The School Board Members, the Superintendent, and the Principals of our district's High Schools all received a letter from a concerned parent last night. The letter is full of illustrations of dysfunction, but also this letter is positive in that examples of how to fix this dysfunction are offered as well. This is almost like a parental "exit interview." It is an interesting read, and will no doubt spark conversations around the district which hopefully will lead to positive changes that will benefit students and parents. I look forward to discussing the issues in this letter with my counterparts on the school board.
1 July 2016
To: Escambia
School District School Board Members
Malcolm Thomas, Superintendent
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I am writing to you as a
“beyond mom” as I no longer have school-aged children. I am writing because I
want to share my experiences with you because YOU are my elected
officials. YOU are supposed to be
looking out for the families that live in your district. I want YOU to make the Escambia School
District better because I know it can be better. We have some great kids in this
area.
My experience with
XXXXXXXXXXXXX High School and Escambia School District encompasses 7 years, 4
students (with many classmates/friends), 3 principals, 5 assistant principals,
and more teachers than you can imagine. Some of my experiences have been good,
and a few have been great. Many have been below average, and unfortunately,
some have been absolutely awful. Like most “letters”, I am going to focus on
the awful because you need to know. You need to make it better. No child, no
parent, no one should have to experience “awful” when it comes to something as
important as education.
Regardless of where you go in
the community – the grocery, the hair stylist, or the doctor’s office –
somebody has a crazy XXXXXXXXXXXXX story and it’s not about unruly children.
The stories are most often about how they can’t get in touch with teachers, how
the school administrators do not return calls, and how their child isn’t
getting the help they need. The stories are about how the parents feel
disrespected and their words insignificant. While you constantly talk about the
benefits of parent involvement, your actions tell a completely different story.
And, this story is just sad.
You may be asking yourself,
why aren’t people happy? Although
graduation rates are up test scores are improving each year, that’s not enough.
We, the parents, want HONESTY, COMMUNICATION and a STUDENT-FIRST ENVIRONMENT.
Parents expect an accurate
reflection of their child’s accomplishments (and failures) without the
condescending attitude projected by many in XXXXXXXXXXXXdistrict leadership.
Learn to admit when you have made a mistake, apologize (because we are all
human and mistakes happen) and then fix it. Many district and administrative employees
are more focused on proving they are right, and that the parent/student is
wrong than finding out the true answer. It is okay to be wrong – just own
it. When you “circle the wagon” to
figure out how to hide your errors, believe me when I say, we all see through
the smoke. We are embarrassed for you and sad for our children.
Parents want honest
communication – with an emphasis on honest. I am not talking about recorded
messages. I am talking about me calling you and you listening. I am talking
about my student sitting down with their counselor and discussing their future,
what’s happening at school, and their academic schedule. If a child is not
doing their work, call parents immediately – do not wait until a month before
graduation to notify families that their senior is not on track to graduate. I
have record of 62 emails and 12 phone calls sent over a period of 3 ½ years to
an assistant principal asking the same question before I received an answer. In
what world is it okay to wait 3 ½ years to return an email or a phone call. If you do not know the answer, just say so.
Tell me you will find the answer. Tell me when you will call me back. And,
here’s the kicker – do what you say you are going to do, when you say you will
do it. Most importantly, don’t just make up something that you think I want to
hear. I want the truth, the facts. If I ask for the reference where that “fact”
comes from, produce it without trying to bully me into dropping the issue.
In each school, there is one
professional that should be on the job every day to make sure the student is on
track to achieve their dreams. It is the school counselor. The American Society
of High School Counselors define their job as, “Helping all students in the
areas of academic achievement, personal/social development and career
development, ensuring today's students become the productive, well-adjusted
adults of tomorrow.” In short, they are there to do what many parents cannot or
will not do. Somehow, this vital function has been lost in the counseling department
at XXXXXXXXXXXXXX High School. Throughout the 7 year experience, counselors
(all 4 of them) do not return phone calls, refuse to answer questions, give out
inaccurate information, and are so uncooperative with college recruiters they
refuse to even visit the school. Most of the students have no idea who their
counselors are or what exactly they are supposed to do for them.
Here are 15 of the really
awful things that need your attention:
read the full content of this letter here
2 comments:
This is not to blame anyone except for the current state of education. Education places high demands on administrators and teachers. No one has any damn clue what it is like. This isnt to say that those criticisms aren't legit, but teachers and humans can't be God. We need to change the education system and certain expectations and pressures if we want to see real changes.
I teach school in Escambia County. My youngest child graduated last year. This letter is on point. If your child has any issues at school you have to fight persistently to correct them. My children did not attend school where I teach because I knew at some point in time I might have to push to make something right. I did not want to stand toe to toe with my own administration or a colleague concerning my child.
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