Another year comes and goes...

And where are we? Have we made any progress? I can't help but reflect back on the year. The cheats from Buist get to stay at Buist while we kick kids out of St. Andrews Math and Science. The parents of Fraser stood up to Dr. Maria Goodloe and she shot them down dismissing their concerns over their school sharing a principal. An OCR complaint regarding the inequities between Charleston Progressive and Buist Academy still remains unresolved. Members of the District 20 community have filed 2 lawsuits against CCSD, yet wait for a court date.
I've heard parents blame parents. I've heard CCSD blame parents and their lack of involvement. I've even read comments from people stating a parent should simply move to get a better education for their child...as if moving is a simple process.
Yet, I still believe we should educate all children no matter what their parents are doing and no matter where these children live. We are handing diplomas to functioning illiterates STILL in the 21st century. It's unacceptable. We are clearly not meeting the educational needs of our children. We want to continue to point the fingers in other directions when we should each be looking in the mirror. We can all be doing more to ensure all children learn to read and write. Education is the key too many of us take for granted. We can be doing more to ensure all children receive an equal education. Unfortunately, we are our own worst enemy. Because too many of us do not believe we can educate all children. We want to make excuses, yet there is NO excuse for allowing a child to reach middle or high school without basic reading and writing skills. As taxpayers, we should be outraged.
All children deserve an accelerated learning environment. School should be exciting and fun. Expectations should be high. Classes should be stimulating and challenging. Yet, our schools are failing our kids. We are chipping away at the children's natural love for learning, year after year...When will it end? When will we all believe all children deserve an equal education?

Buist and The Garden Club

According to the Buist Foundation website, the Charleston Garden Club has adopted Buist Academy. Maureen Ray, a member of the Garden Club and a grandmother to several Buist students is "honored" on the Buist Foundation website. Excuse me, while I gag.

According to a reliable source, Maureen Ray is the wife of dentist Dr. Ray who allegedly insisted his sons use his downtown property to enter his grandchildren into Buist. Afterall, Dr. Ray pays taxes on his downtown property, right? Evidently, one son had moved his family to the St. Andrews Math and Science school zone, but that wasn't good enough for Dr. Ray, who is also a Yacht Club member. That son allegedly used daddy's dental office to get the eldest grandson into Buist.
The other son used daddy's condo at Vendue Range. I guess it's just another one to add to the "Who's Who" list at Buist, huh?

"Step it Up"

In yesterday's "Your LowCountry" section of the Post and Courier, the big story is the new Step Team being implemented at CC Blaney Elementary. Evidently the town of Hollywood's Education Committee "initiated" this new team.
Oh, I don't know where to begin. Yes, I think dance is great. But CC Blaney's current overall rating is Below Average. How many of these children are reading at grade level, or better yet beyond grade level? Why isn't the town of Hollywood's Education Committee initiating a reading program providing incentives for students to improve academically?
I was speaking with a friend a few weeks ago regarding our frustration over the afterschool WINGS program at Memminger. No offense, but we don't need you to teach our kids how to Step. We'd prefer if you'd help them with their reading, writing,and math skills. Our kids are excited when they perform better in school. Don't you get it? We're tired of you dumbing down our kids!

What are the Chances???

I hate to keep coming back to Buist, but it IS the epitome of Charleston's Shame. According to advertisements, Buist is now accepting applications and will have it's Open House on Wednesday, December 12. Open for whom? Is Buist really OPEN? Or is it only for those who "impress" Sallie with their law degrees, fundraising capabilities, Yacht club memberships, and rock concerts?
Sallie Ballard, the principal of Buist Academy, will undoubtedly be dressed to impress on Wednesday. Evidently she also feels the need to "impress" parents by revealing the child of a rock star attends her school during their tour of Buist. Yes, according to a reliable source, Mrs. Ballard has felt the need to tell parents Darius Rucker's child attends her school during their tour. Can you imagine? Anxious parents are walking around Buist, wondering if it will be the best educational fit for their child and Sallie thinks they want to hear about Hootie and the Blowfish. When I heard this, I thought to myself, "What are the chances of Darius Rucker's child getting into Buist?"
So what are the chances of getting into Buist? We need a statistician to really look at the numbers, but I thought we could have some fun in the meantime. Take a look at the "The Buist Who's Who" list I've started and feel free to add some yourself. From what I understand the following people's children must have entered Buist Academy under the Countywide list which has hundreds of applicants, right? So what were their chances of actually getting into Buist?
1) Charleston's rock start Darius Rucker; 2)long time board member and civil rights attorney Gregg Meyers; 2) former CCSD board member Robert New; 3) CCSD's very own Buist lottery and assessment guru Janet Rose; 4)Buist baccalaureate teacher Mrs. Barrett ; 5) renowned Charleston attorney Mark Brandenburg; 6) City Paper editor-in-chief Stephanie Barna; 7)developer Wally Seinsheimer; 8)restaurateur Mark Cumins; 9)attorney George Kefalos (wife of renowned gallery owner Candace Martin)...
Now let's take a brief look at the downtown (aka District 20) list:
1) former CCSD board member Diane Aghapour; 2) Post and Courier reporter Robert Behre; 3)former City Paper reporter Bill Davis (oops I think he moved back to West Ashley); 4)newly elected CCSD board member Toya Hampton-Green...
These aren't the circles I swim in, so help me out if you can...And feel free to correct any mistakes I've made...
Happy Holidays!
And I thought getting into Buist was the luck of the draw...SILLY ME.

Separate but Equal?

Charles Black was a white attorney from Texas who helped Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP write the brief presented to the US Supreme Court in what eventually led to the desegregation of public schools. According to the movie "Separate but Equal", a particular passage Mr. Black wrote had a strong impact on Chief Justice Earl Warren as he wrote the majority opinion which led to a 9-0 ruling on desegregating our schools. It read: "These infant appellants are asserting the most important claim that can be put forward by children. The claim to their full measure of the chance to learn and grow and the inseparably connected but even more important claim to be treated as entire citizens of the society into which they have been born."

