Been There, Haven’t Done That

Bob Herbert said it best, “Present-day obsessions with firing teachers, attacking unions, and creating charter schools have done little to improve outcomes for disadvantaged students of color.” Add to that list renaming, reconfiguring, and remodeling schools and we still achieve nothing but failure. Herbert and others suggest placing low income students in middle class school […]

We Can’t Leave It To Beaver

It is disturbing to witness the mistreatment and neglect of children. Toddlers playing outside with no relevant supervision, young children caregivers for younger siblings, some children are left alone and ignored. Look into the faces of these children and you see despair, loneliness, and even hate. There is no joy of childhood, no laughter, there […]

Same Game, Different Name

“It’s about our students. It’s about their future and therefore it’s about our future too.” Dr. Bolgen Vargas According to School Board resolutions, in the last two years the Board approved twenty-eight Central Office positions totaling $2,598,847 or $92,816 per person, in educational dollars on non-teaching personnel. Since the average starting salary for a RCSD […]

It’s The Law

There are laws which govern nature. The first law; Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed, explains why our current system of education is misguided. The RCSD is spending an enormous amount of money trying to “create a masterpiece” that already exists. Our educational leaders across […]

A Herculian Effort

Leadership, the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.” Integrity, firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility. Respect, a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity. Ignorance, the state of […]

Time After Time

It is confusing to witness, year after year, teacher support of the ridiculous notion that consistent district budget deficits are actually due to decreased enrollment and increased teacher salaries and benefits. Year after year the fiscal decisions of the district, supported by the Board, create a financial fiasco for which students and teachers are made […]

It’s Getting Kind of Heavy

The City budget was passed, the Rochester City School District budget was passed, the RTA contract was approved for vote . . . and the beat goes on. Section 200.28 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations states, ” A schoolwide program must involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the […]