Superintendent or King?

Every once in a while I rant about schools. Okay, whenever someone will listen. But right now it's summer and I really don't want to burden my friends about this.  They have kids home and the Homework Pain Scale is on Zero for another month.
But our Superintendent is really pretty good at one thing.  He's good at sounding compassionate.
Those mean old school board members just aren't working with me to implement my Great Plan for the System to Guarantee Improvement For All Children.  Because I believe (Contrary to school board members) that All Children Can Learn.
This is so denigrating and demeaning and wrong on so many levels but the press just doesn't seem to get it right.
The school board members who haven't drunk your Koolaid (For all you who have heard this term before, look up Jim Jones Massacre on Wikipedia. It was actually Flavorade. He got a lot of people to buy his religion and die for it because they followed him like sheep without thinking.)  are a little tired of being blamed for the failure of your plan.  You see, they are interested in making sure we do fund things we need in the REST of the district, too.  We are not interested in crowded classes and overburdened administrators just to make money for something else... something nebulous, and not very specific.  Your plan has not had clear goals or any data to show its improvement (though you keep asking us to look at the data... Where is it? I would think if you had data showing success you would publish that instead of "the school board doesn't like me" rants weekly.) or most importantly HOW MUCH IT IS GOING TO COST.  I have seen a lot of cosmetic improvements like paint, floor and ceiling tile, and flower beds in the schools you have targeted. However, where the rubber meets the road it is hard to see the improvement.  The discipline systems that were set up before you got here were managing things pretty well.  Though it doesn't count at the state level, lots of kids were graduating from those programs (LAPS and CAPS were exemplary:  I know several students personally who were saved by these programs to go on to graduate and realize their dreams. Thank you CAPS and LAPS teachers!!) You did away with this program without having another in place. I agree with you that suspending a kid does not necessarily educate him, and that they need to be identified and their problems handled.  SO when you got the chance to implement your own system, you waited 6 months into the year (with chaos and no administrator knew what to do in the meantime) to get your plan going and I went and observed.  First we went to the out-of-school suspension classrooms.  That program was completely unsuccessful. The teachers are supposed to wave the kids down with metal detectors (due to the number of weapons violations there) but the teachers have not been trained on how to use them or what to do with them.  I volunteered to be waived down. I have a plate in my neck but other than that was wearing NO metal.  It went off around my waist (I was wearing elastic waist capris at the time) and they didn't know what to do.  I said, what if it was a student? They said they would just let them in anyway.  Because they can't frisk a student. So safety was/is an issue. Then all the students come into two classrooms.   The teacher and teacher's aid have to "teach" students from Grades 6-12 which with Comprehensive Curriculum or Core Curriculum basically means they would have to look up six different grades for the lesson plans they were supposed to be doing FOR EACH SUBJECT. Because out of school suspension kids don't bring their books or assignments to out of school suspension; and profess to not know what they are studying.  Which you can imagine is true some of the time... these are not honors students usually.  They are bored in class which is why they get in trouble in the first place and they don't pay attention because to them it doesn't matter.  These students would be better served by a serious meeting with a teacher or counselor to identify the needs of the student and help them understand how education can benefit them.  I would actually like to see this go on a yearly basis starting in kindergarten, but just try to get a counselor who wants to do that.  A 15 minute meeting with every kid in school once a year? That might take... days!!
Anyway, these kids look hunted.  They look guilty even when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  The teachers give them computers and have them look stuff up and do a report.
So why the guilty looks?
Kids know how to get around the teachers who are distracted and annoyed about being there with kids who don't want to be there who will be gone in 3 days and they can't bond with them or get to know them.  They know a whole lot more about computers and passwords and how to get around firewalls than the teachers too. (And I will go out on a limb, any administrator even in the tech department under the age of 21.) So they are not doing what the teachers assigned with any alacrity --why should they? They aren't graded on it!-- so they goof off and text their friends and play games and look at sites they shouldn't.
These are not the kids who need computers.
These kids do not need to be there. If I had a kid on 3-day suspension there is no way I would let them hang around these kids in this program with the quality of education they are receiving.  They would get a better education pulling weeds in my yard.
They need to talk to a counselor or a judge or someone in the truancy sector that can find out the problem and explain to them why education is beneficial to them.  You know, some kind of program. It doesn't have to take all day, in fact 15-30 minutes, maybe an hour each and how much better if the student has to bring a parent with them for this so they can help with the solution.
SO that was just one section of the program and from what I saw in the hallways and peeking into classrooms and listening at doors it was probably more effective than some others.  There was screaming going on by both school employees and students, neither of which is acceptable.

