Monday, December 3, 2012
LIL' LORI JUST WON'T LET UP!
: "Whenever I hear about the deplorable conditions at the Ford School, I get so infuriated! Am I correct in saying that these poor 5th graders are actually sitting in the library all day and whenever someone comes to and/or leaves the library, these kids are interrupted? I contacted the deputy commissioner of the DESE, Jeff Wulfson, as well as the entire board of the DESE regarding this issue. Mr. Wulfson's careless and dismissive response included this, "We are aware of the overcrowding situation at the Ford School" "Sometimes the best solutions take time to implement, particular if new buildings or additions to existing buildings are needed, so occasionally a district does need to use libraries, auditoriums, or even gymnasiums as temporary classroom space" However, Mr. Wulfson did not specify what he or the DESE considered temporary. Not a single member of the board bothered or cared enough to even respond! The reason the local school districts, like LPS, can and do have such deplorable learning environments and conditions, is because the STATE ALLOWS THEM TO!! Also, the state and federal governments have so many regulations and pass so many laws that the local districts must follow, yet they do not offer these local districts enough or any resources to handle the outcome of those actions. Unfortunately, it is the very children our government claims to be protecting who ultimately suffer the consequences!! I am willing to bet that this issue would not be going on in other schools such as Shoemaker or Lynn Woods. Mainly because of the demographics of those who live in the neighborhoods and who attend the schools. However, I also think Ford School and the students who attend it, suffer because Dr. Crane is the principal there and Dr. Latham and others, including members of our school committee, are not shy about their feelings of disdain for Dr. Crane. I also think the parents of these other schools would absolutely not stand for it!! They would come together and would relentlessly seek changes!! I bet emails, phone calls, letters, visits to Commercial Street and even public protesting with picket signs would be happening!! The parents of the Ford School and our entire community need to come together and relentlessly demand that changes are made. It is not enough for just a handful of parents to speak at meetings or make calls or send emails because they can be easily dismissed. Thankfully, parents are beginning to come together with the help of groups such as LPOBE and the new PAC. It has been mentioned several times, including at the school committee meeting, that Ford School will become a level 4 school very soon. I cannot help but wonder if this is what Dr. Latham is waiting for? Is this why she has not and is not taking immediate action (other than talk about it) ? After all, when Ford School becomes a level 4 school, she will be able to fire Dr. Crane, which my guess is something she has dreamed about. A very wise parent brought up the fact that our children and schools must fail in order to receive the resources and services they need to succeed. Is this the message we want to send to our children??"
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My child' was a student at ford school,Ina kindergarten class in the exact same space a few years back...it worked temporarily but it was a year before it was no longer a kindergarten. We all survived ...no one Meade a big deal of it especially ms crane ...no school committee people cared..no parents complained...how is this different ?
ReplyDeleteI think you answered your own question. I would guess the difference is the parents. If none of the parents complained and just accepted the deplorable conditions, how would the school committee or anyone else even know about it? This is the message we are trying and hoping to get out there. Parents need to get involved, get together, take a stand and speak out when their children are not getting the services and education they should be! I think your post proves that it does work!! You said it yourself, no one spoke up or cared and nothing was done. Today, many people are speaking up and the problem is being addressed. Although, no actual changes have been made to fix this situation yet, my guess is they will.
DeleteYou write: "I am willing to bet that this issue would not be going on in other schools such as Shoemaker or Lynn Woods. Mainly because of the demographics of those who live in the neighborhoods and who attend the schools....I also think the parents of these other schools would absolutely not stand for it!! They would come together and would relentlessly seek changes!!"
DeleteI don't think this is necessarily true - Lynn Woods became a Level 3 school, in the bottom 20% and we haven't heard a peep from those parents. Same for Pickering. There's a level of apathy from parents across all schools regardless of whether it's Ward 1 or Ward 5.
John
John... The issue I was referring to is the fact that there is a 5th grade class without a classroom and our administration has not taken any immediate action to fix this. I do believe our administration discriminates against the Ford School because of their obvious disdain for Dr. Crane and because of this, the children at that school suffer. I agree with you that there is a lack of parental involvement in all our schools, but I still think there are parents at some schools who would and could get the attention of Dr. Latham and the rest of the administrators and perhaps get some changes made. Unfortunately, the parents of the Ford School who spoke at the school committee meeting did not receive any courtesy or respect from the administrators or from some committee members.
DeleteBecause school committee Memebership and parents are on the school improvement council ....everyone knew. It was a temporary fix and it worked temporarily.
ReplyDelete