Dissension a challenge for board
Divisions create more tension during tough budget times
By Diette Courrégé
The division among Charleston County School Board members is as deep as it is strong.
The differing perspectives and resulting friction surfaced during a board workshop last week when conversation twice derailed from the agenda into tense and sometimes personal exchanges. The dissension comes at a time when the board faces a mammoth financial challenge — a projected $28 million budget deficit for next school year.
The Post and Courier/File
The Charleston County School District headquarters, 75 Calhoun St.
The biggest difference between two board members, Elizabeth Kandrac and Arthur Ravenel Jr., and six of their colleagues may be that they are far more critical of the district and don't believe it is making progress. Board member Ray Toler, who often sides with Kandrac and Ravenel, said he thought the district was making progress in some areas but not others.
"Even though it's hard numbers, you think it could be agreed upon the progress that has and hasn't been made," board Chair Toya Green said. "That's not the case. ... I'm surprised at the extent to which the two groups are at odds."
Fundamental disagreements can make it difficult to facilitate higher-level discussions on board goals, but the majority of board members still are working toward the same goals and can make positive changes, Green said.
"We just know that we'll have opposition as we go along, and I think it's relevant for the public to know what the opposition is," she said.
The school board has been fractured for decades. Its members changed in November — Chris Collins, Chris Fraser, Elizabeth Kandrac and Ann Oplinger were added to the board — but the election hasn't change the chasm among members.
Kandrac said the school district has way too many schools that aren't improving, and she cited the increasing number of at-risk ratings on district schools' report cards, from 22 to 24 this year.
"I think they want to fool the public," she said. "I think it's intentional. I think they want people to think we're getting better" because they're spending nearly a half-billion dollars. She said some board members refuse to admit the real problem in schools, which is discipline. Staff members are afraid of children, and that's the reason students are not excelling, she said.
Ravenel commended the district for its excellent growth rating on the report card, but said that's not being reflected in the progress of individual schools. He also cited the higher number of schools rated at-risk this year.
"It just makes you want to get down and cry," he said. "They try to spin the situation to make it sound like we've had this great improvement when we haven't. The problems are where they've always been."
School leaders talk about the same initiatives year after year, but nothing positive happens, he said. One of the district's biggest problem areas is downtown, and if officials want to improve those segregated, at-risk schools, they need to find ways to increase racial diversity, he said.
Ravenel tried to steer the conversation in that direction last week by talking about Memminger Elementary and what he sees as the failed effort to turn the school into a partial magnet school. His comments sparked Green to ask him to stick with the agenda so the board could have a broader conversation about how to improve all the district's schools, and that evolved into a bigger argument among more board members.
Ravenel also sparked disagreement later during the meeting when he made a comment about the district's foundation not being built up.
Charleston County Schools Superintendent Nancy McGinley responded by saying the data speaks for itself, and she cited the district's academic gains. She listed its "excellent" growth rating on the state report card, the 11-point graduation rate increase and the 43 percent of district students who attend schools rated "excellent" or "good," compared to 28 percent of students statewide.
"Why did the 'absolute' rating move up from 'below-average' to 'average' and the improvement (rating) to 'excellent' if we are not making progress?" she said. "Is there a feeling we made that up or that came from smoke and mirrors? ... If moving up to 'excellent' is not showing progress, please tell me what is expected because I don't understand that. I don't understand what our goal is."
The discussion last week also turned personal a couple of times, such as when Ravenel told Green that she didn't have to worry because her daughter was in Buist and had it "made." Or when board member Gregg Meyers told the board, after Kandrac spoke, that some people come to the board to act out their personal agendas that have nothing to do with education.
Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
charlestt (anonymous) says...
Make kids accountable for their actions. Increase the expulsion rate and the positives will follow.
March 3, 2009 at 3:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
memaw03 (anonymous) says...
You are exactly right Charlestt. There's too many foolish behaviors happening in our schools. If our elected officials would make surprise visits to schools, tell the principal to stay in their office, and just walk the halls they would be shocked. Standing outside a classroom door would really open their eyes...especially when it's coming from classrooms with experienced teachers. If someone knows Gregg Meyers please let him know that Kandrac is saying what a majority of teachers would love to stand up and say but can't. I voted for her and my vote did have something to do with education. Right now the majority of the board resembles bobble head dolls that we see in the back window of cars...they just bob their heads up and down and life goes on. I'm hoping that maybe someone will finally listen to Kandrac and realize that everything out there isn't peaches and cream. The problems are real and they are creating a destruction that will be hard to repair. They can close schools, redraw lines, bus kids, shift teachers and reassign principals but until they face the truth, all we're really doing is playing musical chairs.