Watching the movie "Separate but Equal" brought to light many of the battles we still face in ensuring all children are treated as entire citizens. How do we justify not providing art and music in a small, yet predominately black school such as Baptist Hill High School? How do we justify busing our black students on the peninsula to Mitchell Elementary for SAIL as Buist children receive it at their school with full-time SAIL teachers on staff? The US Supreme Court concluded that separate is not equal. Unfortunately, we have reached the 21st Century and it is very clear many of our schools in Charleston County are separate. While we could blame parents for this situation, it is also very clear these same schools are not equal. Who do we blame for that?

CCSD Plays Games Again

Dr. McGinley is playing the same games Gregg Meyers and his crew like to play. Shame on you, Dr. McGinley. Anyone reading the paper this morning with half a brain should realize the manipulation taking place. You are NOT enforcing any attendance lines at Buist. Yet 10 children are suppose to live on the peninsula and 10 children are suppose to live in low-performing school zones when they apply and enter the school each year. What is the purpose of those lists if you only have to live in the county to attend the school?
The District 20 Board gave YOU and every board member the list of numerous parents who had falsified addresses and no one did anything. That's what Alice Paylor, Sallie Ballard, and Dr. Goodloe told them to do. Yet, according to Mr. Meyers you don't have to live at the address you provide when you go to Buist. You only need to live in the county of Charleston because "people have a constitutional right to travel."
Meanwhile at St. Andrews...well, they have a real attendance zone and evidently they're finally going to follow it. We've known there was a fake address issue over there for a while, so maybe we're finally making progress. Unfortunately, there are more. It's easy to change the name on the identification requirements CCSD is using for residency verification and we all know it. Concerned citizens have shown us examples of that on this blog and others.
I think it's time the citizens of Charleston get off their computers and speak out.

Buist...again???

Well, here we are again. Buist Academy is in the headlines with more bad publicity. I do have a few questions, though. Okay, so we now know that CCSD is willing to admit children attending Buist do NOT live in Charleston COUNTY. HUH???? Sounds like some parents owe Charleston County taxes to me. Remember how they do it in Philly, Dr. McGinley?
But what about the OTHER issue? You know, the one that was uncovered last summer? The 10 slots that are suppose to be for residents who live in downtown Charleston didn't go to downtown residents. At least 2 spots went to cheating families out on Folly Beach. 1 spot went to a lovely child whose parents own a nice college rental on Coming Street. Another spot went to a child whose parents had their house sold before school even began. Let's see...who else? Oh, yeah...we shouldn't forget the lovely Bee Street apartment owner who claims 4% at his gated Headquarters Island home. You get the picture. The kids who really live downtown are still waiting on the waiting list, Ms. Paylor. CCSD officials and all school board members are fully aware of this, yet they still sit quietly doing nothing.
Has Buist filled the vacancies they had at the 10 day count or is Principal Ballard still waiting on her Yacht club friends to make a decision?
We need an audit of the entire school. This is ridiculous. Will it never end?
C'mom, Justice Department...where are you?

What you don't know about your childs school could hurt them!

We have all known for a long time the dangers of mold in the south and along the coast. But what we are not considering is that some of the schools are harboring mold. Some of this mold is making our children sick. I want to know how many of you have children in the school that are chronically ill with something like a headache or stuffy nose. Please consider the possibility of mold and question your schools principal. There is mold in some of the schools and the officials at the CCSD are not going to tell you unless you ask and force them to.
Parents have a right to know what is going on that the schools...they also have a right to know that is making their children ill in the environment. It is unwritten rule that the CCSD not tell parents of these evils that may lurk at the schools.
I know of two schools for a fact that are infested with mold. Mold that is affected some children.
Please tell me if you have any others you suspect.

What is the YCAT?

The Young Children's Assessment Test is used to determine whether a child is eligible for Buist Academy or not. But what is this test? Should it be used at the age of 4 or 5 to determine whether a child is gifted and talented? Dr. Janet Rose of CCSD has publicly stated numerous times that she recommended Buist Academy NOT begin before 2nd grade. So why does CCSD continue to test 4 and 5 year olds? In fact, Sallie Ballard, principal of Buist Academy, wants us to believe they can determine which children will be successful at Buist and which ones won't. Unfortunately, this test may be excluding the best and brightest. Children who were reading (yes, I said reading) before kindergarten have not met the 75th percentile testing score as required by Buist Academy. Is Principal Ballard concerned? It appears not. What school excludes children who are reading PRIOR to kindergarten as not meeting the academic entry requirements?
Buist's SAIL program is also raising eyebrows. Evidently as many as 16 children in one 2nd grade class did NOT meet the SAIL requirements last year. What did Buist do? Well, they retested the kids, of course. All children at Buist must meet the SAIL requirements for 3rd grade...there are no alternatives.
So, can we determine gifted and talented children at the mere age of 4? It appears not.

Hillery Douglas trying to make back handed deals

This is a sad event but we all fear it is true...
This is an anonymous editorial comment about an event that took place sometime prior to Tuesday, October 9:

It has been confirmed by at least one of those present that Hillery Douglas set up a meeting with Pete Lawrence either earlier this week or late last week for the purpose of forcing a downtown African-American community leader to recant his support for a charter school. The Charter School for Math and Science scheduled to open within the former Rivers High School building next year has stirred resentment from some black organization leaders while it has gained grassroots support from many black and white parents who want improved public school choices downtown. The private meeting amounted to an ambush and an attempted mugging. It failed to sway the intended victim and may have in fact caused him and other downtown black residents to become more ardent supporters of charter school alternatives as a way to get existing schools back on track.

