It's Saturday morning...I'm trying to digest what I've heard on the news and through the grapevine and looking forward to reading the Post and Courier article on the Buist lawsuit.
Understanding Judge Scarborough had a child who attended Buist Academy, I admit I wasn't surprised by his ruling and I agreed with most of the article. We know Buist Academy was created to show the Justice Department we could, once again, integrate a District 20 school. We know John Graham Altman, among other CCSD board members, told District 20 board members that CCSD would pull the funding for Buist if District 20 didn't agree on it being a county-wide school. We even remember how Alice Paylor, CCSD's current attorney, met behind closed doors to agree to a "list" with the District 20 board. Then, Robert New and some other community members filed a lawsuit because that meeting was held in executive session and violated FOIA. We also know Robert Rosen, CCSD's attorney, represented the District 20 board in that lawsuit. Good for them, considering his associate helped them violate it.
We know the District 20 community was outraged - has BEEN outraged since 1985 on Buist being a county-wide magnet school.
So with all of that being said, did Dr. McGinley really say Buist's "rigorous academic environment can and should be replicated within the next 18 months"??
Well, dog-gone, gee whiz, Dr. McGinley, what have we been waiting 25 years for? You're the savior we've been looking for!! Now my great grandchildren have a chance at a decent education!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
BUIST lawsuit decision
As news channel two just reported, there is a decision that has come down concerning the District 20 law suit against the CCSD concerning Buist Academy. It does not surprise this downtown individual that it was a negative response to District 20 constituents. It is my feeling that the ruling is full of inaccurate information including calling Buist an abandoned building at the time of it's creation. Well my definition of abandoned is not let's rezone all the kids who attended Buist to Fraser and call it abandoned. That may be, in my opinion, the CCSD's definition. What does this mean? What are we to do? Keep fighting. After all it is important to our communities that we improve our schools for our future. It is also apparent that 75 Calhoun is not hearing our voices.
As soon as I get the response I will post it so keep in touch!
As soon as I get the response I will post it so keep in touch!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Should it be North Charleston's shame as well?
Well, at least we should give credit to North Charleston's city council for stepping up to the plate and demanding answers to their school situation.
Unfortunately, I wonder if they walked away satisfied with CCSD's responses and I hope they were perplexed by Bill Lewis' solutions. As stated in the Post and Courier, CCSD "is spending $211 million to build or upgrade new schools in North Charleston, school district Capital Improvements Director Bill Lewis said. Among those are a new Stall High, an expanded North Charleston High and a new Academic Magnet High and School of the Arts."
Now how many North Charleston students actually ATTEND 2 of the above referenced schools?
And new buildings don't make a good school, Mr. Lewis. The School of the Arts has proven that.
Why can't we fix what's going on INSIDE these schools before we begin spending millions of dollars on new buildings? Our priorities are messed up and as taxpayers we should be outraged. I'm afraid CCSD doesn't know HOW to fix the inside.
Unfortunately, I wonder if they walked away satisfied with CCSD's responses and I hope they were perplexed by Bill Lewis' solutions. As stated in the Post and Courier, CCSD "is spending $211 million to build or upgrade new schools in North Charleston, school district Capital Improvements Director Bill Lewis said. Among those are a new Stall High, an expanded North Charleston High and a new Academic Magnet High and School of the Arts."
Now how many North Charleston students actually ATTEND 2 of the above referenced schools?
And new buildings don't make a good school, Mr. Lewis. The School of the Arts has proven that.
Why can't we fix what's going on INSIDE these schools before we begin spending millions of dollars on new buildings? Our priorities are messed up and as taxpayers we should be outraged. I'm afraid CCSD doesn't know HOW to fix the inside.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Can we stay in the fight?
Does anyone have the Rosa Parks' fight in them? On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was asked to give her seat to a white person, yet refused. Did you know she was sitting in the "colored section" of the bus? She wasn't even sitting at the front of the bus. She was in the back! She just happened to be sitting when a white person had no seat. Her family was harassed and threatened on a daily basis. She and her husband lost their jobs. They made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, we feel if we hold up a sign of protest for equal education, we've crossed the line. Our children are being bused to Mitchell Elementary on Wednesdays for SAIL, while Buist kids get SAIL right in their school every day of the week. Our children are being bused to James Island to schools that don't even meet AYP requirements, yet we graciously accept the tranfers. Our children are riding on the back of the bus when it comes to education, yet what are we doing to change that? It's 2008, yet do we have the fight in us anymore?
