tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58090926502872513072024-03-13T20:43:09.760-07:00Jefferson Parish Education for All Children...a segregated learning experience made to be equal by direction and not design while at the same time dismantling the very model of community, equality and love so desperately needed in the Greater New Orleans area.
Is it fair.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-73286958583139803932009-11-25T10:20:00.000-08:002009-11-25T12:47:16.387-08:00Once more, a Hearing on Fairness.We are gathering again on December 4th at 9:30 am in the Federal Courtroom of Judge Kurt Engelhardt to present arguments concerning the fairness or lack thereof in the School Board restricting the Parish-wide access of parents and their children to a Magnet School education. Most of the Magnet Schools within the parish have opened after the hurricane and flood and since have been expanding in facilities and participation, providing exceptional and comparable grade advanced education for high achieving students. This is a service the School Board agreed would enhance educational competitiveness within the parish and bolster its attractiveness to businesses, development and communities within Jefferson Parish. Yet, in this effort, the board is heeding the advice of counsel and tainting its efforts with what essentially are the words "separate but equal". Come to court and hear the arguments to know what the future holds for our Magnet School system.<br /><br />I hope to have the opportunity to address the court with the following transcript:<br /><br />The School Board, Superintendent, attorneys and their constituency have been working to present to you Judge their best efforts to create a unitary public school system. I believe this continuing effort is creating the strongest, most competitive and diverse system for educating our young people within a major metropolitan city. A milestone well overdue and one that I believe can possibly improve the dynamics of parental involvement in their child's education as well as the reputation of elementary and secondary education in all of Southern Louisiana.<br /><br />Segregation however is a dirty word. Anything preceded by the word “segregated” or “separated” in school will ultimately result in students receiving unfair and unequal consideration, treatment, services, facilities and opportunities. Rep. Steve Cohen, Tenn. Congressman, introduced a resolution in Feb of 2007 that received bipartisan support calling for the United States Government to issue an apology for the institution and consequences of slavery and Jim Crow. In part of his address he echoed my concerns this morning:<br /><br /><blockquote>“This country had an institution of slavery for 246 years and followed it with Jim Crow laws that denied people equal opportunity under the law. There was segregation in the south and other places in this country, at least through the year 1965 when civil rights laws were passed. There were separate water fountains for people, marked white and colored, there were restaurants, there were separate hotels, and there were job opportunities that were not available to African-Americans.</blockquote><br /><br />He goes on to say:<br /><blockquote><br />…because only a great country can recognize and admit its mistakes and then travel forth to create indeed a more perfect union that works to bring people of all races, religions and creeds together in unity as Americans part of the United States of America."</blockquote><br /><br /><br />I point this out not for hyperbole but for all to consider. The School Board and Superintendent have not worked so diligently to prepare our Parish to operate a unitary public school system only to segregated it by the Mississippi River. Let's rise up and prevent the mistakes caused by legal segregation and prevent what may ultimately lead to future apologies due to the unfair restriction of Parish-wide Magnet School access. The choices now and in the future that are available within the Magnet School system I believe will serve only to raise the standards and expectations of public education and be an example throughout all of Louisiana of the care we have for the preparation of all the children of Jefferson Parish to lead in a just and humane society.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-26812273843646728072009-05-07T10:29:00.000-07:002009-05-07T10:39:59.131-07:00Jefferson Parish Public School SystemThe school board gave the authority to the superintendent to appoint personnel. By statute and Dandridge, the superintendent actually had this power anyway, with the school board vote being, it seems, more or less a formality. At one time, this seemed like a good idea, because we didn't trust the school board to make these decisions thoughtfully. However, it seems now that we can't trust the superintendent to make such decisions either.<br /><br />I have a problem with appointing a principal to serve a magnet school who has NO principal experience at any type of school. I also have a problem with appointing a principal who has no experience teaching any of the grade levels she will be presiding over. I also have a problem with appointing a principal who has only been certified as such for two months, and who only holds a preliminary certification, contigent upon her receiving additional education. While I think it's wonderful that Mrs. Christy Templet, the newly appointed principal, has glowing recommendations from individuals she has worked with in the past, I could get the same from judges, other attorneys, politicians. That would no more give me the proper qualifications to be the principal of Thomas Jefferson High School than it would give me the proper qualifications to fly a plane or perform heart surgery.<br /><br />Also, I think our superintendent's motivation is clear when she decides to change the qualifications for a different position, that being Eastbank superintendent, just to keep a particular candidate from having the necessary qualifications. Interesting, Ms. Rousell feels that principal experience is necessary for the assistant superintendent position, but neither principal experience nor teaching experience are prerequisites to being a principal of a relatively new magnet school. <br /><br />We can discuss political motivation, eastbank/westbank inequality, school board members who sign off on things they haven't bothered to read, until we're blue in the face. The bottom line is, the superintendent apparently has her own agenda, and there is nothing we can do about it. She's hired by the school board. They are keeping her. The best we can do is replace the school board members, and pray that we replace them with individuals who will appoint a superintendent who will make thoughtful considerations in her appointments.Holli Castillohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15976235735822063166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-6759512505263096482009-05-05T08:57:00.000-07:002009-05-05T12:43:03.381-07:00A left! a right!! another right!!! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjF-EdvG6uTF1KCiGIoyo2jgFCn7QzQijAB7k6iRwFVAfu9hYnZsBQKlS1XW_fbkci2nW2FtHi7vNoEDlRtL9kUXwMPCY8e_hT36-ZYym3wGQdWlAqwJ5mjQG4fEq6L7TJaApWuKcXmasD/s1600-h/Teacher2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjF-EdvG6uTF1KCiGIoyo2jgFCn7QzQijAB7k6iRwFVAfu9hYnZsBQKlS1XW_fbkci2nW2FtHi7vNoEDlRtL9kUXwMPCY8e_hT36-ZYym3wGQdWlAqwJ5mjQG4fEq6L7TJaApWuKcXmasD/s320/Teacher2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332425876719395618" /></a><br />As a candidate for a job one of the usual prerequisites for being selected, appointed or hired is for the individual to have the capacity to improve, advance and promote the well-being of the company. Given the fact that there are tons of credentials available to assert that an individual is qualified to do this may not always reflect on a persons true potential to do it. Having worked with outstanding individuals with minor educational credentials who were extremely competent and other individuals with outstanding credentials who were idiots, I tend to believe what I see rather than what I read.<br /><br />Given the flutter of emails that detail the "blow by blow" assessment of <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/templet.html">Dr. Roussel's appointment of Dr. Templet</a> as Principal of Thomas Jefferson Senior High School it is important that somewhere in them it is made clear how such an appointment will improve, advance and promote the well-being of the Westbank's only Magnet high school. This is certainly necessary due to the fact that there may be students who will have no other option but to attend this school due to the "<a href="http://jpeducation.blogspot.com/2008/03/geographical-segregation-new-divide.html">geographic segregation</a>" imposed on them by the school board's attorneys. It is because of this segregation that this is so important of an issue. There would be nothing personal against Dr. Roussel or Mr. Morgan or any official that would give clear evidence for actions taken to reveal the benefits of this or any decision affecting the public and in particular our children. This is as important if not more important to the well being of our system as the well promoted and communicated "<a href="http://www.jppss.k12.la.us/">swine flu</a>" infection. No, there is no "organization" representing the parents and students of Jefferson Parish. That I believe is the school board's job. We expect greater clarity in communication on this issue at the <a href="http://www.jppss.k12.la.us/news/2009/release-090504_01.htm">JP School Board meeting Wednesday May 6th at the Bonnabel High School at 3 pm</a>. I'll be there!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-6137033526235006852009-03-21T07:53:00.000-07:002009-03-21T08:31:51.761-07:00Let's stay focused on our JPPSS Children!