningless.

Meanwhile, Hinojosa also used the word "protected" to talk about why only two bilingual teachers (among about 2,000 total in the district) were let go during the recent layoffs, saying that student needs demand that bilingual teachers stay. Hispanics make up 66 percent of DISD’s student body (105,075), with limited English proficiency students comprising 34 percent of enrollment; both are compelling numbers when it comes to assessing DISD’s need for bilingual educators. Hinojosa said that not serving the district’s limited English students would be "academic malpractice", according to the DMN story. (Note to readers: Thoughtful comments on this issue are welcome, but please DO NOT go off an a racist rant, or we will remove your post. Thanks.)

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