At a packed Northside ISD board meeting on Nov. 23, the president of Northside AFT and several teachers who work in Academic Life Skills (ALE) and autism (AU) classrooms urged trustees to reverse a district decision to use Unique Learning System (ULS) as the primary curricular and pacing resource.

Melina Espiritu, president of Northside AFT, said the union has submitted more than 450 petitions—and continues to gather signatures—asking the district to revise policy DGB and to restore supports for staff serving students with significant disabilities. "Unions and employee organizations are not vendors," Espiritu told the board. "We represent the people who make the district function every single day."

Multiple ALE teachers gave detailed first‑hand accounts of classroom impacts. One teacher said campus staff were told on Aug. 7 that the district would discontinue the ALE pacing calendar and cease funding training for established interventions such as Edmark, Pathways and Raz‑Plus. The testimony included survey results that teachers cited as evidence: "A recent AFT survey of 30 participants — 20 teachers and 10 instructional assistants — found 95 percent of ALE/AU teachers surveyed are dissatisfied with this curriculum change and 90 percent want the ALE pacing calendar reinstated," a speaker said.

Teachers described practical consequences: long planning hours to adapt materials, frequent unfilled IA absences, and repeated loss of duty‑free lunch and conference time. An instructional assistant stated annual net pay of $17,615.30 (about $16.45/hour), noting turnover and burnout. "We need more than Unique Learning System to provide our students with an enriching education," one teacher said. Another asked trustees to spend two hours in an ALE classroom to see the workload and needs firsthand.

District staff acknowledged the changes were implemented during a planning stage and said the TAP (turnaround) public posting included opportunities for feedback. Jessica Palomatis, district continuous‑improvement official, said campuses held staff meetings, community meetings, cafecitos and student‑led conferences and that a midyear review will present MAP data and other metrics in January. "We're in the planning stage," Palomatis said; "as we roll out this work we will bring updates to families." Palomatis also said parents and principals will receive midyear summaries and that the district will continue collecting feedback beyond the initial 72‑hour posting.

Trustees asked for follow‑up: several requested a formal board workshop item on ALE curriculum, a written timeline of curriculum and training rollouts, and summaries of the survey findings cited by speakers. Board members and administration agreed to include ALE curriculum and staffing follow‑up at an upcoming workshop and to provide a consolidated report of community feedback.

What happens next: trustees instructed administration to prepare a formal update for the board (to be shared at a workshop) covering the pacing calendar question, training plans for ULS and other interventions, and staffing/ substitute coverage in ALE classrooms.