EPISD HEARING: Bowie teacher testifies about interference in ESL programs

Update:

Major developments out of the EPISD administrator hearings. Entire sections of testimony by one of the former Bowie administrators was just stricken from the record by a judge because of the actions of a Texas Education Agency attorney.

Former Bowie High assistant principal Anna Louisa Kell was testifying under direct examination by the TEA about statements to the FBI when her attorney came to realize the TEA hadn’t provided them the documents they were asking questions about.

Kell was being questioned about what who she told when about the problems at Bowie when her attorney Mark Berry told the visiting administrative judges he didn’t know what document the TEA was referring to.

TEA attorney Stuart Baggish said it was an FBI statement they had only been able to review after the hearing had ended Tuesday, received from FBI agent Tom Murry during the proceedings. All of the administrator’s attorneys objected, and Judge Pratibha Shenoy said she was very concerned about the document.

After a 15 minute recess to confer, Judge Shenoy said “I’m concerned that it was obtained as early as yesterday morning and not provided to respondents council until today.”

“All questions and answers regarding what Ms Kell told the FBI are going to be stricken from the record,” Judge Shenoy said, unless it was directly referenced in other documents already in evidence.

Attorneys for the administrators said they would consider filing for sanctions against the TEA because of how this evidence was handled and possibly illegally obtained.

Original Story:

Current Bowie ESL teacher Rosemary Angulo testified Wednesday during a Texas Education Agency hearing on three former Bowie High School administrators.

Angulo said there was major interference by administrators into the function of the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee, or LPAC. The committee oversaw the assignment of ESL students to appropriate courses.

The teacher recalled a disagreement over the courses and grade levels ESL transfer students were being assigned. Angulo said former Bowie assistant Principal Juan Manuel Duran came into an LPAC meeting and said “You have been making up stuff as you go along for a long time, and it has to stop.” She said she was shocked he would do that.

Angulo also talked about changes made to LPAC decisions by former Bowie Assistant Principal Anna Louisa Kell, and even intimidation by other administrators, with it going as far as to feel physically threatening at times.

“By then, things were so bad I went straight to human resources,” Angulo said.

Former Bowie principal Jesus Chavez and former Bowie assistant principals Duran and Kell are facing the loss of their professional educator licenses and certifications. They are not currently facing criminal charges.

Under cross-examination, Kell’s attorne, Mark Berry, questioned Angulo about how she knew Kell was making changes to the LPAC decisions.

“We were told by a supervisor all decisions we made would be approved by Ms. Kell … All decisions we made might change because she (Kell) would have to approve it,” Angulo said.

“But you have no personal knowledge of Ms. Kell made any changes?” Berry asked.

“No,” Angulo replied, “I don’t know anything Ms. Kell did in her office.”

Kell was called to the stand afterward, with TEA attorney Stuart Baggish questioning her on specifics of her job duties and what she supervised. During that process, Berry objected to some of the questioning and documents to the point where Baggish objected that Berry was trying to instruct the witness while on the stand.

“It is clear that Mr Berry is trying to coach the witness with his objections,” Baggish said.

Berry responded Baggish was misleading the witness. Visiting Administrative Law Judges Holly Vandrovec and Pratibha Shenoy overruled the objection but reminded the court that objections should be short and based on legal proceedings, and should not have extended reasoning unless called for.