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdG5Nhg8wxIsgeGL_JCtFAGpHVb12XIFEIGGTf9htJgXRkBXIuKdOH0KB23KYcF8crclEYFhvYuqRaEiJHg3RAnHmG9iMl_0A2-4HfuVahf7KPSg8cUCv2r6Qxdflt4m98j7NfEVEF7Iy/s1600-h/JPPSSfocus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdG5Nhg8wxIsgeGL_JCtFAGpHVb12XIFEIGGTf9htJgXRkBXIuKdOH0KB23KYcF8crclEYFhvYuqRaEiJHg3RAnHmG9iMl_0A2-4HfuVahf7KPSg8cUCv2r6Qxdflt4m98j7NfEVEF7Iy/s400/JPPSSfocus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315663275165464306" /></a><br />It's been said before and I'd like to say it again, this is not about us it's about what is necessary to fairly education the children, your children, in our parish. The gang at <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/parents_request_to_join_school.html">TP</a> pointed out rather succinctly that "...West Jefferson parents...who have been fighting for inclusion in the Jefferson Parish School Board's desegregation lawsuit were thwarted again". It is true that this is the second intervention attempt but the reason was not to be included in the desegregation lawsuit for personal gain but rather to be able to see, hear and understand the motives and reasons for the school board (school board attorneys) wanting to segregate the magnet school system. This is unprecedented among magnet systems around the country and we believe this is simple an effort to continue to segregate access to quality education, funding and infrastructure and make it difficult for our communities to heal from the wounds of the past. The bridge naturally segregates the parish along racial boundaries and the Federal Court is our only avenue to prevent the perpetuation of a division within Jefferson Parish that is not only within our educational system but also within our social, cultural, economic, business and development systems. We want the bridge issue out of the equation. If our school board wishes to institute a division at a later date then let their efforts be scrutinized by the communities affected and not be mandated by federal court. I believe this is Judge Englehardt's point and I believe his wisdom in this process will prevail.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-36124190017674290112009-03-12T17:34:00.000-07:002009-03-12T18:04:46.733-07:00Mr. Emenes...we will miss you!It is with great sadness that I acknowledge the loss of Jefferson Parish Eastbank Regional Superintendent<a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/paul_emenes_jefferson_parish_s.html"> Mr. Paul Emenes</a> last night of a heart attack. I did not know Mr. Emenes well but a lot can be said well of a man who had devoted his life to one purpose...to improve education within Louisiana. Jefferson Parish is going through some things now and its unfortunate that I personally did not get to hear from the man who lived through those harsh times of segregation as an adult in the public school system. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtGpYysqkLxN1ZoVTj8u3qWtojxpN717UHjaWGUL5oBRp0xj3bhiL13Jg9_Qt413E2DtdL3GzupRFe7z_zJa0rvH7HD5ABGuYC2iXc_owUNaieIXNojw4h1VImf6VawTSYzl9Iw5_lBc1/s1600-h/small_emenes.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtGpYysqkLxN1ZoVTj8u3qWtojxpN717UHjaWGUL5oBRp0xj3bhiL13Jg9_Qt413E2DtdL3GzupRFe7z_zJa0rvH7HD5ABGuYC2iXc_owUNaieIXNojw4h1VImf6VawTSYzl9Iw5_lBc1/s400/small_emenes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312471401144501858" /></a>The personal experiences I did have, when he visited our school, was that of a man who was passionate about education, concerned for the well-being of children and dedicated to seeing that good teachers and administrators worked together in support of a better school system. My condolences to his family...and we will miss you Mr. Emenes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-82789176374799005552009-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:002009-03-01T21:08:55.975-08:00JPPSS Legislative Working Session<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mokYb_pOi7Op_2JwIMVsbH1dMEUKoQ_aPghvPEv-CdR2LRet0CEFIhCYeDWCTz688FqXfwdigFqc3Sb2a48ZM-tCSBQCK1DYtVEx60whw_7J0OOr6yN5G2XtP6x3pdZOMMYGX4pguOie/s1600-h/BobbyJindal"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mokYb_pOi7Op_2JwIMVsbH1dMEUKoQ_aPghvPEv-CdR2LRet0CEFIhCYeDWCTz688FqXfwdigFqc3Sb2a48ZM-tCSBQCK1DYtVEx60whw_7J0OOr6yN5G2XtP6x3pdZOMMYGX4pguOie/s320/BobbyJindal" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308452307044994434" /></a><br />The Legislative Committee for the Jefferson Parish School System met on Friday, February 27th. In attendance were several of our distinguished school board members, a school board attorney, teacher's union representatives and me.<br /><br />I entered in on a discussion between members and the Mrs. Alida Wyler, the Director of Health Services, about the necessity to have trained and willing staff to address the medical care of special needs children. This then transitioned into a discussion of the responsibilities and training associated with the impending installation of AEDs, automated external defibrillators.<br /><br />The majority of the meeting time was used to engaged in discussions of Governor Bobby Jindal's proposals for the school systems. He is looking for systems statewide to address three issues: 1. Discipline, 2. Charter school improvements and, 3. "Value Added" testing and assessment. Most of the details behind the Governor's proposals require consideration of financial cutbacks and targeted spending particularly within the minimum foundation programs (MFPs) that are perceived as being supported by a "Block" grant and that its spending could be tailed for better returns.<br /><br />The Governor's Proposals:<br /><br />1. To address discipline in schools the main focus is to engage more parents and make them aware of the problems associated with students who disrupt class(es) or who become truants and never show up. The proposal seeks to go so far as to make parents accountable for their children's actions. Novel idea?<br /><br />2. Charter schools from faith based establishments reporting to the public school system should be considered as a way of relieving the financial burdens of educating the large number students in the various communities around the state. Faith based charters in the public system have legal and social implications that may be difficult for the school board to control and that would make the ACLU curious.<br /><br />3. Valued Added assessment and teaching as proposed should reflect a student's individual improvement from year to year and not just the student's performance verses the district or national average. This would encourage students who have significantly improved although still at or below the minimum requirements.<br /><br />It was an interested meeting. Gene Katsanis and Jennifer Toupes? kept the meeting flowing and engaging on each topic. Hope to encounter many more sessions as I believe this is truly were policies get considered and legislation gets introduced in Baton Rouge that effects Jefferson Parish education for all children.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-90252881664951304362009-02-14T20:31:00.000-08:002009-02-14T21:54:23.339-08:00Tearing down the Wall!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7qUuflEzaPTWjNGaq5MmMAhYA0rrSVf59j7rdaIN_Jno1HhCtHHFKV6Lq2ObXSawQm-hK5hjEFoPCOKrcmK1dWQAmTNLBwI7WYwDzIcuoxt1ET7bnUmIGBKb8mNbtIJ4_wgFvgCmNqqa/s1600-h/workwillmakeyoufree"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7qUuflEzaPTWjNGaq5MmMAhYA0rrSVf59j7rdaIN_Jno1HhCtHHFKV6Lq2ObXSawQm-hK5hjEFoPCOKrcmK1dWQAmTNLBwI7WYwDzIcuoxt1ET7bnUmIGBKb8mNbtIJ4_wgFvgCmNqqa/s320/workwillmakeyoufree" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302889045864136578" /></a>My colleague in this fight to "properly" form a unitary public school system has placed her head on the block to get the job done. By <a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1234592688101610.xml&coll=1">filing an intervention </a>in the Dandridge vs JPPS desegregation lawsuit Mrs. Nicole Edler is attempting to expose the true objectives and motivations of the school board and in particular their attorneys. She and supporters like myself want to expose the board's activities to all Jefferson Parish parents and guardians who are either uninformed, complacent, unconcerned or tired of fighting. <br /><br />A unitary school system means the school board (and presumably the people who vote for them) would have more control to improve education for our children so it is simply obscene and antagonistic for Patin (school board attorney #1) to suggest she just wishes to hold up the process and get her white child in a school that's majority white. The fact that she is white is essential because under these circumstances Black students attending on the opposite side of the river from their residence may be eligible for a transfer (particularly from the Westbank to Eastbank) since Black students in any of these Magnet schools are underrepresented. I would likely have been dismissed as having no right to intervene, being Black (if you didn't know).<br /><br />Like her I am interested in the true rationale for denying cross river access. Despite the judge's orders (AND his "Cease and Desist") the school board is now disguising their rebelliousness by using preferential admissions according to residency and not test scores to segregate the parish. I just want them to clearly explain how desegregation will be achieved by segregating the parish by the river! Substituting one dual system for another duel system seems counter productive and sets a bad precedent. We want to hear it from the "horses' mouths" and not be shut out by attorney client privileged.