This week the 9-R Board is holding 3 public forums at Miller Middle School from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Read the Durango Herald's Jan. 16 story for the names and backgrounds of the candidates. (See Herald )
The choice from this short list of three candidates has been described as "the most important decision this board will ever make."
If you go:
The board will appreciate your thoughtful questions about each candidate's ability to address the concerns our own community has raised in the past few years - particularly how they would go about restoring and mending community relationships - see the report prepared by the search firm based on responses they attribute to 225 individuals. We all know and hear about our strengths - great setting and wonderful community - but it is important that we consider the list of concerns that have been raised.
Read the report online or if you're pressed for time, some of the concerns consistently expressed are listed below. We encourage your participation, even if you just attend just to listen! One of these three individuals will take the reins of what many believe to be our most important local institution.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES OR ISSUES FACING THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT?
CONSISTENTLY REPORTED
Need programs that serve the needs of all students in the community including those who do not plan to attend college
Support for students at risk
Teacher salaries are too low considering the cost of living and as compared to the state average
Lack of trust - within the district and from parents and the community toward the district
Teachers and administrators are overwhelmed with the number of programs and reporting activities that are required
Demographic shift within the community - Diverse opinions among different factions of the community about the needs of students and direction of the district has led to polarizationLack of a long-range plan
Professional Learning Communities need continued support and evaluation
Too many programs – need to focus
Need for high school reform
Poor communications
Top-down decision-making
Too many federal and state mandates
Perception that a small group of people has undue influence with the Board of Education
Superintendent needs to spend more time in the schools
Drug and alcohol use and sexual activity of teens
Need to make full use of community resources and programs
Low morale of employees
Inconsistent management of each school – too much site based decision making
CURRENT, FUTURE AND FORMER BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS
New Board of Education will need to review Robert’s Rules of Order and similar protocols
The transition from middle school to high school
Teacher evaluation system needs to be revised
Review the resources allocated to the elementary, middle and high school levels
Are we providing enough challenge for students
Guidance counselors need to provide more direct assistance to students
The grading system
The Board of Education is mired in too many issues
Making students leaders for the future
Need to expand experiential learning opportunities for studentsCOMMMUNITY and BUSINESS LEADERS
Parents and community members need a vehicle to communicate concerns and discuss educational issues
Parents feel marginalized
Few options for students who struggle
Need multiple pathways to graduation
Failure to engage the community
High school is too large
District is reactionary to multiple issues
Achievement of children of color
Some educational and corporate resources not being utilized
District needs to be proactive
Need more options for students
Special education issues
Support for teachers to take classes
Need more coordination between the district and Fort Lewis College
Not enough professional development
Impact of Animas High School and private schools
Contract negotiations
Need additional emergency training
Open campus creates a safety issue
Drop out rate – especially among minorities
Structure of school board meetings does not foster involvement
Political mandates (e.g.: CSAP testing)
Need to help students learn how to process information
Curriculum needs to be more experiential and engaging
Basic math skills are weak
Lack of transportation for after school activities
Student teacher ratios
Adjusting to growth and change within the community
Teaching to the lowest common denominator because of NCLB
COMMMUNITY and BUSINESS LEADERS (Cont.)
Inconsistency in carrying out high school athletic programs
District leadership needs to establish a vision for social-emotional education
Need more ethnic diversity among staff
Too much standardized testing
The trimester calendar
Lack of true career counseling – not everyone should go to college
Balancing holistic education and achieving the required test scores
Transportation costs
PARENTS
More support needed for at-risk, disabled and minority students
Retention of teachers and administrators
Wide variation in values and expectations of parents and community
The achievement gap
Need to promote from within
Need a firm attendance policy
Funding is insufficient
Role of DAAC needs to be clarified and supported
Size of high school too large
Declining participation of parents in middle and high schools
ADMINISTRATORS
Organizational structure needs to put the superintendent closer to schools and principals
High school needs to pay more attention to the whole child – (e.g.: drug & alcohol programs, tutoring)
We need to be open to reveal our weaknesses in order to keep improving
Relationship between the central office and the school sites needs to be improved
Wide range of opinions within the community related to school issues
Program inconsistencies at elementary and middle schools (e.g.: report cards at elementary schools)
Inexperience of the Board
Better use of policy governance
Micromanagement by the Board of Education
Need to provide mentoring to new principals
Professional development needs to be more focused and requires follow up
We’re being pulled in too many directions and can’t focus as a result
We can’t rest on our laurels – We have to keep improving
Realign budget priorities
Cultural Competency program needs to be supported
Technology needs to be a funded priority
ADMINISTRATORS (Cont.)
Need to review and evaluate PLC’s to explore new ideas for school improvement
Need to develop internal student assessments and refine data-based decision making
Too many written reports required
Need student-centered budgeting
The organization is not structured for student performance
Need to reevaluate the structure of superintendent’s cabinet
Teacher, support staff, administrative and BOCES salaries too low
The conflict between site-based and centralized decision-making needs to be addressed
We need to look at 21st Century competencies
Need to hire a new CFO
Professional development
Community of privilege
51 comments:
For the record, if you link to the report from Hazard, Young, Attea you will also find the following comments from current DHS students and faculty:
(the two groups best equipped to comment?
STUDENTS SAID:
Administration and board need to seek more student input
Advisory period is not helpful to students
Middle school needs more activities in addition to sports
Need more collaborative decision-making
Graduation requirements are geared to college prep students
Too many core requirements limit the electives students can take
Drug and alcohol problems
School administration not included in decisions from the central office
Some teachers not accessible to students
Some high school teachers don’t care about students’ needs or about helping us learn.