Arthur Peter Lawrence is a Burke High School graduate, a co-founder of the Friends of Burke organization, President of the Westside Neighborhood Association and a recipient of the City of Charleston's Koon Award for his record of community service. He is actively supporting another African-American, Dudley Gregorie, in his campaign for Mayor of Charleston. After much soul searching and seeking answers to many questions, Pete recently came out in support of the proposed Charleston Charter School for Math & Science. He said he did this because the existing CCSD schools located downtown are either not available to most downtown students (Buist is a magnet school with a closed admission process) or most of the remaining downtown schools are failing so badly that there is little hope for change in the near future. CCSD claims it is unable to adequately improve downtown schools or make them racially diverse saying that the causes of poor schools downtown are beyond their control.

Pete has also said that only after the charter school group became active, CCSD finally began to take an interest in advancing plans for the improvement of Burke's academic programs. Previous proposals for Burke by CCSD all were for goals that have all been assoicated with minimum standards. It was as if CCSD had no interest in Burke's success until they were challenged with the possibility of loosing control to another charter school. This one would become an alternative for the relief of long suffering downtown parents. Pete said he could support that.

What made this meeting with Pete Lawrence unusual is that Pete was given the impression he was being invited to meet one-on-one with Nelson Rivers to discuss his support for the downtown charter school. Nelson Rivers is Charleston native and a highly respected national NAACP official who helped start the NAACP's North Charleston branch.

It was not to be that kind of meeting. What Pete Lawrence found when he arrived was a full house. It included Hillery Douglas, Dot Scott, Joe Darby and Ruth Jordan, in addition to Nelson Rivers. What was supposed to be a discussion between two individuals began to appear as if Pete had been set up for a confrontation with a crowd he had opposed before. Unknown to Pete until it was too late, the meeting was arranged and specifically designed to pressure him into publicly recanting his support for the math and science charter school. Nelson Rivers was simply there to "mediate". Pete had been ambushed.

Hillery Douglas reportedly got ugly. He called Pete fowl names and said that he had to change his position or else. He said Pete was betraying the black community by not standing with those who opposed this charter school. What Pete Lawrence discovered was that these individuals who all had been in some way responsible for the poor condition of downtown schools were now desperate for a spokesman to carry their message of opposition to the downtown community. They were opposed to the racially diverse charter school group. They needed someone with a platform within the downtown black community to be their downtown mouthpiece. They decided that Pete was the one, because he had dared speak in favor of the new school. They didn't care if forcing him to change his position meant continuing to cut the throat of downtown schools like Burke. In spite of the pressure, Pete wouldn’t back down.

It became obvious that Pete wouldn't cross over and those present didn't have a person to carry their message with downtown credentials. Hillery Douglas reportedly became very angry and began threatening Pete. Nelson Rivers had to physically come between them according to the witness or it might have gotten worse. Nelson Rivers as it turns out may not have been fully aware of what kind of power play was going on until after the meeting had begun.

The strong arm tactics of Hillery Douglas are deplorable, but it is also highly questionable as to why he and Ruth Jordan, both members of the current Charleston County School Board, would choose to participate in a backroom, closed door attempt to intimidate a downtown school advocate and private citizen knowing that their were witnesses who could go public. Without question they were trying to force Mr. Lawrence to change his public position. They wanted him to ignore logic and to actively oppose a racially diverse, community based charter school group which was organized to create public school choices for downtown parents. Both Douglas and Jordan have gone on record as supporting this charter school but behind the scenes we find they are doing something else. By this account, they have misled the public about their support for the charter school as well as knowingly participated in what amounts to a politically motivated mugging.

Pete Lawrence, and other determined parents and residents of downtown Charleston like him, are continuously being pressured and in some cases threatened financially to not support the charter school. Others have been verbally abused and threatened by Hillery Douglas for speaking out for public schools downtown, a cause the Hillery Douglas dislikes. Pete Lawrence has the courage and the good fortune to not be beholden to corrupt power brokers who have been willing to sell out downtown school children. Because he’s a man of integrity and has no financial ties to these bosses, he continues to speak his mind. Others downtown are not so fortunate. Most downtown parents and public school supporters are just glad that there are people like Pete Lawrence who have the ability to speak of ideas that most people downtown can only think or speak of privately.

It's a disgrace that these people (Douglas, Scott, Jordan and Darby) are given the air of respectability by being portrayed as community representatives only for us to learn later they have behaved like thugs when the cameras are turned off and the reporters go home. Downtown schools, especially Burke High School, are fortunate that they are being defended by courageous and unbending supporters like Pete Lawrence against the assaults and neglect of thugs like Hillery Douglas and his fellow gang members including Dot Scott, Joe Darby and Ruth Jordan

Longborough vs. Shoreview

It's election time again and we all know how fun it is to watch those streets get paved. It looks like the mayor is getting more serious this time. It's finally going to happen (drumroll)... We're going to build the affordable housing at Longborough! You know, the place where we kicked out all of the low-income families because the Beach Company wasn't quite rich enough? The problem is the Mayor has a distorted view as to what constitutes "affordable." It appears in the Mayor's view, affordable is a house worth up to $150,000. Anyone who has any common sense about loans knows you should purchase a home no more than two and half times your gross income. Foreclosures are on the rise, interest rates are climbing and it's time we get back to that rule. Now, why would we want to put up to $1400.00 a month into a mortgage payment knowing good and well we can't sell it for a reasonable profit? Why not just rent? HELLO? Don't most people buy property as an investment?
Let's just keep the poor...poor, right, Joe?
According to the Post and Courier, we're looking at 900-1200 square ft. quads. So who is going to buy these homes? The article states "former Shoreview residents get first priority." Yet the "city officials" admit these same residents couldn't afford to buy them anyway. Can I say, HELLO, AGAIN???
Please tell me the residents can see through Joe this time!