<br /><br />These activities the school board insists on encouraging stands in stark contrast to the Jefferson Economic Development Commission's optimistic objectives with its slogan "Jefferson: Opportunity Lives Here". The attorney's make this slogan sound too much like a similarly ironic slogan, "Arbeit Macht Frei"!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wm2pE8Dg94k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wm2pE8Dg94k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Will my child have opportunities in Jefferson Parish?...I really can't tell!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-66677514608576500692009-02-09T19:00:00.000-08:002009-02-09T20:20:11.579-08:00WTF, Attorney's are draggin' this on to get paid by YOU!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUFpmJXukkJHfWkOtIJRSK0r7YRmqwaGvi65nsAv7QwMEPtYbXpFbMtjzUAotr-J0NKQmqY3PN2Eo9vywqau1RNt9cVwC3LiVhdCFXi1D_69JKsOvMmnG-Ii5opxIrITK3k9RyTcoUATR/s1600-h/hutz_lawyering.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUFpmJXukkJHfWkOtIJRSK0r7YRmqwaGvi65nsAv7QwMEPtYbXpFbMtjzUAotr-J0NKQmqY3PN2Eo9vywqau1RNt9cVwC3LiVhdCFXi1D_69JKsOvMmnG-Ii5opxIrITK3k9RyTcoUATR/s400/hutz_lawyering.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301013293992020978" /></a><br />"<span style="font-weight:bold;">Upon the entry of an order by the court </span>" declaring that west bank magnet schools offer substantially equal educational opportunities as magnet schools situated on the east side of the Mississippi River, no student domiciled on the west bank of the river shall be permitted to enroll in an east bank magnet school and no student domiciled on the east bank of the river shall be permitted to enroll in a west bank magnet school..." <span style="font-style:italic;">Judge Engelhardt</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Upon the entry of an order by the court..."</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">Can this be any clearer!!</span><br /><br />Question: Will my student be denied access <span style="font-weight:bold;">NOW </span>to a magnet on the opposite side of the river from his residency?<br /><br /><blockquote>"<span style="font-weight:bold;">According to our attorneys</span>, all new qualified East Bank magnet applicants receive 1st priority (to Eastbank schools). Westbank students will only be considered after all available spaces have been filled by qualified Eastbank students." <span style="font-style:italic;">Rosalind Mathes</span><br /><br />"the document speaks for itself" <span style="font-style:italic;">Charles Patin</span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">So this is what the "document" says, Patin!!</span></span><br /><br />"The Court made it abundantly clear that the January 29th Order did not declare the magnet schools to be unitary, but was a step towards the eventual declaration of such status. In fact, <blockquote>the Court requested, and the parties agreed to, the deletion of language in the original West Bank Magnet Plan that confined magnet students to the side of the river upon which they reside, see Rec. Doc. 190,</blockquote> and noted that <span style="font-weight:bold;">deletion </span>at the fairness hearing. The Court has consistently noted that it did not favor any proposal to “close the river,” and repeated that fact at the hearing. Finally, in response to a question from a parent, the Court explicitly declared from the bench that a student need not live on the West Bank to attend a West Bank magnet school, and vice verse." <span style="font-style:italic;">Judge Engelhardt</span><br /><br />"Despite assertions to the contrary made by attorneys last week, the Jefferson Parish public school system cannot use the Mississippi River as a dividing line when assigning students to its magnet schools, according to an order released last week by the federal judge overseeing the district's desegregation lawsuit." <span style="font-style:italic;">Jenny Hurwitz, TP</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">At this point Federal Government oversight is the most sensible thing to maintain. This school board is not ready to handle the responsibilities of a desegregated system!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-90102292544569302062009-02-05T14:09:00.000-08:002009-02-05T14:29:52.658-08:00You've Got to be Kidding me!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gEKAmkJvQFCr41_I5TTky0TlkiT1g1WzxZjdUoAWUxDjczIkAWBn0NG_xEUiX_2ivp8_qpt8LAc55A4RlsK4GCYfhz2vDWlsPegAKMceBfD7SoP8IhFAwNPvUAt7PRyO3ywaii0P61NV/s1600-h/school_segregation_cartoon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gEKAmkJvQFCr41_I5TTky0TlkiT1g1WzxZjdUoAWUxDjczIkAWBn0NG_xEUiX_2ivp8_qpt8LAc55A4RlsK4GCYfhz2vDWlsPegAKMceBfD7SoP8IhFAwNPvUAt7PRyO3ywaii0P61NV/s320/school_segregation_cartoon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299439780182320466" /></a><br />According to recent events the <a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1233814870298150.xml&coll=1">School Board has rescinded</a> the component of the consent order requiring guardian and parental residency on the same side of the river as the attending Magnet school. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Instead </span>they are choosing to add a residency restriction when reviewing applications from Jefferson Parish residents that live on the opposite bank from the school. This, in my opinion is the <span style="font-weight:bold;">SAME THING</span>. Does the parish want to have Magnet schools or do they want great schools in every district that attract great teachers with parents and students that want to learn? They are doing a wonderful job building out the parish with new high achieving schools. Don’t let them soil their efforts by casting arbitrary residency restrictions that serve no purpose. Westbank children will go to westbank Magnet schools if they have the choice and the schools are GOOD. Same for eastbank. Applying this residency restriction is simply "fudging" their bet that they <span style="font-weight:bold;">will </span>serve these “separate but equal” schools described as being ”substantially equal” on both sides of the river once declared unitary.<br /><br />We have always view the division of the parish by the river as segregation. This new tactic is simply an example of the stubbornness of authority worn too long by the same people and of the institutional racism that permeates much of our society. If overt denial is not possible then covert denial is the last resort. This is the constant fear of Black people and the disenfranchised. I am sadden for this turn of events but am please to see it come to light right now rather than 2.5 to 3 years from now when the school board’s “authority network” has the final say in decisions. We may get to change the make-up of the board over time but history bears out those chances as nil.<br /><br />History also bears the fact that people's drive and enthusiasm wane and the weight of the mass will have to be born by just a few. Mrs. Elder is doing a remarkable job keeping abreast of the Boards activities, informing parents and maintaining a home as she sinks her teeth deeper into the school board's shenanigans. She like myself will do what is best for our children after all of this is over but I hope the example she has set in staying the course will not be lost on parents after us. I’m afraid however that history also bears witness to this as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-44934677647953682402009-02-02T07:49:00.000-08:002009-02-02T23:19:24.315-08:00Let's Be Heard!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsgARdiSxpZEV9V_GFl0zT7ajzRMSJ__gnO704H9hQ6MZzTIiC4FmK4_i9QmNGAZ9eBivPJiq_J1UomwQCrVGIazPAdsT-4zd7cjskAnCEzALThijJSBAnZFR9EHt4NjBLuEDm_8T3b0/s1600-h/ScreamingKid.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsgARdiSxpZEV9V_GFl0zT7ajzRMSJ__gnO704H9hQ6MZzTIiC4FmK4_i9QmNGAZ9eBivPJiq_J1UomwQCrVGIazPAdsT-4zd7cjskAnCEzALThijJSBAnZFR9EHt4NjBLuEDm_8T3b0/s320/ScreamingKid.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298239205849706402" /></a>I've created a Poll that I would like for you to participate in. The issues surrounding the JPSS consent order has taken a turn for the worst. Attorney's are not cooperating with the Judges rulings (believe it or not) so we would like to bring this to a conclusion. Here is a snippet of the Judges orders:<br /><br />..."Any party or representative of a party who makes representations of assertions contrary to that which is set forth herein, or contrary to the record in these proceedings, or contrary to the transcripts of the fairness hearing of January 29th, 2009, will CEASE and DESIST from such representation."...<br /><br />The complete actual order may be downloaded <a href="http://www.archive.org/download/January29th2009CeaseAndDesist/64-14801January30thOrder.pdf">here</a>.<br /> <br /><br />The goal is to get the public schools on the road to unitary status, place the school board in a position to make decisions to support our school system and at the same time maintain the integrity of the parish on both the East and West sides of the Mississippi River.<br /><br />Please click "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Participate</span>" then indicate your preference in the table that will appear. You may remain anonymous or you may give your name. Keep your eyes on this site for updates and actions if you are not already on Mrs. Edler's email list...