Audit Anyone?

It seems that at least somebody is reading this blog. I, of source was at the LSC meeting where the approval was voted on to post the position. Rick Starbard asked a very poignant question but wasn't given a very clear answer. Part of the argument attempting to justify creating this new position was the increased workload due to the elimination of ten positions from last year's budget. This meant an increased workload. However Starbard pointed out that they had gotten a report on the "Race To The Top" grant by a newly appointed program specialist and wondered just how many other "new" positions had been created. No clear cut answer was given.

Donna Coppola pointed out that this "new position" would almost automatically create still another $50,000 a year position since a new Confidential Secretary would be needed. Lynn Public Schools are already embroiled in a costly lawsuit involving another Confidential Secretary. Who knows how much resolution of that case will cost.

We are spending all of this money and we still have 5 failing schools and I think only 3 schools in the city that made AYP. It is time for an audit of the finances of the Lynn Public Schools so we can know just where we are spending our money and who is spending it.

I personally think anyone who voted for this "new" position should be voted out of office come next election. The only exception I would make is Maria Carrasco who was "bullied" into voting in sub-committee meeting to even allow the full committee to vote. In the past Carrasco stood beside the mayor, myself and a couple others to thwart the superintendents attempt to crush the NASA program at Ford.

Committee member Patricia Capano felt that the new deputy position because of the long hours put in by Dr. Latham. I wonder how many teachers out there put in long hours for a lot less than the $160,000 a year that Dr. Latham makes?

Lynn super under fire for request

Stand For Our Kids, Stand To Be Counted

The city provides at least half the money for the school budget (I'd give you the exact amount but you know how I am with that math stuff). To me, this means our councilmen are somewhat accountable. Sure the superintendent has a great deal of latitude with the funds but you can't tell me that the holders of the purse strings have no influence.

So what can we do, what should we do. They should be made aware of the things going on with our schools They have some degree of responsibility, some accountability.  Call them, write them. Let them now of your opinion on the feasibility of adding a deputy superintendent's position.  Is this the best spending of our tax dollars? What is the value of such an investment when our classes are overcrowded and our elementary libraries closed?

Maybe our kids can't vote but we as parents can.

What You Can Do

Hey if Twitter can be used so that Oprah's audience can surprise her with a new dance why can't we used the growing social media to keep everyone informed on what's going on with our schools? After all our kids are more important than some club dance, even if it was something from the Black Eyed Peas.

Eat your vegetables and re-post. Follow the Watch.

Who's To Blame For The State Of Our Schools?

Everybody has their favorite whipping boy. Those blasted unions, teachers don't have to do anything and you can't fire them. Or maybe it's the administration, after all they get these exorbitant salaries, promote their friends making an unnecessary layer of educators who have no direct contact with our kids. Maybe it's the parents, since they waste all that time working putting food on the table.

Why are we wasting time playing the blame game? We need to all work together to find solutions. Our schools are FAILING, we need to spend our time and energy on helping he victims, our children.

No Deals, No Way!

Please I would ask that the mayor and the school  administration continue their rigid position in regards to any resolution of the lawsuit involving confidential secretaries. I mean I gives me something to write about and my numbers are up. WAY UP.

I'm learning things, hearing things. I've got more stories to write. Think of me. I mean I'm poor, I can't work at my job any more because of my stupid cane. So what dragging your feet is going to cost the taxpayers more money, I mean taxes will still be due.

Only our kids truly suffer and they are young. They will grow out of it.

A Pause From Our Sponsor

Let me take a break from all this craziness to acknowledge a former Ford School graduate and mother who has volunteered her time the past few days and helped me in the library,  Angie Tejero. The library has never looked better. Her invaluable help testifies to what a community school is all about. Are you listening, Dr. Latham?

Who Ya Gonna Call?

When was the last time the Item did a story on Lynn Public Schools? Do you remember what it was about? I can't but admittedly I do have brain damage from an injury almost 30 years ago so I am not the sharpest blade in the drawer.

I won't waste your time asking about the Lynn Journal, The point of the matter is that this is a critical time and our education system needs all of the examination and discussion we can provide. Our children's future depends on it. Let's think of ourselves for a minute. Who's going to take care of us when we are old and dependant? Some of us are closer to that point than others.

Why Does The Postman Always Ring Twice At Lynn Schools?

Because so many of the administrators live so far out of Lynn they can't hear the bell ring.

Is this true? Is it wrong? I can't say absolutely, I don't exchange Christmas cards with any of them. But once again, I hear things. As for being wrong, I'm a poet remember not a lawyer who is familiar with the letter of the residency regulations. The only letters I know about are scarlet ones.

It just seems to me that if these people want to take our money,  they at least ought to pay taxes here. That's just my opinion. Call me crazy.

How To Join The Race

I am sure Dr. Latham and her newly appointed program specialist in charge of the "Race To The Top" monies are overwhelmed keeping track of all our failing schools so I took the liberty of forwarding this article on all of the excitement and new uses of some of the new educational initiatives. Don't thank me, anything to help.


Like an e mail I got suggested, a committee should be formed to maximize the use of these funds.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/16/president-obama-announce-major-expansion-educate-innovate-campaign-impro

Who's Watching Our Money?

Is the proposed new Deputy Superintendent position absolutely necessary in these tight fiscal times? Rick Starbard and Donna Coppola don't think so. They voted in the minority, 5 to 2 aginst the position. I agree with them.

Let's think about the cost creating such a position would cost. I don't know the exact cost but I would guess a little less than $150,000 a year. That would buy a lot of new books. Excuse me for being partial to books, must be from the fumes in the library.

Really the question is: "How much direct contact is this new deputy superintendent going to have with our kids?".

When was the last time your kid got to see Dr. Latham or Dr. Wary? I don't mean to diminish the importance of the work they do. it's just that I don't think right now we can afford the luxury of making their jobs easier.. Is being a parent getting any easier?

"Hands Off! Don't Get Any Funny Ideas"

Last Thursday night's LSC meeting a report was given by the appointed program specialist in charge of the "Race To The Top" grant money. Like I said previously, we were told what we can't spend the money on. Missing from the monologue was what we "could" spend the money on.

Well to be honest that was not completely true, I mean we were told about general expenditures about data. I don't like the "New Math" or any math for that matter. Numbers scare me.

It would have been nice to hear what others districts are doing with the money. Thirteen districts are not even getting any money.

I am sure it is just a coincidence we have all this grant money available and suddenly we can afford to create a new Deputy Superintendent's position even though our classes are overcrowded and our libraries are closed. I guess I should have studied math in school because to me, it just doesn't add up.

Lynn Is Burning!

Wow! I had 269 hits yesterday. I hear things, now more things. It seems that some positions that are about to be filled and there are rumors the interviews to be conducted are just for show because the selections are predetermined.

I would hope that is not the case. We want and even demand our administrators to be fair to be honest. The job goes to the best person. That's the American way. Is it the Lynn way?

One of the things I also heard was the selection for the new Deputy Superintendent job already had a name linked to it. The approval for posting the position was only granted Thur. night. Rumors are not fact but remember the old adage about smoke. Like Smokey Bear says, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires"

Why Have I Been Sending Copies Of The Watch To Council?

Well it's not just because I like seeing my numbers go up. Although I have to admit it's been pretty heady to see my readership skyrocket. Me, an unemployed disabled wanna be poet.

The fact of the matter is that the city of Lynn subsidizes 50% of the school budget. I don't have to throw any more numbers at you to make you realize that is a significant amount. Now the mayor chairs the committee so if there is any financial mismanagement going on, she should know about it. Council on the other hand, has no representative. Checks and balances, you know.

Hopefully they are giving careful and deliberate thought to the things I'm bringing up and not just hitting the delete button. I guess we'll see who is interested come election time.

Sweet Dreams, Lynn Public Schools!

It seems there are a lot of questions surrounding how what little money our school system has is spent. People have made decisions that it is wiser to spend money on litigation rather than education. That doesn't make sense to me. It appears that those same people are placing their egos before their, rather our pocketbook.

This sad because I have learned the hard way through all my dealings with probate court, there are no winners, only losers. When you really get down to it who will pay for our educators lesson? Not them because they get paid either way. Not even our taxpayers because, our taxes are a fixed cost regardless of the quality of our education. Sadly it is our students, our children who will pay the price.

We our mortgaging our future to support our habit for status quo.  I hope everyone can sleep well tonight!

Looking For Answers, Not Love

Boy with all the medical problems surrounding the Lynn Public Schools. it makes me wonder where my investigation should take me. OSHA, EPA, or maybe I should just yell, "What up, Oprah?".

The uncontested facts are the person who was in charge of the SPED dept. had a stroke, the Hood principal had a similar problem, and allegedly a Confidential Secretary was moved for medical reasons. If anybody knows of any others please let me know. I want to be thorough. I mean, how can be fair if I don't know all the facts?

All for now, Scoop over and out.

A Scoop Or Talk Soup? I Think I'll Snoop!

Sorry for the corny title but I'm a poor starving poet at heart. Boy there may be a very interesting story brewing. In the words of a movie mobster, "I hear things!".