Mock Trial Ends

While work kept me away from Thursday's "hearing", news travels fast in this small town. Word has spread and evidently the Queen of Hearts has spoken. Our District 20 board representatives and community members sat through the "mock-trial" on Thursday and much to no one's surprise, the County board members ruled against District 20 residents receiving priority to Buist Academy. This should make for good news to the Office for Civil Rights' pending investigation. I thought the constituent boards were to blame for our segregated schools, not CCSD. Chop, chop on that transcript, please.
Did Mrs. Ballard keep her facts straight during her testimony? Please correct me if I'm wrong on this. I can only imagine what interesting reading the official transcript will be. Was she or was she NOT made aware of the District 20 board's new policy? Was it June when she first received a letter outlining their changes? Or was it in February? Evidently, Mr. Choice the Superintendent testified he had spoken to her on the phone within a day (or so) of the new policy being approved in January of 2006. Yet, she clearly ignored the new policy.
On another note, Ms. Alice Paylor is doing quite the juggling act. Has she advised the CCSD board on this matter? Is it a conflict of interest that she represents Mrs. Ballard in front of her clients, who are also serving as the judge in this joke of a case? She stated she had not advised them. Why, Ms. Paylor, how DID you file that Answer to the Complaint the District 20 Board filed in the Court of Common Pleas? Through telepathy? Oh, yes...we get it...you're employed by CCSD, not by the CCSD Board of Trustees. But isn't it the CCSD Board of Trustees who approves your employment? How DO you keep that straight face?
Keep up the fight, District 20 representatives and Mr. Kobrovsky. I did not have the pleasure of taking a "sick day" to hear the fiasco, but I look forward to the comments of anyone who did.

Buist Vacancies?

According to the CCSD 10-day attendance report, we once again have vacancies at Buist Academy. Hmmm...I wonder when these vacancies will be filled. Will it be like last year when we had as many as 11 vacancies in the 7th and 8th grade for the entire school year? Principal Ballard has stated it's difficult to fill vacancies in the upper grades. Has she considered offering those vacancies to our children at Burke? Surely, we have students at Burke who meet the academic requirements. In fact, I bet we could have those vacancies filled by the end of the week, IF that's what CCSD really wanted. I find this very interesting. I thought everyone was fighting "tooth and nail" to get into Buist. There's obviously a few parents out there who don't believe Buist is all it's cracked up to be.

Toya Hampton Green: But We Do Things Differently At Buist

It was interesting to follow the article in this morning's P&C about the latest fruit basket upset being proposed for the administration of CCSD. It sounds like just a lot of deck chairs and the Titanic again.

It’s bad enough that this appeared to be the product of yet another extra legal meeting behind closed doors by CCSD and its board, but the article referred to a particularly annoying comment made by one of the board members. The final couple of paragraphs focused on an exchange between CCSD officials and the presumptive resident board member from downtown. It was almost laughable if Ms. Green wasn't so condescendingly out of touch with her neighbors and their ongoing cry for improving the seven failing public schools located within a mile radius of Buist.

The writer, Diette Courrege, also left out a rather important observation relating to Ms. Green in her coverage of this exchange. The details might have been of interest to her readers and made Ms. Courrege’s article more relevant.

As it was presented in the P&C article, the seemingly attentive and concerned downtown representative on the county school board was quoted as an advocate of CCSD requiring more reading for elementary and middle school students. She used her own child's Buist Academy experience as an example to make her point. Ms. Green volunteered using her child as an example but the writer failed to carry the example any further based on knowledge that Ms. Courrege as an experienced reporter already has.

It is important to remember that as of the date of her remarks, Toya Hampton Green's daughter was barely into her fourth week as a kindergarten student at Buist Academy. According to Ms. Green, her daughter is required to read four books a week. If that’s true, Buist requires 144 books to be 'read' by each child in a Buist kindergarten class between now and next May. That would compare to the twenty books per year that CCSD is only now proposing as the minimum for all Charleston County elementary school students.

I can understand how Ms. Green may be struggling to appear to want the same standards for every other school that Buist already has, but what’s her point? This would appear to mean that she wants 'the Buist experience' for every child attending all other elementary schools in Charleston County. Ms. Green is practicing the art of grandstanding but Ms. Courrege is letting her get away with using an imaginary grandstand.

Ms. Green’s suggests that “the Buist standard” should be applied to children who have been denied access to CD classes. As a county board member Ms. Green decided CCSD couldn't afford to make additional pre-kindergarten classes available where they are needed most. Then there is the fact that Ms. Green wants all those children not lucky enough to win the Buist lottery to reach for those many required books from the partially empty library shelves found at schools that CCSD's budget failed to fund sufficiently.

I think Ms. Green's superficial comments say much about her total disconnect with the realities of public education in Charleston County beyond the closed universe that is otherwise known as Buist Academy. Ms. Green needs to get a grip on the reality that exists outside the closely guarded gates of Buist Academy. It’s a very difficult and inequitably reality that she helps to maintain by continuing to be so out of touch with her constituents.

Peninsula Project

According to the Superintendent at the community meeting held last night at Burke...there IS a plan. The new name for the plan is the Peninsula Project. Catchy title. I like it better than the "Reconfiguration Plan." Gotta hope there's no pun intended, but I can't help but think of Mayor Riley. We all know he's not a fan of the "projects."
Supposedly Dr. McGinley has been "working" on this for a few months (???) and will "unveil" it soon??? Sorry, folks. I'm not buying it. Been there...done that...I thought we had learned some lessons from the last chick. You need community involvement, Dr. McGinley. You had the community there last night. Why didn't you present "the plan" to them prior to the meeting and get their feedback at the meeting? Time's a wasting and our kids aren't getting any younger. They need a decent school TODAY. And please don't tell us you're going to expand Buist. We don't want Sallie Ballard's version of Buist. Put Buist in Mt. Pleasant and save the taxpayers the money spent on transporting them over the rivers. We don't want to expand a school full of cheaters. C'mon, Dr. McGinley, show us you're different. Talk to us! You have some incredible community members wanting to be involved in public education. You should be dividing them into different groups and meeting with them regularly. Don't let another 10 weeks pass us by. We're waiting...