<br /><br />Never mind, the fervor is over. <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/jeff_magnet_debate_cant_rely_o.html">Thank you Jenny</a>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-25221008400763504182009-01-31T16:30:00.000-08:002009-01-31T16:56:53.048-08:00Just for my record!These are the words that I had for Judge Engelhardt and the court at the Fairness Hearing on Thursday January 29th. It seems that the battle is still ensuing given the order released by the court after the attorneys (represented by Charles Patin) have (and I will be kind) "<a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-33/123338303350000.xml&coll=1">mis-stated</a>" to the public the orders by the court concerning the separation of the parish by the river:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTDuctbic2lrP8l85ChaeDfTI95rtUX4qDD1vQopkhK9Vyc9ZKKn8yFWUhmLAIOFk7sUyIf1wUIhE4olXsNI1hWV2uhIauqdhYSC3CAVQHZxc-GFKV5OQMyHomauQOtC92tMNJzjw2qHZ/s1600-h/theriver.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTDuctbic2lrP8l85ChaeDfTI95rtUX4qDD1vQopkhK9Vyc9ZKKn8yFWUhmLAIOFk7sUyIf1wUIhE4olXsNI1hWV2uhIauqdhYSC3CAVQHZxc-GFKV5OQMyHomauQOtC92tMNJzjw2qHZ/s320/theriver.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297623244140458930" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>Having been involved in this process from the beginning I am very impressed with the progress the school board and their attorneys have made to address the concerns in the lawsuit and the those of parents in an effort to secure unitary status. We all have learned a lot about the school board, the school districts, curriculum and each other.<br /><br />This process however is not about us, it’s about our children and the equitable utilization of our tax dollars to encourage and provide the best educational opportunities for them. We have also learned that in some respects education is a business and like a business it needs to be financially sound, legally compliant and consumer friendly. And so like a business limiting the consumer base is not expedient. Segregation served to legally allow isolation, restriction, denial of service and stigmatization that is still felt in many communities today. Freedom of choice is an inalienable right that we all share. It is the most outstanding attraction to becoming an American citizen. No one can come to this republic and be denied opportunity because of who they are or where they come from as long as they remain compliant to the laws of this land.<br /><br />I submitted to your honor in a letter the things I wanted to say regarding the bridge closure and parish wide access. I simply wanted to remind the court that all or our freedoms are inexplicably linked and efforts to limit the freedoms of one group will ultimately encroach upon the freedoms of another.<br /><br />Let’s continued the good work that was started over a year ago and that is nearly completed today. Better schools, better teachers, better administrators and staff, better parents, better guardians, better children for better communities for everyone.<br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-56486079218702014262009-01-30T11:55:00.000-08:002009-01-30T12:12:22.225-08:00"...the ugly specter of racial inequality... I like that!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnD5E1QQzAJQ3JlgQyOyoPhOfIKER0i7o83N3gAnhAovIZQ-v_ODjTKAUjSTwqlYAp9xwmjNOzvAnb19s2LogcmDVcB_2Bgs2G1KM3tCRJ4AQOmlKp78JkH2VU3ch-6QrQ8fy90rRC3Wwj/s1600-h/race-relations.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnD5E1QQzAJQ3JlgQyOyoPhOfIKER0i7o83N3gAnhAovIZQ-v_ODjTKAUjSTwqlYAp9xwmjNOzvAnb19s2LogcmDVcB_2Bgs2G1KM3tCRJ4AQOmlKp78JkH2VU3ch-6QrQ8fy90rRC3Wwj/s200/race-relations.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297181937580952978" /></a><br />Mrs. Nicole Edler addressed Judge Engelhardt with this excellent and compelling treatise on the need to really care about the attorney's efforts to divide the parish. I was there, you would have been proud:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Good Morning,Your Honor:<br /><br />I applaud this court in its attempt to put an end to the ugly specter of racial inequality and segregation in our schools. However, racial demographic documentation presented to this court has shown that the Jefferson Parish School Board and the plaintiffs have crafted a plan that will in fact lead to resegregation and further isolationism of black and white students in Jefferson Parish. As Dr. Roussel affirmed to this court on Dec. 14th, 75% of minority students in Jefferson Parish reside on the west bank. Only 25% of African American students reside on the east bank. “Assigning” students to a magnet school on the side of the river of their residence will advance segregation and geographical discrimination of the west bank and the students that reside there. This suggests an attempt by the litigants in this case to reinstitute a dual system, a system which this court has attempted to abolish for over 40 years.<br /><br />The supportive documentation confirms that the east bank’s court-approved ratio of black to white students (+/- 15%) is significantly lower than the black/white percentage range declared acceptable by this court for the west bank. The disparity is evidenced by the differences in the housing patterns on the west bank, which is more racially diverse, less affluent and more African-American.<br /><br />However, as they proclaimed in 1971, the Jefferson Parish School Board once again contends that the disparity in the races and the separation of the parish by the river is an inevitable “product of voluntary housing patterns”, a justification which was not accepted by the court in 1972 as an excuse to promote racism, and one which should not be accepted today by this court. The school board seeks permission by this court to “assign” students to magnet schools where the student population on one side of the river may be disproportionately of one race, while ignoring the racial implications and consequences therein. This flies in the face of desegregation, and circumvents the intent of this court and our constitution.<br /><br />Swann v. Mecklenburg placed the burden on school authorities to show that one race schools are "genuinely nondiscriminatory." Closing the river to crossing magnet students will, in fact, risk the eventual return of “one-race” magnet schools. Allowing students to access magnet schools on both sides of the river encourages racial, socio-economic, religious, and cultural diversity in our magnet schools. In 1971, the district court found that the only evidence presented by the School Board to justify the presence of 19 one race schools "was an allusion to housing patterns." Today, the school board would have this court separate the parish by the river and thus “assign” students to a magnet school based on their geographical residency. What the school board fails to publically acknowledge is that, in conceding that most African-American students reside on the west bank, and would therefore be “assigned” to west bank magnet schools, they are, in fact, intentionally or not, promoting segregation, while attempting to use the Mississippi River as a dividing rod. Forty years later, it still smacks of racism. Just because it may not be spelled out clearly or outwardly spoken, it does not mean that the intent is lost on the public. Our constitution does not allow us to turn a blind eye to racism, be it overt or subtle. It does not allow us to claim ignorance of its existence.<br /><br />Your Honor: Magnet schools promote natural desegregation, which is the justified and noble objective of this court. Please do not allow the Jefferson Parish School Board to “assign” students to our magnet schools, thereby limiting and/or suppressing desegregation. Please do not allow them to separate our school system by the Mississippi River, which will most certainly attempt to circumvent the honorable intent of the 14th Amendment to our constitution. The magnet school plan, in its current form, is patently unfair.<br /><br />Brown v. Board of Education stated that: “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”. The courts did not agree that educational facilities should be “substantially equal to the extent feasible”, as the school board has suggested. We are one parish. It is time that we started behaving like one. It is time to end the dual system.<br /><br />Thank you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-1376062165467343672009-01-29T19:07:00.000-08:002009-01-29T21:07:27.389-08:00So let's play the game...AGAIN!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJId7L0r7NSA_aMASYKkSmnpgvsQAo28k-x7dGsnjYXSUbYEiM6kNBL6pmKnXi4tDYEH0X2KPUZ6ntH3w8q3_GN-Cb8QHfqR22vlksCW3Q3UIdu9OZky1wZxiRKT7fsuU-aCF2-nqfM59C/s1600-h/havesHavenots.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJId7L0r7NSA_aMASYKkSmnpgvsQAo28k-x7dGsnjYXSUbYEiM6kNBL6pmKnXi4tDYEH0X2KPUZ6ntH3w8q3_GN-Cb8QHfqR22vlksCW3Q3UIdu9OZky1wZxiRKT7fsuU-aCF2-nqfM59C/s400/havesHavenots.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296936131258403234" border="0"></a><br />I was under the impression that the objective of the Jefferson Parish attorneys and school board officials was to have Jefferson Parish Public School system to become unitary. A year ago they were willing to sacrifice a few students by removing them from their present magnet school to attend "God knows what" school just not the school on the opposite side of their residence. Today Judge Engelhardt declared to the attorneys that their efforts working with the school board and parents may have paid off and the public schools in Jefferson will come under School Board control very soon!<br /><br />There however is one sticky part. The Judge said that there was no reason to order the Mississippi River be set as a dividing line within the parish. Separating the parish by the river is akin to "creating a binary system" which is contrary to the consent order designed to eliminate segregation within the parish and create a unitary system. It was clear to all present, particularly Mrs. Mathis, Assistant to the Superintendant, that such an action was counter productive and that if a parent wishes to send their child to a school on the opposite side of the river from their residence they would be allow provide that parent understand that transportation would only be provide from their home to the nearest Magnet School. How hard is that to understand!!