Andrews H.S.: I’m Fighting for You All

In my travels this evening, I ran into an old co-worker friend who’s on staff at Andrews H.S. I asked how things were. This staffer says that the entire staff is feeling the added, yet undue pressure from the on-site State Turnaround Team and the GCS “crisis team” with the continuing decline in NCLB-mandated EOC scores. It was also mentioned that staff morale continues to plummet.

To all of the staff and students and parents of Andrews H.S. students, you all are in my thoughts and prayers and this is what this campaign is all about…I’m fighting for all of you. And this fight will be won. Hang in there, because come November of next year, help will be on the way!

E.C. 🙂

Grier Must Go, says a High Pointer

Kudos to Susan Hayworth of High Point who wrote an op-ed in today’s N&R editorial page suggesting the immediate removal of Dr. Grier.

She makes the suggestion based on three factors: the proposed GTCC giveaway to graduating high school seniors, the “crisis teams” going into many of our high-impact schools because of them not meeting AYP, and because of elementary math scores down systemwide…way down.

Anyone still have a surplus of “Get Grier Outta Here” buttons/signs? I could use some of them…

E.C. 🙂

Buchanan: The Dumbing-Down of our Educational System?

There are some things I agree with Pat Buchanan on, and there are some things I disagree with him on. On the subject of educating our children, I think he’s spot on.

Look at his op-ed piece dated today. Buchanan says America will not make its self-imposed NCLB 2014 student proficiency target. “Not even close,” he writes. Buchanan says states have dumbed-down tests and their individual curricula in an effort to make themselves look good.

Comments?

E.C. 🙂

More on Teacher Assaults

See this article from today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Again, assaults on teachers happens more than you think. See previous posts here and here on assaults on the rise within GCS.

Philly schools chief Paul Vallas is cracking down on teacher assaults with a new teacher hotline to report assaults. Students will be suspended and expelled from school if they are charged. Wow, schools actually still expel students?

“The judgment of some of our principals is being questioned. I want to limit their discretion so there is no question,” Paul Vallas, the district’s chief executive officer, said in the article at a press conference.

Any student 10 or older who assaults a staff member or threatens an assault will be suspended for 10 days and recommended for expulsion, Vallas said. Younger students will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, he said.

“There will be no debate or discussion. The student will be suspended immediately,” Vallas said, adding that the new policy would be communicated to all parents in the next 24 hours. “… We would rather err on the side of overreacting. The hearing process will sort it out.”

Vallas is a tough guy. He was Chicago Mayor Daley’s school chief executive before he moved to Philadelphia. Before he got into the school business, he was a former administrator with the Chicago Department of Transportation where he did a bang-up job. I had a chance to meet him when I lived in Chicago. He was tough then and he’s still tough now.

We need a Vallas-type of guy to run GCS. Agree?

E.C. 🙂

Posting District Check Registers Online?

Read this e-mail I received from a supporter right after I publicly declared my 2008 school board candidacy three months ago:

“E.C., Check out this website of Peyton Wolcott.  She has some good ideas about how to address problems at school districts.  I think her idea of having districts post their check registers online is a great idea.  Then, we could actually see where the money is going.  This would be a great campaign idea to get the schools to be more transparent with their funds being spent.”

Ms. Wolcott just posted a white paper article to edNews.org, the primary site/source of where I have been providing links to current educational stories since this new-and-improved blog was unveiled. She goes a little further in-depth as to why this sense of openness is necessary among school districts handling taxpayer money. Something like this would prevent fraud and mismanagement and taxpayers would see where all of the money is going.

I like this idea. Any takers? Comments?

E.C. 🙂

GCS Submits so-called “Improvement Plan” to DPI

See today’s N&R story on the GCS systemwide so-called “improvement plan” just submitted to the state on how they will get its students to pass the NCLB-mandated state end-of-grade and end-of-course exams. I say “so-called” because it is truly more-of-the-same.

This plan fails its students once again in a number of ways. First, it really did not take much parental input into account, a charge Grier denies, according to reporter Morgan Josey’s article.  “Our school system has gone above and beyond some other districts in listening to parents,” Grier said in the story.

Grier also admits that his discussion among parents revealed the plan had “much of the same.” It does.

“Some of the people I’ve talked to in the community felt there was a lot of the same old, same old in the plan,” Grier tells the N&R.

I will repeat what I said recently in an earlier post…it is past time that GCS needs to be more attentive and responsive to the needs of its constituency: its students, parents and community. To do that, the system needs to have a Citizens Advisory Committee created with teachers, parents, citizens, PTA members, etc., so that real citizens can have real input on academic issues surrounding GCS. This committee needs to be political-free and about the business of helping GCS improve.

More of the same is not working down on Eugene Street. The time is now to help our children.

E.C. 🙂