Gotta Love Elizabeth Kandrac!

Hallelujah! Elizabeth Kandrac is "taking on the district." Well, it's about time someone does. We finally have an educator on the school board who believes in checks and balances (unlike that other former Principal "what's her name" who enjoys going along to get along).

I had to laugh at Mr. Douglas' comments regarding Ms. Kandrac. Here's the recap: "I just think that she ought to resign and let someone who truly ....cares about the children - and the education in North Charleston - represent North Charleston." Was he implying he actually cared about the children and their education while HE was on the board? Well, that's a new one. What did he do for North Charleston all the billions of years he sat on the board? I guess we could say he contributed to more segregation and unequal education with the School of the Arts and Academic Magnet. We could also say he did a great job shaking the hands of high school graduates unable to read by "rubber stamping" all of those great policies he approved.

Speaking of policies, I had to laugh again when Mr. Gregg Meyers was quoted as saying the school "board's role isn't to monitor what's happening in classrooms...but to focus on guiding the district with policies and budget." You mean, like that literacy policy the board is working on? How ARE those policies coming, Mr. Meyers? Don't even get me started on that ridiculous Buist policy you came up with. Don't you get it?? You HAVE to know what is going on in the classroom to create policies. And clearly if we have illiterates in high school something is NOT happening IN THE CLASSROOM. I think what Mr. Meyers was really trying to say is he doesn't visit too many schools and he definitely doesn't take the time to observe teachers teaching. The man has to prioritize, right? How can we as taxpayers expect him to be a lawyer, visit schools, AND...fix that hair? C'mon. There's only so much time in the poor man's day. Have you seen that hair?

Personally, if I was Ms. Kandrac, I'd go live happily ever after with my new spouse and forget all about this crazy place. But she cares too much. That's her only problem. That and the fact that she actually takes her role on our school board seriously. Yeah, she's actually doing the job we elected her to do. Thanks, Ms. Kandrac. I wish you well, no matter what direction you choose.

Do we really need a policy for that?

The following came from an article in the Post and Courier on Tuesday: "Charleston County School Board members took another step Monday toward making literacy the district's top priority and creating a policy to back that up."

Another step (as if they need more than one) and "toward making" as if it still isn't their top priority but they're thinking about it. I wonder how long this will take. CCSD wants to blame the parents. But wait a minute. CCSD didn't teach the parents how to read either! Yeah, that magic reading formula is taking us a few decades to create.

It's a sad day in public education when elected officials need a committee to create a literacy policy as a way to ensure our children are being taught to read in our schools. Since when did teaching a child to read become so complex? And what was the district's top priority before literacy? Putting a SMART board in every classroom?

It's hard not to believe the "keep 'em down" mentality is still alive and well here in Charleston County. Are we in the 19th century or the 21st century?

Burke Can't Even Keep its Athletes

I'm impressed with Burke's quarterback Del'Javon Simmons who has decided to choose quality education over a senior year of athletic glory at Burke High School. I also think it speaks volumes that he chose not to relay his choice to Coach Earl Brown. Athletic Director and Coach Brown doesn't get and hasn't gotten it for a long time. Isn't it time for him to retire? Brown is quoted in the paper as stating, "If he's going down there to dedicate himself to making good grades, he could have done the same thing here." See, I didn't get that from the article, Coach Brown. I understood that the Burke student wanted "to prepare for the college tests" and clearly felt attending the prep school in Florida would afford him that opportunity more so than remaining at Burke. Simmons was just trying to be nice.
It's bad enough we can't keep our quality academic students at Burke. Now we can't even keep our star athletes. When is this community going to rise up and admit we have some serious problems at Burke?
Good luck, Del'Javon. You've already proven yourself wise beyond your years by making this choice.

Office for Civil Rights Comes to Town

Evidently attorneys from the Office for Civil Rights want to hear from parents and community members affected by the recent school closings. They will be meeting Wednesday, July 29 from 6pm-8pm at the St. Julian Divine Center on Cooper Street.

Fraser parents filed a complaint against the school district for racial discrimination when the district decided to close numerous schools in order to address their budget crisis. The only schools chosen to close were predominately African-American Title I schools. Fraser parents want to know why the burden of the budget crisis fell on only this group of students. The schools these students are scheduled to transfer to are also predominately African-American Title I schools.
According to their complaint, "The impact is falling disproportionately on black children in Charleston County creating a disparate impact."

I feel for the Fraser parents. Many of them simply wanted to wait until the Fall of 2010 to move when the new Sanders-Clyde building will officially be ready (We all know the new school is not going to be ready in December 2009 as promised).

It makes you wonder. What will the Office for Civil Rights do? Can they do anything? The schools are closed. The children have been forced to prepare themselves for attending different schools in a few weeks. Can the Fraser parents prevent this from happening to other schools? Will community members from other constituent districts finally rally together against CCSD? I guess only time will tell.