<br /><br />Well attorneys are still singing that same song and dancing the same dance they did a year ago and I hope they are justifiably reprimanded. Parents are making plans to sent their children to a good school, but due to recent misrepresentation of this latest order some are still uncertain.<br /><br />I beg of the school board and attorneys lay down your arms. You have presented the evidence in court yourself. Only about 50 or 60 students have been attending Magnet schools on the opposite side of the river from their residence. It has been 6 years since these schools have been opened. This can hardly be described as an effort by parents to "resegregate" themselves...a genuine fear expressed by the attorneys. Remember, approximately 20 of these students are Black.<br /><br />Let this be the last word...until the next school board meeting:<br /><br />"Space permitting, a student’s parent will be afforded an election to choose the elementary advanced studies academy in which to enroll his/her child. The school system will provide transportation where a student is enrolled in the elementary advanced studies academy in closest proximity to the home of the student’s parent or guardian." <br /><br />So ordered, Judge Kurt Engelhardt<object id="BLOG_video-FAILED" class="BLOG_video_class" contentid="FAILED" width="320" height="266"></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-20374519733819786982009-01-14T16:48:00.000-08:002009-01-14T18:29:54.605-08:00Students who fall short would be transferred (Expelled?)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxeyY9G6LylRnqu_fnbexMDLw9bHTA0ZA-mGTuIg8Vokqw3X1eyiKrDLXSJqef7XwgmOL6HiCxGGM1zCmjXFYYjAJ2tSAr3umXH4J-NL3_dPBEqyHLu25DlCAjUgkjB_AHMTQSykSdACr/s1600-h/Expelled.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxeyY9G6LylRnqu_fnbexMDLw9bHTA0ZA-mGTuIg8Vokqw3X1eyiKrDLXSJqef7XwgmOL6HiCxGGM1zCmjXFYYjAJ2tSAr3umXH4J-NL3_dPBEqyHLu25DlCAjUgkjB_AHMTQSykSdACr/s400/Expelled.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291340477772559202" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1231828285240630.xml&coll=1">NOLA's TP reporter Barri Bronston</a> reports that JP Board member Judy Colgan proposed that "<span style="font-style:italic;">students making lower grades (in the Magnet program) would be better served at conventional schools, where they could take honors courses in their stronger subjects</span>". She also is "<span style="font-style:italic;">asking the board to forbid advanced studies students to return to their current school if they make a D or F in a core subject at the end of the first semester</span>".<br /><br />There may be a different "Procedures and Policies for Parents and Students" guide in Jefferson Parish than the one I have for 2008 - 2009. If not then the one I have is applicable to all public schools. In this document I read an extensive list of procedures and policy that MAY result in suspension and expulsion which include, willful disobedience, disrespect of a teacher or administrator, profane language, immoral or vicious practices, leaving school without permission, traffic violations, interference with orderly conduct, bomb threats, possession of electronic communication devices, damage or vandalism of school property, carrying weapons, possessing legal drugs, possessing illegal drugs, a felony conviction...<br /><br />Each of these offenses depending on its seriousness may accumulate to the 3rd offense, is subject to a review and mitigation within the school, can result in 3 days to 4 semester suspensions in the most serious cases. <span style="font-weight:bold;">None require a transfer</span>!<br /><br />Jefferson Parish Schools are suppose to be designed to provide the facilities, qualified personnel and the necessary feedback that indicates to the students, parents and themselves that progress is being made in meeting educational expectations. Maybe this is the reason for the proposal but in my opinion earning a D or F does not fit in the list of <span style="font-style:italic;">disciplinary infractions</span>. It certainly does not warrant the gravest of all consequences...EXPULSION!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><blockquote>Students want education to enable them to the be the best people that they can be and <span style="font-weight:bold;">become</span>. Parents want this same educational goal for their children. The Jefferson Parish Public School System is committed to working with parents and students to fulfill each of their goals. The procedures and policies in this pamphlet are designed to create an atmosphere conducive to each student's being and <span style="font-weight:bold;">becoming </span>the very best he/she can be.</blockquote></span> JPSSUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-48642154509140453312009-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:002009-01-06T20:20:30.150-08:00The wheels on the bus go round and round...<object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gEtuXrV_KnM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gEtuXrV_KnM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br />We just knew it was over! Yes, many of us were pleased with the consent order, except for segregating the parish by the Mississippi River, the potential loss of special programs at Hazel Park and the redistricting of some students in the Hazel Park area. This however did not seem to contribute to the <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?attid=0.1&disp=attd&view=att&th=11eac76f39b2f38e">Judge's denial</a> of this iteration of the order to be reviewed again in 120 days. The over arching objective of this recent submission (as with the entire consent order) was to lower the number of segregated schools. It seems during this most recent redistricting no schools resulted in being desegregated with one potentially becoming racially identifiable. A death blow to a desegregation order.<br /><br />I have to say to those involved who read this...if only the Magnet Schools had been left alone as was originally thought, Jefferson Parish Public Schools might have become unitary by now!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-58976426092111529682008-12-12T19:16:00.000-08:002008-12-12T20:22:55.073-08:00And while we wait...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fKby65Jqs2StiEkSyxNHn45pM7AxUxbBVBKeHDU1DP4VoYjsvfP01cGX5FUuZkxVqfewr1C6COqR2EtLl-4fhd_pVxcxvyI4cA488TwCJH43_ByqKqT_RXHIrBb6CkpV3OG9jrLVfpR0/s1600-h/kids_on_a_bridge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fKby65Jqs2StiEkSyxNHn45pM7AxUxbBVBKeHDU1DP4VoYjsvfP01cGX5FUuZkxVqfewr1C6COqR2EtLl-4fhd_pVxcxvyI4cA488TwCJH43_ByqKqT_RXHIrBb6CkpV3OG9jrLVfpR0/s400/kids_on_a_bridge.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279120787949616386" /></a><br />I was surprised by the turnout at today's fairness hearing. I know some were not able to get away from work and others were tied up with other things. I made it there just before the Judge entered the room but not soon enough to get on the list to speak in minor opposition to certain aspects of the proposal. Mrs. Nicole Edler presented in my opinion some very compelling reasons for CHOICE among Magnet Schools in Jefferson Parish and hopefully this, along with all the letters and emails from some of you, has given Judge Kurt Engelhardt some cause to pause in ruling in complete favor of the proposal. This is what I would have said today:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">A lot has happened in the 21 months since we began a campaign to see a fair and equitable Jefferson parish school desegregation plan be delivered by the school board attorneys to the plaintiff, Mrs. Lena Dandridge - Houston. My daughter got a puppy, my son his driver's license, I lost more hair and made new friends. I put a fence around my house and was offered to work with a demolition contractor. I participated in my Fraternity's playground restoration projects and brought to families hope and joy where there was little during the holiday season. My daughter earned awards in chess and music, my son a college scholarship. I taught children respect for themselves and their elders and how to analyze and annotate DNA sequences. I acquired equipment for my university for teaching and research and have recommended some research programs for funding and some for resubmission. I attended the funerals of family and family friends and recommended students for admission into college and professional schools. I watched children become inspired by proteins in 3-D and cheered and supported participants in a run/walk to cure cancer. I attended birthday parties, honorary celebrations with celebrities and supported political candidates who were successful and some who were not.<br /><br />A lot has happened in the 21 months since we began a campaign to see a fair and equitable Jefferson parish school desegregation plan be delivered...none of which would have happened if I were not allowed to <span style="font-weight:bold;">CHOOSE </span>to cross the Mississippi River!</span><br /></blockquote><br />Let's pray for a fair and equitable decision by Judge Engelhardt for all involved...soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-52258725797428437892008-09-23T10:04:00.001-07:002008-09-24T07:23:07.956-07:00IMO...The New Plan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciqUFRDYFNrvtGdg2K_pTqCwAupORohZAjDdXH-G7qaGXMu59lMMW1IZJhHhO93yE_V8XMO2ElCR0G8CJHpyCRByYEkTSUKPr0XTEeD4R1LoN8Ma4_VyNTU7n67tCOIRaUzifZO3bxBlS/s1600-h/happyface.