Marvin Stewart of the District 20 school board says it's not a race issue. I applaud his unwillingness to use the race card; eventhough, I have a tendency to disagree with that idea. He says we're fighting for quality education for every child on the peninsula. The only problem is, most of the white people are seeking alternatives in gaining their quality education. When are we going to say "enough is enough?" And do we really know what it means to fight for what's right?
Marvin Stewart of the District 20 school board says it's not a race issue. I applaud his unwillingness to use the race card; eventhough, I have a tendency to disagree with that idea. He says we're fighting for quality education for every child on the peninsula. The only problem is, most of the white people are seeking alternatives in gaining their quality education. When are we going to say "enough is enough?" And do we really know what it means to fight for what's right?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A new AP at Burke
Well, we're getting rid of the Academics Plus (aka A Plus) program at Burke Middle. From what I witnessed, most of "the plan" was never truly implemented to begin with. What's the plan now? We still have 7th graders doing 4th grade math and 8th graders reading on a 1st grade reading level, so...there's a plan, right?
Yet the only plan in the works from what I read in the Post and Courier is to expand the Advanced Placement (aka AP Academy) program at Burke high. Should we be pleased Mr. Benton seems to recognize he'll have to recruit outside of District 20 for students to fill these classes? And what ARE we doing about thoses students who are struggling to read and write?
It's a numbers games. The administrators know they need the more challening curriculum to attract the accelerated student. And we need those accelerated students back at Burke to make those administrators look better. Yeah, I get it. We need to offer more challenging curriculum in the hopes of improving that damn data, but PLEASE quit pretending we don't have a bigger problem that desperately needs to be addressed.
Yet the only plan in the works from what I read in the Post and Courier is to expand the Advanced Placement (aka AP Academy) program at Burke high. Should we be pleased Mr. Benton seems to recognize he'll have to recruit outside of District 20 for students to fill these classes? And what ARE we doing about thoses students who are struggling to read and write?
It's a numbers games. The administrators know they need the more challening curriculum to attract the accelerated student. And we need those accelerated students back at Burke to make those administrators look better. Yeah, I get it. We need to offer more challenging curriculum in the hopes of improving that damn data, but PLEASE quit pretending we don't have a bigger problem that desperately needs to be addressed.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
District 20 board versus CCSD board
Well, it's coming down to the final round...or is it? On February 15th at 9:30 am, Judge Scarborough will hear both the complaint filed by members of the District 20 community as well as an appeal filed by those same members when the CCSD board ruled the District 20 board has no jurisdiction over THEIR county-wide magnet school Buist. (Yeah, I know if you believe in following state law, there is NO SUCH THING as a county-wide school UNLESS the constituent board approves each of those transfers).
Now here's the kicker. Read the brief filed by CCSD's attorney Alice Paylor back in the day when CCSD was fighting to avoid a desegregation lawsuit. Ms. Paylor says Charleston County's constituent boards determine attendance lines, not CCSD. She even uses the District 20 board's fight over determining who attends Buist as an example of this. HUH??
Yeah, I thought the same thing, so let's just keep it simple. CCSD used the constituent boards to avoid the lawsuit the US Justice Dept. brought against the District and THEN ignores the constituent boards when they attempt to excercise those responsibilities. Once I get a hard copy of that infamous public document, I'll share some of the quotes with you. Word is there's a copy floating around via e-mail. Hopefully, it'll arrive at my e-mail sooner rather than later.
Now here's the kicker. Read the brief filed by CCSD's attorney Alice Paylor back in the day when CCSD was fighting to avoid a desegregation lawsuit. Ms. Paylor says Charleston County's constituent boards determine attendance lines, not CCSD. She even uses the District 20 board's fight over determining who attends Buist as an example of this. HUH??
Yeah, I thought the same thing, so let's just keep it simple. CCSD used the constituent boards to avoid the lawsuit the US Justice Dept. brought against the District and THEN ignores the constituent boards when they attempt to excercise those responsibilities. Once I get a hard copy of that infamous public document, I'll share some of the quotes with you. Word is there's a copy floating around via e-mail. Hopefully, it'll arrive at my e-mail sooner rather than later.
World Language Department?
Buist Academy not only offers Spanish or French to all of their students beginning in kindergarten, it also has a World Language Department. What is that...you ask? Well, I'm hoping you can tell me. Evidently, Srta. Sara Lyle and Sra. Robin Polasek offer after-school tutoring for students in 4th through 8th grades for the great price of (drumroll) only $45.00 an hour if you prefer "one-on-one tutoring." For groups of 3 or more its only $25.00 an hour. (Hmmm...I wonder what it cost for 2 students?)