Too much focus on standardized testing
Class sizes too large
PLC time means teachers are less available to students
Students do not know the superintendent
Some classes have too much information and others not enough
Standard English curriculum is too easy
Trimesters at high school are not aligned with semester programs at colleges
75-minute classes are too long
Dress code for girls is too strict
Disruptive and non-cooperative students in some classes are a problem
Need more opportunities for music programs
School day is too long
Lunchtime is too short
FACULTY SAID:
Balancing NCLB demands with authentic preparation of our children for life in a rapidly changing world
Larger S.E.S. (socio-economic status) gap between students
Professional development needs to be ongoing
Funding to invest in implementing current initiatives (e.g.: Minority Student Achievement Task Force recommendations)
Funding for technology
More relevance to professional development activities
Need input from teachers re professional development needs
We’re not meeting the vocational needs of kids
ELL and special education issues
We’re weak in systems management
Need time to work on high school reform
Need time to apply new training
One more comment-- I think everyone in the community needs to know: Padraig Lynch is raising real concerns and getting unwarranted bad press in the Letters’s section. He admits his style needs work, but unless you’ve followed 9R Board dynamics for the past 4 years, it would be hard for reasonable people to understand why he operates as he does.
The search firm and a prior consultant Robert Tschirki uncovered a depth of mistrust and ill feeling that will only be addressed after a new leader is selected.
Jeff Schell at the last meeting summed up one of the persistent concerns – while 9-R is praised for having wonderful policies – it is only by accurate monitoring of the policies that true accountability can happen. Unless the board gets the full scoop on how well these policies are actually working, board members cannot do their job. Honest, transparent feedback loops must be kept open; at that meeting last week, Sandra Berman La France and Priscilla Huston made it clear that as senior staff they are ready and willing, if not eager, to make sure the board does get the full story.
As a citizen, I really appreciate their forthright approach and commitment to solving the complex challenges every public system faces. My plea to the board is for them to select the superintendent candidate most likely to trust us with the whole truth. Good job, 9-R Board on making the search happen; but it's not over 'til it's over. Don't make a decision until all the questions have been answered fully. And to the public: please attend the interviews at Miller Middle School this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
See this from 9-R Board at
durangoschools.org today
Superintendent finalists to meet community Jan. 22-24
The three finalists for the next superintendent of Durango School District 9-R will visit Durango next week for a series of interviews with school district and community constituents. Each candidate also will meet in an open forum with interested community members during a community reception and question-and-answer session scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Jan. 22-24, in the Miller Middle School Auditorium.
Board of Education members will provide forum participants with a comment sheet to gather community impressions about the candidates. “We are committed to reading all the comment sheets prior to making our final decision,” said Board President Floyd Patterson. “We hope to make the selection of our next superintendent at our Jan. 29 board meeting.” Read more here . . . (an active link to more info...
Biss: I am truly amazed at how well you misrepresent the truth. If anyone presents a viewpoint different than yours, you jump on them like you accuse Uroda and Barter of doing with you. Objective journalism? Give me a break.
Dear "Flabbergasted"
Your comments would be more effective if you could be specific. What are you referring to?
Flabbergasted obviously doesn't read the 9-R e-notes (tell me you didn't write them), or the Durango Herald, where all the information Bliss kindly took the time to post came from.
Bliss, thank you for re-posting the relevant information to help keep me focused as to the direction we need to go in.
Fibbergasted: The truth always sounds rather bitter, when you view the school district through rose tinted glasses. Everything posted in connection with your comment came straight from Hazard Young's survey, the 9-R website, or the Durango Herald news reports. Out of the mouths of babes and all that.
I can't help but think Diane over at DHS, just got on the wrong end of justice. So we don't train the staff on how to respond to bomb scares, the staff won't give up their PLC time for training, there's no money for training...and then we suspend a woman who has given 13 years of dedicated service to our school district, because on the most hectic snow day of the year, when she is answering a million and one phone calls, she fails to find the principal for 30 minutes, (when the threat is already an hour late into being, i.e. left on the answer machine earlier on)in amidst all the snow call chaos to tell Lashinsky there was a: "We're going to bomb your a** B****" message left on the voice mail machine.
Would I have suspended the person who received the call for
not following the bright colored "What to do in the event of a bomb threat" chart? Or the administrator who failed to adequately train the staff in the use of the chart?
(Spradley #1; Lashinsky/Barter #2?)
The buck usually stops at the top.
Why don't Lashinsky and Barter both take some responsibility for not evacuating the school when there was a bomb threat? They found a scapegoat, that's why. I personally do not think Barter or Lashinsky handled the situation properly, nor do I have much confidence in either of them. Why did they even have school with such dangerous road conditions? Why didn't we hear about the threat until 2 days later? I'm quite sure that Ms. Trembly would've been sacrificed no matter what she did.
When I had an issue with my student, I called the principal and left voice mail messages three different times over the course of a week. She didn't even bother to return my calls until I took it a step further. I'm not at all surprised she didn't respond to Ms. Trembly. Is this really the kind of principal we want? A principal that doesn't respond in an emergency, that doesn't respond to parents, and puts the blame on someone else? How about she step up to the plate and take some responsiblity?