If you had any doubts...

You now should have no doubts as to where the Superintendent of Charleston County Schools priorities lie. For Dr. Mac, it's all about appearances. So much so, that Elliot Smalley, Director of Communications got a $10,000 raise. Budget crisis? The perfect storm? Think again...the storm affects the CLASSROOM...you know...teachers and students. But no way no how is Dr. Mac going to lose the posse paid to make her look good.
I enjoyed the Post and Courier's editorial on this so much, I think I may renew my subscription. Here's the link for those of you who may have missed it:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jul/22/joining_six_figure_club89927/

Ray Toler, Elizabeth Kandrac, and Cousin Arthur voted against the raise. We should be asking the rest of our school board how they rubber stamp such nonsense.

The lawsuit goes to Columbia

Nothing will change in Charleston County unless parents sue. True District 20 parents on Buist waiting lists should sue CCSD and the parents using false District 20 addresses. The lawsuit the District 20 school board and a District 20 parent filed against CCSD over Buist Academy will make it to the Court of Appeals on Wednesday, May 27.

I hope they get a less bias ruling than they received in Charleston County from Judge Scarborough, a former Buist parent.

For a quick recap, the District 20 board ruled District 20 students should receive priority to the only excellent rated school on the peninsula a few years ago, meaning District 20 students get in first before anyone else in the county. CCSD and the County Board ignored them. Yet, CCSD embraced the constituent boards when the US Justice Department filed a desegregation lawsuit against Charleston County over twenty years ago. CCSD was able to avoid desegregation citing state law which clearly says constituent boards determine which kids go to the schools in their districts. Funny how constituent boards exist only when CCSD deems it necessary.

In CCSD land, Buist is a "county-wide magnet school" for the "gifted and talented." I'll leave the G&T part alone because anyone with half a brain knows CCSD isn't really testing four and five year olds for being gifted. Kids are tested in the 2nd grade and gifted and talented programs start in the 3rd grade for a reason. There also is no such thing as a county-wide magnet school unless the constituent boards approve it. While the District 20 board of the 1980s may have agreed to be manipulated by CCSD, the board of the 21st century said "no way no how."

Let's just hope the Court of Appeals reads what Mr. Kobrovsky sent them.

Dot Scott says it all...

According to today's paper, last night Dot Scott, President of Charleston's NAACP, "made it clear from the meeting's outset this was not a time for those who 'don't support public schools,' or those in favor of tax credits, to have their say." She calls that a town hall meeting? That's not a town hall meeting. That's an anti-Ford rally. No wonder Ford let his seat remain vacant.
And this is coming from Scott who supposedly put her child(ren) in private school. Has she read the Post and Courier lately?

The Cat's Out of the Bag

Finally. The public knows the truth. CCSD socially promotes kids through our schools who are unable to read. CCSD CAN'T teach our kids how to read. I know. It's the lack of parental involvement. But guess what? CCSD didn't teach them how to read either.
Now what are we going to do about it? According to our Superintendent Dr. McGinley, CCSD has already taken care of these concerns with MAP testing and "coherent curriculum." Unfortunately, she must have missed the article where a CCSD teacher admitted many teachers can't even interpret the MAP scores. Who's in charge of MAP testing? Dr. Rose, the Director of Assessment and Accountability, was the rocket scientist behind implementing a test to help teachers determine what students needed help on in preparation for the PACT testing. Is your head spinning like mine is? Why hasn't Dr. Rose trained the teachers to interpret the scores? Why didn't CCSD just put that money towards REDUCING CLASS SIZE?
And the article in today's paper on the incredible strides the principal at Alice Birney is taking to teach middle school students to read proves coherent curriculum clearly does not exist in Charleston County. In other words, Dr. McGinley's little piece in yesterday's paper just doesn't make sense.
And wasn't McGinley the Chief Academic Officer when we socially promoted all special education students at Burke Middle? The Post and Courier stated our former superintendent "instituted the A-Plus program" at Burke middle, yet wasn't our CURRENT Superintendent the true master behind that joke of a plan? The joke of a plan that couldn't even properly ensure students received services required by federal law?
I wonder how Darby's rally is going at Morris Brown tonight. Yeah, public schools just need more money, Darby. It takes BIG BUCKS to teach kids how to read.

Senator Ford speaks the truth

Here's our own Senator Robert Ford in The State paper on Sunday stating vouchers are the way to go. "...Ford is making the case that the students who would benefit most from a voucher-style program in South Carolina are African-Americans who attend poorly performing schools."

"He dismisses those who say his program would hurt already struggling public schools, framing the argument as a choice between protecting schools or giving children the lifeline they need to succeed."