I don't now about the rest of you, but you're talking about a nice chunk of my grocery bill each week. What do parents who have had their children in our District 20 schools which do not offer Spanish or French do? How do they afford this? But then again, maybe that's the point.
I don't now about the rest of you, but you're talking about a nice chunk of my grocery bill each week. What do parents who have had their children in our District 20 schools which do not offer Spanish or French do? How do they afford this? But then again, maybe that's the point.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
ANOTHER VIEW FROM BEAUFORT
While on a business trip recently, I got a take on how schools in Beaufort County are handling some of the same issues we have here. What a difference 67 miles makes. Charleston County is clearly alone and still in the Dark Ages on much of this. Beaufort has issues, but it is far and away more in compliance with the law and with common sense than anything we are seeing here.
I realize this is based on just one example and reflects only a first impression but it is still very encouraging. One otherwise very ordinary elementary school (Port Royal Elementary School or PRES) is associated with a neighborhood very much like Park Circle in North Charleston. At PRES they have 350 students in a PK-5 school building that was built in 3 parts ove r the last 100 years...and they like it that way, being sort of funky, as it sets them apart as unique. Part of the school building is closer and more directly connected to the street than even Memminger, not unlike schools I've seen in small cities, towns and villages throughout Europe. It's school "yard" doubles as an open community park, almost a reminder of Harmon Field across from Burke, only immediately next to the school.
Twelve years ago PRES was a failing school near the run down state ports authority and other industrial facilities located in "downtown" Port Royal. Despite its location there was a commitment to turn it around. This was primarily a position taken when it was learned that the school district didn't really own the land under the school. If they tore the school down...the property wasn't theirs to sell. Essentially, the Beaufort School District was stuck with the school so they had to make it successful or it would continue to be a drag on the district. Making it work was their only logical option when it was down to 75 student, 5 teachers and facing closure. In the 12 years since it has had as many as 365 students at one time. Currently it is at 350 students with 35% minority, 40% FRL, and a modest number of Hispanic and Vietnamese students classified as ESL. Overall, it fairly well reflects the demographics of the Beaufort County School District.
By a vote of its SIC and PTO, they decide each year how best to spend their school's Title One funds! (Get that, they decide how to direct their financial resources...and this is a "working class" school with a fairly large minority population!) They have an after care program that runs before and after the school day which is officially from 8:00 am to 3:15 pm. The after care is both academically and recreationally focused. It opens with breakfast at 7am and closes each day at 6pm. Day care is an unbelievable bargin with a sliding scale of charges that max out at $25 per week per child (they may have to raise that by $10 next year) depending on each family's financial need. Since all parents at PRES work (even in 2 parent households) the first hour of after school care is free for all students and usually focused on completing homework or class projects.
They have Spanish offered at all grade levels starting at PK. They're trying to offer Chinese, but they haven't found a qualified teacher yet. As for their interest in Chinese, those involved with this school have found that LD students (including those identified as ADD or Dyslexic) often excell in learning foreign languages when the alphabet is different. Part of the reason for this need and their discovery of how to address it their commitment to including special needs students within their program. By school community and local parent preferences, they requested years ago to have an LD class at the school. This was in order to meet community demands even though the school's relatively small size would normally exempt them from including classes for children with "exceptional needs". If this wasn't enough, the school voluntarily has accommodated 9 children with more severe special education needs, including 2 with Autism.
They have taken this foreign language challenge even further. (Oh, how refreshing to learn that educators are allowed to use their imaginations in places that are beyond the reach of CCSD.) This school recognized that it had several students who were loosing what is sometimes called "heritage" language skills as 2nd and 3rd generation children of imigrants who are no longer speaking traditional languages at home. To reverse this trend some Hispanic parents have asked that their children be allowed to participate in an optional class that helps them translate their written assignments into Spanish so that their bi-lingual language skill will progress equally. The only trouble with this advanced foreign language approach at PRES is (at least for the moment) that when PRES kids get to middle school, the current Beaufort County Schools foreign language program forces them to start over with numbers and colors. Needless to say former PRES students are all making "A's" in their 6th grade middle school Spanish classes. Beaufort is now looking into making an intermediate level Spanish class available since so many well prepared kids (if they are not already bi-lingual) are entering some of their middle schools from schools like PRES.