Some of the things I hear revolve around the Confidential Secretary position and alleged violations of civil law. The two parties are so far apart, somebody is obviously dishonest. I guess it's up to me to find out the truth. I've got nothing else to do and I am beholden to no one since I DON'T HAVE A JOB' I'M JUST A POOR DISABLED POET WHO VOLUNTEERS IN THE LIBRARY!

People are talking and they say they know where the bodies are buried! All for now, over and out - Scoop.

My Public Service Annoucement

Today has been the busiest day ever in my blog's history and I want to reiterate "No Rats Were Harmed As A Result Of Today's Postings", at least none of the four legged furry kind!

Maybe We Pay Our Bills With Funny Money

Thursday night's LSC meeting was full of rather controversial decisions, issues and stuff. Packed into that boring Personnel sub-committee meeting was a rather dubious decision. It seems that Dr. Latham, last years Lynn Journal "Woman of the Year" claims to be in need of another Deputy Superintendent. The current workload of administering our 26 or so schools (5 of which are failing) is too much.

There is no doubt it is a formidable task but so is being a parent and I don't get to add an extra parent just because I feel overwhelmed sometimes. The LSC members on  the sub-committee are as follows: Donna Coppola - chair, Maria Carrasco, and Patricia Capano.

The proposal seemed to be going down to defeat in the sub-committee, which meant it would not be brought before the whole committee. The battle lined up like this, Donna Coppola was against it and Patricia Capano argued for it. Maria Carrasco appeared to be leaning towards voting no. However after repeatably offering her opinion that the matter should be brought up before the full committee for discussion. At this point, Maria succumbed to the bullying tactics of Capano and voted to bring the matter before the whole committee.

When it did come up before there wasn't much discussion.  The vote to post the position was quickly taken and not surprisingly the measure past with Patricia Capano, Vinnie Spirito, John Ford, and Maria Carrasco voting in favor of the addition, while Donna Coppola and Rick Starbard voting no.

Dr. Latham offered testimony that she thought she could cover at least half of the new position's salary with "grant" money. he failed to be specific about where this grant money would come from. In lieu of some unspecified "grant" monies she was sure she could cover it with the current school budget.

Really? We have overcrowded classrooms, 5 failing schools (Level 3 or 4), and physical plant problems at most if not all our city's schools..How could the superintendent have extra money squirreled away? Must be because she used to be a math teacher. Numbers are probably more favorable to her than most of us that have to pay our bills.

Who's Money Is It Anyway?

The mood of most of the members of the LSC was clearly disappointed after hearing the report from the program specialist in charge of administering  the "Race To The Top" grant monies. This was a newly created position this year.

Some LSC  members asked questions about hiring back teachers, reducing classes sizes, extending the school day but those and other ideas were shot down. According to her interpretation of the grant criteria, "it's all about the data, baby!".

I 've read the brochure and I don't quite interpret it that way but I am not a lawyer maybe she is. Anyway I am sure she is more educated than me.

Public Confidential

Before last night's LSC meeting they had a Personnel sub-committee meeting. There was a lot of talk about the Confidential secretaries who gets them, how many there are, and who gets called back from layoff.

There used to be six or eight and I think it was reduced to 4 this year and when Dr. Latham's CS, Pat Bucko, retired in Dec. a position opened up for a callback. A discussion was held in which it was explained that they weren't in the same bargaining unit as the rest of the school employees.  I was a boring discussion about seniority and union business.

However things got exciting after that meeting during the open forum before the regular LSC meeting when laid-off CS Holly tried to speak, vice-chair Patricia Capano shot her down because she said that specific personnel matters could not be discussed before the committee so Holly was silenced.

Being an inquisitive person I approached Holly during the break offering to tell her story. I gave her a flyer about Lynn School Watch and gave her my e mail address. She was seemingly eager to provide me with more info.  I was excited about the prospects of playing investigative journalist. But in reality Holly told me she had two lawyers and she probably won't be allowed to tell me much. Shucks, I was hoping to get a new nickname. "Scoop Wotring" , yeah that's it.

Oh well, stay tuned.

Tangled Webs?

Rick Starbard directed me to the  school dept. web site which indicates a meeting. I laughingly blamed my mistake on my brain damage. Mary Ellen Palermo wrote me that she talked to Maria Carrasco who told her there was a meeting. I called Donna Coppola who not only confirmed tonight's meeting, she's giving me a ride.

Let's juxtapose that a minute with a few other interesting facts. I had my wife print out for me the Lynn city calender clearly listing the meeting as canceled. She also printed out for me the calender for today at Itemlive.com which while it indicates school committee meetings in Saugus and Swampscott, Lynn is notoriously absent.

Given last week's secret meeting about the garden at Ingalls, this is setting a pattern that does not bode well for Lynn Public Schools.

Money, Money. Show Me The Money. Our Schools Are Failing, Why Aren't We Meeting?

Follow the money, that's how you are supposed to investigate whether or not decisions are made in your best interest. The problem is some one has to leave a trail.LSC member, Rick Starbard commented on my last post that there was a LSC meeting tomorrow night.

Since I have great respect for Rick, I thought maybe I had looked at the calender wrong so I rechecked it on the city's web site and found that it was listed as canceled. Usually they mail out agendas to the schools and they haven't received one at Ford.

Remembering hearing school department attorney Mihos talking about the 48 hour posting requirement, I called city hall. The operator directed me to the city council (coincidence?) who directed me to the school department. They were closed for the day. I will check again tomorrow with more people but the facts are  that either there is no meeting, leading to speculation about why the avoidance or laws may being broken about proper notice. I don't know, I'm just a volunteer librarian and a parent.

Is Something Being Hidden?

I just went on line to check about Thur. meeting of the LSC to double check the agenda and to my surprise it has been canceled. Why? There has not been a meeting in two months and then only one each in November and December. There are so many problems, so many questions. What are we doing, where are we going?

Can anybody say fiduciary responsibility? Can I spell it?

Where Is All The Money Gone?

With all the drama surrounding the chief financial officer in Lynn it begs the question what's going on with the school department's handling of both the "Race To The Top" money and the governor's 4 million dollars of grant money. We were promised an accounting of the proposed expenditures in January back in December Then there was the weather, a real snow job.

I am hoping for a full accounting Thur. night.'s LSC meeting. Stay tuned!

What Are The Hills Alive With?

Some excitement today in the library! No a lost, original manuscript of Harry Potter wasn't found, nor the funding for the restoration of the "real" librarians wasn't found. I got introduced the new music teacher. I apologize for not remembering his name, but I was so excited that the cries for more  more attention to a complete education won't be so off-key.

There's Snow Getting Around It!

Well I'm glad to see the Item finally getting around to doing a story about what all these snow days mean to this year's school calender. Unfortunately the problems caused by this and future snows this winter are not over. We all know what comes with melting. The damage is not over.

http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/02/05/news/news04.txt

Let's not forget the other story about the effects of an uncertain schedule. I know I'm from WV but I didn't know this was the first year that it snowed in Massachusetts. These are problems that should have been anticipated. We need to look at how we devise our school calenders going forward. Have I said that before?

http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/02/05/news/news03.txt

I've got plenty of questions, just looking for some answers.

Roofs, Snows, and Repairs

The different news medias are full of stories about collapsing roofs so naturally it does make me wonder about the structural integrity of our schools. Hopefully this bad weather will energize our school officials to redouble their efforts to secure money for school repairs.We have a lot of older schools throughout Lynn in disrepair.Oh yeah, we have a lot snow too.

Let's Take LVTI From Failure To The Front

This article illustrates what I was just saying about Lynn VoTech. Instead of failing, it should be leading our schools into the future. I would hope the superintendent and the school committee come up to bolster this school and allow it to take its place at the forefront of modern education. We are lucky to have this school.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/02/02/20career.h30.html?tkn=OWMFU1bwfubQOCZnehX6AobqxQVe5xc%2BUyQG&cmp=clp-edweek
                                                             (cut and paste)

Did The Superintendent See Her Shadow?

Now that the groundhog has not seen his shadow, what does that mean for Lynn schools? With all of these snow days questions arise about the length of the school calender. How late in June will we go? Will the Winter or Spring break be effected? Of course we could always go on Saturdays in order to insure we get the required 180 days.

Cancelling school all of these days has been necessary. Safety first. We just need to face the fact we live where we live and plan accordingly. The time to plan is before and not after stuff happens. We need to seriously examine our school calender going forward.

I don't know the answers, I just have questions. I know that's the easy part but I'm not as educated as those people in the school department. I'm just gonna get a cup of coffee and read some Robert Frost poetry.

A Diamond In The Rough

It blows my mind that Lynn Tech is one of the five schools in Lynn that are failing. It is not only failing but it's enrollment. I don't have the actual statistics in front of me so if I'm wrong on any of this I hopesomebody will correct me.

In today's employment market, the technology driven trades should be all the rage in this school of practical education. The doors of the institution should be busting at the seams instead of suffering a declining enrollment. With STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education poised to lead our economy in the future, questions abound about how our educational administrators both let the school decline to this point and how they expect to rescue the students.

I have not toured the school and have only actually been in a couple of rooms but I did have a step-son graduate from the auto body program a couple of years ago. It just seems to be a fresh, exciting place to learn about real life. If we just started with enough enthusiasm about the wonderful, practical,and real opportunities available there, that that enthusiasm would be contagious. As I have said before, it's all about presentation. We need our leaders to present well.