March 3, 2009 at 6:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
desspec (anonymous) says...
"...Kandrac is saying what a majority of teachers would love to stand up and say but can't." ...BINGO! Just ask a teacher in private where he or she isn't afraid of losing their jobs. Thank you memaw.
March 3, 2009 at 8:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
My son attends Wando at they're very focused on discipline. Kids get expelled all the time. There are intervention and diversion programs before that. The run drug dogs through the school, have video surveillance and every kid is required to wear a photo name tag around their neck.
The school has high report card ratings, is rated the best general admission high school in the state and has the highest rated High School Principal in the State. Last weekend the PTSO raised over Twenty thousand dollars at a fundraiser event, one of a huge number of such events held by organizations within the school over the year.
My family sole our house downtown and left the City so my son could attend the Mt. Pleasant schools. Public school quality was the controlling factor in our decision on where to move.
When we lived downtown, I worked as a volunteer at Memminger in addition to working at my son's school, Orange Grove, which he attended on a transfer. I would have been delighted to have my son attend Memminger, but he would have been the only white child at the school and he didn't have the social skills to pull that off. Memminger was a good school, but you can't expect second graders to handle something like that gracefully. I knew the Principal and the teachers there, as well as many of the students, but one kid so different from 400 others, even with the best of intentions, would not have worked. Jackson was a minority white student at Orange Grove, which had a wonderful diverse student population, including children from all over the world.
Parents can't wait for solutions. Their kids have to go to school now. I've donated thousands of dollars to the schools, written dozens of newspaper columns supportive of them, and volunteered whenever I was asked. I helped establish East Cooper Montessori Charter school. I'm judging history day projects at Moultrie Middle this week.
March 3, 2009 at 9:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
I would have been delighted to have my son attend Memminger, but he would have been the only white child at the school and he didn't have the social skills to pull that off.
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is it a spanish, chinese, or korean school? what special social skills does an American child need to attend an American school?
Memminger was a good school, but you can't expect second graders to handle something like that gracefully.
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kids usually don't care about race like we adults do.
I knew the Principal and the teachers there, as well as many of the students, but one kid so different from 400 others, even with the best of intentions, would not have worked.
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Elvis grew up around black kids. look where it got him.
I've donated thousands of dollars to the schools, written dozens of newspaper columns supportive of them, and volunteered whenever I was asked.
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well thats better than most who just complains
March 3, 2009 at 10:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justjerry (anonymous) says...
"School leaders talk about the same initiatives year after year, but nothing positive happens, he said. One of the district's biggest problem areas is downtown, and if officials want to improve those segregated, at-risk schools, they need to find ways to increase racial diversity, he said."
Not that it is a bad thing but why would increasing diversity alone improve the schools? Would that improvement be a product of the schools getting better or would the students that come in from the increased racial diversity be what improved the schools. If that is the case then the problem is obviously with the students, not the school.
March 3, 2009 at 11:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
Not that it is a bad thing but why would increasing diversity alone improve the schools?
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because white folks will not let their schools close without a fight. plus, they know the gov. will be on thier side and listen to their concerns. with black people they just label them 'crying victims'.
Would that improvement be a product of the schools getting better or would the students that come in from the increased racial diversity be what improved the schools.
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i'm not sure. what i am sure of is that white schools don't have to worry about having enough computers. they also don't have to worry about getting enough tax money to keep the school up to standards. when a school is mostly white, every this is done to make sure that school is on top of it's game. with black schools and black poeple, they are usually last on the list to recieve anything.
If that is the case then the problem is obviously with the students, not the school.
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the first problem is what is being taught to students. a black child should learn about their own history before the educational system make sure they learn about everyone elses.
March 3, 2009 at 11:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flamingliberal (anonymous) says...
they will never increase the rate of expulsions for repeat offender kids; that adversly affects the graduation and drop-out rates.
March 3, 2009 at 11:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flamingliberal (anonymous) says...