Oh, and this school has had an elementary level International Bacalauret (IB) program for years. It just started single gender classes (another parent approved change) about 3 years ago starting with their 1st grade. They are now up to 3rd grade and will move the single gender classes all the way to 5th grade...if that's what the parents want. They have uniforms, too. Just khaki pants and navy shirts with the school logo.
Since the Beaufort YMCA is a block or two away, the students walk to the Y and their PE classes include basic swimming lessons...the Y is essentially this elementary school's gym for a few hours a week.
This is not an upscale part of Beaufort...as I said it's more like Park Circle since it's also very near the entrance to Parris Island Marine Station...not exactly Mt. Pleasant or South of Broad, either. As for AYP...it's 'Yes'...for the moment.
They are only rated "Average" by state standards, but they see meeting community needs as a higher calling than playing games with school report card scores. They don't cherry pick kids (as demonstrated by their inclusion of two types of special needs students...including those least likely to help raise their PACT scores.). No child from their attendance zone is ever turned away...though they did have to make arrangements for one child to be home schooled because he was too disruptive. They are 30 students over their maximum capacity, which accounts for both NCLB transfers in (they take priority over all other non-attendance zone transfers) and as many as 35 children of District employees, administrators and in-school teachers who choose to send their children to this school. Again, no child from the Port Royal attendance zone is ever denied a seat, but interestingly, they never put a child out if their family moves...they just make room.
Another interesting statistic from this "little school that could" was also mentioned. Provided they meet the attendance zone or tranfer requirements, the school continues to attract a number of students with parents looking to leave private schools and instead enter the public school system for the first time.
The natural market demand for this school is confirming and validating whatever it is that they are doing at Port Royal...and it seems to be just right. Again, they accommodate their neighborhood kids first and still manage to reflect the economic and racial mix that is the average for the entire district. If they didn't have the innovative programs they have been allowed to develop from within, the school wouldn't be able to attract or keep the students they have...and they wouldn't reflect the demographics of the Beaufort District or even their attendance zone either. In other words, every school in downtown Charleston could be this way if CCSD would just let it happen and there was a commitment from within each school to do it.
Unfortunately, because county and school politics being what they are almost everywhere (and because PRES doesn't have the protections associated with a charter school), Port Royal can only guarantee that their programs (and the people who run them) will be in place for one year at a time. The superintendent and the county school board, not the parents or the surrounding community, could decide to sweep it all away for reasons that have nothing to do with educating these particular students or serving this part of Beaufort County.
The Port Royal school appears to have great chemistry and the enthusiasm is obvious as several staff members described to me what they enjoy most about the school which is a lot. The entire staff (very diverse in age, race and backgrounds from what I saw) have been at the same school for 3-15 years. They aren't stuck in one place either because the school is still evolving and they are proud of that, too. They have no one with less than 3 years experience working at the school and the principal was part of the team that turned the school around 12 or more years ago.
They roll their eyes but agreed with me when I said that I'm more concerned with how a school works than how a school looks on paper. They honestly admitted that they expect their report card to possibly drop below an "average" rating the next year or two simply because the school progress reporting system is so geared to "one size fits all". They openly stated that they are more focused on meeting individual student needs, especially as these are always changing. They are not all that focused on school report card objectives...at least they are not obsessed with them, but it's a reality they have to operate within those guidelines until the state changes them. They also expect to miss the 10% annual improvement objectives since their school is reaching the logical limits of this game. It's clear they have made significant improvements to get to this point and will continue to be competative with other good schools, no matter how it's measured.
Instead of giving me questionable school report card statistics, they have done something that some have only been able to talk about on the District 20 Board, an idea that CCSD has simply ignored. The Port Royal staff can track what happens to their students years after their students leave the school following 5th grade. That's the true reflection of their success story. Twenty-seven of their former students graduated from Beaufort High last year and were accepted at the college of their choice. Of these, 19 received full or partial scholarships to those colleges.
They couldn't have had much more than 50 students in each grade at PRES. Even if you didn't consider that not all PRES students end up at Beaufort HS or that some former PRES students move out of the area before completing high school...PRES has a college acceptance rate that looks like CCSD's drop out rate! That's over 50% of its students.
Former Port Royal students consistantly do extremely well on an 8th grade achievement test. The teachers at the middle school that PRES feeds into say that Port Royal students are easily identifiable in their classes simply because those are their students who are the most engaged, always curious and ask the most questions starting on day one. One last thing...PRES is a year round school that students, teachers and parents all swear is the best system for their school community.
