June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

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Board Meeting Minutes kids stay in an environment that's going to allow them to thrive and succeed, and be anxious and -- I shouldn't say anxious -- but excited about learning. Because that's what I see now. So I just wanted to share that with you. And if you have any questions for me, I'd be happy to entertain them. I will be, Ms. Russo, giving you a call. And perhaps if you have any questions, if you want to hold them until then, or everybody else who would like to give me a call and talk about that resolution. But it will be introduced on the 17th. Thank you. MS. WELCH: Thank you, Councilwoman. MS. STANDLER: You're very welcome. And it's great to see you again. We usually run into each other at graduations. I was helping you out there. MS. WELCH: Councilman? Page 10 of 41 MR. STOOTS: Yes. To the Board, to God be the glory. I just want to briefly join with the other accolades that have been paid to the high school graduates. I attended three. I wanted to attend four, but, again, two was taking place at the same time. And as small as I am, if I could Xerox myself to be at two places at the same time. Unfortunately, I have not been able to fully patent that process yet. I attended Dunbar, only to my first born, graduated from Dunbar, and graduated with honors and will be attending Catonsville Community College to pursue her technology field, and wants to become a pharmacist. So she should be able to help me with getting some reduced prescriptions. And speaking of that, I am petitioning to let everyone in here to sign this petition. This is involving a prescription drug that we want to send to our Congresspeople. So I will be passing it around, with your permission, Madam Chair, and the like. But a special thing took place. We had the first graduating class of Southside Academy of the Environmental Sciences of Cherry Hill. And ten years ago, I was called crazy, and wanted to be taken out and given a Breathalyzer test and a few other things for even contemplating entertaining such an idea. But, nevertheless, the reality of the situation is that 26 proud young men and women graduated at BCCC on this past Saturday. And 18 of them, 18 of the 26, that made the top of the schools, or the percentage of the graduates that's going to be going to college, will be going. So I was tremendously proud of that. And I had an opportunity to speak there. And I thought that couldn't be topped, until I had opportunity, also, to be a guest speaker at Harlem City. And I know tears were shared at various places. I heard about some of them. But I wish you all, along -- Ms. Siegel was there with me, and someone else, I don't remember her name, was there. The accomplishments that took place there, 231 graduates from Harlem. And we know what Harlem is, for the special needs. Now, that tops a lot of our schools. Now, Dunbar only had 193 graduates. I'm not quite sure what they started out with. But there's some things that I discussed with the principal there. And, CEO, I really want to meet with you and talk with you. Also, I met equally with -- it occurred yesterday -- with Chief Goodwin. And as we elevate our Fire Department, and it's Fire Academy. And, also, that I fully commit myself on the Academy schools. We were tremendously impressed with some information that came forward to us from the Association of Hotel Owners and so forth from yesterday's luncheon. We have their support for, hopefully, a downtown academy will take place, and I wanted you to look at that. And, in closing, there was a resolution -- I think it was a resolution, I'm not sure if it was a resolution or an ordinance -- that was introduced in the Council by Councilman Will Pews, in looking at making it compensatory for kids to be 18 years old before they could legitimately drop out of school. I think it is a tremendous piece that needs to occur. And the Council does support it. Several of us think that there is nothing for our kids to do but to get into trouble, to some degree, at the age of 16, to be able to legitimately drop out of school at 16. You can't go into the military. They can get a job, but it's not going to be a job that they want to have or would be productive. And, hopefully, we can ask you for some support on that as we journey the concerns that we know that you'll pick for it, so long as the piece, that particular piece of legislation. And that's what I wanted to relate to you in the most compact fashion that I can muster, on June the 11th, in our Lord, year 2002. file://S:\CMS_Content\meetings\2002\J11_02.html 9/23/2002
Board Meeting Minutes MS. WELCH: I'm impressed. We're all impressed. MR. STOOTS: Well, thank you so very much. Page 11 of 41 MS. WELCH: Thank you. We'll now move into the period of comments from the community. We'd like to remind you that each person is asked to speak no more than three minutes. And also to remind you that we generally don't engage in dialogue at this time. And we're asking members who've signed up to come and present or share information that you want to share with us in three minutes. We're going to ask Ms. Marietta English to come. Marietta English is the newly-elected President of the Baltimore Teachers Union. Is Brian Dale coming up behind you? MS. ENGLISH: In the name of the spirit that woke us this morning, that brings the sunshine, the rain, and early dismissal, and it will bring peace to this meeting, and all others, I say good evening. Good evening. I'm an elementary school teacher, I have to have that response. I'd like to just take this opportunity to congratulate the students that are completing their year's work of activities, from grades pre-K through 12. And commend those that are graduating and will be going to college. And, especially, applaud those that received scholarships. I belong to an organization that did award two scholarships this week to two students, one from Lake Clifton and one from Carver, who, hopefully, will go on to become teachers. Ms. Russo, Dr. Welch, Members of the New Board of Commissioners, I thank you for this opportunity to speak to you tonight. I am Marietta English, President of the Baltimore Teachers Union. I represent nearly 8,000 members of the Teachers Union, both teachers and peer professionals. Having spent the last two years working closely with the members of the Union in the classrooms, there is several issues that have caused low morale, teacher burnout, and undue stress to the employees. These issues include, but are not limited to, the following : The Child Study Team; the increased assaults on teachers; the tremendous amount of paperwork; the discipline; the nonrenewal of new teachers, and others. But today my focus is on the student performance-based evaluations, or the portfolio. The student performance-based evaluation or portfolio is stealing the faith of this School System faster than any previous negative cognitive factor that can be recalled. As the School Board, you have the duty to the parents in this community to sustain its stable, professional workforce that looks forward to the challenge of teaching children, even while working in the midst of the community, a School System that has witnessed significant social and economic deterioration. You have an obligation to provide working conditions that are safe and conducive to learning for both students and teachers. You should have the courage to ask your colleagues at the State level and elected State legislators to walk a day in the shoes of a teacher in Baltimore City before they make decisions about the careers of the professionals in Baltimore City, without the benefit of firsthand knowledge of a teacher's struggle to achieve academic success. A politician's solution to Baltimore's education woes is to respond to a politically correct poplar, and satisfy the platitudes of educational reform that will, in short-term, only benefit their own careers. Politicians are quick to create laws or requirements that penalize a teacher for a child's efforts. Why do they not make laws that require parents to be more responsible for their child's efforts? The implied insult and blame for State law and agreements, coupled with the lack of support for a teacher's authority and respect in the classrooms, has left such damage that the moral authority of our educational leaders has been compromised. There's no point in asking for more money and generating new programs, that the support and enthusiasm of teachers have been lost. School Board Members should say, as we do, enough is enough. The vast majority of teachers in this School System are here because they want to provide the best education they can to their students under the present circumstances. To deny this altruism to the teachers is to deny reality. When the truth about positive assumption of teachers' intentions are recognized, there will be no justification for imposing further nontraditional, overkill, stressful, and unfair evaluation methods of teachers. It has been a terrible mistake to trade off the unnecessary termination of teachers' careers in this City, because of the imposition of unconscionable evaluation methods in order to receive State funding. Teachers place little hope in the State's Superintendent and MSDE to provide the leadership to improve the quality of education in file://S:\CMS_Content\meetings\2002\J11_02.html 9/23/2002
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June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

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