Dear School Board
I can't help but think Diane over at DHS, just got on the wrong end of 9-R's warped sense of justice. Rather like Paddy Lynch and Shane Voss, the Durango Academy teachers, (and goodness knows how many others, but funnily enough, not the PIO who now has a *newly created job* that wasn't advertised, (is it even necessary and do we have the budget for that position, because the woman with the finance committee at last week's board meeting said we were about $200K in the red.)
So, anyway, we don't train the 9-R employee's on how to respond to bomb scares, the staff won't give up their PLC time for training, apparently there's no money for training—and then we suspend Diane—the fall guy—who has given 13 years of dedicated service to our school district, because on the most hectic snow day of the year—in amidst all the snow call chaos she fails to find the principal to tell her there was a: "We're going to bomb your a** B****"—message left on the voice mail machine, because the poor woman got caught up in answering the phone every 5 seconds.
Would I have suspended the person who received the call for not following the brightly colored: "What to do in the event of a bomb threat" chart? Or the administrator who failed to adequately train the staff in the use of the chart? (Spradley #1; Lashinsky/Barter #2?)
The buck usually stops at the top.
Anne Spence
P.S. My 11th grade son said we should fire the people that failed to evacuate the school, and he presumes they are the same people who failed to tell him and his peers for 72 hours, let alone half an hour. If it wasn't worthy enough to tell students and parents, then what's up with suspending a woman of service, who probably could do with 30 days income right now, just after Christmas.
Gosh -- if she loses her income for 30 days, does that mean we get to fine the parents of said girls who called in the prank the $25K we can under federal law? I mean, what's good for the goose, is good for the gander. Those girls should pay Diane for her 30 days of lost pay.
I hope to bring it up at a future board meeting that the district file suit against the perpetrators of the bomb scare and their parents. In most; if not all, cases of school violence...someone has known before hand and failed to act. Some parents want to send their children to public schools because it is cheaper than day care. Teachers are there to instruct, not raise children and then teachers get blamed because the child didn't turn out the way the parent(s) wanted. Parents should be made accountable for their children. I believe that if parents know that they will be held financially responsible for their childrens actions, they will take a bigger interest in how their children conduct themselves. Calling in a bomb threat goes way beyond innocent mischief.
Ridgway dismisses ex-DHS principal
Herald Staff Report
Former Durango High School Principal Greg Spradling has been dismissed abruptly after less than a year in his new job.
Spradling is no longer the principal of Ridgway Secondary School, said Douglas Bissonette, superintendent of Ridgway School District R-2.
The school board there was scheduled to vote Tuesday night on not renewing Spradling’s contract and a related “personnel action,” Bissonette said.
Bissonette said he couldn’t get into the reasons for the sudden move before the board vote.
Spradling took over as principal of Ridgway Secondary on Aug. 1. He served as Durango High principal from mid-2001 to mid-2007.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
---------
Should have made the front page! Why am I not surprised? I'm glad Ridgeway have a sensible superintendent.
Mr. Spradling should've been dismissed from DHS the moment he viewed porno on the school computer. Why wasn't he fired immediately? If students were caught doing the same thing they would've been suspended or even expelled, yet we kept an administrator who set an inexcusable example for our students (not to mention his blatant disregard for the students and parents).
Perhaps Ridgeway has the backbone that 9-R lacks.
Ridgeway have a school board and a superintendent with spine! Great! Joel Jones made us keep Spradling and Barter, and the legacy lives on.
It must be sweet karma for Paddy though, I hope he woke up this morning and simply smiled.
So Anne and Bliss are quoted in the paper as being sold on the first education huckster to present his dog and pony show. Might as well not even attend the other interviews because we have the word of the ego twins telling us David Smucker's the man. I was there...it all sounds impressive because in an interview you can say anything you wish. You're selling yourself. I hope the school board will listen closely to the other two candidates.
It bothers me when certain people suppose they are mentally and morally superior to those of us who differ in opinion.
Gosh. Someone forgot to take her medicine tonight.
You couldn't possibly have been there last night, because you would never have described David Smucker as a "huckster" if you were.
Likewise, you would not describe Shalee Cunningham as a huckster were you to have been there tonight!
Both candidates are "fabulous" and both are "the one". That's the fun of course, that sometimes the Herald doesn't give a full quote, as you no doubt know.
And I'm quite sure by this time tomorrow, we can say that Glen is "fabulous" and "the one" too.
You see, the proof is in the pudding; our community has been so neglected in the educational process, students, teachers, administrators, parents, and tax payers alike -- treated to the lies and hidden agenda of a few within the 9-R administration, that all three candidates are going to stand out as fabulous and "the one", because they are such a refreshing change, and the school board will have a really tough time trying to determine whom they should select. I don't envy their job over the next week either.
I'm sorry you are feeling morally and intellectually inferior my friend.
Isn't it strange how Greg Spradling was fired from Ridgway after only a few months, and Dr. Barter and Deborah Uroda gave him such a glowing reference, when if they had been more truthful, another school district wouldn't be $75K in the hole come January.
It's also funny, that Ridgway managed to do what we failed to do, in a far more appropriate time scale.
To the "Anonymous" who called Dave Smucker "an educational huckster." What's wrong with you, are you crazy? "Dog and Pony show?" He was absolutely great, humble, and grounded in the very qualities we are missing. You must have been in a different room. Very bizarre and rude comments! Get serious. Everyone else is working hard on this, what's your problem? Create your own blog if you feel you must rant.
STOP!!!!!
This entry is meant to be about the superintendent interviews. I can't make it to Miller to hear first hand the thoughts and ideas put forward from the candidates so I appreciate this site for many of its contributors. I trust the board to make the right decisiion and if Bliss and Anne are impressed by an individual I take their recommendation to heart because I have shared educational ideas with them and sat next to them at countless board meetings.