"the first problem is what is being taught to students. a black child should learn about their own history before the educational system make sure they learn about everyone elses."
then should children of different ethnic backgrounds be split up to learn about their own histories before having to learn of everyone elses?
i don't believe that there is anything wrong with what is being taught to the students.
i did not fail in schools because i did not receive enough information about uraguay and the heritage of my people.
March 3, 2009 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
Regarding Posted by Dmoney on March 3, 2009 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"I would have been delighted to have my son attend Memminger, but he would have been the only white child at the school and he didn't have the social skills to pull that off.
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is it a spanish, chinese, or korean school? "
My son happily attended Orange Grove, where white students were in a minority with plenty of Spanish, Chinese and Korean Children. There were also plenty of African American Children some of whom where his good friends. Some of those children spent the night in our home.
We had a model for integrating Memminger, as was done in Jackson Mississippi by Parents for Public Schools with great success, however, it would have taken years to lay the groundwork and implement and taken at least six to ten committed white families to start. You start by integrating a single classroom in the 1st grade and build out from there, going up as the kids advance and out to more classes as you get more kids. I had all the plans, records and press clippings. I met with people who had implemented that effort.
You have to maintain a mix which keeps the minority group above the tipping point in the classroom. The "tipping point" is the level where the minority group starts dropping out of the school, it varies by culture and area. It takes a huge amount of time, trust and work to pull something like this off. Everybody, white and black, agreed it was a good idea, but nobody had the time and resources to do it. With the school district in constant uproar, entrenched private schools, a popular magnet school at Buist and a declining population of children downtown of all races, it would have been very difficult here.
Our son was going to attend Charlottetown Academy, an integrated magnet school, but they had huge startup problems and we pulled him out in the midst of a crisis when it appeared the school wasn't going to open that pitted the parents at the school, the district, the media and the State Dpt. of Ed against each other is a huge confused mess. We had already met our yearly 70 hour volunteer service requirement for the year before the school opened. Jackson ended up attending a private kindergarten and then went to Orange Grove which was wonderful. After that we moved to Mt. Pleasant.
It's easy for people like Dmoney to shoot off their mouth about the schools and their ideas about it. It is something else to send your own, vulnerable and precious flesh and blood through the door. My family's record of working for social justice and racial equality is solid and 20 years long.
March 3, 2009 at 12:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
then should children of different ethnic backgrounds be split up to learn about their own histories before having to learn of everyone elses?
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good question. here is how i see it. everyone falls short when they only learn parts of American history, while the rest is purposley left out. any child who feels that they did not contribute to American culture, will not want to learn much about it. they will subconciously feel that learning about it, does not help them at all. this has an indirect effect on any other subject taught in schools.
one of the reason European Jewish kids, white kids, chinese kids, etc. do better in school is because they have a history to fall back on. they are inspired to do better simply because they know what those who came before them went through for them to have the opportunities they have. with black kids, it seems the most they learn about themselves is that they came here as slaves, and MLK helped to end segregation. but if you teach them that they came from kings and queens, they will aspire to be kings and queens again. once they learn about how they got into the position they are in today, i'm willing to bet that most of them will do their best to improve their situation and say like Jewish kids say, 'NEVER AGAIN'! but if they don't know learn about themselves, they are bound to repeat every mistake black people ever made.
i don't believe that there is anything wrong with what is being taught to the students.
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ask the average black student who Vivian Thomas is. ask one 'what date did slavery ended'? ask them about Christopher Columbus and see if the words 'slave trader' ever comes out of their mouths. ask them how many slaves did George Washington owned. ask them how their name, language, culture and God was taken away from them. these are just basic knowledge that every single black child should know. but they will NEVER learn this in a place in which they should.....school. a man without knowledge of his past is like a tree without roots. a tree without roots is a dead stump. how many dead stumps we got walking around today?
March 3, 2009 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
School Choice....School Choice !!
Voters have no ...VOICE !!
School Choice ...School Choice !!
Voters have no ...VOICE !!
MY BACKSIDE.....!!! Will someone get in someone's face and ASK ....
1) How can we better USE our school district's FUEL budget to save COSTS to provide teacher BONUSES based on...performance !!! NOT TENURE !! ??
2) Has ANY member of the school board have plans to PHASE out school buses by "Changing" the way we get our children to school by using the system in developement at NASA in partnership with www.unimodal.com ? (read this... http://researchpark.arc.nasa.gov/nrpp... )
3) Does ANY school board member realize that PARENTS would have more interest if the had a CHOICE...!?!?! Do the members realize that SLAVES had no choice.