Let's Get In The Race

Of the state's 250 million dollars in Race To The Top money 13 of the participating school districts got NO money in this first round of disbursement. Lynn recieved about the fifth most at 4.5 million dollars. The objectives are quite clear if not overly specific. We must achieve excellence in our education.

This is our mandate but unlike ones in the past, this is a funded mandate. It is up to us to come up with the plans to achieve those goals. It is time to reveal those plans. As parents we deserve answers.

Attention Lynn School Committee Members, Dr. Latham, and Other Educators!

See my numbers, hear me roar! As I am sure you have noticed I placed a counter on my blog. This is to show that people are interested in what goes on in education in this town. Parents have a voice and it's getting louder. Those who choose to ignore it do so at their own peril.

The Art Of Learning

It is tentatively planned for the Ford School to be  where the intersection of education and inspiration takes place  on Feb.7th. A new after-school art program is set to start where approximately 30 students will have the opportunity to express themselves artistically in a safe and secure environment. This creative activity provides participants with the chance to explore education in the realms beyond the facts and figures.

Kimberly Smith of Students4students, Inc. presented the idea of this program to the Highlands Coalition, Inc. who then joined Ms. Smith in presenting the idea to Dr. Crane of Ford School. Students from Montserrat College in Beverly will be serving as teacher/mentors in the program providing direction as the Ford channel their artistic expressions.

S4S. Inc. has offered to provide all necessary materials while Len Thomas-Vickory of Montserrat College will send some of his students at the college to provide the direct mentoring to fulfill a community service component of their curriculum.

This exciting program is the epitome of a community partnership in education. In an environment of dwindling resources,an infusion of involvement can allow the exploration of the full continuum of learning that new digital driven education model either doesn't or can't provide.

McCulliffe Remembered As Ford Elementary School Talks With NASA

At Ford Elementary School the memory and legacy of teacher turned astronaut, Christa McCullife is kept alive by their affiliation with NASA, annual pilgrimages to the Christa McCullife Museum in Framingham, and their commitment to excellence and innovation.

That commitment was displayed yesterday in a kind of technological vigil was held yesterday in Room 200 where students had the opportunity to interact directly with NASA officials through a DLN broadcast. That treasured experience would not have been possible if Lynn Public Schools through Drs. Latham and Wary had succeeded in closing down Room 200 and changing it into a regular ed. classroom.

Thankfully Mayor Kennedy interceded against closure plans until a more thoughtful resolution could be found. That way Dr. Latham could go back to focus on plans to fix the 5 failing schools in Lynn and Ford can continue to thrive and pay homage to a brave teacher and astronaut.

Keeping Afloat

There is an article in today's Item that illustrates exactly why we should have a policy and procedure to "make-up" missed school committee hearings. No having one is fiscally irresponsible, even if it is politically expedient.

We need to take care of our business, but you have to be there. Where are you Lynn School Committee? Do you have complete faith and confidence in our superintendent to guide our fleet of educational ships? Five of them are sinking and I would hazard to guess others are taking on water. Our lifeguards, the LSC, are staying on the beach where it's warm and dry.


http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2011/01/27/news/news11.txt    (copy and paste)

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

When is the  "Race To The Top" going to start? Lynn got 4.5 million dollars out of MA's 250 million dollar award. We need to have specific plans, deadlines and, dates so we don't squander this windfall.

Oh yeah, since MA only awarded half of their grant, there is the possibility of more money in the future. If we hope to get any of this future money we better get our act together and produce an aggressive, innovate plan. We have to produce results. It's all about the data baby!

Are We Going To Skip School (Committee) Again?

Looking at the weather reports, we are in real danger of having our schools closed Thursday, Jan 27. Oh well, this is New England. Weather happens, safety first.

Still we need to examine a little more closely to discover all that truly means. If there is no school then according to long standing policies there will be no meeting of the Lynn School Committee that night. Unless I am mistaken, there is no "makeup" policy. If I am wrong, somebody please correct me.

That will mean two meetings in the past three months. With five failing schools, we can't afford to be idle.Students have to make up snow days to insure that they go to school the federally mandated 180 school days a year. How does he Lynn School Committee get away with such truancy?

Does anybody remember that we have five failing schools in Lynn? There is the "Race To The Top" money to spend and the year is almost over and then there is the 4 million dollar grant from the state. We need plans if we are to achieve the objectives for these grants. Who is willing to take it on faith that the same people who administered over these failing schools while they were sinking.

They need to meet so we can we know who to hold accountable.

Lynn school monitors get training in restraint, CPR

Lynn school monitors get training in restraint, CPR

This story screams out about the need for at least a minimal level of training for all our educational personnel. How can our students be safe if our teachers are not safe?

Once Again A Ford Student Wins Honors

News Flash - This is a fast breaking story so forgive me if I am sketchy on the details. Late Thursday night it was learned that a Ford School student was a winner in the annual Martin Luther King essay contest. He will be honored with a cash award and a banquet at Salem State College (or is it university now?). We should all be proud of his achievement and wish him a good time at the banquet. (I'm sure he will have an excellent time. My daughter was thrilled when she was a winner last year. I think I have pictures somewhere.)

I had the honor of listening to him practice his speech. Very nice. Also I overheard him making plans on just how to spend the award.

Check This Out!

I strongly recommend everyone check out the latest posting in The Highlands Watch, http://thehighlandswatch,blogspot.com, a new sister publication. It talks about the role a community school can play in the enhancement of the quality of life for the whole community.

The school referenced? Ford, of course. So what if I am prejudiced, it's my publication.

Lynn School Committee, Where Are You? Come out, Come Out Wherever You Are

No one doubts the Lynn Public School system has problems.  I mean, we have 5 schools in various stages of failure. I am not sure if many people actually know how many lawsuits are pending. There are a few related to special ed. and then there is the asbestos fiasco.

The strategy appears to be "lay low and maybe everybody will forget about it". How can we find solutions o our problems if nobody is available to answer questions. Nobody ever has all the right answers but we have to be able to keep asking questions until we find them. Trial an error, that's how learning works.

Without meetings, public meetings then we as parents are forced to believe that the Lynn Public School system has to depend solely on the mystical powers possessed by "Woman of the Year", Dr. Catherine Latham. Last I checked, she didn't have a bag of magic dust. Or at least if she does, she needs some new dust because with 5 failing schools what she has ain't working (Yeah I said ain't).

I've heard the cries about the lack of positive press and the negative perception linked to Lynn schools. Honestly I have to repeat the Item's coverage of LPSs has been more like the reprinting of tightly worded press releases than objective, investigative journalism. Don't get me started on the Lynn Journal's reporting.

Then we have the thoughts and opinions of the "parent on the street". When no one is available to provide us with answers then we often must resort to making them up ourselves or be content with the status quo. I for one, am not content.

"Meet", the LSC must meet and have regular meetings if we are to stop accepting failure. Maybe the answers won't come right away, but at least we can get some ideas.

Something Has To Be Done, Snow Doubt About It

Once again school is canceled due to bad weather. It's a mess out there. Snow, ice and slush are the rule. One rule they don't have to teach in class. "Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink!", that is unless you'd like a slushy.

It's not like it's a surprise this is New England, land of the "Nor'easter". Weather is not the only problem facing us. Blowing in our face like a cold arctic blast from the north are the waves of MCAS scores, our schools' thermometer for educational achievement. Our students need to be in school, learning.  What can we do? They say you can't fight Mother Nature.

I don't think it is in the school budget to move the entire Lynn Public School system to a warmer climate so must we learn to accept a sub-standard educational system?  The weather is certainly a variable in our ability to provide a quality education to our children.

The question then is what kind of  is it: fixed or variable? The answer is both really. It is fixed in that we know we are going to have bad weather sometime during these months, we just don't know exactly when. The way it is now we worship at the feet of meteorological idols and offer snow days as sacrifices to appease the weather gods.

Our schools need a new religion to get a better forecast. The answer lies where our problem begins: in the calender. Well, not exactly. That is because here are two separate calenders, the meteorological one and the school one. These two don't mesh.

Since we can't change the seasons, not accounting for global warming, we must look at changes in the school calender to provide solutions for our wintry dilemma. There must be changes that can be made to it to maximize the amount of instruction time while reducing the inconsistency in instruction due to the unpredictability of the weather.

I would love to trot out my own version of a new school calender so I could take credit for solving all of Lynn's curriculum problems. However I am not smart enough to produce some computer generated model, complete with all kinds of statistical analysis. I'm just a volunteer librarian who checks out kids' book.

Angels In The Library

Siting in the library, this morning I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I had stacks of books to check in that had been returned. That meant not only did I have to manually pull their library card from the file of books that had been checked out but I also had to return them to the shelf.

That was a task this old arthritic boy was not looking forward to. With the impending snowstorm, I looking forward to being housebound tomorrow, Kind of a depressing prognosis. Needless to say my mood was not cheery.