“You’re damn right I’m hurting public education, because public education is hurting our kids,” Ford said."

I couldn't agree with that quote more.

Fraser parents aren't going away quietly, despite our downtown representative on the school board insisting that CCSD will now begin to better education our inner-city youth. In Monday's paper it states Ms. Toya Green believes "the only way to offer a better education to students is to try something different."

My hat is off to Fraser parents, especially Latonya Gamble. According to today's Post and Courier, Fraser parents are seeking an opinion from the Office for Civil Rights as to whether their children are being racially discriminated against with regards to school closings. "Fewer than 75 white students attend the five schools that will be closed."

While CCSD claims they set up criteria and the targeted schools (excluding Charlestowne Academy) fit it, it makes you wonder. In a budget crisis, everyone should be making sacrifices. Yet who else is?

Ms. Gamble "questioned how the district planned to improve education for students by sending them to other failing schools." Sounds like a damn good question to me.

Who does magnet school transportation really benefit?

I've heard School board veteran Gregg Meyers was a civil rights attorney, back in the day. I guess he had a change of ways. While, Mr. Meyers has no problem stuffing Fraser children into the Archer building in August, he can't stomach the idea of saving nearly $3 million by eliminating transportation to Charleston County magnet schools.
I also heard Mr. Meyers used to have a bus stop in front of his house on Sullivan's Island when his child went to Buist Academy. Surely, this bus stop was not necessary. I guess he feels his Mt. Pleasant constituents deserve the same luxuries he awarded himself. Too bad he doesn't think the Fraser children deserve to wait until August 2010 until they have to move from their neighborhood school.

There should be no bus transporting a child from his excellent rated neighborhood school to Buist Academy, plain and simple. A Mt. Pleasant parent wrote a letter to the editor the other day pleading for magnet school transportation to continue (especially to Buist Academy) for the children from McClellanville. That seems like a pretty reasonable request if that child would not be granted a similar education at his neighborhood school. Yet according to my sources, that kid doesn't exist. Who are the children from McClellanville to whom he makes reference? There are a couple of kids from Awendaw. And there are half a dozen kids from Adams Run, Ravenel, and Hollywood who attend Buist Academy. Maybe he got his McClellanville kid confused with those kids. Or maybe he's just another Mt. Pleasant parent who likes that bus transportation for his own kid who, according to MapQuest, barely lives five miles from the school.

In this budget crisis, if magnet school transportation is provided at all it should be set up the same way transportation is mandated under No Child Left Behind federal legislation, plain and simple. Otherwise, Mr. Meyers, we're going to continue to question your motives.

CCSD is at it again. Will the District 20 board fight them...again?

While our community may continue to question the motives of a college student pursuing a seat on our constituent board, one thing is for sure. By his recent posting on this blog, it sounds like he has a mind of his own. Although I'm tired of the College of Charleston's pseudo partnerships with our schools, maybe Mr. Shalosky represents a different perspective. I say, "Welcome, Mr. Shalosky." You may be just the breath of fresh air our community needs, especially if you can think for yourself and quickly educate yourself on the history of our constituent district. Our District 20 board has been played by the big board as "never being happy" for years, simply because the District 20 board has refused to rubber stamp what the CCSD "experts" want.

I don't know all the facts, but evidently CCSD now wants a rush job on changing attendance lines in the districts where schools are scheduled to close next year. And guess what? CCSD officials have to do what they hate to do, turn to the constituent boards for approval. From what I understand, District 4 did what they do so well...they avoided their duties as elected officials. Yet according to Mr. Shalosky, it sounds like we can count on the District 20 board to do what we elected them to do.

Changing attendance lines should be taken slowly and seriously. This process should be put on hold until the community is properly informed and their voices are heard. What's the rush anyway? CCSD is rushing the closure of Fraser the same way they rushed our Courtney children to Rivers and then our Rivers' children to Rhett. And look at the mess Burke middle is still in. When does it end?

The District 20 board should create attendance lines for Buist Academy. They should also fight for Fraser children to remain at Fraser. To ask those children to move to Archer in August and then move to the new Sanders-Clyde in January is shameful. I assure you it would never be expected nor would it be tolerated in Mt. Pleasant. So why do we tolerate it downtown?

I urge District 20 residents to call your board members and let them know "we're still not happy." Our District 20 board needs your support.

In the meantime, I'll look forward to any information anyone has on where this process stands. And isn't it time to march?