Why can't we do this here? Port Royal isn't in Bordeaux or some exotic or foreign place like that. For christ sake, it's just Beaufort.
While on a business trip recently, I got a take on how schools in Beaufort County are handling some of the same issues we have here. What a difference 67 miles makes. Charleston County is clearly alone and still in the Dark Ages on much of this. Beaufort has issues, but it is far and away more in compliance with the law and with common sense than anything we are seeing here.
I realize this is based on just one example and reflects only a first impression but it is still very encouraging. One otherwise very ordinary elementary school (Port Royal Elementary School or PRES) is associated with a neighborhood very much like Park Circle in North Charleston. At PRES they have 350 students in a PK-5 school building that was built in 3 parts ove r the last 100 years...and they like it that way, being sort of funky, as it sets them apart as unique. Part of the school building is closer and more directly connected to the street than even Memminger, not unlike schools I've seen in small cities, towns and villages throughout Europe. It's school "yard" doubles as an open community park, almost a reminder of Harmon Field across from Burke, only immediately next to the school.
Twelve years ago PRES was a failing school near the run down state ports authority and other industrial facilities located in "downtown" Port Royal. Despite its location there was a commitment to turn it around. This was primarily a position taken when it was learned that the school district didn't really own the land under the school. If they tore the school down...the property wasn't theirs to sell. Essentially, the Beaufort School District was stuck with the school so they had to make it successful or it would continue to be a drag on the district. Making it work was their only logical option when it was down to 75 student, 5 teachers and facing closure. In the 12 years since it has had as many as 365 students at one time. Currently it is at 350 students with 35% minority, 40% FRL, and a modest number of Hispanic and Vietnamese students classified as ESL. Overall, it fairly well reflects the demographics of the Beaufort County School District.
By a vote of its SIC and PTO, they decide each year how best to spend their school's Title One funds! (Get that, they decide how to direct their financial resources...and this is a "working class" school with a fairly large minority population!) They have an after care program that runs before and after the school day which is officially from 8:00 am to 3:15 pm. The after care is both academically and recreationally focused. It opens with breakfast at 7am and closes each day at 6pm. Day care is an unbelievable bargin with a sliding scale of charges that max out at $25 per week per child (they may have to raise that by $10 next year) depending on each family's financial need. Since all parents at PRES work (even in 2 parent households) the first hour of after school care is free for all students and usually focused on completing homework or class projects.
They have Spanish offered at all grade levels starting at PK. They're trying to offer Chinese, but they haven't found a qualified teacher yet. As for their interest in Chinese, those involved with this school have found that LD students (including those identified as ADD or Dyslexic) often excell in learning foreign languages when the alphabet is different. Part of the reason for this need and their discovery of how to address it their commitment to including special needs students within their program. By school community and local parent preferences, they requested years ago to have an LD class at the school. This was in order to meet community demands even though the school's relatively small size would normally exempt them from including classes for children with "exceptional needs". If this wasn't enough, the school voluntarily has accommodated 9 children with more severe special education needs, including 2 with Autism.
They have taken this foreign language challenge even further. (Oh, how refreshing to learn that educators are allowed to use their imaginations in places that are beyond the reach of CCSD.) This school recognized that it had several students who were loosing what is sometimes called "heritage" language skills as 2nd and 3rd generation children of imigrants who are no longer speaking traditional languages at home. To reverse this trend some Hispanic parents have asked that their children be allowed to participate in an optional class that helps them translate their written assignments into Spanish so that their bi-lingual language skill will progress equally. The only trouble with this advanced foreign language approach at PRES is (at least for the moment) that when PRES kids get to middle school, the current Beaufort County Schools foreign language program forces them to start over with numbers and colors. Needless to say former PRES students are all making "A's" in their 6th grade middle school Spanish classes. Beaufort is now looking into making an intermediate level Spanish class available since so many well prepared kids (if they are not already bi-lingual) are entering some of their middle schools from schools like PRES.
Oh, and this school has had an elementary level International Bacalauret (IB) program for years. It just started single gender classes (another parent approved change) about 3 years ago starting with their 1st grade. They are now up to 3rd grade and will move the single gender classes all the way to 5th grade...if that's what the parents want. They have uniforms, too. Just khaki pants and navy shirts with the school logo.
Since the Beaufort YMCA is a block or two away, the students walk to the Y and their PE classes include basic swimming lessons...the Y is essentially this elementary school's gym for a few hours a week.