Then when I was about ready to leave this morning, four or five little girls from Room 310 crowded up in front of my desk bubbling with excitement. They had finished lunch and wanted to spend the rest of their lunch period shelving books. They scurried about the library full of enthusiasm returning recently read books back to the shelves where they can be checked out by some other curious student.

To tell you the truth, I can't guarantee they put all the books in the right places. They were old enough they knew the difference between fiction and nonfiction and they seemed to have a rudimentary grasp of the Dewey Decimal system. Everything being in its proper place is not the most important thing here.

What is important here is the enthusiasm these young girls had for learning and knowledge represented by those library books and the childhood reverence with which those girls treated these books. It was heartwarming, a welcome juxtaposition to the piles of snow outside.

Thinking of this experience just further raises my ire over the fact that the administration didn't think that the libraries weren't a priority in our school budget. We have five failing schools in Lynn. Reading is where education begins and no place promotes it like libraries. Those young students who helped me out this morning understood that and they don't have advanced degrees.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

My daughter is so smart. (Sure, I am prejudiced but that's my job) Her latest work with the Student Leadership Ambassador Program at North Shore College is to call for a greater voice in school matters. She feels that no one hears what the students have to say.

Oh we hear alright. Our ears are filled with echoes of disrespect, profanity, and that incessant rap music. We hear but we don't listen. More often than not, oppositional disruptive behavior is a cry for attention or an expression of a desire for proof of existence, Letting our kids have a voice in their educational futures channels the energy that comes with being young into more positive and substantial outlets.

When we place value on what students have to say we infuse with dignity and instill a zest in them for looking at their future. It encourages them to take responsibility for not only their education but also their way in the world. If we are to be successful in providing a quality education we must provide instruction, not absolute control.

Voices are not just background noise. We need to listen to allow the students to have ownership in their education. Only then will we move forward and get though the revolving door of failing schools. If we listen, we might hear some answers. (Did I say that my daughter is smart?)

"Calling Out" Of Our Schools

Our educational system is in dire straits. We have 5 schools in various stages of failure and there does not seem as if enough urgency exists in the administration and others to address the many problems we have.

We put into place School Improvement Plans at Connery and Harrington, shuffled some positions, and three more schools very possibly will achieve the dreaded Level IV status. What are we doing about it? Well we had one LSC meeting each of the past 3 months. Our educational ship is sinking, time to plug some holes. That's kind of hard when nobody is in the boat.

Everybody seems to have legitimate excuses. I mean first it was the holidays and who wants to talk smack about Santa Claus. Don't forget Massachusetts is the land of the Pilgrims so Thanksgiving needed to be given its due reverence.

Then there was this last scheduled LSC meeting, I mean there was a blizzard. Sorry, this is New England and bad weather should not be a surprise. We should have had some contingency plan to have an alternate date as opposed to just waiting two more weeks until the next regularly scheduled meeting.

You would think Dr. Latham would be scrambling to get meetings scheduled so she doesn't have to take all the blame for our school systems failures. Surely being Lynn Journal's "Woman of the Year" hasn't gone to her head and she doesn't realize the crisis we are in.

Maybe some people didn't hear they repealed the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Houston, we have a problem.

Here You Go Again!

Once again the Item is doing an injustice to the education of our students. Today's article on KIPP Academy of Lynn has the appearance of a press release generated by KIPP than a true piece of journalism. Tough questions were not asked of either KIPP or the Lynn Public School system for providing a "supposedly" inferior education.

Tonight's Meeting Postponed

I hate tonight's meeting of the LSC was canceled. What's a little snow? I need some new stuff to blog about,

I wonder when they are going to have the next one?

Getting Some Credit

Even though I don't know the particulars of the the plan, but I applaud the effort. The "plan" I am talking about is the "credit recovery" one put in place through a grant written by Sue Rowe and Dennis Thompson. I believe it was a three year grant with escalating amounts.

It supposedly has been successful and Dr. Latham has ordered the purchase of some additional units. I am guessing it is some sort of computer based learning system. Being just a parent, some of the terminology is like a foreign language to me.

LSC member Donna Coppola testified about a teen mom she knew of that would have not been able to graduate that benefited from this program. I am glad she got her education because there is no future in waiting for an MTV reality show.

When Will Lynn See The Light?

I saw  Mayor Driscoll's posting on Facebook about the new solar panels at Salem High School. Using solar energy to produce electricity ha to save money in the long term. I know the money comes with lots of strings but what about using some of that "Race to the Top" money for developing a solar program. It would not be directly for salaries and it certainly would have a long term impact. Maybe eventually with the money we save on energy costs, we wouldn't have to lay off needed teachers. I'm just saying....

Too Much Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

I believe Ford School started Sat. school this week. It's all about MCAS prep.. We have a test driven educational system. Too bad. People, our children are more than just an expression of numbers. The pressure to perform stifles creativity and innovation.

The really sad thing is that those are the components most needed and most missing in our educational system. Intellectual development takes patience. No one grows flowers using a stopwatch. Like I say to my daughter when she starts giving me a rapid fire litany of reasons supporting one of her arguments, "Breathe! All beautiful music has periods of silence, you know rests".

By trying to cram in too much information, you lose focus.

Homey Don't Play That Game

Saw a great program on Dr. Phil about "cheating". It is amazing that the extent that people go to and the percentage of people who do cheat. The pressure we put on our kids is unreal. We are a "test-driven" society and to our detriment. Like my mom used to say - "Cheaters never win".

Marshall To The Museum

My daughter is going on a field trip today with her class at Marshall. They are going to the Museum of Science. Visiting the museum is a great idea because it's a great place to spark an interest in learning science and science gives us the practical answers that provides solutions for better living. That little spark just might burst into a flame that will light our way to a brighter future.

Besides who wouldn't rather go on a road trip than look at boring textbooks?

Beware Of "-tion" Words!

All through my life I hated school. I always excelled in my classes and could probably be accurately labeled a "teacher's pet". I adamantly resisted the idea of an academic life. I felt it was too sterile of an environment.  Life just wasn't lived that way. I couldn't really understand why I felt that way I just did.

I chose instead to learn from living and I have. Both learned and lived. To appreciate what you have it is good to have experienced the opposite extremes. I have worked at the most manual of jobs and been given up for dead. Still I am here and have benefited from my experiences.

Probably the most important axiom I have learned is to be suspicious of  "-tion" words. That is because they are just verbs who have sold their soul to become nouns. A journey to something they are not. If you can't see who you are how are you going to see anything else.

No where is my fears more appropriate than when it comes to education. I love learning, even being educated but despise the thought of an "education". Why is that? That's because as a noun the verb "to educate" seems to have evolved into a completed process. I am sure there are lost of people out there with fancy initials following their name who will put up an argument about the virtues of academia.

Sorry I won't be convinced. There is something artificial about an education. To instill excitement in our schooling we must ground our endeavors in reality and provide practical answers to today's problems. Our methods need to be retooled to better approximate the life we live.

Forget The Snow, Let's Talk About The Summer

Dr. Wary spoke at  the last LSC meeting about an exciting proposed program for summer school. Well they are going to try and package it as more of a summer camp. This middle school summer program will take place at Lynn Vocational Technical School.

More details will be forthcoming but it looks like it will be a normal half day summer school mixing core academics with access to all of the different shops (5?) at Lynn Tech. The program should be able to take 360 students and transportation will be provided.

Although normally since participation is not mandatory, summer school attendance is spotty at best. However there will be an aggressive advertising campaign complete with a video. In the past, Dr. Wary said that in the past they have had trouble getting all the slots filled but that may not be the case this year. Especially since not only is there a pool but it is AIR CONDITIONED. Sign me up, I'm ready to learn.

Once my slot is secure, I will offer you a little marketing advice: Preparation + Presentation = Persuasion.

What Year Was It?

I feel compelled to respond to the Lynn Journal's selection of Dr. Catherine Latham as Woman  of the Year for 2010. This brings to mind questions of the paper's credibility and perhaps even integrity as a news source.

Since I started my blog, Lynn School Watch, in July I have occasionally been critical of Dr. Latham's performance as school superintendent this year but I have also given her praise in my most recent critique of her performance on a particular issue.

There is no doubt that she has a difficult task. Lynn is the fifth largest school system in the state and in a time of dwindling resources, the degree of difficulty only increases. To tout her level of sincerity as a justification for her selection is ludicrous and irresponsible. Using what many would call a misjudgement or misperception, only raises doubts about your paper's professionalism and quality of journalism.

One reason given for her winning of this award was that she was the first woman to be a superintendent of Lynn schools. What about the fact that Mayor Kennedy was the first woman elected mayor of Lynn? Mayor Kennedy's is a much harder and larger job. And oh yeah, she is Dr. Latham's boss.

I know it's asking a lot but let's stick to the facts. Two of  Lynn's elementary school achieved Level IV status this past year. Maybe she was not responsible for these school's reaching that status but she has been responsible for their Turnaround plans I have attended all of the LSC meetings since spring of 2010 with the exception of the Sept. 28th meeting that I missed due to cataract surgery and there were many questions raised about the quality of these plans, especially about the level of parent involvement.

During a time when our student's MCAS scores are falling,  the libraries of most of our elementary schools are closed. We should be adding libraries not closing them. We need a thorough accounting of the four million dollars or so of federal and state money that has been infused into our school system.. This has been promised and I look forward to analysing the list of expenditures.