This display of political FOG...is NUTz !!!!
Mrs. McGinley....that Ravenel'er on your BOARD knows exactly what SC problem is....he looks at himself first thing EVERY Morning !!!!! You need to grab him by the EAR and SAY this....
QUOTE : "Ravvy"....you ol' SNAKE ! I know that the Districts trash is ENERGY and I know that the Diesel Fuel run in OUR buses is Not produced by a SC FARMERS..! You need to call a SPECIAL meeting of the "Barber shop Quartet" and let the BOYz know that Obama WANTS ...CHANGE !!!? You let the "Quartet" know that the school budget is NOT THEIR cookie jar ANYMORE !!! I am going to educate the mother and fathers in the county about the "CHANGE" President OBAMA really wants !! Our school children will NOT grow up with Landfills.....OUR school children will LEARN about Algae Bio-Diesel from ww.valcent.net ......and OUR school children will learn about a "CHANGE" in transportation from NASA !!! NOW ...GET OUT OF OUR WAY !!!! I and the BOARD are leading a STATEWIDE protest for SCHOOL CHOICE and paying a visit to JIM REX in Columbia !!!!!"
March 3, 2009 at 12:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
i did not fail in schools because i did not receive enough information about uraguay and the heritage of my people.
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did you recieve enough information about your history? there is a huge problem within the black community when it comes to our history. i've heard my own people say ' i don't like to read that stuff because it makes me angry'. well the Bible says, 'WITH KNOWLEDGE, COMES SORROW'. not everything a person learn with be pleasing to know, but it makes one wiser. sometimes the happier the person, the less he knows.
if you have not been taught about yourself, i guarantee you it will or would have effected you in other areas. if you have, then it's understandable that you may not see the positive effect that it had on you when it came to other subjects.
if a person is born into a royal family, through out their lives people will treat them like royalty. this will become an expected treatment upon one self. if a black child thinks he was nothing but a slave in this country, he will accept being treated like one. but let him learn that he is the first man. let him learn that he was sailing the seas when Europeans were lving in the Dark Ages. let him learn that there is no such thing as Dark Ages for Africans, and this will have an indirect effect at how he looks at himself. he will begin to want to do better, and he will not accept things like closing all black schools.
March 3, 2009 at 12:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ParkCircle4Ever (anonymous) says...
I do not know the exact dates of the holocaust, but I know some of my ancestors died there. The relevance of Black History teachings to this article are slim to none. Agreed it is important, but our ancestors both black and white are well discussed in our kids hitory classes. I commend Ms. Kandrac for speaking her mind, she is right, many teachers are scared, kids not only bully each other but they bully teachers and she knows about it first hand. Does she have a personal agenda? Absolutely, unfortunately for all of us, that agenda is the same one of many teachers within Charleston County. As another article in today's paper mentioned, we have 'challenging' students at many schools in downtown and North Charleston. Something has to give to force them to perform better, instead we keep creating more schools that take all the higher performing kids to county wide magnet schools. Parents wake up, it doesn't matter where your kid goes to school, until you take an active role in their education things will NEVER change.
March 3, 2009 at 1:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
flamingliberal (anonymous) says...
"let him learn that he was sailing the seas when Europeans were lving in the Dark Ages. let him learn that there is no such thing as Dark Ages for Africans"
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so, let hime know that he's better than the white man and he will prosper???????????????????????????????????????????
March 3, 2009 at 1:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
youngatheart (anonymous) says...
Is cousin Arther saying that the only way the down town schools will improve is to enroll white students?
March 3, 2009 at 1:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
halfsheli (anonymous) says...
I agree that the information that students get in schools is not the underlying problem here. The same old idea that history is covering itself up is not as true anymore. There are now classes that teach African-American studies, Holocaust history, Western Civilization, Middle-Eastern issues, Women's literature, Southern culture, etc...
There is much more to motivating ANY student to learn. That begins at home. There is no teacher in the world who can shoulder that responsibility alone for reluctant students. There is no content in the world that can foster an appreciation for education like parents and / or a family can.
March 3, 2009 at 1:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
We had a model for integrating Memminger, as was done in Jackson Mississippi by Parents for Public Schools with great success, however, it would have taken years to lay the groundwork and implement and taken at least six to ten committed white families to start.