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgciqUFRDYFNrvtGdg2K_pTqCwAupORohZAjDdXH-G7qaGXMu59lMMW1IZJhHhO93yE_V8XMO2ElCR0G8CJHpyCRByYEkTSUKPr0XTEeD4R1LoN8Ma4_VyNTU7n67tCOIRaUzifZO3bxBlS/s400/happyface.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249263997945012402" /></a><br /><br />Yes, disruption of the progress of children in a stable working environment is not good. The right thing to do, since change is inevitable, is to effect the fewest number of children. As for the <a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-4/122223371488730.xml&coll=1&thispage=1">concerns at Hazel Park</a>, Mrs. Kovack and Mr. St. Pierre have taken the right approach by giving students and parent at Hazel Park the opportunity to continue through their programs while making this transition to a Magnet School. In this way no children are adversely effected. Demanding high achievement will only foster greater success among our children and benefit the community overall in many positive ways.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-77005093374727611692008-09-20T06:30:00.000-07:002008-09-20T06:31:23.801-07:00Pass it on...This may be our last opportunity:<br /><br />Public Hearing On Proposed Plan For Schools for Advanced Study<br /><br />The Jefferson Parish School Board will hold a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at the School Board Room at Bonnabel High School to conduct a public hearing on the Proposed Plan for Schools for Advanced Study prepared pursuant to paragraph 6 of the Consent Order in Lena Vern Dandridge, et al, vs. Jefferson Parish School Board, United States District Court N. 14-801.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-31926369003651800892008-09-19T09:11:00.001-07:002008-09-19T13:43:59.456-07:00Equality in magnet schoolsBeing as both of my children attend Metaire Academy, I was excited to hear at the co-op meeting that Julie Quinn has managed to get the Legislature to approve a $40,000 grant for the playground. My kids play on this playground every weekday, so this benefits my family directly.<br /><br />I did stop to think about Gretna Academy and Ruppel, which were in Superintendent Diane Rousell's plan to function as the two elementary magnet schools on the westbank, and presumably still will be when she submits her new revised plan for a board vote at the October school board meeting. My thoughts revolved around whether either of these schools received such funding for their own playgrounds. <br /><br />It is possible they have, and the news just hasn't hit the information pipeline yet. Or they might have received such funding for other programs MAAS already has, or for necessities they may lack. I just wonder if these westbank schools have a friend in Baton Rouge as Metairie Academy does, and if not, how do they get one? A Julie Quinn doesn't come along every day, particularly for the westbank parents who are stuck with ever half-baked idea the board comes up with. <br /><br />The school board will ultimately get to pass every motion they wish regardless of whether parents agree or not, because we have no voice and we have no vote when it comes to the board's tiresome motions. The magnet school parents are pretty insignificant in numbers; the district parents, however, are plentiful. While magnet school parents may not be able to change the world, or even the vote, perhaps those district parents who are dissatisfied with the schools their children have been moved to, will remember the school board's attitude when it is time to vote on something that parents can control- the school board members.Holli Castillohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15976235735822063166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-26646963681742542542008-09-19T07:56:00.000-07:002008-09-19T09:03:03.113-07:00The difficult and complex process continues...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx50BXMfmbT_BNhj28dqt-gEk36UohyphenhyphenwwlBEZFJaOjAalDFoyw7duE-syT8yKS8ta9CnzU959QmVyTHjJ0uRWdCOMFDozoiUTPAE-I6LPQ6ZZS79awqroC9gsejIMCRRILJI0BS_TIxOPT/s1600-h/Headlight.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx50BXMfmbT_BNhj28dqt-gEk36UohyphenhyphenwwlBEZFJaOjAalDFoyw7duE-syT8yKS8ta9CnzU959QmVyTHjJ0uRWdCOMFDozoiUTPAE-I6LPQ6ZZS79awqroC9gsejIMCRRILJI0BS_TIxOPT/s320/Headlight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247760760538212546" /></a><br />It would seem apparent that the efforts of our School Board and those of Dr. Diane Roussel in constructing a proposal to educate our children would be most productive if the lines of communication remained opened and accessible to the parents and teachers of our parishes Magnet School System. Even though there was some misunderstanding among parents during the past two months regarding the distribution of grades at the middle school and high school levels, eventually the "light" came on and now the structuring of a new Magnet School Proposal begins again.<br /><br />As we recover from yet another storm all is quiet but no doubt Dr. Roussel and others have gathered the parental petitions and recommendations sent in August and are busy preparing what may be the final proposal, like it or not, for Board approval. This will likely be the plan to go before Judge Kurt Englehardt in answer to concerns for fairness in addressing the <a href="http://www.jppss.k12.la.us/">Dandridge Consent Order </a>on the first of November. Time for vetting this issue is running out. Of course, the Board could quickly make a unilateral and final decision without community input...however, doing this has not turned out for the best so far.<br /><br />Congratulation! Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies for your diligence and fortitude in the face of what could have had a crippling effect on your record of success. I certainly hope the Judge will allow my daughter and all others like mine from the Westbank of this parish to apply.<br /><br />MarionUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-53595687207873968452008-08-17T20:10:00.000-07:002008-08-23T16:07:25.411-07:00More insight from the all seeing eyes...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLlUWAwav5LkozffzCdkIYSq4r2kQL2rIkv6mDL3lkkwrV0MJZBi0emQ_YQfYZ46tdn-khaJdzHPeC3SvtkHV020q8zPw2dAVgG4H-ztYCX78cxfcm7bRVGy7CeYYJGFkDRqyCRvV80IY/s1600-h/shuffleboard.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLlUWAwav5LkozffzCdkIYSq4r2kQL2rIkv6mDL3lkkwrV0MJZBi0emQ_YQfYZ46tdn-khaJdzHPeC3SvtkHV020q8zPw2dAVgG4H-ztYCX78cxfcm7bRVGy7CeYYJGFkDRqyCRvV80IY/s200/shuffleboard.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235702545537600642" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/121895179590710.xml&coll=1">Schoolyard Shuffle Angers Jeff Parents!</a><br /><br />Mr. Broach wrote a interesting article published today in the Times-Picayune.<br /><br /><blockquote>In the spring of 2005, Jefferson Parish public school officials pulled a fast one.<br /><br />With no public notice, the School Board waived its usual rules and abruptly decided to shift one of its new magnet schools, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, from an Elmwood office building to the campus of T.H. Harris Middle School in Metairie. Board member Martin Marino touted the move as a good way to accommodate the growing enrollment at the science school and make use of extra space at Harris, which, coincidentally, is in his School Board district.<br /><br />Parents had other ideas. Shut out of the decision-making, scores of them just as abruptly erected a wall of opposition. Within three weeks, the School Board backed off and, for the time being, left the science school in Elmwood.<br /><br />You might think the School Board, supposedly a bunch of astute politicians, would have learned its lesson. Yet board members have been at it again in recent weeks, trying to shift classes -- even entire student bodies -- at three more East Jefferson schools. In the process, they again have unwittingly illustrated the natural growing pains of trying to improve public education and the hazards -- easily foreseeable -- of altering schools without first soliciting public opinion.<br /><br />Any fundamental change is difficult. Jefferson began discovering this in 2003 when the School Board hired Diane Roussel as superintendent with a promise to improve public education in a parish where it had stagnated for years. Along the way, the creation of magnet schools has proven to be enormously complex and fraught with controversy.<br /><br />But some of the growing pains are of the School Board's own making. Such as making major changes without testing the political waters first.<br /><br />A reasonable case can be made for closing Riverdale High School and dispersing its dwindling enrollment among other conventional high schools on the east bank of Jefferson Parish. High school classes, and the eighth grade, for the top-achieving east bank students could then be moved to Riverdale's campus from their current home at Haynes Academy for Advanced Studies, where Old Metairie neighbors are wary of growing enrollment. Haynes would remain a magnet middle school and take on the fifth grade now housed at Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies.<br /><br />But in endorsing those moves last month, the School Board failed to consult with its constituents.<br /><br />Had school officials held parent and community meetings on the proposal and made some adjustments based on the input, chances are they would have won some support and spared themselves much of the current controversy. Parents like to know what the plans are for their children's education. Some might even have suggestions. Nowhere is that more apparent than with magnet schools, which have a way of engaging parents like no other public schools.<br /><br />But the Jefferson School Board didn't do this, and only now is the school system starting to hold community meetings.