Then I have heard from multiple sources that three more schools will achieve Level IV designation this fall. Two of the three middle schools in the city are supposed to be given a failing label. If my sources are correct then Dr. Latham's responsibility can not be denied. I do not have access to all of the confidential reports that would verify my concerns or would vindicate Dr. Latham's performance. When you have no answers, you are only left with questions.

I have been on the opposite end of Dr. Latham's bullying tactics during my recent struggles to get my special needs son the educational services he is entitled to by federal law. I was repeatedly warned about her temper and alternating periods of crying as an attempt to intimidate and effect the outcome of meetings with her. I have been dinner guests along side a senator and a member of the House of Representatives on two different occasions so her superior education and extra initials after her name was not enough to scare me away.

My son has been the beneficiary of my successful encounter with Dr. Latham and has made the honor roll at Pickering due in no small part to the level of services that I fought to have included in his IEP.

At a recent LSC meeting Dr. Latham expressed her outage through tears at the characterization of Lynn's Public Schools  in a Lynn Journal article about KIPP breaking ground. The severity of her reaction makes the paper's designation of her as "Woman of the Year" both surprising and suspect. How did Dr. Latham suddenly become worthy of the paper's adoration.

The inequalities in Lynn's Public School system has inspired me to found my blog, Lynn School Watch, to focus attention on the problems of our children's education. Their future and ours depends onit.

Year In Review At The Watch

Well really since I didn't start this blog until July if you want to get technical, I should call this post "Half-Year In Review". Nonetheless it has been pretty eventful so far. I am sure I won't be able to sum it up in just one post after all I do tend to go on and on and since I am getting more and more gray hairs, my memory fails me sometimes.

My big issue starting off was my failing attempt to save the elementary school libraries from the cold, impersonal budget ax. Since I was unable to convince those that hold the purse strings about just how vital the libraries were, I felt obligated to do my part to at least keep one open. This landed me a volunteer position at Ford School. There was no pay but many rewards.

Then there was the "mold" problem at one of the classrooms at Ford. I had a couple posts calling attention to the problem and made a few calls, Whether or not I initiated any pressure, the room got fixed enough that the Health Dept. okayed the return of the kids to class. I doubt I played much part in the pressure, I mean nobody reads these blogs.

At about the same time I started hearing about trouble with fights they were having at Marshall. I wrote about it and male teachers were posted at corners leading up to the school to establish some order. I am sure it was just a coincidence but the timing was nice.

Still recovering from a Labor Day fall, I underwent cataract surgery on Sept. 28th. I think there was a big improvement in my writing from that. I mean the typos and misspelled words went way down. Seeing more clearly helped me find my voice.

Then came the rats. They were very good to me. More and more people started nibbling at my blog. Lots of other people came out in support of the Ingalls "Farm" and science once gain ruled over silliness and The Food Project's lease was renewed,

The space shuttle wasn't the only program proposed to be grounded. The classroom at Ford School with a DLL hookup with NASA was threatened with closure. Mayor Kennedy saved the day or at least delayed the move until all of the options can be explored.

A very experienced special education teacher was let go for who really knows what reason at the end of his probationary period. I, of course, don't have any inside information. I am just a parent after all. I wrote a couple posts to highlight what I considered an educational injustice. Nothing came of it. I told you nobody reads these blogs.


Despite my visual improvements, I still have a hard time following all this money flowing through this system. I go to all the meetings but all of these numbers from all these places just confuses me. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be. Oh well, I'm a "big picture" guy.

We've been promised a detailed accounting of where all this grant money that we received after the budget was finalized. I look forward to it. As a matter of fact, it's my New Year's resolution to carefully examine it and expose any inconsistencies. Maybe then someone will read my blog.

Dr. Latham Hears Voices

At the last LSC meeting, I learned still another interesting fact about student involvement. Dr. Latham announced at the Dec. 9th meeting that on the morning of every regularly scheduled LSC session, she has a meeting with student representatives from the high schools.

She mentioned that she was going to run the "uniform idea" by the students at the next meeting to get a sense of their opinion about the proposal. I can guess what their response is going to be. When you reach that age you don't want anyone to tell you what to do about anything. On this matter, Dr. Latham would be playing to the wrong crowd.

On closer inspection, the most important fact is that there actually is a meeting. This actually makes the students feel like they have a voice in how the school system is run and it gives Dr. Latham a chance to have a sounding board for how her policies will be received.

I don't know if Dr. Latham originated this idea or not. It is a good idea and she at least deserves credit for continuing them.

Standards For Standard Uniforms

There is no doubt that school uniforms is a volatile subject and convincing arguments can be made on both sides of the discussion. Some  research gives a school uniform policy credit for lessening behavioral problems, particularly in elementary school settings. A loud outcry can be heard from the"freedom of expression" camp.

It has been a few days since the LSC meeting and I do have a hard time reading my notes(you think I type bad, you ought to check out my penmanship). As best as I can recollect, attorney Mihos laid out the following criteria for a successful and legal :uniform policy:

                          1). must be VOLUNTARY
                          2). need some kind of subsidy to defray costs
                          3). ability to OPT-OUT
                          4). need parental involvement/support

I've stated my position. Let the debate begin! better make that, continue.

By the way, Lawrence does it.

Dress For Sucess

You probably guessed right, this posting is about uniforms. Now that all the recent chatter has died down about uniforms has died down I'll make some comments that hopefully won't be snowed over by an avalanche of emotion. Besides I had my own snow I was shoveling when all the rhetoric was flying.

Education is serious business. It is our kids jobs. Their wages are just paid at a later date. The amount of those wages is dependant on how well they do their job. We associate the worth of their job with the kind of clothes they wear. Lawyers wear suits, doctors wear lab coats, and UPS drivers wear brown.

It is only natural that our kids distinct attire for school. If we want our kids to take education seriously then we must take it seriously. Uniforms would help build a cohesiveness and establish the fact that we are all in this together. Football teams all wear the same jersey.

The concerns about self-expression and individuality are not truly legitimate. Our creativity would be better served if it was channeled into academic pursuits. Individuality should be measured by our achievements.

True Inclusion

Some times we do something by doing nothing special. By just being friendly, we act more human. A more healthy environment is created whereby everybody benefits. Anyone who is different is scary, not just for our kids, but adults to show their uneasiness. If we concentrate instead on how much more we are alike then we can more easily move forward instead wasting time on the negativity of our differences.

True Inclusion

Dance The Day Away!

There is a slow movement afoot (pardon the pun but it is what I like to do) to incorporate dance into :meat and potatos' academics.

Students in a second grade class in Fort Garrison, IN used interpretative dance to illustrate the photosynthesis process. Putting on such a production stimulates the mind to develop both creativity and critical thinking, An added benefit that dance offers is it is a way to sneak a little physical activity into the curriculum.

Here is a wonderful article about ways different school systems are incorporating this most physical form of art into the classroom:

tp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/17/12dance_ep.h30.html?tkn=SVUFbR0K%2FiTQiw985P0DxNKS%2FjHq7rq%2F5dRN&cmp=clp-edweek    (you will have to cut and paste to your browser)

This I what I call Crea-ducation! Hey, I coined a new word, I think. Anyway I've never heard it before so until somebody tells me different, it is MY word!

If Ever I Saw Your Face

I am jealous. Maybe I'm spending too much time in the library.  I'm home today so I got to spend a little more time on the computer. Mary Ellen responded to my blog posting about blogs and kid alerting me to one posted by Lynn Woods School at http:// lynnwoodsschool.blogspot.com.

They have pictures. I mean it doesn't appear to be written by the kids but it is a great way to keep everyone informed about the going's on and a great way to build the kids self esteem. Did I mention it is FREE.

You Have The Right To Remain Unsilent

Wow! I just found out some good stuff. There is a website loaded with information for kids with special needs. With all the laws and regulations it's hard to know all of your rights and just what you are entitled to.

The Special Needs Advocacy Network, www.spanmass.org, provides info on all the pertinent laws and rights applicable to students in this population. No matter what your political perspective, a little education can be liberating.

Make A New Plan, Stan (OK, It's Not Mine But It Rhymes)

According to a recent article I read, as many as 50% of teachers leave the field within five years. Teachers in urban areas often survive for as little as eighteen months. Unbelievable!

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/44695/

What a waste of money, much of it federal, on educating prospective teachers. We NEED teachers but we NEED a better plan. Sec. of Education, Arnie Duncan has a new plan that is setup akin to the way medical doctors learn their skills.

Honestly I don't know the particulars of this plan so I can't say I wholeheartedly support it. However what I can say is that I like the idea of elevating the amount of seriousness we place on this position. Education can provide the answer to all our problems and it is about time we give it it's due.

Blogs Are For Kids, (But I Like Them Too)

Blogging is not just for educationally frustrated old men any more. There are programs out there where kids write about their everyday educational experiences with thier classroom assignments. This helps complete the learning circuit in a child's mind. It is one thing to learn a bunch of facts and it is another to put them to use. It is the completion of a process.

