http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110430/NEWS02/704309875
Published April 30, 2011 in the Rutland Herald
Springfield schools present plans for change
By Christian Avard
SPRINGFIELD — Two Springfield School District schools did not meet adequate yearly progress measurements for the second year in a row. According to the Department of Education, they now have to make major structural changes in order to meet the standards.
On Tuesday, Riverside Middle School and Springfield High School faculty and staff presented their restructuring plans to the Springfield School Board. According to AYP standards, schools must demonstrate proficiency in reading/language arts, mathematics, graduation rates and attendance rates at elementary, middle school and high school levels.
Riverside students did not meet the standards in reading and math. Springfield High School’s graduation rate is below average and the high school’s average math and reading scores also fell short of the guidelines.
Riverside teachers Jeff Vandivere, Dale Chenette and Nathan McNaughton presented seven goals for meeting the standards. The school will change its school structure and schedule to better accommodate students’ needs. Its academic programs will introduce assessments to all students and allow faculty to effectively track students’ progress. Faculty and staff will develop and implement a curriculum aligned with a state-by-state initiative called the Common Core State Standards.
Common Core State Standards help students achieve a high-quality education through English language arts and mathematics.
Riverside will also alter its professional development program. According to Vandivere, faculty and staff will identify core changes through student performance assessments, staff surveys, and entail the use of peer coaches, professional learning communities, and mentor programs.
Educational-support programs will be strengthened by providing teachers with adequate instructional resources and emphasize access and progress in the general education curriculum.
Riverside will improve communication with parents and the greater community. They will improve communication through the Internet, staff and academic department websites, newsletters and social media.
“This is huge,” said Riverside Principal Becky Read. “We’re excited about the changes. Sometimes change can be scary and sometimes it can give you an opportunity. I think what’s really wonderful is the staff sees this as opportunity.”
Springfield High School’s structural plan is centered around a common theme: instruction. Several faculty and staff members presented the high school’s structural plan. It includes applying literacy to all disciplines; a focus on instructional teams comprising faculty, staff and students; an instructional coach with experience in professional development and transforming under-performing schools; block scheduling; and the development of a freshmen academy, an academic resource center, daily advisories, peer observations and common planning time for faculty and staff.
“No Child Left Behind gave us five options. We could reopen the school as a charter school, replace school staff, enter into a contract with a private management company, turn Springfield High School over to the state, or carry out major restructuring of the school’s staffing and governance. We chose the least radical of the five options,” Springfield English teacher Kevin Coen said.
The School Board commended the presenters for their work. They will vote on the schools’ restructuring plans at a future School Board meeting.
You want to restructure? How about start from the top down? The kids aren't learning because the teachers aren't teaching! When I went to school a few "moons" ago we didnt have teachers aides, we had 20-30 kids in a classroom and the teachers did great! The kids didnt get pushed through if they failed, they stayed back. Now with this no child left behind, we are teaching "down" so that everyone passes!
ReplyDeleteI take care of a special needs person who honestly thinks that he had a 4.0GPA in high school. He can't even spell his OWN NAME correctly! Somehow he passed every year with ALL A's...how does this happen?? I have a child in RMS right now that has high honors but reading some of the things he writes makes me nervous. His spelling is terrible! Our education system is a joke!! I have tried to talk to Frank Perotti and he never EVER calls me back once he hears it was me who called.
I remember back in 2006, after getting settled into my new post divorce home, asking simple, caring questions about my kids to the staff in your school district, and in response getting snotty, short and half answers from your staff. I asked about their teachers, could I speak with them to see how my kids were doing, and I got all but one very nasty responses. I wanted to know of events coming up at school (in hopes that I could attend them and show support for my kids), and all I got was calendars from the PREVIOUS semester in school. I guess I was not a real parent (a woman?), so I could not participate.
ReplyDeleteAnd by 2007, the communication broke down completely with my kids who had Parental alienation sydrome, with this school district who would appear to have a subversive agenda, and then in the family courts, where a coin toss and a thick wallet will tell the fortune if you will have any rights to see your kids.
I looked in earnest for answers and received none, I looked for good advice and got nothing, I was stonewalled and run through the system like a piece of meat for lions to consume. I sit in the land of the supposed free, with no defense, no children, and with only patience, loss and sorrow in my life in place of where the joy of my children once was.
Most days I try to suppress what I feel about this situation, and will sleep when I should work, take anti-depressants (which don't work and I've tried them all) and try to pretend that now I can still live a normal happy American life. But there are days that last for a week or more when my skin feels on fire, and red boils form on hands and arms, I get shooting pains all over my body, my mind feels numb and disinterested, and its is during this time that the only thing that makes me come alive and feel well again is the engaged thought of knowing that judgement day on earth is coming very soon and I will be judging those who deeply wounded my life while I was in my prime.
If this is how you treat divorced parents, especially fathers, then is there really any surprise when these shootings have occurred in court rooms and schools? You set the standard for how low a human being can be mistreated and stripped of their humanity and then you come crying and whining about the kind of monsters your system has produced and not understanding how this could have happened. Well, it's only going to get worse for you as its obvious you will not change the path you're on anytime soon.
May this time be brought by the power of God and his mighty Angels, and the devil who must submit to him,
May you all get nasty heart ripping divorces, may your ex's divorce lawyer make you feel like your tied to a hot BBQ grill cooking grate, may you lose every custody battle, may your lives become miserable for years at a time, may you get illnesses and fall into severe poverty that keep you from your children, may your ex be a son of a bitch to you and your kids, turning your love for them into poison, and may all you be subjected to a bunch of uncaring bureaucratic school staff who caters to a biased world and against you, like I had to endure with you. May you form severe health problems as a result of the situation you fell into. May your children all be legally kidnapped by a corrupt family court system, their names changed, taught to hate you and disown you, so you will miss the majority of their childhood and as adults, will show honor to some foster parents or crazy ex that should have been jailed years ago. Hell on earth for your type of people. May your family surname cease to exist and no memory or history of you or your family remain whatsoever, within a couple year's time from which you left this earth. May people sneer and spit on your gravestone when they walk by it, may theives and peasants come and steal any remnant of your grave to build their homes from.
Here's an idea for restructuring that may improve your failing school district. How about employing trained professionals to educate our children? There's something to say about an educator that applies the rules fairly to all the children, protects them from harm while in his/her charge and doesn't hide behind the principal's skirt. How in the world are these children supposed to learn anything when they have to worry about defending themselves against the cowardly bullies who use their positions to intimidate the children? It just demonstrates that formal education truly does not buy class, as none of the staff seem equipped to possess any. Is there any wonder why it's a failing district?! Maybe less time should be spent tormenting (or flirting) with the students and more time spent checking teaching qualifications.
ReplyDeleteWatch out, the police are monitoring these blogs and we're living in a police-state of Amerika now. Will we get a knock on the door like the communists do, from the neighbors who ratted them out? So much for democracy and freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteThe police do not monitor this blog! That is just plain ridiculous!...... Oh wait there is someone at the door......
ReplyDelete"Who is it?"
"It is the police! Get on the floor!"
"What is the meaning of this!"
"You are under arrest for the lame comments you are posting on this blog!"
"But I didn't do anything!"
"You have the right to remain silent........
Please refrain from posting critical comments in a way that is rude, demeaning or threatening. And try to think of something constructive to include in your remarks. We reserve the right to remove any offensive or off-topic comments.
ReplyDeleteOh looks like you are doing a great job of monitoring this blog from what I am reading here.