Watch Burke HS Carefully: Now You See Us…Now You Don’t!

Closed Door Deals Continue Between CCSD & City Hall

A rumor from a high level within the administration is saying that Gregg Meyers, Toya Green, Joe Riley and Nancy McGinley are working on a deal to change the direction of plans for a new building to house the Academic Magnet High School (AMHS) in North Charleston. They reportedly are now looking downtown in a deal that may cause Burke to soon be history, at least on its present campus. This is still a rumor, but it’s beginning to fit the context of other actions that have been documented already. It deserves more explanation since it is a potential bombshell if the rumored deal is even remotely true.

Here is some background on the latest from the rumor mill. The projected cost of a combined campus for both the Academic Magnet HS (AMHS) and the School of the Arts (SOA) in North Charleston has become too great (reported to now exceed $85 million). This is making some CCSD officials and county board members very nervous. Both schools (AMHS & SOA) see sharing gyms and other campus facilities as a problem. The proposal Gregg Meyers is now supposed to be floating, unofficially and behind closed doors, will establish only a very basic trades and job training program at Rivers. This is in response to years of pleading from the Burke community to restore what was once a very successful vocational and technical stills program at Burke. The thought is that if vocational programs were placed at Rivers, with Burke students given access, then that will finally satisfy Burke supporters. The Charter School for Math and Science is seen as totally unrelated. If McGinley has her say the charter school will eventually be a non-issue.

They must be joking...

So I wake up this morning to a Post and Courier story informing me the Charleston County School Board is "experimenting" this year with Memminger Elementary and North Charleston Elementary. CCSD is giving both schools an extra $237,000 for a Spanish teacher, Asst. Principal, a science teacher, full-time nurse and guidance counselor (shouldn't every school have that?), art and what else? Oh, yeah, a parent educator. So much for that point system we all keep complaining about, huh? There are so many problems with this "plan", I don't know where to begin. Can you help me??
Evidently we need to thank Toya Green and Arthur Ravenel. Your school can have these things if these two board members say so. Mr. Ravenel is hoping the white people will come now. What does that mean? I'm all in favor of integration, don't get me wrong. But does he think we need white people in our schools for them to improve? OUCH! Mrs. Green "picked" the school because Memminger's Principal is the former Asst. Principal at Buist. What does that have to do with anything? Is Mrs. Green feeling a little guilty that her child will be attending Buist, receiving the education that so few of us living on the peninsula are apparently entitled to? Oh, that's right. Mrs. Green's child is SMARTER than our children. THAT'S why she gets to go to Buist and not us. Silly me, I keep forgetting that part of this ridiculous joke of a school system. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she's on the school board. She was lucky in the lottery, just like so many other attorneys, AND she has a smarter child, just like so many fundraisers, Yacht club members, doctors, and rock stars.
Now don't forget, we have ONE year to show CCSD a Spanish teacher, a science teacher, and a nurse (etc...) will help improve student achievement (a/k/a PACT scores). Otherwise, I guess they might take our guidance counselor and all the other goodies away. Do they have Spanish on the PACT test?
C'mon people, forget those deposits you've made on your private schools and forget that transfer you fought so hard to receive, get your child to Memminger! I heard they have open enrollment, so it shouldn't matter where you live, you can go there. I wonder if Arthur and Toya asked any Memminger parents what they thought of this idea. Better yet, did they ask any Memminger teachers? I heard the Dist. 20 Superintendent didn't even know anything about this. I wonder what the Principals at our other city schools are thinking...

I want to clear something up about my personal thoughts about Buist and so called cheaters.

First, I do not think that Buist is a safe environment for any child. Why?
Take the death threats a few years ago by two students against another. It is my understanding that these kids were never even suspended nonetheless expelled according to the CCSD code of Conduct. Who stood up and protected the victim? When the District 20 board did they were crucified.

Second, I don't think that it challenges any child including the super smart ones to have hours upon hours of homework every night after a full day of school. Vit D is important.

Third, I do not think that children should be forced to maintain a B average....especially with the high divorce rate in Charleston-according to the CCSD. Kids go through enough just being kids.

Fourth, I do not think that any school should be able to make up there own rules as they go along which is what Buist seems to do. If they were honest and true 25 percent of the kids that attend Buist would live yes live downtown.

Fifth, I don't think that my child or any other child benefits from being forced to maintain even if they are so smart that they are bored. Did we forget the part where kids are also meant to be kids? I have much more enthusiasm for a child that works hard on their own, personally I think that they have a higher long term success rate.

I do not think that parents should be forced to turn their friends in. So no Mark I will not ask you or any parent to turn someone in. I think that the CCSD should do their job and live up to their responsibility. As a society that is what we expect.

As a community everyone who lives in Charleston County should be very concerned. Charleston is growing, most of the medical care is downtown and we can not attract people and families to buy homes in the downtown area because there is no place for people to send their children to school. So the downtown area including parts of West Ashley have little choices to send their children to public school. Not everyone wants or can afford to send children to private school. Gas prices are estimated to go up. So if nurses and new doctors who have families are choosing to live in other urban environments as gas prices creep up where does that leave us?