This is not an upscale part of Beaufort...as I said it's more like Park Circle since it's also very near the entrance to Parris Island Marine Station...not exactly Mt. Pleasant or South of Broad, either. As for AYP...it's 'Yes'...for the moment.
They are only rated "Average" by state standards, but they see meeting community needs as a higher calling than playing games with school report card scores. They don't cherry pick kids (as demonstrated by their inclusion of two types of special needs students...including those least likely to help raise their PACT scores.). No child from their attendance zone is ever turned away...though they did have to make arrangements for one child to be home schooled because he was too disruptive. They are 30 students over their maximum capacity, which accounts for both NCLB transfers in (they take priority over all other non-attendance zone transfers) and as many as 35 children of District employees, administrators and in-school teachers who choose to send their children to this school. Again, no child from the Port Royal attendance zone is ever denied a seat, but interestingly, they never put a child out if their family moves...they just make room.
Another interesting statistic from this "little school that could" was also mentioned. Provided they meet the attendance zone or tranfer requirements, the school continues to attract a number of students with parents looking to leave private schools and instead enter the public school system for the first time.
The natural market demand for this school is confirming and validating whatever it is that they are doing at Port Royal...and it seems to be just right. Again, they accommodate their neighborhood kids first and still manage to reflect the economic and racial mix that is the average for the entire district. If they didn't have the innovative programs they have been allowed to develop from within, the school wouldn't be able to attract or keep the students they have...and they wouldn't reflect the demographics of the Beaufort District or even their attendance zone either. In other words, every school in downtown Charleston could be this way if CCSD would just let it happen and there was a commitment from within each school to do it.
Unfortunately, because county and school politics being what they are almost everywhere (and because PRES doesn't have the protections associated with a charter school), Port Royal can only guarantee that their programs (and the people who run them) will be in place for one year at a time. The superintendent and the county school board, not the parents or the surrounding community, could decide to sweep it all away for reasons that have nothing to do with educating these particular students or serving this part of Beaufort County.
The Port Royal school appears to have great chemistry and the enthusiasm is obvious as several staff members described to me what they enjoy most about the school which is a lot. The entire staff (very diverse in age, race and backgrounds from what I saw) have been at the same school for 3-15 years. They aren't stuck in one place either because the school is still evolving and they are proud of that, too. They have no one with less than 3 years experience working at the school and the principal was part of the team that turned the school around 12 or more years ago.
They roll their eyes but agreed with me when I said that I'm more concerned with how a school works than how a school looks on paper. They honestly admitted that they expect their report card to possibly drop below an "average" rating the next year or two simply because the school progress reporting system is so geared to "one size fits all". They openly stated that they are more focused on meeting individual student needs, especially as these are always changing. They are not all that focused on school report card objectives...at least they are not obsessed with them, but it's a reality they have to operate within those guidelines until the state changes them. They also expect to miss the 10% annual improvement objectives since their school is reaching the logical limits of this game. It's clear they have made significant improvements to get to this point and will continue to be competative with other good schools, no matter how it's measured.
Instead of giving me questionable school report card statistics, they have done something that some have only been able to talk about on the District 20 Board, an idea that CCSD has simply ignored. The Port Royal staff can track what happens to their students years after their students leave the school following 5th grade. That's the true reflection of their success story. Twenty-seven of their former students graduated from Beaufort High last year and were accepted at the college of their choice. Of these, 19 received full or partial scholarships to those colleges.
They couldn't have had much more than 50 students in each grade at PRES. Even if you didn't consider that not all PRES students end up at Beaufort HS or that some former PRES students move out of the area before completing high school...PRES has a college acceptance rate that looks like CCSD's drop out rate! That's over 50% of its students.
Former Port Royal students consistantly do extremely well on an 8th grade achievement test. The teachers at the middle school that PRES feeds into say that Port Royal students are easily identifiable in their classes simply because those are their students who are the most engaged, always curious and ask the most questions starting on day one. One last thing...PRES is a year round school that students, teachers and parents all swear is the best system for their school community.
Why can't we do this here? Port Royal isn't in Bordeaux or some exotic or foreign place like that. For christ sake, it's just Beaufort.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
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?
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?
Friday, December 14, 2007
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?
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?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
"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!
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!
Friday, December 7, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
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?
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?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, November 2, 2007
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?
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?
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, October 15, 2007
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
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
Sunday, October 7, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
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.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
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...
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...
Sunday, September 2, 2007
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.
Monday, August 6, 2007
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...
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...
Sunday, July 22, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
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?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
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.
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