The fact that everyone in the world can potentially read something you wrote can be and energize lesson plans. This is "HOW" the Internet could and should work for us. For moexhilarating re information, read this article:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_709348.html

Someone Answer The Call

One of my readers tested the police tip line with a question. Guess this means they want us to police our own problems unless it is an immediate crisis. I wonder who said that before. We need to step up to the plate and develop our own school text line.


Question:
Hi - some are wondering if this tip line can be (or is being used) to be proactive with school and bully issues. Are you promoting this tip line at the schools?

Answer:
The tip line can be used to assist with any issue. However, if there are issues in schools, it would probably be best to immediately bring the problem to the attention of a school administrator, or to contact the police directly

From My Bully Pulpit

A reader of LSW informed me that Lynn Police already has a tip line for text and I assume pics at tip411 or 847411 Tips can also be left on the police website.. This is great news. 

However, we should expand this program and promote it big in the schools targeted specifically at "bullying". I would guess that the current "tip" line is geared toward "run of the mill" crimes and does not highlight any particular crime. Their job is to insure our overall safety.

The school has been given the mandate to protect our students from bullying and other school related crimes. I would guess the police dept. would be all to happy to cooperate but somebody needs to make the overture.

How Do You Say Bully In Text Speak?

Brockton has a tip line that is text enabled to give students a greater since of anonymity. Officials figure if they get information sooner they are  able to take more proactive action and maybe even prevent some bullying even before it develops.

he text line can yield even greater dividends because people can report other bad behavior monitored on Facebook, You-tube, and other social media. Incidents of vandalism can be more easily reported as well.

Learning about this program begs the question, :Why aren't we doing something like this?". We live in a new world and technology can be our friend. This makes sense to me because it could get many more people involved in the solution instead of spending lots of money identifying the problem. A problem that we already knew about.

Teachers Needed For Arnie's Army

Everybody says our classes are to have top notch education system. Everybody but the Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, that is. He was recently speaking to the American Enterprise Institute about the realities of modern education in light of falling revenues and the need to change our perspectives.

A big drain on most school budgets is transportation cost. He hopes that administrators will rethink bus routes and closing down under enrolled schools instead of cutting direct services to students. He points out that while everybody is claiming to be so concerned with class size,US classes are actually smaller than many other countries, countries who's students are outscoring ours. The average class size in the US is 25 while in Japan and South Korea the average class size is in the mid-thirties.

Duncan feels it would be better to have an excellent teacher teaching a larger class than an "average" teacher in a class of 22. He thinks we ought to look at larger salaries say $80,000 to $120,000 for top-notch teachers. This approach would reward excellence and would make the most of dwindling resources.

Wow, what an "American" concept.

That's The Spirit, Rick!

LSC member Rick Starbard, his wife who works at Sisson Elementary School and daughter Jessica donated and hosted an ice cream party for the class that donated the most toys to Toy's for Tot's.

The school collected over 450 toys that were loaded up on a firetruck and transported to the Marines where they will be distributed through their Toys for Tots campaign. Rick's wife did all the accounting for the contest displaying everyone's progress on a big chart. Rick's daughter Jessica, on her break from college, ran from room to room serving up the sundaes ordered from Treadwells.

The winning class brought in over 50 toys and one class only had 13 students but they brought over 30 toys so they were awarded sundaes as well. What was Rick doing all of these festivities? Aside from eating, you mean. He got to read the journals of these wonderful students who learned a valuable lesson about our responsibility to help those less fortunate than us.

Sadly no one from the Item, TV, or radio station was there to capture this outpouring of generosity. But you heard it here.

"Education Through Inspiration"

Since I am also Secretary for the Highlands  Coalition, Inc., I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting where I had the pleasure of being introduced to Kimberly K. Smith who is the Executive Director of "Students 4 Students". Her company hopes to turn artistic expression into a better appreciation of one's self and their community.

Students for Students will furnish not only the instructors but the materials as well. What a positive development for the kids in Lynn. The program will start out in the Highlands and build on that success to branch out in other schools and neighborhoods.

You can go to their website to learn more info about this organization. I know I am excited to learn more.

www.students4studentsusa.org                       

Unarmed For Battle?

What's up with all the violence in school now? There is plenty of rhetoric about bullying but what is actually happening? We have established a policy, there are procedures to follow and lots of documentation to follow to show us what we already know. It's a power play and somebody is going to be on the losing end. I think the current terminology for that person is "target".

Unfortunately we place our teachers and other school personnel in the middle with a big bulls eye on their back. Unfortunately that's there job. But we can and must do something about it. There are physical and verbal techniques for deescalating every situation. Everyone that has student contact needs to be trained in these techniques, not just a few coordinators and the like if we hope to establish security and stability throughout our school system. And the system has to back them up with training in both preventative measures and passive restraint.

Maybe this is already happening and I don't know. I am only a parent who volunteers in the library in our community elementary school. If anyone has different information, please tell me and ease my concern.

Crying History

It is painfully true that my bank account is learning what the meaning of volunteer is. However I have been reimbursed in other intangible, priceless ways. The joy of watching his new found treasure discovered tucked away on some dusty library shelf then there is the thrill of mining for gold, information plucked from some old book hid on the reference shelves.

That was the case this morning. After taking a break from checking in some books a class just returned, I was browsing through the pages of an old history book.. It was probably no accident. The time was right.


The book was "History Stories of Lynn", a book re-written  in 1979, fifty years after the first copy was written. There was a hope expressed that it would be re-written again in 2029. The realization that history matters were prevalent throughout the book.

Heck I found out an interesting fact personal to me. My first ever job in the summer after my sophomore year in high school back in WV was moving Hills Dept. store into an old vacant Grants Dept. building. The Grant Dept. store chain used to be a national chain that opened its first store in Lynn. Small world.

The book was financed by the LSC and prominent politicians of the day were given proper credit. Someone else was given credit in the introduction. That was Miss Patricia Bucko who spent hours typing the manuscript for the then Deputy Superintendent of Elementary Education,, Mr. George Laubner.

I would guess that was the same Ms. Bucko that Dr. Latham shed tears over the fact of her retirement. Maybe Dr. Latham's tears would have been better spent crying over what Ms. Bucko demonstrated that she learned long ago. History matters.

History tells us who we were, shows us who we are, and who we hope to become. A strong sense of self helps insulate us from external threats to our person. Threats like the ones from bullies who take advantage of our low self-esteem that comes from the lack of education about how special we are. That is worth a sincere river of tears.

Let's Keep Our Kids Home(home school, that is)!

A hot topic up for discussion at last Thur. LSC meeting was the placement of behavior classes throughout Lynn Public Schools. Addressing the topic was Ms. Muggeo. I didn't get  to take down her exact title as you now I am a slow writer. No worries, I'll just look to the pre-printed agenda to copy it. Wait, it's not there either.

In fact I have been going to all the LSC meetings lately and I've never heard her name mentioned. I worked extensively with Dr. Latham and Jessica McLaughlin last spring to put together an IEP for my son and her name never came up.

Someone told me that she is a long term employee of the Lynn Public School system, I don't know I didn't call payroll or personnel whoever handles that end of the administration. It seems to me she kind of shot to the top real quick-like. By sudden I don't mean years of service, I'm sure she has the credentials to do whatever she does.

I think she must have got a promotion in-house to be where she is at right now. I am sure it didn't have to be a public one, but an introduction would have been nice. It's never too late but you know what they say, "You only get one chance to make a first impression".

Anyway she said there were 38 to 40 behavior classes in Lynn. Why the range? Doesn't she know exactly how many students we provide service to? She did say that placement in the student's neighborhood school was challenging. I bet that's especially true if you don't know exactly how many classrooms you have.

They try not to move the kids out of their district middle school that way they can maintain some sense of stability. They are usually successful in that regard but in the meantime we are incurring the expense of busing the youngest students to some distant location.

Speaking from personal experience, I can testify about the wisdom of placing  special needs student in his neighborhood school. My son spent five years being bused to Shoemaker and was in a COACH class, spending some time in inclusion. He reached a plateau after two and a half years an then backslide. After one year at his neighborhood school at Ford, he now goes to Pickering where he has all day inclusion and made the Honor Roll. Community is therapy with results.

Marshall Madness

What's going on at Marshall? Remember all the fights I reported hearing about during the first couple weeks of school? I heard a solution they found to that problem was to post male teachers outside at the street corners leading up to the school to help keep order. Did we hire teachers or do we need to employ bouncers?

Then there was Monday when a student was apparently allowed to leave the building seeking protection from bullies, apparently  not satisfied with the help provided there. It's ironic that the man that school is named after was a champion of civil rights can't even protect the most basic rights of their students.


I may be wrong. I often am, so I'm counting on you out there to correct me in on the areas of misinformation. You all are my biggest sources.

Bully's Beware?

What's up with bullying?  I listened to Dennis Thompson present Lynn's new bullying policy to sent to the state for final approval. This was after the policy was put on display on the city's website and comments were solicited. In fact we were told Lynn's policy had received praise from the Attorney General's office I think. It may have been somebody else, cause I write slow and I do make mistakes.

Sounds impressive and after all this is a serious area of concern. Remember the suicide, Facebook, and bullying?