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the problem is, this problem was suppose to be solve decades ago. this should not be a problem that parents today should have to solve. but i guess what's on paper and what is actually happening are 2 different stories.
It's easy for people like Dmoney to shoot off their mouth about the schools and their ideas about it.
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it's easy for anyone if they look at the results. only a fool will try the same method and expect a different outcome. a different method with mostly black schools would be to teach more black history than what is taught now.
is something else to send your own, vulnerable and precious flesh and blood through the door.
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if i am to trust in laws on the books, then i trust that once my child goes into any American school, he/she is there to learn. not fear who they are attending school with.
March 3, 2009 at 2:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justjerry (anonymous) says...
The saddest thing is that no one will come out and say what the real problem is. Until that is done the schools will continue to struggle and decline.
March 3, 2009 at 2:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
I do not know the exact dates of the holocaust, but I know some of my ancestors died there.
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ask the average black student about the African holocaust and see what they say.
Agreed it is important, but our ancestors both black and white are well discussed in our kids hitory classes.
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do you know why Black History Month was created? it was created because black kids were learning NOTHING about themselves. and just as some schools are not intergrated after nearly 50yrs of a law saying it would, there are history classes that speaks little to no black acheivement during classes.
I commend Ms. Kandrac for speaking her mind, she is right, many teachers are scared, kids not only bully each other but they bully teachers and she knows about it first hand.
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i've sent this idea to a number of people who may be able to put it in place. my idea was to have a field trip to the local prison. i'm talking feeding the kids what the prisoners eat, and having them on the same schedule as the prisoners. let the kids hear from prisoners how life is like in prison. if it only saves one child, then i say it was a success.
we have 'challenging' students at many schools in downtown and North Charleston.
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I don't doubt that. but these are challenging times. many kids are coming from homes in which the parents are not well educated themselves. sad to say, that some kids are taught manners in school and not at home. this makes it harder for a teacher to do their jobs.
to stop this, i recommend that if a child is acting up in school, then the parent should be forced by law to spend time in detention. if a child drops out of school, then the parent should face the school board and explain why. there needs to be laws created to force certain parents to be more active in their child lives as far as schools are concerned.
instead we keep creating more schools that take all the higher performing kids to county wide magnet schools.
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we are becoming the 'giving up' generation. with almost everything around us, it seems we as Americans are giving up. instead of sticking it out through the hard times, companies are letting go their employees. this trickles down to how we are educating our children. it seems the last thing we should give up on is our youths.
Parents wake up, it doesn't matter where your kid goes to school, until you take an active role in their education things will NEVER change.
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i agree 100%
March 3, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
so, let hime know that he's better than the white man and he will prosper???????????????????????????????????????????
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let him know that he was more than a slave or janitor.
if you found out your grandfather was once a millionaire, and my grandfather stole it from him, you are going to want what once belong to your grandfather. now imagine if his family remained poor, while mine remained rich from what was stolen. you are either going to want what was originally suppose to be yours, or you will find out how to become rich like your grandfather once was.
now if you never knew your grandfather was a millionaire, most likely you are going to accept the condition that your family is in. this is what is happening with black people. our knowledge of self is waaaay too limited, and our aspirations reflect that. if the only successful people a young black male see are athletes and rappers, thats what most are going to try and be like. but the more they learn about successful black scientist, black dr's, black inventors, etc. the more choices they will see as being successful. so it's not about being better than white people, it's about knowing self and being better than what we are at this moment.
March 3, 2009 at 3:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
Is cousin Arther saying that the only way the down town schools will improve is to enroll white students?
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if this is what he is saying then he is wrong. in fact if any black person believes this, they are insulting their entire race and intelligence. Malcolm X said long ago, 'STOP BEGGING THE WHITE MAN TO GO TO THEIR SCHOOLS, AND IMPROVE YOUR OWN'. but black people did not listen to Malcolm then, nor do they study his words now. he said that 40 something years ago, and what is happening now is everthing he warned us about.
however, since black people trusted that the law on the books would be obeyed and/or followed through, they have every right to complain about schools not being intergrated. again, a city (especially Charleston) will not sit back and let white kids go without the needed materials for them to learn. so if a black school has to import white students to get the same treatment as white schools, i say go for it.
