May 14, 2019

Ms. Torres-Solis, Human Resources, Mr. Paul Cruz, and all AISD Board Members and Trustees:

This letter is to inform you of my resignation effective at the end of my contract for the 2018-2019
school year.

Teaching has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I was ready to commit to it for the
rest of my life. My first year I was awarded Teacher of Promise. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I’ll make it to
my third. I will have to do a lot of soul searching before I come to the conclusion on if I’ll be seeking
employment in the public school system again in the future. While I adore my students and I adore
teaching, the current state of AISD and the public school system as a whole has made my job impossible.

The joy of why I got into this profession has been shattered. Enormous class sizes and a ridiculous
teacher work load coupled with being underpaid and under-appreciated have discouraged and demoralized
me. I now understand why people say that teachers do not last past 5 years. Everyone is losing in our
current system. Our kids are losing. Our teachers are losing. We cannot possibly give a room of 30-35
children with high needs the love and attention they deserve. Especially when our Special Education
inclusion support is taken from us near daily. The guilt I carry about not having enough space and time to
truly know and care for my students is immense and I morally feel that I cannot continue in that. I am only
one person. This is a community problem and until more people step up to make real change, I am unsure if
I can continue to be a contributing part of a system that is so broken.

On top of the class size issue, teachers are asked to do loads of things outside of the classroom and
given no extra paid time to do it. Planning periods are insufficient for this amount of work, especially when
that time is supposed to be used for planning our classes. During a normal day, we hardly even have time to
go to the bathroom or eat properly. Mental health issues among students are on the rise. Putting them in
the care of teachers who can barely survive themselves is a gross disservice. Summers are not worth losing
yourself for ten months of every year. As Sariah McCall said in her own resignation letter: “I cannot set
myself on fire to keep someone else warm.” I might even add that setting our teachers on fire is only asking
our students to burn along with them.

Something needs to change ASAP. At this point, we are wasting the freedom our country allows us
in a free public education. AISD can do better. Texas can do better. Less meetings, less paper work, more
resources, more SPED support, more teacher support. If I decide that I can consciously give public school
another try, it will not be at AISD. Change starts at the top, and so Mr. Cruz and School Board Members and
Trustees, I hope you’re listening. These sorts of issues cannot be solved by one teacher or one principal,
and if people in power are not doing everything IN their power to evoke change, they’re only choosing to
be part of the problem.

It was my love for the kids that kept me here this year, and it is my love for the kids that makes it
impossible for me to stay any longer. While I'm not sure this letter will go far, I wanted to use this to let my
voice be heard in some small way.

Respectfully,
Malorie Weber