Can we PLEASE just stick to the topic....I NEED this blog spot for information I know I can't get from the Herald. I feel like Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"
I have to sign my name here...BILL BOWLBY...because I can't seem to get it at the top (what is a URL?) and I don't want to remain anonymous! If someone could please help me with how to get my name at the TOP I would appreciate it.
Absolutely RIDICULOUS that all other school districts around us cancelled school today and 9-R doesn't even do a delay.
Can we PLEASE have a superintendent that actually cares about the safety of our kids?
Bill, hello
As I told Kiwanis today, both candidates were excellent, with Shalee perhaps, coming off the strongest out of the two to date, but I'm not looking at the finer print, and I'm sure after tonight, the board will have their work cut out between now and Tuesday. The board are taking advice from those who have met the three (or one) candidates, i.e. the Admin/cabinet, the teachers, the students, parents and community who have attended.
The two questions the board are asking are:
1. From your observations, please share with us those things that you feel this candidate can contribute to our school district.
2. Are there any questions you have relative to this candidate, which you feel the board should review as it considers him/her for our superintendency?
I don't see why you couldn't cut and paste #2 question into an email to the board and ask them to consider them. Both candidates were asked about NCLB and CSAPS and Bliss could tell you better than I as to what their thoughts were.
To leave your name in the name section of this blog, you scroll down so you can see "Nickname:" and then you write your name there, clicking on the circle beside it.
The third candidate Greg, in my opinion was evasive from the get go. He lost my interest by Question 4. He never answered questions, but he "rambled" forever about "nothing". He didn't have a clue. He is the weakest link. I wrote that to the Board on my notes. He was "boring". He had no vision. No insight. Not the slightest bit concerned about trust and rebuilding the community. That took a back seat. He said students were the #1 priority, and the community's trust issues were #2. He is wrong, because our community sorely needs a superintendent like David or Shalee who BOTH readily wanted to put our community in their back pockets with trust and have us work for them, for the school district, for our students -- and by showing their integrity and virtue. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE COMMUNITY ON BOARD, then you have the same old, same old.
He was lame. He was bland. He lacked vision.
Funnily enough, other's I spoke to seemed to like him. I had to wonder, were they really paying attention? If someone cannot hold my attention for longer than 15 minutes, there has to be something wrong. I listened to every thing he said, but I was turned off. He didn't fire me up. David and Shalee did. Both of them had me sitting upright, happy, warm, smiling constantly. To me, I know that's not an intellectual insight, but intuitively--Greg was not interested in what any of us might think, want, desire. He lacked luster. He didn't shine. David and Shalee were bright stars by comparison.
Greg didn't have anything of value to say about NCLB or CSAPs the other two did.
Greg didn't answer the dyslexic question well at all, in fact he withdrew from answering it, and all he had to say, was that if we were not getting these children to read, then he would put a program in place to make sure all of our children could read to grade level. It's not rocket science. Look at Jamie. 18 months was all it took to get him to an 11.6 grade level by 8th grade, i.e. these children can learn. There's no reason to have them drop out, or reach 12th grade with a 4th or 5th grade reading age.
Bottom line, he was unsatisfactory. If I had been grading his CSAP results, he would have scored a below proficient, or even a "U".
Opps. His name is Glen, not Greg. I must have my mind elsewhere.
Choices. Two GREAT candidates and Shalee Cunningham. That's all we need. Another Mary Barter coming to Durango to retire on our taxes. If you liked the Barter administration....she is the one to continue that legacy. Like Barter...she has started her "campaign" to cloud you with her smoke and mirror trick. My guess is that she will come in here and cut the educational programs while increasing administrative salaries....and her own. Do we really want to move her here and pay for her house when the only reason she decided to come was to retire here? What about education? Teachers? Support staff. I hope the Board isn't so naive as to believe that she will come here and 'save us'. Maybe the other two candidates don't have a ton of 'experiance'...but they might listen to the students, teachers, and community better than someone who is the 'hatchet' woman. We have come so far getting rid of Spradling, and Barter. Unfortunatly, I can only believe that the Board will pick her because they are so used to saying "Yes Maam".
Did you attend all three candidate sessions?
There were only two great candidates and Shalee was one of them.
Will she be like Mary? I didn't see smoke and screen with her, and I do with Mary. I didn't feel "Wow, what a great woman, but there's something fishy going on", but I did from Day 1 with Mary.
If Shalee is another Mary, then I think after all our district has been through the past 8 years, we will get rid of her within a short period of time.
The most important thing though is to see change from within the school board. We will need to get the board to get involved, not micromanage.......just be involved and think instead of just sitting there shaking their heads like a bobble doll. Even when we get a new super...it will be the same if the board is the same. Some members of the board are just there. They seem like they just woke up....haven't studied or tried to ascertain any facts...it appears they just want to be led around.
I'm hoping a new superintendent, will allow the board to step up to the plate and ask questions. Shake off that "brain damaged" approach they seem to obtain once being elected.
Michael Brennan presented last board meeting about staff evaluations, and the board just said "thanks", but there was so much more they should have done. The boards job isn't just to approve everything without questions, especially in areas where we know we have problems.
We are all needed in this equation.
