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Post by doctorwho on Jun 6, 2008 13:35:49 GMT -6
Oh boy, I will frame the "you are right" part and put it on my refrigerator door so my two teenagers will be sure to see it -- alot. (Only kidding). By hiring someone who will be in and out in three years and has no ownership in the community, all I can say is you get what you pay for. In my business, we call them 'the plunger'. In my world called 'hatchet men' . They come into a corp and slash and burn for 2 - 3 years - then leave. Leaving in the wake, pensions that are gone, bnefits cut, headcount slashed or off-shored - all bottom line type stuff -- customer satisfaction takes a vacation while they are there. They go to repair it after they leave. say what one will about Howie, but his love for the distict would never have allowed the stuff going on to continue -- my opinion. |
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Post by d204mom on Jun 6, 2008 13:50:45 GMT -6
Oh, right. Yes I blame the SB for the Scullen 8th grade celebration ceremony. I can't understand why they were not personally overseeing the rained out popcorn stand  I don't hear anyone saying the SB is responsible for anything in this thread. The situation is that the district cancelled the graduation ceremony, so schools are doing stuff on their own, and it's not really well coordinated, standard or consistent from one school to the next. That could be something to consider fixing but whatever. I think what happened this week at Scullen was simply another casualty of the situation we're in - the parents at Scullen are a little disinfranchised and there is no leadership outreach going on at present to try and improve the situation. Plus I think the teachers and administrators are kind of in an awkward place, not really knowing what to say, or what not to say, or who to say what to, or whatever. It's just awkward. Its a split middle school that doesn't know how to be a split middle school. This graduating class is getting split up, no one is really talking about it confidently, parents aren't sure what we're supposed to be doing because no one really tells us anything. And top that off with how people are feeling on a more emotional level after the things that have been said, done, and thrown around by others. It's just awkward. So the celebration was awkward. The week was awkward. The kids and the parents and the teachers and the administrators were awkward. The SB didn't create the situation but they're not helping it either. There is a term in leadership and sales called the psychological bridge. They may want to look that up. And SNM, you are right - there has been a shift in philosophy since DD came to town. I think that his business philosophy is "get over it". We all know the type. Can make good forward progress, but to where is the question. That's how Napoleon ended up in Russia for the winter. This is why, IMO, dragging off unhappy sections of the district to MV will impact the difficulty of starting up a new school. IMO. Only so many can "take up the slack." If you aren't happy about attending MV - THEN GO AWAY and DON'T COME TO THE GROUNDBREAKING! Parental involvement cuts both ways. |
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Post by fence on Jun 6, 2008 14:56:10 GMT -6
Well this is where we blew it too. Everyone said splitting middle schools is no big deal, kids will make new friends, it's the only way we can make this work. That's all fine in theory, but at some point, this "no big deal" thing needs to be executed. And this is a good example of ignoring the transition, the most important part of any change. Maybe someone thinks it's too soon to start meeting with the new WV parents to get them involved and educated, or developing a plan of communication and spirit building for our split school teachers and admins. Telling people they're going to a new school is easy but actually making sure that there is a good transition is another matter. This particular 8th grade class just got a little screwed as the test pancake. No one is thinking about the transition - especially for middle schools that are being split - which is something this district has never done before so should put more thought into before it gets even more awkward. Oh, right. Yes I blame the SB for the Scullen 8th grade celebration ceremony. I can't understand why they were not personally overseeing the rained out popcorn stand I don't hear anyone saying the SB is responsible for anything in this thread. The situation is that the district cancelled the graduation ceremony, so schools are doing stuff on their own, and it's not really well coordinated, standard or consistent from one school to the next. That could be something to consider fixing but whatever. I think what happened this week at Scullen was simply another casualty of the situation we're in - the parents at Scullen are a little disinfranchised and there is no leadership outreach going on at present to try and improve the situation. Plus I think the teachers and administrators are kind of in an awkward place, not really knowing what to say, or what not to say, or who to say what to, or whatever. It's just awkward. Its a split middle school that doesn't know how to be a split middle school. This graduating class is getting split up, no one is really talking about it confidently, parents aren't sure what we're supposed to be doing because no one really tells us anything. And top that off with how people are feeling on a more emotional level after the things that have been said, done, and thrown around by others. It's just awkward. So the celebration was awkward. The week was awkward. The kids and the parents and the teachers and the administrators were awkward. The SB didn't create the situation but they're not helping it either. There is a term in leadership and sales called the psychological bridge. They may want to look that up. And SNM, you are right - there has been a shift in philosophy since DD came to town. I think that his business philosophy is "get over it". We all know the type. Can make good forward progress, but to where is the question. That's how Napoleon ended up in Russia for the winter. This is why, IMO, dragging off unhappy sections of the district to MV will impact the difficulty of starting up a new school. IMO. Only so many can "take up the slack." If you aren't happy about attending MV - THEN GO AWAY and DON'T COME TO THE GROUNDBREAKING! Parental involvement cuts both ways. |
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