As for everyone who did cheat, I don't know who they are. I am not even guessing and I don't want to know. I would hope that they would recognize that they are taking a spot of a child who really needs it. Who ever did or does cheat...I have no doubt that if you are meant to be at Buist it would be so, there are other powers that control the CCSD and Buist Lottery. Nothing is by chance! For those of you who are thinking about putting your child on the list think hard, go to every school. I think that you will find that Buist isn't what you thought is was. Although music lessons for all is very nice. Did you know that some kids down the street don't have any microscopes?

You may ask why I am behind a more honest Buist then...well part of being a kid is having kids in the neighborhood to play with. Charleston has lost that, downtown needs to he humbled. There is something bigger then us, the sooner we recognize that the sooner we can get back to what made Charleston great in the first place.

Honestly Buist isn't good enough for my children thus they are not on the list.

Federal Funds

It was my understanding that Federal Funds were supposed to go to specific causes and required a certain procedure...Oh and it has to be used up to get any more.

1.So why is it that a principal of a school is using federal funds for an after school program to fund something else? I must sympathize with him or her though because they have to use up the funds to receive any more.

2. Why does every child at Buist receive the SAIL program for free because it is a federal program when not every child qualifies? Yes we have kids downtown that do not have enough books and these kids who already have so much and some who's parents lied get even more.

3. What has the CCSD done with it's federal money? Not much for the kids downtown or in North Charleston. What do you think that the federal government would do if they found out that the local school district may not be correctly using the grants that were given to them?

You all should challenge the CCSD to be upfront with these federal funds and where this money goes and should go. I wonder what happened to the groups that were supposed to be fighting for these schools. Have they all left us to fight for other battles or have they given up because this happens everywhere. Life is too short to accept that answer.

Wake up and smell the coffee the world is changing and it is leaving us behind. Charleston is growing but has no school system to keep the great parts of a society evolving.

Farewell

Word is a former editor of a local newspaper has left the peninsula and moved back to West Ashley now that he has all of his children at Buist Academy. Should we be happy you actually did live downtown unlike so many of the other cheaters? Should we say thank you for the time and energy you gave to our community? We should have known there was a reason you wouldn't stand by your neighbors and openly criticized the District 20 Board's fight for our residents last year. I guess it's nice to be living in the house you actually own now, huh?

Goodbye Jerry

Channel 5 reports Jerry leaving CCSD...humm what did he do? Was he tired of the B.S. or did he grow a conscience? Whatever the cause or the reason he was the communications guy, the messenger. Let's see if you can sing Jerry. The CCSD will leave you all alone. Someone has to be the fall guy.

Stupid Things Said by CCSD Board Members

We have all heard and read stupid things that came from the mouths of CCSD board members.

Some of my favorites are the following. I have heard these things from multiple sources and they always make me laugh. I hope they make you laugh too.

Nancy Cook

In a recent City Paper Blog, Nancy commented on closing some more downtown schools.

“If I won’t send my child to that school, then that school should be closed.”

- There are so many things that I could say about this. She would only accept Buist I am sure. If the Office of Civil rights was not convinced already this should top it off. I think that she is starting to plan for her campaign. This comment is like the President saying he would send his child off to war in Iraq.

Greg Meyers

In a Buist Task Force meeting the District 20 Board asked that children who go in on the downtown list maintain downtown residency. Greg's response was this

"People have a constitutional right to travel"

That is right Greg. The Constitution says that Americans have the right to vote, free speech and when lying to get into a pubic school they have the right to travel. I think that Downtown to Sullivans Island is so far that this counts as a vacation. I won't even touch the difference between residency and vacation. I think he should know, since he is a member of the BAR and a civil rights lawyer.

Arther Ravenel-

I heard this through the vine but I have to publish it. To me it hit home. When asked to support a foreign language program at Charleston Progressive because it was the only middle school without one he said

I just can't support it, Charleston Progressive is an ugly school.

I am going to leave that one alone...it speaks for itself. Also I think we should give Cousin Arthur some slack. He comes from another generation that failed to sit next to Ms. Parks on the bus. I like the guy though. Someday he may do some good for the schools.

Toya Green

I was elected by the county not downtown residents. I represent county schools.

Who voted for this freak? Opps I think her kid got into Buist this year. She represents the downtown set. Oh well, according to Nancy, we won't have many schools left anyway. Lets just keep putting kids on the Peninsula down more, because that shows them how much we care.

I know that you all have heard more than this. Send them in and lets keep laughing because things are going to get worse before they get better.

Comic Concerns Aren't Comical

What is wrong with our city? We are more concerned over comics in the Post and Courier than we are about our schools. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate my daily dose of humor just as much as the next guy; but this is ridiculous. Maybe if the District 20 board had listed the false addresses used to enter Buist Academy next to "Shoe", the public may have cared. Better yet, they should have listed them INSTEAD of "Shoe" and then the public would have really been outraged. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's parting comments to Katie Crawford regarding the situation at Buist Academy were completely misleading and she knew it. Yes, fake addresses are used throughout the nation, but how many neighborhood kids are being kept out of their schools as a result?

Fallen Heros

I wanted to speak with you all about the fallen fire fighters that we all lost yesterday. My heart aches for their families because they risk their lives for all of us everyday and usually we take if for granted.

I hope that everyone learns from this event. Stop and say hi to your neighbor, read another story to your children and do something wonderful for someone even if they don't know that you did anything at all.

Charleston is filled with such wonderful people and their hearts are so large. We can become a great city with no shame we just need to want it and do the right thing.

We are measured by how we have helped and cared for others.
It is these selfless acts that really speak to who we are.

These fire fighters have done so much for us. They have saved our lives, kept us safe and cared for our children.
Please, Please show them that you care. Chief Thomas, Charleston Fire Fighters and their families need our support now. We all can make a difference in someones lives.

Photo copyright AP Photo/Alice Keeney

What happened to the Charleston Charter School?