<br /><br />Roussel can't be blamed for the misstep. Her job is executive: to run the school system and, with broad direction from the School Board, try to improve it. It's the job of board members, the elected officials, to take the pulse of the public.<br /><br />More growing pains are likely as this school system lurches from mediocrity to what should be excellence in one of the richest and most populous parishes in Louisiana. Some of the pain is the inevitable result of trying something new.<br /><br />But some, like moving schools wholesale across town without parental input, can be easily avoided if the School Board would do its job right.<br /><br />. . . . . . .<br /><br />Drew Broach is the East Jefferson bureau chief. E-mail dbroach@timespicayune.com or call (504) 883-7059.</blockquote><br /><br />Sometimes its good to know you are not crazy. What do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-5483285337052550052008-08-13T18:31:00.000-07:002008-08-14T07:53:11.190-07:00Jeff Parish School Board gathering momentum for "Reconstruction"?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Vg2EB6-65mibT2QEspXdILKPbq3jHp8GAaxLBqi1qhnYyyeP_L9IFu1TOqnEm6KYkEt8i11S3N1poU2dYDkNZCynBP6Mh7X9Qfx4znCPakcjM3dYKaNGHNfGvhdAYPYtGjGUDnT2R1v/s1600-h/schoolhouse.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Vg2EB6-65mibT2QEspXdILKPbq3jHp8GAaxLBqi1qhnYyyeP_L9IFu1TOqnEm6KYkEt8i11S3N1poU2dYDkNZCynBP6Mh7X9Qfx4znCPakcjM3dYKaNGHNfGvhdAYPYtGjGUDnT2R1v/s400/schoolhouse.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234200237764078018" /></a><br />I was fortunate to attend the JPSB meeting Wednesday afternoon, August 13th, 2008. It was a more pleasant experience than past meetings I attended. The meeting moved smoothly through agenda items and the board members (for the most part) made their points quickly. This allowed for parents and representatives from <a href="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/parents_deplore_changes_at_eas.html">Riverdale High School, Haynes and Metairie Academy's </a>the opportunity to express in the assembly their feelings and analysis of the JPSB Plans to restructure these and <a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-153/121869198569810.xml&coll=1">other schools in the parish</a>.<br /><br />It seemed that many of these parents are beginning to realize the consequences of the Dandridge consent order which itself is a consequence of segregation in Jefferson Parish. My heart goes out to these parents. I only hope this realization inspires discussion within these families about the deterioration of the culture and atmosphere in the South after <a href="http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart5.html">Reconstruction</a>. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana<br /><br />I'm sure we appreciate the superintendent encouraging input from parents through the Magnet School Survey. One would hope that this course of action would have been taken regardless of the Federal Court's oversight. I thought my responses to the survey might have a different perspective than most so I've included them below now that the deadline for submission has passed.<br /><br />A curious observation before the meeting began today...did we PRAY? Hummm...those were the days.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">Academically Advanced Magnet School Plan Survey..my responses…</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Staffing:</span><br /><br />I think the superintendent and her staff are best to know how to distribute staff. I find the teachers at my school committed and concerned for the development of their children. As a teacher I know commitment weighs more than certification because it is a selfless and often thankless job. Few certificates measure a teacher’s level of commitment.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Grade Configuration:</span><br /><br />I think the grade configuration is typical. I was in an elementary school which housed 1st through 8th grades. My high school began with 9th. There is nothing wrong with the division proposed. It however creates a greater demand for facilities to house these different divisions. I’d prefer one school for elementary (K-8) and a second for high school (9-12) typically fed by the elementary.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Curriculum:</span><br /><br />Communication is key, but also a common curriculum will insure that all students have the opportunity to adequately prepare for their next level of education. There are means that I shared with my principal that allow administrators and teachers to communicate with each other in real time with little effort and at very low cost over the Internet. With gas and traffic the way it is this I think is a wonderful way to build community within the school system to the benefit of all the children in the parish. Technology is scary to many but this type of transition is happening and our children need to know it exists and how to use it responsibly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Principals:</span><br /><br />There is little comment to be made about this. I am experienced with only one principal and have been very pleased.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sports:</span><br /><br />It is good that the children’s eligibility and accumulated service hours not be affected by this transition. I hope this applies as well to all competitions, i.e. academic games, debate, honor societies, music.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Names of Schools:</span><br /><br /> - East Bank High School<br /> - West Bank High School<br /><br />I think naming schools would be a nice competition for the students who will have to attend these schools.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Additional Comments:</span><br /><br />Everyone is aware, though I have heard no one say emphatically, that enrollment on the Eastbank has declined for no other reason but as a result of the storm. The recovered enrollment now reflects people who were able to return, rebuild and reestablish themselves in their homes and businesses. Good timing on the part of the plaintiff in the consent order in exposing the desegregation order when the demographics in all of New Orleans now resembling the 1970s. I know the consent order is justified and the JPSB plan is warranted. I am a product of segregation. I know it is meant to be punitive so not everyone will like it. I think that under the circumstances today we have a great opportunity to advance our educational performance in Jefferson Parish, provide opportunities to some (not all) who would not have had it, and certainly become a role model for large, racially and economically diverse communities around the country. I just want these efforts to impact our children’s education in as small a measure as possible.<br /><br />In order for teachers to be effective and students to be served I think it is very important to keep the class sizes at their lowest possible levels. If the proposed configuration will increase the number of sections housed at each grade level and the student/teacher ratio is maintained at 20/1 then this is in the best interest of our students. Presently, a class size over 30 is <span style="font-weight:bold;">UNACCEPTABLE</span>. I know this transition may result in disruptions, but the proposal for the 2009-2010 school year should not require any class to be above the maximum number of students allowed.<br /><br />I know resources and personnel are strained, as is funding. This is always the case. Let’s make a strong effort to keep the numbers low, and if necessary, turning students away only as a last resort.<br /><br />Dr. Roussel, you have a very difficult task in managing students as well as parents and guardians who have little time or inclination to participate in the adequate education of their children. This effectively makes it more difficult for those of us who know education is vital to our children’s survival and are daily engaged in their success in school. I pray you stay vigilant and leave a legacy for your successor to build upon. I pray also that my colleagues and I whose perspective may differ, will find a willing and caring heart not only for our own children’s well-being but also for the children who desire to share in the benefits of a free education in the 21st century.<br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-44082017075058847722008-07-23T13:10:00.000-07:002008-07-23T13:14:18.334-07:00A Very Wise Young Man Once Said...I am a senior at Riverdale High School and even though it doesn't really affect my academic career, they should really change their stance. Not only did they not read the plan they unanimously accepted (which I can't blame them, seeing as we elect people that do the same thing in a variety of our government positions), but also their stance simply does not make any sense.<br /><br />Let’s examine their only arguments for changing Riverdale into a magnet school:<br /><br />1.) School Board Member Ellen Kovach says that there is a growing demand for magnet schools.<br /><br />2.) This inherently prevents “many qualified” students from gaining access to a magnet school.<br /><br />3.) It’s fiscally responsible to carry out this action.<br /><br />4.) Old Metairie residents have also complained about traffic.