Students reach out to help Eastside Memorial High School

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Eastside Memorial High School students are speaking out for their school. They’ve hand-delivered a letter inviting Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams to visit.

"We feel we need the commissioner to come over here, erase all the fear and set things straight so we can actually start growing more," said Julian Medrano, an Eastside Memorial student.

Medrano say the fear comes from the TEA threatening to close the school. In December, the Austin Independent School District’s board canceled their contract with IDEA Charter schools.

Now, the district has three options laid out by the TEA. They can close Eastside Memorial, allow a non-profit or another district to take it over or partner with another education agency, like IDEA.

Medrano and fellow student, Elijah Cofield, say Eastside Memorial has seen a lot of change in a short amount of time. Since their freshman year, they’ve seen five different principals and high teacher turnover.

"If we never get stability, we're never going to truly succeed," said Medrano.

The students feel if the commissioner sees their school firsthand, he'll see their hard work and successes.

Julian says "We are very proud of our school and the progress we have made."

They are also calling for support from the community.

"We just need help from the community,” said Elijah Cofield, Eastside Memorial High School student. “Also from the teachers and parents, come out and support us, no matter what. If that's at a basketball game, football game, band concert, choir concert. We just need our community."

As of Thursday afternoon, Commissioner Williams agreed to a visit.