Public tax dollars for a private school? Now I've heard it all

Mayor Riley is a complex man with a clear agenda. Over the past thirty years we have watched our public schools sink into a dismal state with our mayor's hands right in the mess of it. By the city council's approval of "spending $4.75 million to buy land that essentially would be given to a new private school" known as Meeting Street Academy, one thing is very clear. Mayor Riley wants successful PRIVATE schools on the peninsula. To heck with any chance of successful PUBLIC schools. Segregation will continue as planned. Thank God for councilman Tim Mallard. I don't know the man, but at least he attempts to provide some form of democracy in this monarchy we live in by refusing to be a "yes-man" for the king.
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see Meeting Street Academy succeed. It would be great for them to prove what we've known for several decades. CCSD doesn't know how to educate our kids anymore.
Yet to use public tax dollars to purchase land for a private school serving as few as 200 students as the mayor puts claims on Fraser's building for a Police Academy AND Burke High School can't even claim Stoney Field as their own is just plain sick.

Is it Charleston, SC or Rileyville, SC?

I had to laugh at the editorial in the Post and Courier Saturday morning. In my opinion, laughing is the healthiest way of dealing with the politics of this town. The editorial refers to Dr. McGinley's proposal of selling the Taj Mahal (a/k/a 75 Calhoun Street) in an effort to get us out of the financial mess we're in. I don't believe it and I give her a "C minus" on this one. If she was really sincere, that would have been her first proposed option. The editorial states "Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. (gotta love the full name in there) wants CCSD to remain on Calhoun Street..." And we all know what the mayor wants the mayor gets, right?
I don't know if any one else got it, but I got the sneaky suspicion the author of that editorial was sticking it to the mayor when they then stated "Maybe moving the district headquarters from its traditional location in the county seat won't turn out to be an option, particularly given the city of Charleston's strong desire to keep the headquarters downtown." The CITY of Charleston? I thought it was just the MAYOR of Charleston who had openly expressed opposition to the idea.
Yet, as long as we remain silent, they are one in the same. I just wish the residents and councilmen of the CITY of Charleston would quit letting the Mayor speak on our behalf.

Outreach? I think not.

I couldn't help but notice the irony of The Chronicle's front page last week. The top three featured articles are authored by Barney Blakeney, Arthur Lawrence, and Brenda Nelson. We are all very familiar with Mr. Blakeney and Mr. Lawrence. Yet who is Dr. Nelson, or should I say REVEREND Nelson? She says, she has "had the opportunity to really listen to the heartfelt concerns of many..." Well, duh, woman. We can't dispute that. Don't you get paid close to $100,000 a year to show up to CCSD's dog and pony shows? I'm sure you are listening, but are you really HEARING us? I doubt it. In your article, you actually insult our intelligence when you feel it necessary to 1) identify yourself as a "Minister" and 2) quote a passage from the Bible. Your audacity to quote Hosea 4:6 really turns my stomach. As you quote, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou has rejected knowledge."
HUH?
I'm a true believer in separation of church and state, but I decided to thumb through the Old Testament and read a little. The passage Ms. Nelson quotes from continues "Because you have ignored the law of God, I also will ignore your children." Now THAT makes sense to me. We could place quite a few political cronies in place of God in that sentence and it makes even more sense to me.

Cut to the chase. Ms. Nelson is part of the problem. Her "testimony" in The Chronicle makes it clear she does NOT understand. She is black, yet she is out of touch with the black community. She knows CCSD is not teaching our children the basic skills necessary to function in society, yet she says nothing, reaping the rewards of her paycheck and kissing a little "you know what" to make sure it keeps coming.

I believe it was Ms. Memminger, a Fraser parent, who inquired about Brenda Nelson at the Burke Community meeting. She asked: Who IS she? And WHAT does she do? Close out her salary and others like her before you close our schools. Clearly if an active parent like Ms. Memminger doesn't know who CCSD's Community Outreach Coordinator is or what she does there hasn't been a heck of a lot of reaching going on.
Mr. Lawrence's article suggested merging our two downtown magnet schools to create true integration. I heard he got a phone call from Ms. Nelson reaching out to him the next day on what a bad idea that would be. Mr. Blakeney's article quotes Rev. Lewis and retired educator David Mack Jr. and the obvious fact all of the schools proposed to be closed are predominately African-American and the lack of quality funding and education taking place in these same schools year after year.
Which brings me back to Ms. Nelson. These communities were blind-sided by CCSD. That's not reaching out. That's p--sing people off. Many of the schools, such as our own Charleston Progressive won't exist under any of CCSD's options. Can you imagine if CCSD did that to a predominately white school? One day a school is advertising for 2009-2010 applicants, the next day they have no building.

I believe our community really wants integration. Yet CCSD is going about it the WRONG way. Communicate with the parents at CPA, Buist, and Community Montessori PRIOR to your proposal. Give them a chance to propose options. Instead, CCSD has pitted school against school, which unfortunately is creating more racial tension. How can you close a predominately black school with no prior warning and give its building to a predominately white school without creating racial tension? I pray at tonight's school board meeting the parents of these schools will unite and realize who the real devil is in this sick process.