March 3, 2009 at 3:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
There is much more to motivating ANY student to learn.
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THERE IS SO MUCH MORE! but the first step is know who you are and where you came from. now it aint easy teaching most kids about history because they find it boring. but there are teachers who can make the most boring subjects entertaining. there needs to be new methods for a new time, and generation.
There is no teacher in the world who can shoulder that responsibility alone for reluctant students. There is no content in the world that can foster an appreciation for education like parents and / or a family can.
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i absulutely agree. but again we are living in a time in which there are parents that are are addicted to meth and crack. some students don't have hope at home and school is the only place where they can find it.
this is one of the reasons i think teaching should be the most higher paid profession in this country. these days they are doing more than teaching, they are raising kids. is it right....nope! but they should be rewarded according to the times we are in now. however if a city can spend millions a year on making sure the fish in the aquarium is feed, they should have no problem is making sure the teachers are paid. i say close the aquarium before you close the school. put the Hunley on hold until every school has what it needs to succeed.
March 3, 2009 at 3:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
The saddest thing is that no one will come out and say what the real problem is. Until that is done the schools will continue to struggle and decline.
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the real problem is lazy parents, lazy teachers, lazy law makers, and racism can't be ignored either. sometimes i can't blame the youth for imitating what they see.
March 3, 2009 at 3:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bootlicked (anonymous) says...
Dmoney
Please explain to me how blacks are better than whites . Please educate yourself and watch the news . I think Africa is going through the dark ages now . You are right racism can't be ignored . Stop spewing your ignorant hatred . If you live in America it doesn't matter where you came from you are an American . If you don't like it I'm sure you can find the airport. Take a plane to Dufar.
March 3, 2009 at 7:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
missyk843 (anonymous) says...
When is this council going to get off this merry go round. Frankly, I'm dizzy just listening to them. As for your "cousin Arthur", Toya Green , McGinley and all the other school board members, I say, "LET A MAN EXAMINE HIMSELF".
March 3, 2009 at 9:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
memaw03 (anonymous) says...
One of the biggest problems in this county school system is that it lacks consistency. Teachers are not being evaluated with the same criteria. District 4 has so many check lists that it's unreal. One evaluator will tell a teacher to change X amount of things in their classroom. The teacher works very hard to make those changes but a week or two later a different evaluator walks in with a different check list and finds a totally different set of faults...how can anyone ever get ahead? Evaluator #1:"You need more stuff on your walls." Teacher puts up lots of extra things to meet that criteria. Evaluator #2: "You have too much stuff on the walls...take it all down." Teacher removes stuff from the wall just in time for Evaluator #1 to visit again and complain because the walls are STILL empty. How will anyone get ahead and do the job with efficiency...talk to any district 4 teacher and your head will spin. Talk about Fear Factor....the show could be taped right here in Charleston County School District. Until this entire county gets on the same page, nothing will happen! The problem is trying to find someone who will listen. Try calling 75 Calhoun and see how long it takes to talk to a real person. I actually got through to the State Dept. of Education much faster than 75 Calhoun. The board members need to get into the schools and visit, visit, visit. Not just one day or two, just keep going back for random visits each month. Don't take the word of McGinley that things are running smoothly. She's only taking the word of her principals...honestly guys, what principal is going to report to 75 Calhoun and say, "Guess what Dr. McGinley, I'm really doing a crappy job in my school." I really don't think she has a clue of what goes on. I'd love to tell her but she has someone running interference and you can't get near her. I have one positive thing to say about the last one (Goodloe-Johnson). She would at least meet with teachers one night per month to discuss issues...they don't do that anymore...probably afraid of what they'll hear. Kandrac...keep it up, your feet are wet now...keep asking questions and sticking to your agenda...you are the only hope teachers have of letting the cat out of the bag.The reason they are criticizing you is because they know you are speaking the truth and the truth hurts..things aren't so great.
March 3, 2009 at 9:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
harryandseymorelegg (anonymous) says...
Perhaps Ms. McGinley should begin the practice of performing some skip-level meetings with the front line teachers? It will not hurt anything, just put pleasing smiles on teachers and principals alike.
And Dmoney may enjoy the thrills of pride building history, but it really is more about science, math, english, PE, foreign language, music, history, and drama in our business based and free-time world. There is already enough homework anyway.