Mary's super friendly boards trusted her to do the whole job without meaningful public input. She's extremely personable and had their complete trust. Excessive trust was not healthy for any concerned as it's now clear. Turning things around means this fairly fresh new board will need to do just what the previous writer suggested. Check in with citizens. Respect their opinions. Listen, listen, listen, and not just at your own wine and cheese parties. Find ways for us to hear each other's opinions and creatively use our community's ideas and energies. Policy Governance has been misused for the past 7 years. (Get new consultants if you must be "trained.")
Public: Write email or phone board members now and tell them what you want; hopefully you attended forums. Using what the candidates actually said and their track records, make your case calmly.
The current situation is tough with trust in short supply - I want the strongest candidate and the strongest board and us the public working together actively from here on out.
Cunningham seemed strongest to me for many reasons; Smucker brings many strengths. Hope it's one of the 2, but everyone is entitled to an opinion. You're NOT entitled to not expressing it. :) And please try to think clearly amidst what is genuinely not a slam dunk environment. And you're not entitled to just go away once the decision is made. A new super will have to meet with the public given the consistently expressed trust concern from staff and public. That's a given. And we'll have to work harder but it will mean something now.
I email the board and NEVER get a response so I'm not sure that's worth anything. Board members do not respond to the public's questions. Maybe some of you have had better luck than me.
About the new structure at DHS. NEWS FLASH: this new structure will NOT stop dropouts, it will NOT stop kids from getting high/coming to school high/smoking/drinking at lunch. If DHS truly believes it can make that kind of a difference it thinks much too highly of itself. All this restructuring will do is stick kids with bad teachers who don't want a relatioship with students (or they'd already have one). This will make students have to endure the bad teachers for two years. While there are fabulous teachers at DHS, there are also terrible teachers who should be in a different profession. Why did we have to rush into it? They say they've studied it for 2 years but they didn't have any public meetings until a few months ago.
And to top it off, we have a principal that's not responsive to parents or the attendance personnel. Is this what we want?
Dear Anonymous,
I hear you. Still, if you have an opinion, submit it. While you may not get an answer, I would be they will be reading every comment received this week. And several members are fresh to the position.
Their job in normal times is to "monitor" the superintendent... this is a very special moment as they choose a new superintendent. Coming from someone with concerns about our youth and drugs, perhaps if you have some feelings one way or the other about the 3 candidates it could make a difference. If you have an opinion, please share it. You will do a service to yourself (and the rest of us and the kids)to keep reaching out! Thanks and good luck - to all of us.
The answer to the ills that plague our kids is to go home. We must strengthen our families. It must start at home with the family. DHS, or any school, cannot possibly substitute for the home and if administrators truly believe that DHS can, they are sadly mistaken. The only way we'll ever see the drugs disappear from DHS will be when parents take a stand against drugs and when parents get involved to make a difference. What about the parents who want to be involved? That's the crux of the problem. DHS and the administrators don't want parent involvement, especially if it differs from their view.
Instead of working with and helping families with students with dyslexia, the district ignores them, pretends the problem doesn't exist, and shuts out parents from the discussion. How can we possibly cure the problems at DHS if parents are continually shut out of the process?
DHS believes that drug dogs and changing the structure will stop the drug problem. It won't. Kids who want to do drugs will still do them. Kids who want to ditch will still ditch. Kids who want to dropout will still dropout unless parents are in the mix. Parents are a crucial part of the puzzle that this administration continues to shut out.
Yes there are some great teachers at DHS, but they cannot, and should not have to, substitute for parents. I don't need DHS to raise my kids--that's my job. I need DHS to support me as a parent, to listen to me when I have concerns, to follow through when there's a problem. I feel absolutely no support from DHS or this administration. The bottom line is that I'm not the only person that feels this way. The new superintendent must understand the monumental task ahead and be willing to include parents in the equation. Maybe then we'll start to see some good changes.
The board don't write back. Dr. Barter doesn't allow them to. In the old days, Kristy (board secretary) used to send a panned letter back to you if you gave your address, with the presidents signature. It didn't mean anything, because you knew it was a Dear John letter with your name placed in and it had nothing to do with your concerns.
Supposedly, your emails go to the board and Dr. Barter, (and then they fall into oblivion).
I want to say it is not the board's fault that Dr. Barter has them by the short and curlie's, but it is. They are the one's who have allowed this nonsense to continue. You would have thought a "new" board, would demand to do their job properly.
As for DHS's small learning communities, have any of you read the actual report? I love the fantasy that it only revolves around creating a small school environment for the past three years, when the reality is that it tells you everything that is broken about DHS. They only created the small school environment to out do the new charter school, and now they are rushing in to it, to get a year ahead of AHS. Did you read the PIO news? DHS small schools are welcoming private school students! Why would you want to send your student there after private school? I did that, and within a few weeks, they had snuffed the fire out of him. I went into class to watch him sit at his desk with his feet on the bar under the table. Another time, his head (and those of his peers) was face down on the desk. They even allow them to chew gum, eat food, listen to their IPODs, and use their cell phones/text in class. I watched a hungry and eager to learn child, turn into a "school is for social fun and not learning" kind of student. We can't wait to leave.
I keep promising that college will be a whole lot better, but it's a tough sell when the basic educational foundation is so dysfunctional.
For years, they have been saying they will track our drop outs, but they haven't managed to do that yet. I bet, if they asked, they could get a parent volunteer to do that for them, but they don't care.
It's interesting that the Adult Education Learning Center is hoping for 800 students this year. Hmmmm. I wonder where they came from? DHS? Even our state representative sent her son there when he dropped out of high school.
Another woman at the top? Will it be the same old story for 9-R? Why did those groups oppose her?
Since I have absolutely no trust in 9-R, does anyone know the reason for the lockdown today? Were our kids at risk? Will 9-R fess up and tell us now or will it be 2days after the fact? A little honesty would sure go a long way!!
A student took a gun to school yesterday, and bullets today. He threatened some other students (a row over his girlfriend, according to what I was told). Luckily, students who saw the gun reported it to staff. Other than some inconsistency about how "instruction continued" (Principals letter says a class period was lost, my son tells me they played Pictionary for 2 hours and another game called Heads Up 7 Up, and the E-notes say that "instruction continued") -- I think they handled it quite well. It was on the Herald's website and on the radio, before most parents had realized anything was going on.
I wouldn't have called it a "soft lock down" though, i.e. how many guns does a Freshman have to take to school and threaten other people's children with, before it's an official full on lock down?
Why would another female superintendent have anything to do with the past 8 years?
The previous, previous superintendent, a male by all accounts, wasn't very useful either.
I have faith in the woman I watched, albeit for 1.5 hours. We'll see.
NEWS
from Durango School District 9-R
Release Date: January 31, 2008
DHS calls for soft lockdown;
police arrest boy for possession of bullets, marijuana
Durango High School administrators called for a soft lockdown this morning after three students reported that a male student had shown them a gun yesterday and bullets today.
Staff first learned of the weapons’ presence on campus when two students reported to a teacher this morning that they were concerned for their safety after having seen the weapons. The teacher immediately escorted the students to the principal’s office, where they were questioned by Principal Diane Lashinsky. Lashinsky then called a third student to the office who also had seen the weapons.
High school administrators then located the boy who allegedly had the gun and bullets and escorted him to the principal’s office, where they searched him and found three .45-caliber hollow-point bullets, an illegal butterfly knife, and some marijuana. Lashinsky immediately called 911 and called for a soft-lockdown for police to search the building.
District emergency protocols call for a soft lockdown when administrators wish to keep students safe and secure and to control hallway traffic while a search or investigation is conducted. Students remain in their classes, and instruction continues during a soft lockdown.
Durango police officers searched the school and found no evidence of a gun but did find a bullet that had been dropped in a trash can.
After police cleared the building, the lockdown was cleared at about12:35 p.m. Students were released for lunch about an hour-and-a-half later than regularly scheduled. Fifth-hour classes were canceled, and the schedule resumed after lunch with sixth- and seventh-hour classes.
District Safety Coordinator Kathy Morris praised high school administrators for handling the incident according to the district’s emergency response protocols.
“High school administrators and police did an incredible job keeping the school safe by responding quickly and thoroughly to a threat. Administrators appropriately isolated the boy from other students and called police immediately. Teachers kept students calm by continuing their instruction through the soft lockdown,” she said.
Morris also praised the students who stepped forward to report the possible presence of a weapon on campus.
“We’ve worked hard to educate our students about their responsibility to report any threatening situations to their teachers or other adults in the building. The fact that these kids stepped forward to report the presence of a gun on campus is a testament to their trust in their teachers,” she added.
Principal Lashinsky sent home a note about the incident with students this afternoon. Lashinsky said that some parents who tried to enter the school during the lockdown were turned away, but they were “polite and understanding. We appreciate all the parents who were supportive and patient during our situation,” she added.
For more information, contact Priscilla Huston at 247-5411, ext. 1454.
Who knows why the teachers union opposed Shalee Cunningham. Perhaps because they are afraid that if they aren't any good at their job, they might not have one for much longer.
If the school board of old sent a delegation to visit Mary Barters' old school district back in 1999.....what does that tell you? Why didn't they discover the wakingbear.com website set up by locals who were not happy with her? When one sends a delegation to check out a person, do they only wheel out the sycophants?
What programs do we want to cut? We are running out of money...so we better decide now what to do. Do we cut the Durango Arts Academy? How's about the CTE programs (woods, auto, welding, culinary arts,....)? We want to attract the 'best candidate' for superintendent, finance, public information director, administration so we have to up the salaries. Cunningham will likely make in excess of $150,000 a year. The Board has about tapped our budget of $311,000 on consultants, trips, legal, and dinner. The board expects to ask for a mil levy override for transportation sometime in the near future. Teachers are going to be hard pressed to get much of a raise...no matter how hard they negotiate the money just won't be there. I'd like to see an employee incentive program put in place where the 9-R employees get a percentage of what they save the district....say a 10% bonus. I'd also like to see all non-essential personel cut. How many people in administration do we have generating and pushing non-essential paperwork? How much do they make? Why do we now have two Public Information Officers? Times are going to get pretty tight here in a bit. Shall we cut lunches and have the parents send 'brown bag' lunches? Heads up to parents, students, staff, and teachers. In a time where the economey is getting tighter, new house building is down 26%, gas prices are up, and the only ones making money are government employees, oil companies and defence contractors, ....stand by. The district can spend thousands of dollars telling the taxpayer how the "little children will suffer unless we raise your taxes". Look at your La Plata County taxes...and see how much you spend on 9-R. How much more can you afford? Are you getting what you are paying for? Just some thoughts. My comments do not reflect those of the school board, and I make them as a concerned citizen.
Currently the state of Colorado is spending in excess of 50 million dollars on CSAP testing and its remedial materials (practice test booklets). Colorado also goes beyond the required testing of NCLB which calls for testing of students grades 3 through 8 and once in high schol. Testing students in 9th and 10th grade (with its writing portion) costs the state and average of 9 million dollars. The high school testing requirement is already satisfied by ACT-SAT.
Rep. Judy Solano is currently working on a bill which would remove the 9th and 10th grade testing, and is also pushing (again) for the state to remove penalties to child and school that result from parents/students opting out. As long as we allow the government to tie funding to test results districts will always be cash-strapped. This issue was brought up when NCLB was first authorized but the government renigged on their promise of funding just as they did with the passage of IDEA in 1975.
Paddy, you want to save meoney, start with supporting Rep. Solano's bill and quit buying the reams of CSAP practice materials. Besides...where's the validity in the scores of a test that's been prepped for for months in advance. Our kids, memorize, regurgitate, and forget. Standardized testing is dumbing down our curriculum while corporate america is reaping HUGE profits (70 billion by last count).
Keep up the good work, Paddy, we'll support you.
Bill;
You are right on all accounts. Standardized testing is BIG business with lots of money for lobbiests. You are also right that "teaching to the tests" (while not really) is taking away from 'learing'. If we really wanted to go that route...why not just teach straight from the tests? We spend entirely to much time, money and effort worrying about the CSAP and NCLB. There are provisions in the law that give districts an 'opt out'...but then there goes the federal money. I'd like to see the people in our government take the tests....and if they don't pass....they get to go back to the civilian sector. Thanks for your input, and thanks for putting your name here. I know there are a lot of people put 'anonymous' to protect themselves....but when I get 'fan mail' calling me 'cur' and other 'nice things'...and then they don't sign them or put a return address on them...I feel like they are cowards. The good thing is; I have a pretty good idea who sends them....and it makes me smile. Thanks for your support and I will look into Rep. Solano's bill.
Padraig
We have a bomb scare at DHS, and the school isn't evacuated, the parents are not told timely, but the one person in the school who probably knows all our children is "suspended without pay for a month"--why?
We have a student take a gun and bullets to DHS, and the school is put on a soft lock down. What kind of gun should a student take, to make DHS put the school on a "real" lock down?
We have a case of MRSA at DHS and a week later, someone thinks it pertinent to tell the parents and the students via a letter.
What is going on with regards to a safe environment for our students? How can parents have a conversation about safety and hygiene, when they are kept in the dark?
I'm glad to see DHS taking a stronger approach to fights on campus. Spradling and Barter used to sweep them under the PIO rug of "Alls well on the Western Front". I'd rather read a report like this, and know that people are being held accountable for their actions, than watch my son get the s*** beaten out of him and 9R pretending it's "no big deal".
Police investigate DHS fights
February 15, 2008
Herald Staff Report
The Durango Police Department is investigating two separate fights that occurred during the lunch hour Wednesday among high school students.
The first fight occurred between two students shortly before 11 a.m. in the Commons Area at Durango High School. One student was injured and required medical attention. The other student was arrested by police, according to a news release from Durango School District 9-R.
The second fight occurred off campus east of the high school near the Animas River. It involved three students - one sought medical attention and a second student was arrested. The third student fled the scene; police were searching for the suspect.
DHS administrators have turned over the investigation to police. The students will be subject to disciplinary action as defined in the Student Conduct Code. Police reports will be turned over to the 6th Judicial District Office for formal filing of charges.
Durango High School reports that only 23.6 students dropped out of DHS last year.....In my opinion, I do not believe that statistic, and wondered how they were able to say 1.6% dropped out. It looks like the administrators don't believe it too, if you read the DHS letter.
They reported 180 incidences of drugs, alcohol, violence, etc. one for every day, with a few to spare.
154 of our 9th and 10th graders did not pass reading CSAP.
301 of our 9th and 10th graders did not pass writing CSAP.
425 of our 9th and 10th graders did not pass math CSAP.
When you have hundreds of students failing something as basic as reading, writing and math over a two year period, you have to wonder who taught them in Elementary and Middle School, and what their qualifications were, then you have to wonder why only 23 students "dropped out" when so many cannot read, write or do math.
In my opinion, someone must be fudging the numbers.
Here's the deal with CSAPs at DHS. Many, if not most, of the students couldn't care less what they score. They don't even read the questions and put down any answer that looks good just to get the test over with.
(It's the same with that drug survey that 9-R depends on so much to get a "feel" for student drug and alcohol use. The kids don't put down their real answers. In fact, they think it's funny to mark the most outrageous answers. And here's a newsflash for 9-R: we have a serious drug and alcohol problem at DHS no matter what that survey says).
What happened to teaching kids reading, writing, and arithmetic? How did we get so far away from a good basic education?
And I have the perfect things to cut in 9-R: Health classes that serve as nothing more than a platform for Planned Parenthood, teachers who couldn't care less about the students because they are so caught up in their own egos, administrators who, instead of taking responsibility for the safety of our students, use a scapegoat and that's just a beginning to my list.
Now that DHS will be changed into a glorified middle school, I'm not even sure I want my kids to attend
What really irritates me is that I have to live within a budget--I can't overspend. Why can the government/school district live beyond its means? If there's no money then cuts have to be made. Stop asking taxpayers to pay more taxes--learn to live within the budget or do without.
Let's see if I can address the last anonymous comment:
CSAP is not a 9-R creation, and most parents and community members (not to mention our kids' teachers) agree it needs changing. But in any case, it's not fair to blame our school district for this mess.