Then I hear troubling things that concern me as a parent of a child who goes to Marshall Middle School. First my daughter tells me of incidents of name calling and harassment she has faced. Hopefully I helped her insulate herself from ll the negativity, And  we let her know that she cannot have a Facebook account until she's older.

Facebook is also involved in another troubling story I'm hearing about bullying and Marshall. Right up front let me say, I haven't heard from every side so I don' know what the truth is. I just have a lot of questions, if anybody out there has answers, please help me out.

I heard of an individual who ran out of Marshall yesterday during class time to get away from repeated instances of bullying and ran to Ford school where she felt comfortable with the teachers and staff. The individual gave testimony, the truant officer was called, and reports were filed.

I got to wonder though, "How did we get to this point?" What did they do at Marshall when this student left the building? I've had to go through hoops to sign my daughter out to take my daughter out for a doctor's appointment that very same day yet this student escapes right out from under the nose of the administration. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Who is in charge? Do we have to have another suicide of a student before someone listens?

TV Blackout At Pickering May Be Lifted Soon Thanks To Mediaseth

The blackout at Pickering Middle School may soon be lifted thanks to the gracious offer of help from one of he readers of Lynn School Watch. Mediaseth from "Lynnhappens" offered to volunteer his assistance to try and solve the problems at Pickering.

I talked to vice-principal, Mr. Ritterhouse to relay Seth's generous offer. Mr. Ritterhouse welcomed the information and said he was going to pass the info to the advisers who are running PTV and have them call Seth directly.

Just so you know Seth, you have some name recognition out there because when I mentioned Lynnhappens he knew  said"Oh, I'll just have them call Seth direct".

Students Get A Handel On Music And History

What a treat! I was lucky enough to be able to get from out from behind my library desk to attend a special assembly at Ford School.

The elementary students were not only exposed to a classic and different type of music, the oratorio, but were given a history lesson as well as one in music appreciation. All of this was carried off with a healthy dose of comedy. You know what they say, "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down".

The Handel and Haydn Society sent four of its members along with a piano player to give the young  students a priceless performance, entertaining them for about forty-five minutes. One of the quartet dressed in a long gray wig and talked with a German accent transported here from the past to add a little creativity to Handel's "Messiah".

The "H & H Society" has been in Boston for over 150 years and I am thrilled to find out our students got to witness them and to be apart of their history. They will be performing their annual Christmas oratorio at the Boston Music Hall on Sunday Dec. 30.

Television Blackout At Pickering

Confidential sources (I am confident my son told me) relayed to me there is a television blackout at Pickering Middle School. The award winning television company, PTV, suspended broadcasting until after the first of the year due to an audio problem.

The students will be forced to resort to more archaic forms of communication like whispering in the halls. The video component of their current communication will be limited to what the students see through their own eyes. They can use glasses if they have a prescription.

Okay I made up the thing about the award but they do deserve credit for having a video broadcast throughout the school. What a great way to build positive self esteem and become comfortable with modern technology.

John Ford Fails To Score Goal For Lynn Youth Soccer

Mr. Ford clearly seemed disappointed when the rest of the LSC didn't quickly approve the free use of Breed Middle School gym for Lynn Youth Soccer's winter season. In the past a gentlemen's agreement between the two organizations had been sufficent for doing busines. LYS took care of the upkeep of Hood field during the spring, summer, and fall then got the use of Breed's gym for their winter season.

As a parent of two 12 year olds I can tell you that soccer is the cheapest of all the extracurricular activities. Legal ones that is. Anything that harms LYS, harms a lot of our youth.

However with the new rental fee schedule coming into play, it appears that agreement no longer applies. A few of the members of the LSC brought up the discussion and vote about the rental fees at the last meeting. Kevin McHugh added that he is getting all of these bills from the Department of Public Works.

Anyway the mood of the LSC wasn't to charitable. The best deal that Mr. Ford could salvage was allow LYS the use of the building for "free" but that LYS would be responsible for custodial fees. Hmmm, I wonder if LYS is going to start charging landscaping fees. Like I always say, "Are you prepared to live with the consequences of your decision?".

A Call For Help

We were visiting my step daughter this weekend. All of us took a walk to Walgreen's. As our grandson was riding his tricycle through the parking lot at Drewicz School. My wife couldn't help but notice the seemingly abandoned building right in the front yard that I told her used to be the library when Trippy attended there in pre-K.

I say abandoned because there was at least one boarded up window and a couple broken ones. Have I talked yet about the elimination of the librarians. Anyway she was all excited and thought that would be an excellent for kids. She even talked about volunteering and has all these ideas

I told her that I would try and find out what's going or not going on. So I would appreciate any information that anyone has. Maybe it will help get me out of the perpetual doghouse I'm in.

Also, I was thinking if the "Race to The Top" money can't be used for salaries, why couldn't it be used to provide resources to our libraries, all of them - staffed, unstaffed, and the ones staffed by volunteers.

Four million dollars, even a small part of that could buy a lot of books.

Good Learning Is Like Good Poetry

Let me start off by reminding everybody that I never had an education class in my life, in fact I have only had two literature classes, 19th century English poetry and "Bilddungsroman or Novels of Development". My classes were mostly in the sciences with a healthy dose of philosophy added in.

I have read a lot lately and I have lived a lot, starting all my life. From one of my psychology classes I have learned the more areas in your brain you get involved in the learning process, the stronger the memory. Each one of the senses correspond to a different part of the brain. The stronger the memory, the more readily it is to be recalled. That is what makes effective learning.

The same thing can be said about good poetry. It excites your senses. Coleridge is my favorite poet, but Blake is right up there. A good poet paints with words. Life is the canvas.

Our libraries are our galleries of knowledge. In the Lynn Public School system most of our libraries are closed in the schools lucky enough to have them. What does that say about us?

Christmas Presents For Our Future

Mayor Kennedy arrived a little over half an hour late for the LSC  meeting Thur. night but her tardiness was forgivable. She was at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. After all we want to tick off Santa Claus. Maybe he will put something under the tree for Lynn schools.

The only question is "Has everybody in the Lynn School Department been good little boys and girls?". I am not going to answer, you can fill in the blanks. It could be coal for Christmas. That wouldn't be all bad. I mean, we could use it to help defray the heating costs.

I'm hoping that the report documenting how the "Race To The Top" money will be spent. Dr. Latham promised it would be available.  We were forewarned that specifically none of the grant money could be used for salaries, that it is to be used for educational infrastructure, professional developmental, and other areas that will yield long term benefits. I am anxious to see some accountability. All I know is that I told both the superintendent and the deputy superintendent in a meeting I had with them early this year that I was no math expert but I know you can shape the numbers to get them to say what you want. Dr. Wary told my wife and me, "That is true, but we never do that".

What was missed by the mayor was a moving performance by four Lynn high school students who gave a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. I would have liked to give them personal credit but I write slow. Can you imagine the errors I would have made spelling, I mean typing, their names.

Maybe If We Close Our Eyes It'll Go Away

Tears were shed at last night's LSC meeting by the superintendent of schools. Over what? The state of the schools, it did seem like there were quite a few new employees for being a third of the way through the school year. Maybe this is normal, I'm new to the hiring practices of the Lynn School Department.

No, it was because her confidential secretary was retiring after 51 years of service. They weren't all under Dr. Latham, Mrs. Bucko(the retiring employee) has served under several past superintendents. Her past experience had proven invaluable. She must know where all the bodies are buried.

Not only were no tears shed for Coach K, he wasn't even mentioned in all the personnel moves. In fact, no "firings" were mentioned. Maybe not mentioning firings is a policy matter. No wait a minute, two terminations were listed in last month's agenda.

I would guess that since Coach K was a "probationary employee", thus at-will, if Dr. Latham consulted he probably have rendered an opinion that she was not required to have a reason. Just do it, just like in the shoe commercial and Lynn does have a lot of history with shoes.

Shoes are relevant to this story because the rights to the top notch education this man could have provided to his students were trampled on. I don't know if I said this before or not but Coach K taught in Compton before for goodness sakes.

Maybe the school department doesn't have the legal responsibility to disclose their reasons but they have a moral responsibility to inform the parents why they are denying our students the opportunity to benefit from Coach K's vast experience. Our children's education is too important to play all of these "cloak and dagger"games. A dagger that was put into the back of Coach K and into the hearts of our students.

I fully expected to be interviewed or to a least have a conversation with the "Item's" reporter last night.After all when she called me earlier in the week, she said she'd speak to me on Thur. night. Not only did she not approach me, but after I introduced myself to her handing her a flyer for my blog she blew me off. I was one of the last ones to leave the building so the opportunity was there for her to meet up with me.

What's up with this? Hello, my blog had over 2000 hits last month. I am not a "true" journalist but I have something to say and apparently some people are listening This slight calls into question the "Item's" objectivity. When I was first called, the reporter seemed all "hot and bothered" about the story. Appeared to me, her temperature index had cooled.  Maybe it is up to me to find answers.

Get Involved But How?

"Parents in Lynn don't want to get involved with their children's education" That seems to be a common mantra. Guess what? I have had over 2000 hits in the past month. No, it's not a typo.  And it's not just my mother clicking on my blog. Seems to me parents do want to get involved. All they want is information.

