Bio
Liz Diaz is very active in the Humble ISD area communities. Currently, in her eighth year as a resident in the Lakeshore Community, Liz has already made a significant impact, having led several initiatives to improve education and Humble ISD neighborhoods’ living conditions. Mrs. Diaz is the executive director for the award-winning non-profit arts organization Diaz Music Institute. During her tenure, Liz has led Diaz Music Institute through several accolades, which includes:
Students received over $2,000,000 in scholarships since the establishment of DMI.
Students graduated from prestigious schools such as Harvard, Berklee, and the University of Miami.
DMI alumni performed with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, and Tori Kelly, to name just a few.
Twice selected by the National Arts and Humanities Program Award as a finalist.
Recognized by Texas Monthly Magazine as one of 20 Reasons Texas Music is Bigger and Better Than Ever.
Liz loves her community and enjoys working with others to improve the quality of life in the Humble ISD neighborhoods. Liz Diaz enjoys the support of her husband, Jose Antonio Diaz, her daughters Bianca, Jacqulyn, Kiyana, an alumna of Summer Creek High School, and her eight-year-old son Joseph Anthony Diaz who attends Lakeshore Elementary.
Liz Diaz may be contacted at Email: info@votelizdiaz.com, Phone: 832-858-5855, and Website: www.votelizdiaz.com
Q & A
What inspired you to run for Board Trustee? On that note, what are you hoping to accomplish if elected to the Board of Trustees?
The lack of cultural diversity representation on the current Humble ISD Board of Trustees and my three platforms have inspired me to seek a school board seat. Humble ISD demographics currently list the Hispanic population as the largest group, with 37.51 % of the student population followed by 32.99% White, 23.06% African American, and 6.44% listed as other. Our current school board has seven positions; White individuals hold six, and an African American holds one. Humble ISD's largest demographic group, Hispanic, have no representation or voice on the Board of Trustees. The Humble ISD community is interested in diversity and inclusion and serving the community's needs, but that can not occur when the Hispanic population is not part of the decision-making process.
If I am successful in winning Position 3 of the Humble Board of Trustee election as a Hispanic, I can bring a voice that is lacking to the table. I am very interested in setting my three platforms in motion in our school district.
MY PLATFORM
Student Achievement on every Humble ISD campus is crucial. If elected, I will work diligently with HISD trustees and administrators to lower student gaps between each student group and help implement the resources and programs needed by our teachers to achieve success. Methodology to attain this includes:
Standardized curriculums across all campuses so that all students are receiving instruction at an equal pace.
Administrators and teachers are working together to develop best practices for in-person and online learning.
Ensure our Title 1 Schools are using the funds wisely and developing programs to help students achieve academic success.
Reward all teachers assisting students to achieve successful results in benchmark exams.
Family involvement is crucial for our children's success in the classroom. We need parents and teachers to work together to establish a learning environment both at school and at home for our kids' success. Students with involved families have good self-esteem, work ethic, and higher graduation rates. Our children's education process is a family experience, and that family includes the teachers and staff in Humble ISD.
Community Engagement is paramount for establishing a healthy relationship with all stakeholders. We have a great business community, and they are a tremendous resource for our school community. Developing a partnership with community businesses, families, and Humble ISD promotes a school climate that is safe, supportive, and respectful. This relationship can help us connect students to a broader learning community.
How will you advocate for teachers and staff within Humble ISD? In your opinion, what is important to the teachers and staff within Humble ISD?
As a Humble ISD Board of Trustees member, I would advocate that teachers and staff have pathways to voice their concerns and give them the necessary resources to achieve success with our students. Our children's education is crucial for their future, and we must provide all our resources to help them prepare. Accountability for our kids' education falls on all of us, and we must work together positively to make sure that in Humble ISD, no child is left behind.
I believe that providing teachers a safe environment to express their concerns or suggest a new method or curriculum creates a positive work environment and good morale in the schools. Giving funding for innovative programs that can assist them in teaching our students is of the utmost importance. We have great teachers in our district, and I am interested in keeping our teachers motivated to work their best every day.
Tell us your thoughts on how Humble ISD has handled virtual learning, and ideas for virtual learning going forward?
Virtual-Learning is a new area for everyone, and no one has the right answer or the best way to handle or approach this situation yet. Humble ISD has made a great effort to address our current school situation by providing parents the choice of in-person classes or virtual classes. From my perspective, the online courses have not been taught well because most teachers are teaching virtually the same manner as they would in-person, and virtual learning is an entirely different environment and approach.