As students grow up, they really need to put some food on the table with the cash made from being a professional. With their comphensation, they could talk about our self esteem history building strategies over dinner. Wouldn't you think that the subject of self esteem through just history would leave out all the other quantitive fields needed to get into college to make some societal value?
Since Jenny Moore school has improved steadily through the recent years, perhaps model other struggling schools after them. It seems that once the Jenny Moore area began getting more new housing that the talk about it improved 180 degrees! They did not get new teachers, just an infusion of the outsider that has school age kids. Certainly there are many schools across the country that serve as great general models for the solution you seek?
March 3, 2009 at 11:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
Please explain to me how blacks are better than whites .
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i can't because i never said that. however this is evidence to what i am saying. some think that if they teach black kids about themselves, they will think that they are better than white people. or they fear that same black child who is being denied, will rise above the very same people who have been denying him.
Please educate yourself and watch the news
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the news is ok, but i'd rather read. thats why i can say what i say, and welcome the challenge.
I think Africa is going through the dark ages now
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2 reasons why Africa is catching hell. one is because of greed. because Africa is the richest contintent on the Earth, the leaders make deals with foreigners and the average African pays the price. from diamonds to ancient artifacts, Africans are paying with blood. and we (Americans) are the main buyer of these goods.
another reason why i think Africa is catching hell is because they sold their own brothers and sisters. Africa and Africans were fine until Europeans came. however, the tribal leaders and their greed caused Africa to be in the position it is in today.
March 4, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
You are right racism can't be ignored . Stop spewing your ignorant hatred
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again, evidence to what i'm saying. if a black man speaks of his holocaust, it gets labeled 'sprewing hatred'. if a European Jewish man speaks of his, people sympathize. this is an old trick that use to work to keep the black man silent about his suffering. that trick does not work in the 21st Century.
you live in America it doesn't matter where you came from you are an American
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simply sitting at the table does not make me a diner. i have to be served first. black people have been sitting at the American table for 400yrs, and it was until the 1960's that they began to be served. new laws had to be created for the black man to enjoy American freedom. if one is already a citizen, why create a new law just for them. new laws are for people who just came to this country.
black people are still marching to have the same rights as thier white counter parts. if a black man has $10 worth of crack, he can get 10yrs in prison. if a white man has $10 worth of cocaine, he gets a slap on the wrist. also, when was the last time you heard of an unarmed white kid being shot by the cops....in the back.....lying down on the pavement....at a train station....where witness can see?
If you don't like it I'm sure you can find the airport. Take a plane to Dufar.
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as long as the blood of my ancestors soak these grounds i have no need to go to Dufar. black people have faught and died in every single war for this country's freedom, and was the last to recieve it. they have slaved for 100's of years to make this country the richest. black people have never turned their backs on America, even though they had good reason to do so. BLACK PEOPLE ARE THE MOST LOYAL CITIZENS IN THE WHOLE UNITED STATED OF AMERICA! imagine the change we will see in black students once they begin to see the part they have played in American culture.
March 4, 2009 at 10:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
And Dmoney may enjoy the thrills of pride building history, but it really is more about science, math, english, PE, foreign language, music, history, and drama in our business based and free-time world. There is already enough homework anyway.
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There are black professional in all these areas. George Washington Carver was a scientist. Vivian Thomas was the first black man to discover open heart surgery. Almost all of the worlds popular music started with American blacks. the list can go on and on. the problem is, are we teaching this to the kids? i'll always say, people are more motivated in any subject when they gain knowledge of self.
March 4, 2009 at 11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
Dmoney you are totally full of crap. You and other just like you are the reason racism is still an issue- because racists like you, and yes, you are one, wont let it go.
March 4, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dmoney (anonymous) says...
Dmoney you are totally full of crap. You and other just like you are the reason racism is still an issue- because racists like you, and yes, you are one, wont let it go.
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....and this is what i mean by the system purposely not teaching black kids more about themselves. they are afriad that black people will wake up and speak the truth. well the truth is an offense but not a sin. like the Bible says, THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE'. this means that once the black man starts leaning and speaking the truth, he will be freed from the mental slavery he is now in.
THANKS BY THE WAY. i'm not one to offend, but if me telling the truth offends you, that is something i can't help you with, and i will not tell a lie or a 'I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH' to please you or anyone. also, it is not you whom i think needs to be corrected, it is my own people.
March 5, 2009 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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