The question is then do the current powers that be actually want parents to be involved? Let's look at some facts. The Parent Information Center has spawned numerous stories of misinformation and outright hostility. I can speak from personal experience about the lack of respect to parents shown by that office.

Now let's talk about the Parent's Advisory Council. What do they do and who are they? Last year when I was trying to work out a plan for my son, Mayor Kennedy hooked me up with David Ellis, a former city councilman who supposedly heads up the PAC. There was talk of strategies and lawsuits and rights that my son was entitled to. After a lot of uplifting talk, I even provided him with the special ed. records of my daughter, he promised to work to get her services too..

That was the last I heard from him. He had even promised to put me on a couple of committees. He should have my phone number and e mail address, we have exchanged both. He could have lost them both but I have been all over the web lately and my phone is still silent and my e mailbox empty.

Before parents can get involved you have to let them.

What I Like About Charter Schools

I actually wrote this over a week ago but with all the chaos over Coach K I was too busy to  get it out there. Now I just want to clear the deck before the meeting tonight. It should be interesting,

Wait a minute. I have not gone over to the dark side. My major and  unyielding objection to charter schools is the funding mechanism. Using public money to benefit a few already wealthy business men while promoting the illusion that a few economically disadvantaged people would be able to receive a "prestigious" education.

But.....Let's give the devil their due. Illusion or not, you have to respect the seriousness that is brought to the education process. Education is important. It liberates us and provides a path out of poverty, both financial and social. The self-discipline learned will stay with the student a lifetime.

That is enough to almost convince me to jump sides. Almost, I said. The same opportunity for creative solutions to educational approaches exists in the public sector. As I understand them and I'm no expert in these matters, but I think that two possible solutions exist in the public sector, Horace Mann charter schools and Innovation schools.

Revere secured the first "Innovation" school in the state, The principal of that school was Ms. Barbara Kelley, one year removed from a vice-principal position at Ford School. Interesting.

The Cost Of Giving The Business

Back to some serious stuff. This morning was a lot calmer in Coach K's class. The kids weren't running around as much. But there were a couple of occasions they were racing through my library(it's not really mine but you know the deal).

Looks like a new teacher was hired and I'm sure some sense of stability helped. At what price? There is still 4 or 5 adults to 8 students(today less than that I think). Is there a plan? I don't really know anything but what I see.

Maybe whoever made the rash, irrational decision to fire Coach K was counting on the assistance from the magic of Harry Potter who's image is painted on the wall in the library. Is that person ready to take the fiscal responsibility for the additional personnel that decision necessitated? The money is the least part of the cost. Still, it's a part

Tis The Season

I want to take a break for a minute from all the recent controversy and remind everybody I am just a parent. My son is performing in the Christmas concert at Pickering Middle School tonight. To have come from where he has been and all he has been through, this is quite an accomplishment.

I don't think I can type any more. My chest is swelling up so much I can't see the keyboard.

It Doesn't Make Cents

Things seemed to calm down a lot in Coach K's old class today. I guess they ought to, there were 5 adults to 8 kids. At least one of the adults was a Behavioral Specialist. It seems like a big expenditure.

Coach K handled that same class with only one aide Both people who served as his regular aide this year were disabled as well. Between them and me, we looked like the walking wounded up there. At least it didn't cost the school department as much money as this fiasco has.

Don't Shoot Me, I'm Just The Librarian!

There is a lot of activity over Coach K's firing. Last night I got phone calls about his termination from the "Item" and Lynn City Councilman Pete Capano.

Both asked the same question, "Why was Coach K" fired. I gave them the same answer, "I don't know, I'm just the VOLUNTEER librarian.

And Justice For All?

I'm getting feedback from the "Item" on my letter about Coach K's firing, promise of an investigation. We will see.

NSCC Leadership Iniative

I'm not all about controversy, but it is more fun. Both of my kids got part of their stipend from the student leadership program at North Shore Community College. They were excited.

My daughter  told me she came up with the name  for the group. It is SLAP - Student Leadership Ambassador Program. Well I guess creativity is hereditary - I get mind from her.

Showdown At The Ford Corral

It was a little past two on a blustery fall day. Barricaded in the principals office was myself, Dr. Crane, David Gass, and LSC member Maria Carrasco. At any minute moving trucks from the school department were possibly arriving at any minute.

At stake was the dismantling of the NASA DSL link and the dismantling of the Highland Coalition aquaponics lab. I can't speak for the others but I was prepared to go to jail in order to stop the destruction. Admittedly my motives were not all altruistic, I mean I haven't worked since March and jail does offer three squares.

We had been in communication with the mayor and she was supposed to be on the way but our nerves were on edge, wondering if she would be on time to provide us with the reinforcements we needed (okay, I'm being a bit dramatic but it makes a good story). Luckily he did arrive in time, back straight from Salem and the Big Box wars. She gave us the news that she had been contact with Dr. Wary, who was in charge of the move and ordered her to halt the move, at least to fully study the move and all its implications and look at other options. The mayor wanted to sit down and discuss this like adults. What a new and novel concept, school officials not acting like children.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed about not being able to go to jail. I mean my court experience has mostly been in front of a probate judge. A criminal trial could have opened up a whole new life for me. I mean, I'm ready for jail. I have a tattoo and everything. My cane would have been perfect for strumming across the bars to make noise.

Oh well, maybe I'll try jaywalking.

Political Persuasions

Because of my strong convictions about what I feel was an unjust and personal attack on a friend who was victimized by what I feel was a personal and political attack. Below is a variation of the letter I am sending  to the governor and various political and educational officials who's e mail addresses I can find.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing this letter to express my outrage that the Special Education teacher, Mr. Karonis was fired from Ford Elementary school undue cause without any concern for the emotional or psychological welfare of the students, not to mention their potential for academic progress.

Since the beginning of the school year I have been serving as the school’s volunteer librarian adjacent to his classroom. During that time I have witnessed a remarkable transformation in the overall behavioral complacency. Teacher - student bonds developed that are impossible to recreate in a timely manner, especially considering this disruption occurred during the holiday season.

“Coach K” as he was respectively and affectionately referred to by his students, co-workers, and me, will be sorely missed and will be nearly impossible to replace with someone of equal caliber. His experience gives him incredible credentials.

My varied experiences have allowed me to have an informed opinion about the educational injustice that occurred. In the past I have taught and served in various roles at an adolescent treatment center for seven years  Elkins Mountain School in Elkins, WV. Also, I worked for fifteen years for the Department of Developmental Services with mentally retarded adults with behavioral issues. However, what substantiates and qualifies my opinion most is that I am the father of a twelve year-old special needs student who was a student last year at Ford School. He has had a very successful year this year transitioning into Pickering Middle School.

Because of my deep convictions I not only wanted to speak up for “Coach K” and offer my testimony to any more specific questions you may have. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to call me. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Stanley H. Wotring, Jr.





Now I have a question that maybe someone out there with good math skills could answer the equation: the power of the pen plus the Internet equals what?

The Rats Are Back And They Are In Charge!

I learned today that my next door neighbor to the library was terminated. I am in shock. As soon as that wears off I am sure I will be outraged. I have been outraged before but this takes it to a new level.

This is a travesty, a direct blow to the most needy of our students. What could be the reason? I intend to find out. Could it have been because he was not on board with the proposed addition of additional non-neighborhood kids to a proposed expanded class?

I am sure that couldn't have been it. He is an experienced teacher who has often implemented policies that he felt was not in the best interest of the students. Any group of behavior kids are difficult to handle. I know this because I previously taught and worked with this population in a residential facility. But no one knows this better than Coach K. He has taught in Compton in California during the race riots so he was definitely up to the task.

Again from behind my desk in the library at Ford, I have witnessed first-hand the positive evolution of his class of displaced behavioral students. The school administration ought to be studying his class in hopes of emulating it not removing him thus stripping these students the opportunity to transforming into productive citizens.

Shame on you Dr. Latham. I urge everyone who reads this blog to call her, all the school committee members, and the mayor to ask how this latest blow to the Lynn School System could have happened. I am not done writing but I am done for now.

Normally I would be worried about being fired for taking such an outright stand but I don't work for anybody, I just work for what is right and just.

Are Only Our Boards Smart?

Siting from behind my library desk, I have observed yet another problem. Considering we tout the purchase of all these "smart boards" as the next great white hope (excuse me, the boards are white and I thought it kind of ironic to poke fun at the outdated, irrational thinking behind their use). Instead our teachers are enslaved, chained to an overzealous security filter that prevents them from going on the most of the educational websites designed to enliven the educational experience.

I fully understand the need for security when it comes to all of the confidential matter that our school system deals with. I am technologically inept but it seems to me this problem could be solved by using two separate accounts, one for all of the confidential data and one for use in the classroom, each having different security thresholds. Another possibility would be to develop a list of allowable,secure websites that the teachers could use.

Hopefully, I am complaining about nothing and the answers to my concerns have already been addressed. But you know what? The fact that I even have them tells me that at least, the teachers are under trained and some of the educational benefits from that vaunted stimulus money is undermined.

If the questions I am raising make anybody feel uncomfortable then maybe if the real librarians had been funded, I wouldn't have been there to observe these obvious problems. Where would we be? Somebody has to be held accountable.