Virtual learning going forward will take a lot of parent and teacher involvement and cooperation to make this work. Every parent has their reasons to send their student to school or keep them home, but if you decide to keep your student virtual, there has to be a teacher and parent's commitment to helping the student succeed in this environment. Virtual learning is entirely different from in-person classes, and we need a new curriculum developed to address the uniqueness of online learning. Our teachers are accustomed to in-person classes with a curriculum in place for a face-to-face class environment. Humble ISD needs to acquire or develop a new innovative virtual learning curriculum to address all children's needs with staff development to help educators navigate the new learning environment.
Other than virtual learning, tell us your thoughts about Humble ISD and the handling of COVID-19, both for teachers and students.
School is an essential part of a child's development and helps them with social skills and the interaction that we all need to be better and productive. The handling of our school's opening was the right decision. Giving parents a choice of in-person or virtual was the best situation for our school community. To keep everyone in the school safe, we need to make sure all schools consistently require that everyone wear their mask correctly. There are many asymptomatic carriers of COVID, which is more reason for all students and staff to wear a mask during the school day. Keeping the mask wear consistent will help keep our kids, teachers, staff, and families safe from contracting or carrying the virus home to loved ones.
As you look at Humble ISD, are there areas where funds are overspent? What areas would you look at to reduce expenses?
This is a tough question to answer as I only know what you know about Humble ISD finances at this point. Without access to every financial line item and expenditures, I can not give an adequate answer to this question. If elected to the Board of Trustees, I will be very interested that the school district's funds are used wisely and directly related to student academic success. If selected as a school board member, I will take my fiduciary responsibility seriously as I am accountable to the Humble ISD community.
During several Board meetings, students and parents have brought up topics around diversity and inclusion. What can Humble ISD do to ensure it is welcoming to students of all backgrounds?
Diversity and inclusion can only happen when underrepresented groups have a voice. As I mentioned earlier, the lack of cultural diversity representation on the current Humble ISD Board of Trustees is one reason for seeking a seat on the board. The teaching-learning process is an inherently social activity. We need to be mindful of the quality of our classrooms' social and emotional dynamics because they impact learning and performance. Students should feel supported intellectually and academically and feel a sense of belonging in the classroom regardless of identity, learning preferences, or education. Some things that we can do in the district are:
Examine our assumptions.
Model inclusive language.
Use diverse and multiple examples.
Practice inclusive classroom behaviors.
Strive to be fair.
Humble ISD has several Title I campuses. How do we ensure that those campuses have the resources needed?
If elected to the Humble Board of Trustees, I will ensure that campuses getting Title 1 Funds are using them wisely and providing programs to help students achieve academic success. Title I school has completely different funds allocated to the district from federal and state funds and are distributed to those schools for the use of that campus and specific needs. The state gives them specific guidelines on how to spend those funds at their campus. The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach a minimum proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. Each title I school has a different campus improvement plan specific to their campus and gives them a better overview of what they will need.
To better ensure that the resources needed are met is to work with the schools to assess the needs of their students and make sure that parents are proactive in getting their child's needs are met academically.
Closing thoughts? Anything you would like to add that we didn't ask? What can people do (or where can they go) to learn more about you?
I am an advocate for the Humble ISD area communities and have participated in many events to improve our lives. Some of the activities I have led or participated in include:
Led the campaign to build a SPARK Park at Lakeshore Elementary.
Partnered with Generation Park to host a food drive at Ross Sterling Middle School.
Coordinated delivery of Thanksgiving meals with Harris County Sheriff's office.
Coordinated and collaborated with area churches and community to establish the new Northeast Homeless Coalition.
Served as PTO President at Lakeshore Elementary
Facilitated a school supplies collection during the Covid-19 pandemic for local elementary schools.
Initiated a coat, blanket, and sleeping bag drive with community members.
I am interested in speaking with anyone interested in sharing ideas on improving our children's education. We are a community, and we need to make a change together. Please feel free to contact me at Email: info@votelizdiaz.com or call me at 832-858-5855. I would love to meet you for coffee or to discuss any issues.
All the content above was provided by the candidate and is not necessarily the opinion of the administrators of Humble ISD Parents. Other than formatting, we have not made any edits.