AnonymousFebruary 7, 2016 at 4:51 AM
I never realized just how lacking and oppressive Lynn schools and district were until I moved and my kids attended school in a new district.The first noticeable difference was just how welcoming their new schools and district were. As a parent,I had never experienced this in Lynn. The superintendent is extremely community oriented. He strongly believes building ties with parents,students and the community is essential to student performance and their success in the classroom. The culture of any organization is created and begins at the top. It is evident in every school in our district that the superintendent's community oriented policies are followed by every principal,teacher and staff member. Likewise,it is evident in Lynn schools that the unwelcoming and oppressive culture created by the superintendent is followed. Just like in Lynn,language barriers pose challenges to students,teachers,and parents. However,the difference between Lynn and the new district is the new district adapts to and overcomes these challenges. Translation and interpretation services are provided to all those who require them,including during school events and meetings. Most parents do not even have to request these services ahead of time because unlike Lynn,the district is organized and all the information parents put on the forms they fill out at the beginning of each year, including language preference,is available and accessible at the school level. Therefore,if a parent puts they only speak Spanish on these forms,school personnel know this information ahead of time and do not hold a meeting with that parent without an interpreter present. Makes sense right? The schools also have staffed libraries and the students use these libraries often. Every class my kids had had library time at least once per quarter. The students were taught how to do research and find books and other materials for their research. When I talk to the other parents about Lynn schools not having libraries, they are in disbelief. Their first response is usually how does a school not have a library? As a parent of students attending school in Lynn,you are led to believe that it is normal to have overcrowded classrooms,a lack of textbooks, no libraries,and no voice in your kids education. When this is the only experience you have with a school district,you tend to assume this is how it is everywhere.It isn't until you venture out of Lynn and realize just how much your kids were deprived in their schools and how their education was lacking as a result. The best decision I ever made for my kids was moving out of Lynn and getting them out of Lynn schools.
Organizational Culture is created by four distinct methods in an organization:
ReplyDeleteThe actions and behaviors of leaders
What leaders pay attention to
What gets rewarded and what gets punished
The allocation and attention of resources
Ask yourself, what sort of culture does Superintendent Latham's actions and behavior create? What does she mostly pay attention to? What and who does she reward versus what and who she punishes? What does she pay the most attention to and who/where does she allocate the most resources?
I will give you a little hint: More than 82% of the $136 million FY16 budget will go to salaries [which have increased by over $5.1 million from FY15.] Meanwhile, a measly $23.9 million [less than 18% of budget] is expected to be spent on non-salary items such as textbooks, school supplies and library materials. That is less than $1,600 per student.
Lynn will receive something like $9200 per student in Ch.70 aid from the state for FY16 and the city is expected to only contribute something like $2800 per student. Those figures are based on a total enrollment of over 16,000 students, including KIPP. They do not include any arrears Lynn has accumulated over the years from failing to meet state net school spending requirements. Therefore, this is the very minimum the city is required to spend on education in FY16. It currently is required to spend much more due to arrears. Based on an enrollment of roughly 15,100 students, one would believe Lynn Public Schools portion of FY16 funds should be about $138.9 million in Ch.70 aid and $42.3 million from the city for a total of about $181.2 million. We already know the FY16 operating budget is only $136 million. This leaves $45.2 million for....?? Your guess is as good as mine.