As for the drug/alcohol survey, I understand from my child that the teachers talk to them about the anonymous nature of the survey. With any survey, anyone can distort the results. I think EVERYONE knows that there is a drug/alcohol problem at DHS and pretty much everywhere in our country. We aren't unique, and I appreciate the efforts staff and other agencies are making to try to understand and address the problem here. We just can't give up, can we?
Okay, now the accusation that teachers couldn't care less and are into their own egos. The few I know care very much. They enjoy the kids and choose to make their living working daily with kids who don't yet know who they are and need a lot of support. I'm often tentative about who is working with my son, but I am relieved and impressed with the good folks I've met at DHS. They really aren't horrible monsters.
I also understand that if it's not working for you or your child, find something that does. I don't think it's a "one size fits all" in this world.
I recognize that I could feel like you do if it hadn't been for me meeting, talking with, and connecting with some of my son's teachers. Maybe it's too late for you, but I'm here to say that they're not all bad. In fact, the ones I know are outstanding and I'm so grateful my children can be in contact with these other adults.
The last point you made is about the budget. As far as I know, the school district has lived within its budget. I do think there are some changes in financing that need to come from the state level, but we are extremely lucky to have a district that does so much with so little. I've been, worked, and lived in others where we don't have the same programs available.
Wow. OK. We are a couple of hundred thousand dollars in the red, according to the Finance Committee, so I don't know how accurate that information is.
Drugs and alcohol, I'm afraid, are a fact of life, even in a small town community. Although I am unhappy by aspects of this culture, I appreciate it would be far worse if we were living in London. I think Officer Martinez, Officer Lee, and whomever else is over there, are doing their best, and THEY DO CARE about our children. Go to Animas Trading and ask them to stop selling little glass "pipes" to our children, that would be more productive than berating 9R.
OMG....I defended 9R!! Send me a bouquet of flowers!! LOL.
Let's face it, the whole drug/alcohol thing is our responsibility, you can't expect the "government" to protect your children in a state school setting. I might not like it, but what goes on at DHS is a fact of life.
There is nothing wrong with Planned Parenthood being allowed to teach in our schools. It's better than that fundamentalist Christian c***, that also gets equal billing. I believe in abstinence, but this is 2008, and if Planned Parenthood can educate our children into knowing what to do to protect themselves from pregnancy and STD's, good for them. I hope you don't have girls, for they are the worst!! Forget the "lock up your daughter" saying, it should be "lock up your son's" to protect them from some of those dodgy girls at DHS. LOL. The stories I hear about some DHS girls make me want to weep. Some parents are obviously forgetting to give their daughters a good sense of self esteem and bucket loads of confidence. "Rainbow kissing" has got to be the grossest form of poor self-esteem I have ever heard of. It must be a DHS thing, because I never heard of it in my life, until 9th grade.
I agree, Diane should not have been laid off work for a month. In my opinion she was definitely made a scapegoat.
I actually approve of the small school concept. I wanted a closed campus, but Dr Barter didn't, even though it's proven that a closed campus gets higher GPA results, the logic was lost on that committee for fear of upsetting the teachers and students. I only force my son to attend DHS so he can get his HSD, what a shame he can't get it under a stronger academic environment influence.
Our schools are running on a shoe string. I wouldn't care if they asked for more money and each of us had to pay a few dollars more a year more. It takes a village to raise a child, and the Federal Government isn't giving over anywhere near what it should. If our community want to educate the children of the future, then maybe we do have to "step up" and increase taxes. My son won't be in school one year from now, but I will always be happy to provide taxes for education.
I went to Albuquerque this past weekend to the South West International Dyslexia Association Conference. I came away with a new saying.....
Durango School District 9-R makes our dyslexic children go into "deep cognitive floating" whilst in the classroom.
Ha ha ha. So true. My son "checked out" in 4th grade.
This is how our children should be taught: Decoding-Strategies
Short words:
Say the sounds
Say the sounds fast
Say the whole word
Make it a real word
Long words:
Circle the prefixes
Circle the suffixes
Underline the vowels
Say the parts of the word
Say the whole word
Make it a real word
Our dyslexic children are "strategy free" in Durango School District 9-R!!
The frustrating part, is...it's so damn simple to teach dyslexic children to read, write and spell.
Opps.
If teaching kids to abstain from sex until marriage is termed Christian c***, then you and I would never see eye to eye. The fact is, sex education has never belonged in the schools. It belongs at home.
It doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes dedicated parents who take their responsibility seriously and provide a standard of ethics and morality for their children, including setting that example themselves. I do not need DHS to raise my child or to teach my child that sex outside of marriage is acceptable. Look around, our society is crumbling around us because families and family values have been attacked. Family is the fabric of our society and when it unravels the whole of it falls apart.
Why do we have a drug and alcohol problem at DHS? Because parents have drug and alcohol problems. (Some parents have forgotten to grow up since high school). That's why the DARE program failed--it's hard to teach kids to stay away from drugs and alcohol when they watch their parents drinking and doing drugs. When our parents clean up their acts, we'll see a difference in our kids.
I believe there are some fantastic teachers at DHS that care about kids, respect parents, and work hard to educate our kids. But, the sad fact is, we also have the bottom of the barrel teachers who recreate history according to their own interpretation, who are so self-absorbed they couldn't care less about the kids, and who denegrate kids that ask questions. I hope the new superintendent will purge DHS of the sub-standard teachers and then maybe we'll get somewhere.
For those of you who have only had positive experiences at DHS, I'm truly glad for you. But do not attempt to belittle those of us who have not had such a great experience.
I have many wonderful friends who happen to be Gay. What is your point 9-R anonymous?
Post a Comment