Channel 5 reported on the protest at the Rivers Building by the NAACP.

They said that there were several dozen protesters and that the NAACP did not want anything done to the building.

First of all, something must be done with the building. There is no point in having the building just sit there and decompose in the sun, wind and rain. Why not oh... make it a school? It always has been a school and should be a school, so while this may be crazy, let's make it a school.

Second, Dot Scott said that she wanted it to be a High Tech High and wanted it predominately African American. Hmmm... that sounds like Greg Meyers and Nancy Cook of the CCSD school board. But then Dot Scott always chooses to speak in support of the school board and Goodloe. Where were they when the Rivers Building was closed down in the first place? All of those teachers were fired---mostly African American and impressionable young kids were put at Burke. I know where they were, they were supporting Goodloe's resume. Now where has she gone? She used the NAACP and she ran as fast as she could. Do you think they were maybe trying to make a good impression on the new superintendent?

Third, just how does Dot Scott think that High Tech High will happen without community support? The Charleston Chamber says that they will support it from the CCSD. Of course they are going to say that; the CCSD is one of the chambers largest customers. The first rule in business is the client is always right. How could they say anything but yes?

The BIG question is where is the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science or is that District 20 Families? I thought that they were the same thing. Aren't they? I realize that District 20 Families was started when all that Buist stuff happened a year ago then came the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science. So isn't that the same group?

Anyway, where are they? The NAACP was attacking the charter school so why did they not defend themselves. Now I think there is a lot of miscommunication about the charter school but there are strict rules with public money. Thus if the law says that the racial makeup of the school must reflect that of the community I think that that will happen. The school needs public funds to operate and are held to a tighter scrutiny then the CCSD. Take a look at other charter schools around that have operated for a little while.

Even the mayor of N. Charleston wants North Charleston High School to become a charter school because the CCSD refuses or cannot bring it up to a good, safe standard. I hope that you succeed Mayor Summey. That may be their only hope.

Where was the charter school to defend themselves, or educate these members of the NAACP who do not have all the facts? What about the old business saying: "All publicity is good publicity?" Why weren't they there to get the coverage? Come on, that is free advertising.

I wonder who will stand up against the NAACP. Someone needs to because they have their information wrong and exactly who do they represent? Unfortunately it seems like the Rosa Parks of this world are long gone. This town continues to operate like it has for a longtime. Everyone just sits by and doesn't stir up the water. What is going to happen to our community if no one does anything? I'll tell you what we will happen if we just sit by....we'll get pushed out of our town. As a community we need to realize that the CCSD will never change if we don't make them. We have to make them care about us or we will continue to get the short end of the stick.

It's a Numbers Game

As reported in the Post and Courier this morning, CCSD will pay the company who runs Murray Hill Academy $3.2 million dollars this year. The school's enrollment will also drop from 432 to 324 next year. The new building where Murray Hill Academy is located has cost the district $9.1 million dollars. Do the math. Are you angry yet? Well, if not, how about this fact? They have teachers who DON'T have state certifications and for most of the year have had NO mental health counseling. What are they doing over there? I've heard parents and students from our city say it's nothing better than a jail. Why are we treating our children like inmates? How many of our Charleston kids have been shuffled to this joke of a program without due process and without receiving the promised counseling they so desperately need?
It's a numbers game for CCSD. All this program has done is use our children to make Goodloe-Johnson's resume appear as if CCSD has lowered its expulsion rate. Will Dr. McGinley fess up and call it like it is?

Goodloe Admits it

As I was going to sleep watching the evening news I saw the reports where Dr. Goodloe-Johnson admits that Charleston has a racial problem. I have heard it all.



The following link is the link to Katie Crawford's interview with Dr. Goodloe-Johnson http://www.wcsc.com/home/video/7949587.html.



Please review it yourself and see if you can catch her from her other interviews. Dr. Goodloe has stated a number of times that there are very little race related issues with the Charleston County School District. Privately though she has told white parents just to send their kids to school as a solution to these parents not having an excellent rated school to send their kids to. So you are telling me that in the last 4 years she has chosen not to address the issue of race in the school district that she has been officer and chief of? That is a failure of the worst kind. Instead she has helped to keep these schools segregated.



Lets take a look at Burke High School. Two of the best programs that the district has came out of Burke-Academic Magnet and Military Magnet. Burke has always been a predominately African American school and it has been great. Now you are telling me that it took Goodloe and the CCSD 4 years to realize that there was a racial problem in Charleston pubic schools? The ironic thing is the kids in these schools aren't the ones with the racial problem; they know that there is a divide but work to fix it. Have you ever seen kids of different races playing together? Have you seen adults of different races play together?



Look at the so called leaders of the African American community. Dot Scott and Rev. Darby keep speaking for what they call the entire African American community. Have you gone out and spoken with us? If you had you would find that we want what is best for our children. We are educated and want our children to have all the same programs and resources that every other child in our city has. We know that these schools are separate. All anyone has to do is look at the schools that are in the worst academic shape and see that these schools are predominately black. These schools also lack the same programs that are offered in other schools. Did you all know that Charleston Progressive is the only middle school that does not offer a foreign language? Did you also know that it is a magnet school? Some magnet school, it lacks enough books and microscopes.



For years we have been told that we could not transfer our kids becuase there was a lack of room at other diverse schools. These other schools are not really diverse. Take a look, a hard look, how diverse are all the schools in our area? How diverse are Mt. Pleasant elementary schools? Now where are the majority of the great programs?



I am tired of the CCSD and people like Goodloe continuing to do irreparable damage to our community (by our I mean all races in our community) just to improve their resume or give their friends huge contracts while we all know they recieve some benefit.



As a community we all need to stand up to these people. It is our world that we can change. We just have to start working together.

