I got a very nice phone call from DISD Trustee Ms. Bernadette Nutall in response a letter I wrote to the Board. She reminded me that she has been calling attention to the possible school closings in her district since March 2011. In fact, she had her first community meeting with constituents in her district that month. She had more in Fall 2011, and had community members coming to one of the Fall Board meetings to speak against the school closing because of them. (I remember this, but don't remember which one it was. I can look that up if anyone wants to know.)
She went on to remind me (I remember this, too) that she asked that all bond projects in District 9 (her district) be put on hold until the school closing issue was decided. She did not want to spend money on schools that were ultimately going to be shuttered, even if the money came from the bond budget and not the General Operating fund budget (the one the cuts are having to come from).
She is right. The issue of schools closing is not new, and both her and Mr. Cowan (District 7) have brought up the topic in Board Briefings on multiple occasions. I am glad she reminded me of that, and that is why I am posting her response here. This needs to be acknowledged.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Speakers at the January School Board meeting
Dallas ISD is very good about webcasting all the Board Meetings and Board Briefings, even the ones that are controversial. This meeting is no exception. My thanks to DISD for being very faithful in that.
Below are highlight clips from the Speakers at that meeting. I went through the webcast and pulled at least a snippet from every speaker speaking to the agenda item of closing the 11 schools. Considering the vote outcome, the silver lining in the whole evening was the first speaker, Vince Murchinson. Mr. Murchinson has been a dedicated supporter of J.L. Long Middle School for a few years now. He leads a very active SBDM committee there (SBDM = Site Based Decision Making). They are a fantastic example of effective community support that makes a measurable difference in a public school.
Here is the first set of speakers, with some of Mr. Murchinson's very nice speech.
This set starts out with the events that led to the School Board President stopping the public speaking, tossing out a speaker, and moving the meeting to the private Board Briefing room. His decision is being brought under scrutiny. I don't know much about that, but for those who are interested, it's in this clip.
Below are highlight clips from the Speakers at that meeting. I went through the webcast and pulled at least a snippet from every speaker speaking to the agenda item of closing the 11 schools. Considering the vote outcome, the silver lining in the whole evening was the first speaker, Vince Murchinson. Mr. Murchinson has been a dedicated supporter of J.L. Long Middle School for a few years now. He leads a very active SBDM committee there (SBDM = Site Based Decision Making). They are a fantastic example of effective community support that makes a measurable difference in a public school.
Here is the first set of speakers, with some of Mr. Murchinson's very nice speech.
This set starts out with the events that led to the School Board President stopping the public speaking, tossing out a speaker, and moving the meeting to the private Board Briefing room. His decision is being brought under scrutiny. I don't know much about that, but for those who are interested, it's in this clip.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Blue Ribbon School Tragedy
I am so heartsick over the fate of Bonham Elementary, one of DISD's few Blue Ribbon Schools. For those who don't know, last Thursday the Dallas School Board voted to close and consolidate 11 schools. Among them was James B. Bonham Elementary. Here is a report on Bonham's award by the Dallas Morning News. I guess this means the National Title I Distinguished Schools award isn't going to come through. I mean, if there's no school to give it to...
For the last few months, there has been a big campaign from the communities of many of the 11 schools to oppose the school closings. Many petitions with hundreds of signatures were turned into the Board last Thursday for many of the schools.
But Bonham and its community was the leader of them all. With it's national recognition, academic successes, and consistent community support, surely the Board would look at other options? As one Trustee says often, our outdated public school system is not designed to teach poor children how to succeed. To that I say - my friend, Bonham did that very well. And you closed it.
It is heartbreaking to me to see this decision for another reason. Now we know beyond a doubt that in DISD a school cannot be "good enough" to have its program saved. It takes a lot more than mere academics and student success to stay alive in a WADA based system.
And another bad thing - the Bonham community got zero compromise or guarantees. That is especially shocking to me. They came on "long and strong," as another Trustee is known to say. They started speaking at Board Meetings and Board Briefings in the Fall. (Speakers at Board Briefings are not that common.) They offered alternatives that made sense based on the information given them. They had Trustees at their community meetings. They were even willing to discuss compromises they didn't like, such as moving but keeping the teaching and leadership staff largely intact (as one parent suggested, per this article) .
After all, isn't it the team and not the building that really makes a program thrive? "Copy it, don't kill it!" is a paradigm shift the magnet communities have been preaching for years. Bonham supporters urged it, too.
We'll have to keep preaching. The Board hasn't seen the light yet. Despite their many assertions that the building doesn't make the school, the Board didn't give an inch on Thursday. They gave no promises whatsoever that even one teacher would follow the children to the new school, much less all of them. So much for preserving what works.
DISD shot one of their prize horses for glue, but he's not quite dead yet. Bonham is open through the end of this semester. Between now and then, Bonham parents and neighbors need to press hard to get as much of their program and staff transplanted with the children as possible. And, if the Robert E. Lee Elementary parents want their school to be a Blue Ribbon School, too, they'll help!
Parents have to keep preaching, or at the end of the day it will still be just all about the money.
For the last few months, there has been a big campaign from the communities of many of the 11 schools to oppose the school closings. Many petitions with hundreds of signatures were turned into the Board last Thursday for many of the schools.
But Bonham and its community was the leader of them all. With it's national recognition, academic successes, and consistent community support, surely the Board would look at other options? As one Trustee says often, our outdated public school system is not designed to teach poor children how to succeed. To that I say - my friend, Bonham did that very well. And you closed it.
It is heartbreaking to me to see this decision for another reason. Now we know beyond a doubt that in DISD a school cannot be "good enough" to have its program saved. It takes a lot more than mere academics and student success to stay alive in a WADA based system.
And another bad thing - the Bonham community got zero compromise or guarantees. That is especially shocking to me. They came on "long and strong," as another Trustee is known to say. They started speaking at Board Meetings and Board Briefings in the Fall. (Speakers at Board Briefings are not that common.) They offered alternatives that made sense based on the information given them. They had Trustees at their community meetings. They were even willing to discuss compromises they didn't like, such as moving but keeping the teaching and leadership staff largely intact (as one parent suggested, per this article) .
After all, isn't it the team and not the building that really makes a program thrive? "Copy it, don't kill it!" is a paradigm shift the magnet communities have been preaching for years. Bonham supporters urged it, too.
We'll have to keep preaching. The Board hasn't seen the light yet. Despite their many assertions that the building doesn't make the school, the Board didn't give an inch on Thursday. They gave no promises whatsoever that even one teacher would follow the children to the new school, much less all of them. So much for preserving what works.
DISD shot one of their prize horses for glue, but he's not quite dead yet. Bonham is open through the end of this semester. Between now and then, Bonham parents and neighbors need to press hard to get as much of their program and staff transplanted with the children as possible. And, if the Robert E. Lee Elementary parents want their school to be a Blue Ribbon School, too, they'll help!
Parents have to keep preaching, or at the end of the day it will still be just all about the money.
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