I know there are districts where the teachers never have to raise their voices.  Here they scream at the students. Some administrators demean teachers in front of other teachers and in front of students.  The Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent have both been caught on audio using foul language when shouting at administrators.
Think about Private Sector jobs.  How about an office where they distribute widgets. How long do you think a CEO would last if he blasted at the shareholders? How about to an employee? You don't think he'd be slapped with harassment charges? Fired immediately? Yet we put up with a superintendent who bullies, demeans and publicly criticizes everyone who does not agree with him immediately.  He has shown no data to prove his programs are successful or paraded any students who have benefitted from his programs.  He has only gotten community leaders who do not have kids in the system to get on board with his compassionate, wonderful plan and they get up at school board meetings and go on ad nauseum about how wonderful the superintendent is.  Every once in a while a teacher afraid of losing her job will get up and spout off about how wonderful he is too. In the meantime we hear from many, many teachers who have been harassed, bullied and badgered to tears and into retirement.  Good, experienced teachers who act as mentors to the learning teachers.  The new evaluation system is ridiculous and does not allow for students to evaluate their teachers. Why then is the superintendent allowed to evaluate the school board?
From a personal perspective, I have seen what he has done to my husband. He has kicked my husband, a school board member, out of the SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE.  Red in the face, veins pulsing, he has used foul language and accused Greg of micromanaging when Greg came  to the office to pick up some financial figures that were promised at the last board meeting.  He was told that all requests should go through his office.  Wow, isn't that micromanaging? You, the School Board Member, are not allowed to access any employee of the school board without going through the superintendent. He has shown consistent traits of paranoia.  One thing he has never shown is "willingness to work with school board members" because he has never even tried to reach out to Greg to discuss his Plan, or provided him with the information he asks for before a board vote.  It is impossible to have an employee who does not provide the information you request, who screams at you, who does irrational things and doesn't trust locals, without having some friction.  This sounds more like hiring a relative, because anyone else would have been fired long ago.  But here we have school board members who have not balked at the lack of concrete data (financial) in the Plan and they have "no problem" with the superintendent.  They are obviously not doing their jobs.
Anyway, another thing about this that annoys me greatly is the press assuming that issues are all personal by the board.  First of all, Greg is from Seattle and has no "good ole boy" network going on. He does not golf, he does not drink, he does not hang out at restaurants with people who can further his political career.  He just ran because he lost the coin toss when we realized we were going to have to do something about the school system ourselves because our school board member was voting directly in opposition to everything we believed in--small class sizes, teacher support, facilities that were safe and fiscal responsibility.  So he got on the board and does his best every day to research and make informed decisions.  The super hired a good ole boy from Mississippi that was less qualified than all of the other applicants and the school board questioned his decision, especially when it was discovered the candidate did not even meet the minimum requirements of the job description.  The press (KPEL in this case) accused the board of just being out of sorts that "their guy" was not hired. Since Greg had no idea who the other applicants were except by their applications, that is completely unfounded and I don't think was an issue for any other school board members either.  So they reprimanded the super for hiring someone represented to the board to be qualified, who was in fact not qualified for the position.  This was not about sour grapes, it was to keep the school board from being in violation of their own policy of hiring qualified candidates.  Now the super is demanding an apology, without any change in behavior on his part.
I could go on for days about this. I just wanted to get it on the page and set the record straight.  I just want what every parent wants. I don't want more taxes, but I do want the school board to show fiscal responsibility for the money they do have.  The last time a tax was approved it was for teacher raises in 2002.  This tax promised taxpayers that the money would only go to give teachers raises.  It wasn't to go for plans, projects or programs, wasn't to pay for stuff or things or pretty. It was to go directly to the teachers.  Now that is also being criticized by someone who wants that money for other things. 
Doctor Pat Cooper:  Shame on you for trying to deceive the taxpayers and steal their money.  Shame on you for your bad temper. Shame on you for your terrible example and for lying to the press.  Shame on you for firing some of the finest administrators we had, and keeping some that should have left. Shame on you for killing proven working programs.  Shame on you for lying to special interest groups to get them to believe this is for the children, when it is really about you.  Shame on you for despising fiscal responsibility.  Shame on you for treating teachers like dirt.  Shame on you for believing you can slander your bosses.  Shame on you for allowing your staff to present your ideas without any idea how much they will cost, then blame the board for not funding them.  Shame on you most of all for refusing to work with the school board members to try to work together. For All The Children.

Our Newspaper

It's a shameful thing. Evidently our paper used to be pretty good, and it did actually make money. Cudos to the Advertising staff and all you hard working staff writers!
Then the Big Company decided to cut. Not just the papers in cities where they weren't making money, they decided to cut ours too.
They put a lot of people out of work. Slash that budget! We can all understand.
Ok now I am going to get more specific. Is the editor relying on spell check? Because in December 14 paper, there is a front page article with a big picture. It continues on page 5a. It then ends mid sentance "Other dances are"
Hey, wait, where's the rest? Nope, not to be found. I looked all the way through B. A victim of the computer software no doubt.
But the actual writing is so... okay, I'm blogging here but I could write better stuff for a paper. So could you, or my 7th grade daughter. Here are some excerpts from this ONE article: "There are no uniforms at ECA and male students like Elbertson and Alex Benoit relish the fact that they can wear their hair below their hair and eyebrows." Really! How do you wear your hair below your hair? No school district rule permits you from having hair in your face or over your eyebrows. It is just supposed to be a color that occurs in people's hair in nature. I used to sub and saw some boys with hair longer than mine (midback). And the hair and uniforms are sort of related. "Students begin taking dual enrollment courses as a freshman and can take classes where they're mixed in with SLCC classes staring their sophomore year." Did that make any sense? Did they say they were segregated from the rest of the campus the first part of the sentance? Nope. First they're talking how the class is counted in credits. Then the second part says the second year students can attend other campus classes. The school reporter has consistently put two unrelated thoughts in one sentance, though. It is also common to read an article most of the way through when suddenly and abruptly the topic switches to an unrelated or distantly related topic. Since our paper has tons of Associated Press articles and very few community ones, I would think they'd save the other topic for the next day with it's own headline. I liked this note too. "An administrator was hired who reviews lesson plans and enforces rules." Wow! Really? I would hope that every teacher would review lesson plans and enforce rules. But okay, I am understanding this is someone who doesn't have to teach classes? So this would be... a... don't tell me... principal? Who knows. The poor person deserves a title at least. "Some students will take physical education next year." NEWS FLASH!!! Kids required to take PE to graduate! Film at 11:00! Yes, Virginia, you have to take PE to finish High School unless you get a waiver (usually medical or religious). I would love to know if the kids will be able to sign up for College Physical Ed classes, though, like Aerobics, Weight Training, etc. What's offered? Oh, darn, the article's left me wanting more... as usual.

Your Name on a School

Ever want immortality? We can offer it to you! All you have to do is donate a substantial amount to our school building fund and we'll name a building after you!
It's easier than raising taxes!
It's a tough thing but our schools are so bad here most of them cannot be repaired. There are inadequate, old, unsafe buildings in use right now. Inefficient? Oh my goodness.
We would love to build a "green" school. By "green" I mean and I hope others understand this too, that they are energy efficient and safe, built with the long term in mind. This would mean efficient air conditioning units with timers and limits and windows that are double-paned and reflect the heat. Hopefully they will be built of recycled material for things that can be, and all materials would be safe and non-toxic. They would have to be designed for ease of maintenance (no wall sconces, please, they become cobweb manufacturing plants) and leave out unnecessary items like ceiling tiles which harbor mold and dirt and cover up problems. They would be insulated, use conservation with lights, heat, cool, and computers (can any teacher please read this: turn off the computer when you go home, and the monitor too please!) and quiet. Green also includes bathrooms that are available with some kind of efficient water usage in place. Designs would wisely use space. Would encorporate real time needs such as internet connections, working alarms and communication devices (loudspeakers, phones).
I have a dream....
It looks a lot like "High School Musical"....
I have a dream where the band has a room big enough to hold them all in one place.
I have a dream where the auditorium can hold all the band parents at one time.
I have a dream where the kids want to eat in the cafeteria.
I have a dream that the athletes will have showers for both male and female teams, for visitors and home
I have a dream that the bathrooms will all be unlocked for use during school hours.
I have a dream that the teachers would be rated by the students, and those ratings read by administrators, who would act on them.
I have a dream that the high school library would have more books than I have at home. Current statistics show that 1.5 yes that is one and a half books are checked out per year per student in high school.
I have a dream that High School yearbooks would come out the same year the seniors in it graduate.
I have a dream that kindergarten teachers who shout or scream at 5 year olds would be fired.
I have a dream that mold would be eliminated from school buildings.
I have a dream that oranges will be cut into 6 pieces (at least) so kids can actually eat them. You can't eat a whole or a half an orange without making a mess.
I have a dream that the PE coaches in High School will teach kids a wide range of athletic activity, like the good elementary PE teachers do.
I have a dream that I will never hear, "Please excuse the interruption" over the loudspeaker, ever again.
I have a dream that teachers will be able to teach the curriculum with enough freedom to tailor it to their students.
I have a dream that our parking lots' greatest danger would be teenaged drivers, not loose concrete.
I have a dream that resurfacing roofs with hot tar, peeling paint, rusting door frames, smelly bathrooms, and absent administrators would be a thing of the past, and that our children can go to schools that are clean, safe, and under constant watch of trained and caring administrators and janitors.

Wow that sounds pretty good. Are you good at making dreams a reality? Like a challenge? Come join us!!

Teach me something, Coach!

I figured out how to Cut and Paste... finally! Here's the article I wrote on the other blog.

I went to my son's open house last week and had an encounter with "Coach" who is the... supervisor... for PE. I asked him if there was anything going on besides basketball at PE this year. "Yes," he assured me, "Sometimes we do calisthenic warm-ups before we play." "I see..." I said, all too clearly... then I started mouthing off. "What a great opportunity to expose these kids to sports that they will keep as a lifelong healthy habit." They nodded sagely. There were actually four of them standing around the sign in sheet table. "So are you teaching them all different kinds of warm ups? Aerobics? Tai Chi?" "What the heck is Tai Chi?" snorted the Coach. One of the other helpful souls chimed in, "I think you have to be certified to teach that." Which leads me to an in depth search as to what exactly PE Coaches ARE certified to do.

So obviously I am dealing with Philistines here. What makes me angry is not their lack of interest or knowledge of the field in which they are being paid to teach. Well, yes it does make me angry. But what I mean is, all the other teachers in that school have to follow a curriculum. The Science teachers, Social Studies teachers, English teachers, and Math teachers all have specific daily plans from the State BESE Board for teaching. This robs teachers of a lot of opportunities to explore their subject in more depth when the kids want to learn, of chances to go over material when the kids didn't get it well the first time, and of teaching things that the teacher may feel would benefit the kids more. In some cases the Comprehensive Curriculum is so regimented there is no room for any input from the teacher, and in some subjects important concepts are not covered because there is no time left. At best the Comprehensive Curriculum, designed so that students could transfer from one school on Friday and enroll in another one on Monday without missing anything, has so many daily achievements there is no time allotted for testing and assessment. Teachers struggle every day to follow the regimented tasks laid out for them by a committee at the Capitol, made by people who are not in classrooms and have distorted concepts of how all children are the same, and the same as when they went to school. These teachers work valiantly and successfully for the most part. Many stay after school for tutoring for the kids who don't get it in class.

Contrast this with the physical education program. First, the kids are graded on participation, which means they change into their PE uniform. Second, there is NO education. Besides Basketball, they do not learn rules to games, are not exposed to games, do not play games. Even in Basketball I have seen kids told to "get out the balls and play", no scoring, no rules, travelling all over the place, and no coaches in sight. Subjects like Baseball, Football, Track, Hockey, and Soccer are not covered at all. There are no comprehensive units designed to introduce a sport, explain the rules, test the kids on their knowledge of the rules, and play the game. Elementary School PE teachers go to great lengths to make interesting games for the kids to play, competitions that help them achieve, and goals to help them be successful physically. Since I have had children in middle school, and this will be my 7th Middle School year, 6th High School year, I have not heard about the boys doing anything but basketball (the girls seem to have a unit on Archery; but this was deemed "too dangerous" for the boys to learn.)

Not all boys enjoy basketball.

I know this is a news flash, and very unpopular for coaches to consider. But PE is the time the kids should be learning all kinds of sports, fostering that "lifelong habit of exercise" I was talking about earlier. Besides the big field sports, Tennis, Volleyball, Golf, Dance, Gymnastics and Tumbling, Weight Training, Skating, Bowling, Table Tennis, Fencing, and Swimming are all sports that most kids in Louisiana are never exposed to unless their parents have invested some serious interest and cash. Karate, Wrestling, and Boxing are also sports that some kids find their lifelong passion, and others are grateful to know something about. Truly, in an Olympic year, there is no excuse for not exposing children to these sports in the Physical Education classes in a safe, supervised environment.

It is shameful that the only class that is not completely structured by the state is not structured AT ALL at the local level.

In our paper today there was an article titled, "State's children get low health grade" (I don't know why they don't capitalize the important words any more, is this a local thing?) with a subtitle of "Study gives Louisiana a D in active youth report." I have seen the schools and the PE program and I would have been shocked if they had scored higher. For boys who don't excel at basketball, and since everyone plays it, few excel, nothing else is offered to them. Blaming parents for letting kids sit in front of the TV too much is on the front page. I am a little tired of seeing that if you give your kid a chance to sit down you are a bad parent. On page 8A where the article is continued it gives a D to physical education programs in the schools. I think this is fair. They are supposed to be learning in these classes, and exposed to sports they are not already doing.

Another problem is the lackluster way in which Health is presented. Also taught by the same enthusiastic coaches, you would think the class was Watching Paint Dry. The human body is a fascinating machine and we understand so little of it. What a terrific opportunity for kids to learn what makes your body healthy and how important it is to start and keep good health habits. The actual class is about as motivating as a bad cold.

I am all for deregulating the classrooms to give teachers more leeway in teaching. If a Social Studies teacher teaching World History wants to start with Ancient History instead of the Middle Ages, I think they should be able to do so. If a teacher wants to save the short story unit for the end of the year, I think that's fine. But please, please give some guidance these Physical Education coaches are needing so badly, since they don't seem self motivated. Which is why they call them Coaches, not Teachers.

Basketball isn't everything

On my Familyblog I posted about Basketball being the only thing they do in PE. I want to post that I wrote to the state person in charge of policy about the PE policy. Hopefully I will recieve an answer.

I actually was so angry about my child's time being wasted 3 years ago that I put together a comprehensive plan myself. No I don't have a degree in Physical Education. I don't have a teaching certificate. I found and compiled rules, diagrams, scoring information and charts, and detailed instructions on playing over 24 sports that could be done in a school (field trips to bowling, skating, and swimming). I did three complete units and made packets that included tests, quizzes and the entire teaching unit. I outlined the other 21. It was not rocket science. I didn't do a lot of research. I compiled stuff that was free and available on the internet. I was really proud of my packet. My husband was running for school board at the time and suggested I ... don't... so I didn't... but now I am still mad at myself for not... giving it to someone who cared. If there is such a person. Because the PE program is, if anything, worse now. And not scheduled to improve, despite front page articles on Louisiana children getting a grade of D in activity. What I did was what I expect every single PE ... supervisor (I can't bring myself to call them teachers!) to do. It wasn't hard. It just took some interest. Teaching is hard work. It's not sitting in your office while the boys shoot baskets.

Blog Beginning

I started this blog because I wanted to rant about schools and hopefully help bring about meaninful progress. I hope you understand that anyone can help make schools better. You can. I can. I do. The process is frustrating and slow. Changing the hearts and minds of people to see a better way is always slow.
Our superintendent is trying very hard to make things better. I joke that he is dragging us kicking and screaming, into the 17th Century. We are so far behind.... and our kids deserve better. Moving would be the simple solution but we are working hard to make it better for all the kids, here.
I should mention that we need new school buildings, badly. For your generous contribution to this cause you can get your name on a plaque or on a building, depending on the size of the contribution of course. The school board has assured me they will set up a fund just for this and honor earmarks (if you want it to go to a new band building for Lafayette High, say).
And I didn't want to clutter up my family page with my rants. Love ya!!