Charleston County Friends for Buist

Did you all know that there was a Charleston County Friends for Buist?
Neither did I. I did know there was a group of parents who started after District 20 Families in order to combat the attention that Buist received after all the false addresses. Apparently this is the same group. Evidently, it is led by attorney Mark Brandenburg who also is head of the Buist Foundation, a private non-profit according to him. I was unaware that there was such a thing as a private non-profit whose address with the federal government is a public school.

Any who there was an e-mail floating around after the article in the Post and Courier comparing the inadequacies between Charleston Progressive and Buist Academy. For those of you who have not read it, you should, it gives much insight to the racial discrimination from the Charleston County School district.

The email below....no I did not give you email addresses. The email below is from a parent of this fine organization and their views on the article. The key here is the name of the address list for members. Some of these are false addresses, some are legit. Isn't it wonderful when cheaters ban together to protect their not so secret fibs?

Note not all of these members have cheated, only some.
members:
Sarah Hoefer; Donna Lee Rose; Richard Gowe; Frank Dirks; John Hiers; Peter Demetre; W Keith Kirkland; Libby Russler; Becky Fenno; Eric LangJam; Ellie Langsom; David Richards; Robben Richards; Chris Whitacre; Kellie Thomas; Jeff Thomas; Susan Cale; Yvette Dede; Laura Stefanelli; Bobby Frye; Trap Puckette; Chris Cullum; Sallie Thomas; Ellison Berlin; Tommy Dew; Teri Hiers; Laurie Ann Hart; Leigh Brandenburg; Cindy Linhart; Sue Groff; Sallie Ballard; Ken Chavin; Robyn Bradley; Tina Rastogi; Jeri Lawing; Amy Manucy; Christy Sanford; Chip Legerton; Lennie WoodsSubject:
Interesting e-mail
To all:

I assume you all read the article in the P & C on Sunday. Should there be a response from Charleston County Friends for Buist? I would write a letter to the editor, but I am not up to speed on all of the facts.

I guess there are some simple rebuttals to the one-sided article:

1. The article starts with the assertion: “In almost any comparison of resources, Buist beats Charleston Progressive Academy.” Those are the comparisons selected by the writer. Are there any financial comparisons where Buist does not beat CPA? I don't know the answer, but if there are, they should be noted.

2. The Second paragraph states that the inequities are so serious that the Office of Civil Rights is investigating. I don't think the office of Civil Rights just happened on this case. Is this not the result of the lawsuit that has been filed? Should the instigator of the lawsuit be called out and provide a background for the litigation?

3. What were the original plans for Buist (as referred to in the article) and CPA? Is there a logical reason why the disparity exists? The writer does not investigate that angle at all.

4. Buist has, according to the article 397 students and CPA has 315 students. Buist has 26% more students than CPA. Does the difference in the number of students account for the fact that there are full time teachers for music and a full time nurse at Buist among other resources? It would seem logical to me that once you hit a threshold, you need full time staff to handle functions that are handled by a part time employee in a school with fewer students.

5. How do other schools compare? Are all schools in the district treated equally? How do the Buist and CPA budgets compare with other schools? Why are there disparities?

6. Finally, the most glaring error in the story is the math. According to the statistics in the story, Buist receives General Operating Funds of $2,439,685 for 397 students or $6,145.30 per student. CPA, according to the statistics, receives $2,059,809 for 315 students or $6,539.08 per student. Somehow the writer comes up with $7,086 per student at Buist and $6,061 per student at CPA. I assume there are other funds that are taken into consideration when calculating the per student funds. Does anyone know what the additional funds are? Or is the math simply wrong? Or is there some type of Typo?

Obviously, this article was once again, slanted negatively against Buist.
Is there any way we could get an editorial size letter published in the P & C stating accurate facts? Again, I am not fully up on the statistics, but would be happy to assist drafting the letter.

Jeff Thomas

The Failure of No Child Left Behind...

The failure of No Child left Behind....
The failure of NCLB is a crime in itself. Many people thought that it was the answer to all of the problems of the educational system and lower social economic class, such as the poor African American community. It is not the solution to the problem and now we are forced to ask ourselves why.The first problem is obvious. There are no consequences for those who violate the law of NCLB. There is no punishment. What is the federal government going to do...take away federal funding? Yes, they should.

Some of you may or may not know that each school that is rated a charter or a magnet school receives federal grants more than a regular school. There is a condition these school are supposed to make special exceptions for those social economic groups that are at a disadvantage. A magnet school like Buist with a waiting list is supposed to put the disadvantaged child's name in the lottery twice for each time they put in the name of a child with little or no disadvantage.The main goal of NCLB was to integrate the kids who were disadvantaged with advantaged kids so they had the opportunity to go to a better school and have a chance at achieving a higher education.There are open spots in the middle school classes of Buist Academy. These are spots that the principal herself says she has a hard time filling. Today, I learned of a child that was denied a NCLB transfer to Buist as well as a regular middle school in Mount Pleasant... a child that would be in one of these hard to fill spots. This is a child who is being denied her right under NCLB to transfer to another school. The district states the parent did not complete her request within the alotted 2 week deadline.

Last year, these parents had until mid July to complete these NCLB transfer requests. This parent is African American and of a lower social economic class. You can draw your own conclusions, but I am going to tell you mine. The letters that the Charleston County School district sends out are hard for me to understand, nonetheless, a parent who has only a mid high school education. There is no question this parent is African American.

I think The district is not allowing this child to move to a school that was a NCLB transfer option in Mount Pleasant because she is African American. I know other parents who have transfered their children in the June and July months to other schools without a problem....wait they were white. I wish someone could prove me wrong...but I know you won't be able to. The cards in Charleston County School district are stacked against the poor African American.

Next lets talk about the numbers game.

To learn more about nclb visit http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml