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I understand where Bonner is coming from. Either you allow transfers or you don't. Whenever people start to make exceptions to the rule things fall apart. Take for example the rule on hooded sweatshirts. In my school you have some administrators who allow them and other who do not and still others who rely on a "thickness" factor to determine whether or not it is considered an "outdoor hoodie." I say make up your mind one way or the other and stop confusing the issue!
Not happy....I work at Winslow....enough said....when the latest MCAS scores are published our neighborhood families will wonder what happened, and how will the scores go up next year if we have huge classes??
Historically, in my 25 years of teaching in NBPS, many, many, many, of the so called "special permission" out of district transfers have been discipline problem cases in their home schools. The problem behavior then continues at our school. What a surprise! How about redistricting, since Keith has more students than both Normandin and Roosevelt, with less staff. Go figure!
Also, the hood issue is ridiculous at Keith. Depending on the whims of specific floor administratiors, hoods may or may not be allowed. We are not mind readers. This makes the "rule" both ambiguous and difficult to follow for both students and teachers since all students travel to all floors. Make a rule, stick to it!
There are some situations that should be handled city wide, like hoods, hats, male and female clothing issues that are out of control when they finally get to the high school. Aren't we supposed to train our kids for the next step on the ladder? Why doesn't the school committee address those issues? The issue of boundary lines has been going on since I was a child. Remember when Normandin had 30 kids in a class and Roosevelt had 12? What about the development of the north end and Pulaski and Campbell? When you buy a home in an area as a young adult you usually take into account the quality of the schools and the neighborhood. As a parent I would certainly take issue with kids coming in to my neighborhood school who didn't live there. Other than a documented hardship that should be addressed every year no one should be "out of district". I agree with Dr. Bonner when she says if parents can petition to move their child what do we need boundary lines for? As far as test scores and MCAS, I thought under NCLB underperforming schools were to receive more money/help to bring them up to speed.
why have districts or neighborhood schools if we are going to allow open enrollment? How do you calculate the expenses for each school? We already have an extremely transient population, so how are we going to manage funding, staffing, transportation, etc. , if we allow open enrollment? Are teachers then going to move schools along with registration? How do you manage that without violating the contract? Bidding? This spell PNADORA'S BOX
At the last SC meeting I saw our fine SC make it sound like it was Dr. Bonner's idea to allow all these transfers. She only voted yes because they were pushing her to do so. She may not be perfect ( last time I checked nobody is) but our school committee needs to GET A CLUE. Until we get rid of the good old boys club for good things will NEVER change. Why hire a superintendant if the mayor and the SC do what they want anyway????
What transfer policy? As far as I'm concerned, the superintendent has simply made it easier for students with discipline problems and attendance issues to "skip" from school to school without any checking system to determine need. I personally have had a couple of students move from Keith to Roosevelt to Normandin and back to Keith, etc. etc. at their parent's whims because this is one way for them to avoid penalties for poor attendance and discipline. They are hoping that the intake schools will not notice the violations or be provided with the proper documentation to be dealt with accordingly. And the superintendent has made it almost impossible to refuse taking in these students whose parents should be reprimanded. The parents now know that if they go down to PRAB and make a big stink about transferring their child to another school (even when out-of-district), the SOS will approve it. And the word's spreading. Students should have to stay at their assigned schools until and unless they move to another neighborhood school zone. And then, their discipline and attendance should be scrutinized carefully to see what else may be at play in the move.
8 comments:
I understand where Bonner is coming from. Either you allow transfers or you don't. Whenever people start to make exceptions to the rule things fall apart. Take for example the rule on hooded sweatshirts. In my school you have some administrators who allow them and other who do not and still others who rely on a "thickness" factor to determine whether or not it is considered an "outdoor hoodie." I say make up your mind one way or the other and stop confusing the issue!
Not happy....I work at Winslow....enough said....when the latest MCAS scores are published our neighborhood families will wonder what happened, and how will the scores go up next year if we have huge classes??
Historically, in my 25 years of teaching in NBPS, many, many, many, of the so called "special permission" out of district transfers have been discipline problem cases in their home schools. The problem behavior then continues at our school. What a surprise!
How about redistricting, since Keith has more students than both Normandin and Roosevelt, with less staff. Go figure!
Also, the hood issue is ridiculous at Keith. Depending on the whims of specific floor administratiors, hoods may or may not be allowed.
We are not mind readers. This makes the "rule" both ambiguous and difficult to follow for both students and teachers since all students travel to all floors.
Make a rule, stick to it!
Gee if hoods/no hoods is your only issue come to the high school!
There are some situations that should be handled city wide, like hoods, hats, male and female clothing issues that are out of control when they finally get to the high school. Aren't we supposed to train our kids for the next step on the ladder? Why doesn't the school committee address those issues? The issue of boundary lines has been going on since I was a child. Remember when Normandin had 30 kids in a class and Roosevelt had 12? What about the development of the north end and Pulaski and Campbell? When you buy a home in an area as a young adult you usually take into account the quality of the schools and the neighborhood. As a parent I would certainly take issue with kids coming in to my neighborhood school who didn't live there. Other than a documented hardship that should be addressed every year no one should be "out of district". I agree with Dr. Bonner when she says if parents can petition to move their child what do we need boundary lines for? As far as test scores and MCAS, I thought under NCLB underperforming schools were to receive more money/help to bring them up to speed.
why have districts or neighborhood schools if we are going to allow open enrollment? How do you calculate the expenses for each school? We already have an extremely transient population, so how are we going to manage funding, staffing, transportation, etc. , if we allow open enrollment? Are teachers then going to move schools along with registration? How do you manage that without violating the contract? Bidding? This spell PNADORA'S BOX
At the last SC meeting I saw our fine SC make it sound like it was Dr. Bonner's idea to allow all these transfers. She only voted yes because they were pushing her to do so. She may not be perfect ( last time I checked nobody is) but our school committee needs to GET A CLUE. Until we get rid of the good old boys club for good things will NEVER change. Why hire a superintendant if the mayor and the SC do what they want anyway????
What transfer policy? As far as I'm concerned, the superintendent has simply made it easier for students with discipline problems and attendance issues to "skip" from school to school without any checking system to determine need. I personally have had a couple of students move from Keith to Roosevelt to Normandin and back to Keith, etc. etc. at their parent's whims because this is one way for them to avoid penalties for poor attendance and discipline. They are hoping that the intake schools will not notice the violations or be provided with the proper documentation to be dealt with accordingly. And the superintendent has made it almost impossible to refuse taking in these students whose parents should be reprimanded. The parents now know that if they go down to PRAB and make a big stink about transferring their child to another school (even when out-of-district), the SOS will approve it. And the word's spreading. Students should have to stay at their assigned schools until and unless they move to another neighborhood school zone. And then, their discipline and attendance should be scrutinized carefully to see what else may be at play in the move.
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