<br /><br /><br />That’s the only four arguments that the school board can present, all of which can be refuted quite easily:<br /><br />1.) What demand for magnet schools? For some reason, our school board finds this incessant need to continue building up accelerated programs. They invested thousands of dollars into IBO, the Patrick Taylor Science and Technology Academy, and the current Haynes Academy. The question is, where is the demand for all this? Why don’t we request from the school board how many of our kids in our parish have applied to private universities in the past? I can estimate the number to be relatively small. Even with these supreme magnet schools, large numbers of kids are still going to be utilizing TOPS and in-state programs that can be achieved at the average high school. Now I do not see a demand for magnet schools, which they may see. But what I do see is the demand for adequate teaching across the board. I see a demand for qualified teachers. What’s more important: spending thousands of dollars for kids that could achieve well in less-expensive programs like Gifted and AP, or actually providing a decent education to the majority of the parish? Our school board needs to get its priorities in order.<br /><br />2.) Exactly. That’s the point of a magnet school. Kids will be utilizing a magnet school to get a better education, but also prepare them for college. One of the biggest aspects of post-secondary education is the competitiveness. One has to apply for colleges and compete against other students for acceptance. In essence, the same thing is happening with the magnet schools. So instead, we should just accept all kids applying to a magnet school because it’s CLEARLY the most ideal system post-graduation. (Note the sarcasm)<br /><br />3.)While I concede that Riverdale’s loss of students while having a pretty large capacity does show signs of fiscal irresponsibility, it is more costly to put the magnet school at Riverdale. The first thing we have to realize is that our school board has consistently been incompetent in location. They had the science and tech school in a location, which they eventually moved. This magnet school is only going to be at Riverdale for a few years, and then also moved to Kenner. The cost of a brief transition is far greater than leaving things alone. Then another transition to the other school costs even more. The money you wasted on programs at Riverdale like IBO would be at a great cost… It’s so disheartening to hear OUR school board scream fiscal responsibility when they waste money left and right. More importantly, back to my first point, it would be more fiscally responsible to worry about the kids that aren’t the cream of the crop, but those that are struggling. Poor test scores affects us in terms of federal funding. And any money we waste in unqualified and ineffective teaching (while also failing to meet federal statutes) is simply ridiculous.<br /><br />4.) Oh! THE TRAFFIC!!! Oh, such a real good reason to move a school. So instead, we potentially create more traffic at the Riverdale campus, until they complain? Come on, it’s simply ridiculous. The only reason they would even consider this, is because our corrupt school board is so easily influenced by the wealthy members of Old Metairie.And here is where I go on my rant. Ellen Kovach, the ringleader of this plot to change Riverdale, is clearly the most incompetent person on the school board. She has recently joined, and has already begun to institute some of the most ridiculous measures this parish has ever seen. She lives in Old Metairie, so I’m sure she’s one of the few complaining about traffic… She has a record concerning actions that the community disapproves of. In 2006, an overwhelming crowd protested one of her previous campaigns against the constituents of this parish.<br /><br />(<a href="http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-6/11622767257520.xml&coll=1">http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-6/11622767257520.xml&coll=1</a>)<br /><br />Her plans were considered racist and one person described her as “David Duke with a dress.” She plans on running for judge within the year, leaving her to vacate her position as a school board member; just after she plans on “helping” the system. Kovach looks to advocate ethics and reform, but with a proposal like this, we can see she is clearly lying. She does not care about this school system or the students and parents affected by it. All she plans to do is use these propositions as another mark on her resume and go about her merry way wreaking havoc…<br /><br />I’m done.<br /><br />Ryan Dolin<br />July 17, 2008 1:27 PMUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-33816566445205663412008-07-20T11:21:00.000-07:002008-07-20T11:54:06.566-07:00Thank you Judge, experience should be expected!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqMfECmszqrkG42MyZ18EasM6E43EP78sgJ0dD4HXjmxXKrbK7ZyqqTeoyYvS619e3SjcZj1GhjeDmdGfzgAdTzG21JwqU8gZCW4rovxgZbDoo4dnMMLpwDTQJ-4femHX_XIeUCgKkWld/s1600-h/frels_kelly.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqMfECmszqrkG42MyZ18EasM6E43EP78sgJ0dD4HXjmxXKrbK7ZyqqTeoyYvS619e3SjcZj1GhjeDmdGfzgAdTzG21JwqU8gZCW4rovxgZbDoo4dnMMLpwDTQJ-4femHX_XIeUCgKkWld/s320/frels_kelly.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225168150380686242" /></a><br />Seems our school board attorneys feel that a background and experience is not a prerequisite to oversee implementation of the desegregation plan, provide suggestions for improvement and prepare an annual progress report for the judge. I am please that the judge is keeping his eyes open and is <a href="http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-29/121644485751980.xml&coll=1&thispage=1">recommending his own man </a>as this person's report is very important in his decisions regarding the separation of the parish by the river and other restructuring plans for the JPSS. What prompted the judges decision to intervene in Patin's choices is not evident but I'm sure the judge is savy. In this day and age if you're not coming to the top on Google searches...you're probably nobody in your field! Take a look:<br /><br />Patin's Picks:<br /><br />Google David Bartz - nothing, unless he's into New Jersey real estate.<br />Google Leonard Stevens - nothing. <br />Google Connie Chenevert - Recognized Teacher of the Year winners from the elementary school, middle school and high school levels. Connie Chenevert, Rapides' supervisor of personnel.<br /><br />Engelhardt's Pick:<br /><br />Google <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Kelly+Frels&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS228US228">Kelly Frels </a>- Mr. Frels was lead attorney for the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in its successful transition from a segregated to an integrated system in the 1980s. He assisted HISD in establishing the Houston Community College as a component of HISD and later helped the community college become an independent entity.<br /><br />His involvement in representing public school districts led him and five others to organize the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, which he was appointed chair in 2004.<br /><br />In my opinion...no contest!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5809092650287251307.post-19118960157450612008-07-18T19:56:00.000-07:002008-07-18T20:44:57.932-07:00While shopping for school supplies...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-nVA_1qi_SrTHBo3ybMPYgVr73iiJ60aJqNw1dtDbnfrZeiz9-_tsLAgWl0JAIHbjStxouIKRTWS-3AvV6_uGLnw46UqBSWVxA45zzIX0pm7wX0QWwT6VZ4isSPsL0gV9BnZrlp6fNEV/s1600-h/IMG_0107.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-nVA_1qi_SrTHBo3ybMPYgVr73iiJ60aJqNw1dtDbnfrZeiz9-_tsLAgWl0JAIHbjStxouIKRTWS-3AvV6_uGLnw46UqBSWVxA45zzIX0pm7wX0QWwT6VZ4isSPsL0gV9BnZrlp6fNEV/s320/IMG_0107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224559657392359346" /></a><br />Here are words I shared with Mr. Bronston before his article today:<br /><br />As a parent of a Westbank 4th grader attending Metairie Academy (for 4 years now) I am dishearten by the vote of the board to remove Metairie's 5th grade to the Haynes campus. I may be one of the parents who will have to attend a Westbank school after completing the terminal grade at Metairie Academy making my child now have to go to Thomas Jefferson, having the only 5th grade magnet program on the Westbank in 2009. The only other option would be Patrick Taylor but (as Nicole pointed out) not until the following year as PT starts with 6th grade, requiring my child to possibly change schools again (three schools in three years). So much for "choice".<br /><br />I like to express most of my feelings and view to the school board through this blog. I find school board meetings unproductive and stifling of parental expression so I refrain from confrontations there. How difficult would it be for the board to share their intentions...if they were confident that they were doing the right thing. Our concerns will be firmly made to the board, if they wish to know, during the fairness hearing before Judge Engelhardt concerning the status of magnets on both sides of the river. This kind of unilateral decision making by the JPSB is not one that the Judge will find in keeping with the ideals of fairness.<br /><br />I understand and welcome the necessary growing pains that will result as magnet programs potentially expand into Blenk High School and Kenner and throughout the greater New Orleans area. I only hope that the political motivations for this growth will fall in "lockstep" with providing more of our children on the Westbank and Eastbank with quality public education and development. The magnet ideal attracts good teachers and administrators and demands disciplined study above the average from children and teachers. This ideal also promotes an environment where parents and guardians are encouraged by the great potential their children demonstrate in various academic and creative disciplines. I'd like to see this kind of educational experience grow uninhibited by the viciousness of the past so our children will understand and refrain from repeating it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0