What a difference a year makes. Last year at about this time it was announced that changes would be made in the class structure at the Lee H. Kellogg School, which upset some parents who felt they should have been consulted. This year, changes are again being considered and the parents have been invited to be part of the process. There is a meeting today, February 27, at 4:30 that concerend parents should attend. There is also the regular Board of Ed meeting on March 4. Here is the letter that Principal Maria Bulson had sent by email yesterday to the Kellogg community.
Dear Parents,
On Wednesday afternoon we have the last scheduled Board of Education Budget Workshop for the 2008-2009 school year. After several administrative meetings with the Grade 3-5 team, it has been assessed that the multiage classroom needs further support. There are four different options that are presently being discussed. These options have been discussed with the faculty and with the Board of Education. After a presentation of the four options, the Board of Education will give both teachers and parents an opportunity to speak at the Budget Workshop on February 27th at 4:30 and again before the regular Board of Education meeting on March 4th at 7:00.
We encourage parents to take part in this decision-making process by attending either or both of the meetings, listening and voicing their opinions.
Sincerely,
Maria Bulson
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
"Transparency" at Kellogg
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Transparency-well done
a positive step forward to better our school
a real effort was made to here the concerns of the parents and teachers,and here the true issue of the
3-4 class,not a failure as rumor milled.
But a concern that the kids are having a hard time adjusting to a fractured day,and the teacher is not able to have as much one on one with the students
all academic gauges show the students are doing well. Solutions were presented and a positive discussion of what to do was had. The board will meet again on Tues.night for further discussion of how to make the situation better for next year,a real -positive discussion of what to do for this year is needed between teachers and Maria .
Thank you to the board and Maria for including us in this process and look forward to seeing more of you on Tues.night.
p.s.Besty Howie for President
Unfortunately the transparency isn't transparent. yes, the board of education invited parents (and yes the letter if from the principal but the invite is to attend the board of ed meeting) to the meeting and yes, it appeared the principal and the board of education wanted the parents and the staff to come and speak, but the end result was a total disregard for any of the concerns brought forth at either meeting. It is truly unfortunate that Kellogg is now right back to where it was a year ago. And all at the expense of the children's education. Pride can be a nasty thing. It really gets in the way sometimes from doing the right thing. Lets hope it can be put aside so the children can get the education they should.
Transparency was still there; we were included in the discussion, the few that showed up. The concerns of all were heard, not to be confused with changing the minds of elected officials who believe what they are doing is in the best interest of the children; even if you don't agree with changing the configuration again. I don't agree because it does not make sense to change if one teacher is having a hard time the first year and all the solutions presented negate one of the main reasons for the change in the first place, the social make-up of the grades.
Transparency-will only work if value and respect is given to other points of view that differ from yours, even when you are not happy with what is going on.
The only way to make a change is to make your views Transparent. I would love the chance to make my views transparent to anyone who will give them respect. See you at Toymakers the unofficial town center!
You make some very valid points and you are right, it will only work if respect is given to all points of view. But it has to work on both sides doesn't it? Shouldn't that same respect be given to the parents and the staff as well? I think the hardest thing to overcome for many parents, and perhaps the staff, is the fact that LHK was as close to perfect as you could get prior to all these changes. LHK was a "model" for the State per the BOE, K,1,2 was "ahead of the game" per the BOE, CMT scores were the best in the region at one time, the children, the staff and the parents were happy, satisfied and respectful to all involved with LHK. The hasty changes made last year have reversed most of those feelings and to have to contemplate yet another change, another experiment, and miss another opportunity for the best education for the children of Falls Village, is very hard to swallow and even more difficult to respect.
Perhaps all can be overcome if the respect you refer to is given to everyone, all 'sides', board members, parents, staff, community, and the children. Then there is a chance of getting LHK back to where it used to be - ON TOP.
I wasn't at the meeting. I do have a daughter at the school (in the higher grades)and I would like to point something out.
No kid gets lost at Kellogg. There are so few of them and the faculty and staff are, in the end, dedicated to making sure every kid gets the best they can give. That's why the Mastery scores are consistently among the highest in the state.
But that size means that Kellogg is an endangered species. Our per-pupil expenditure is the highest in the state, and I say it's worth it. There may be some class configurations that are not as good as they might be for some kids. Both my daughters went through times, some extended times at that, when we weren't all that happy with the class chemistry or the amount of challenging material they got. But I am convinced they both have had (and one is still having) a great experience- indeed, as good as a private school in that the student-teacher ratio is so low and the quality of teaching is so high.
If Kellogg is to survive, the families and staff will have to be flexible every year. When classes can vary by 80%, annual changes are inevitable and necessary. If something is truly intolerable, I suspect that adjustments can be made.
We are very fortunate. But Kellogg must be a dynamic institution or we will be shipping our kids elsewhere. Until the region is willing to discuss the possibility of a middleschool, we are going to have to work with the small gem we have.
I was not at the meeting either, and my son is currently in the 1-2 config. I concur with Vance that we have a gem and must do what we can as parents and townspeople to keep it that way...
Post a Comment