Saturday, April 26, 2014

Mayor Jon Mitchell receives his quarterly report card .... Submitted by a member

Mayor Mitchell insists he is in the process of eradicating violence in our schools as well as crime on the streets of the Whaling City.  Five months after initiating his uncontested second term as elected leader of our city and the chairperson of the New Bedford School Committee, it is time to evaluate the Mayor.  Grades will reflect progress toward self-proclaimed objectives provided at his second inaugural address on January 7, 2014.

1.  “New Bedford will be a national model of urban school transformation”

GRADE: F

RATIONALE:  Violence in NBPS is rising exponentially.  School Committee members and Mayor Mitchell have failed to halt the increase in assaults (physical, verbal and emotional) against teachers and students by effectively denouncing their existence (please refer to viral video of Ms. Joanne Moura as evidence of failure to complete objective number 1.

2.  "Changes being made will restore parental confidence in the system”

GRADE:  F

RATIONALE:  Please refer to incident involving middle school student Eduardo Irizarry.  Undoubtedly, Eduardo’s parents remain very concerned for their son’s safety after being choked to unconsciousness subsequently requiring surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.  Also refer to the numerous parents who have attempted to contact Dr. Durkin regarding violent incidents in elementary schools.  Many of these individuals have not received any correspondence regarding issues that directly affect their children. Additionally, model parents who are involved in PTO are considering taking their children out of the system and home schooling them in an effort to keep them safe.

3.  “We will build a school system that shines with a culture of achievement and again be the source of community pride”

GRADE:  F

RATIONALE:  Changes being made in our Special Education Department will result in significantly less students qualifying for special education services.  There have been no provisions made for these students to succeed or at best, function on par with their peers.  Is the community proud that the special education numbers and costs will go down as a result of these changes?  Can we assume the community is smart enough to know that these students still exist in school and continue to require support services to access the curriculum regardless of how we “label” them?

4.  “Our schools can and will do much better”

(this area could not effectively be graded as the objective is vague and immeasurable)  Does “better” imply test scores will increase or that the level of violence will decrease???  If it is the latter, the grade, like all others, is an F.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...



Based on the report card above,the following is a list of what I think needs to be done:

1. Written review of mayor and superintendent’s plan to transform NBPS by an independent source.

2. Vote of “no confidence” in: mayor, superintendent and all members of the School Committee.

3. Public press conference to address aforementioned issues in which parents and taxpayers may directly speak with Mayor and elected school officials (for more than three minutes) regarding lack of progress toward goals andobjectives established by the mayor at the onset of his second term.

4. Termination of existing school committee with special election to create an impartial system or committee to offset the skewed balance of political power within the NBPS.

5. Revert to and respect the legal, binding contract established between the NB School Committee and the New Bedford Educators Association which was established in good faith between the two parties.

Anonymous said...

A leader who lacks character or integrity will not endure the test of time. It doesn't matter how intelligent, affable, persuasive, or savvy a person is, if they are prone to rationalizing unethical behavior based upon current or future needs, they will eventually fall prey to their own undoing.

Anonymous said...

I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion. It would provide some much needed closure and bring peace of mind to so many of us who have gone through hell and back teaching in this district. They have no redeeming qualities and we need to heal!

Anonymous said...

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Our professional expertise is not respected by these monsters.

Anonymous said...

The public has no idea what we are asked to do and how bad things are ... being “spied” on, atmosphere of distrust, abuse and neglect, climate of fear, exhaustion, job tension, nervousness, depressed mood and mistrust, contractual, inadequacy of resources, teacher retention, punitive evaluations. The actions of these administration directly impacts our mental health, attitudes, and outcomes. Another F!

Anonymous said...

I agree! Unfortunately, Unger will probably read this and plagiarize a copy to create his own for the sub standard times. ... we all know he has no ideas of his own....

Anonymous said...

We need to put an end to Pia's reign of Marshall law, the mayor needs to face his failing of the city and it's most vulnerable children. Voters and tax payers need to yell loudly they have been bamboozled. New Bedford Schools have been blamed for things beyond the classrooms control, and the powers that be have refused to controll the things which only they can, everyone is loosing.

Anonymous said...

Jon Mitchell found a new home among the sludge in a waste water treatment plant where he belongs.

Anonymous said...

Give me a break. the jerk perpetuates violence.

Anonymous said...

They have failed ...time to let them go...Let them reapply at another district...!!!!! Let's put out the "trash" where it belongs! In the DUMP with the rest of the garbage!

Anonymous said...

and now...the paper calls for school funding to "take care of its children"....giving Pia ALL THE MONEY for her top heavy staff will NOT take care of the children!

Anonymous said...

If you read yesterday's paper our illustrious mayor now has THE answer for solving all of the aforementioned problems and any new ones which might arise in New Bedford - he is planting trees - $500,000 worth of trees. This is the kind of nonsense that the taxpayers of this city are expected to put up with instead of seeing some REAL improvements that mean something.

Anonymous said...

Well with the new trees lining the streets and his new bridge, New Bedford's problems will all be erased. Thank you for your tremendous contribution to our city, Jon!

Anonymous said...

Trees will hide the real issues. They are a distraction. Can't see the forest through the trees. Brilliant on the part of the mayor.

Anonymous said...

Tree won't grow in contaminated soil. Hey, the soil has something in common with our administrators and educational leaders.

Anonymous said...

...and when the tree falls in the forest, will anyone hear it!

Anonymous said...

Maybe we can use some of the trees struck by lightning to make copy paper. I work with teachers that buy their own copy paper for their class.

Anonymous said...

The high school is falling apart. For the longest time, letters were missing from the sign. We have mold and mildew, broken air vents and windows, broken desks/not enough to accommodate students, rain and rodent damage, leaking roofs and toilets, saturated and stained ceiling tiles, contaminated classrooms, peeling paint, decay, flooring that poses safety issues, the list goes on and on...Mitchell's priorities are spot on!

Anonymous said...

The high school is not the only school building that's falling apart. We have some elementary buildings that are way older than the high school, and they have been neglected for far too long. You want to see the mold and dust that has collected in the oldest heating systems in the city?? But that's OK because it's only children and teachers that are being made sick by the neglect of the city…they don't count for crap.