CALL TO ACTION! Parents, we need your support and help. Once again, we must stand up to HISD to prevent them from making yet another bad decision regarding CVHS.

If you follow the CVHS Facebook page, you've seen that HISD is discussing removing UIL sports from our school due to budget problems and their desire to force students to go to their zoned school if they want to play sports. As you know, students need to work their bodies along with their minds. The competition a UIL level sport provides is a great outlet for many of our highly competitive students. It is also an opportunity for students to play the sports they love, which is often impossible at their zoned schools due to the level of competition and/or the vast number of students trying out at these schools. We believe part of the push for this move is schools who feel they are losing top athletes to magnet transfers, so they want to eliminate the option for students to play sports outside their zoned school. Although CVHS is probably not stealing the next MLB pitcher, NBA center or NFL quarterback from any Houston school, we will get caught up in this broad sweep and lose a valuable program.

In addition, no matter you feel about sports, the idea of easing the feelings of zoned schools "losing" desired students to magnet schools is a dangerous road. Will UIL academic competitions be removed also? How about school choice in general? If this is successful, it sets a precedent that could ultimately reduce school choice for students, forcing them to attend their zoned schools. This appears to be yet another attempt by HISD to head that way.

We need your help to enlighten HISD board members to the danger of this action!

Our talented students have already organized a campaign. This is how you can help:

• Sign the petition here.
• Write to the HISD board members at www.houstonisd.org/board.
• Write an article for Dear HISD at dearhisd.org/submit.
• Attend the November 12th Board meeting and support the speakers from our school.
• Sign up to speak during the Hearing of Citizens which follows the board meeting at https://goo.gl/M75iXu.
• Spread the Word - use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other form of communication to spread the word!

Keep Calm and Rhino On!
Joan Khosla