June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

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Board Meeting Minutes smaller than nobody. Thank you. MS. WELCH: Thank you, Mr. Goodin. Kalman Hettleman? MR. HETTLEMAN: Good evening, Dr. Welch, Commissioners, and Ms. Russo. In recent Board discussions of next year's budget, Ms. Russo said that a court order in the Vaughn G. case prohibited the Board from changing compensatory award staff positions, replacing the special education officer under the CAO. In response to my question, Ms. Russo publically promised to provide a copy of the court order or orders. Despite repeated requests, she has failed to do so. Does such a court description exist, and, if so, why hasn't it been provided? Also, during discussion of the budget, Dr. Jones informed the Board that kindergartner summer school would be offered to all students who, in effect, require intervention, and that kindergarten class size will be reduced next year to an average of 18. Dr. Jones promised to provide details by May 28th, but only provided some incomplete information late today. In any event, it appears that Dr. Jones' statements to the Board on these subjects were inaccurate or misleading. There are more details in this statement I will leave with you today. But, briefly, on kindergarten summer school, I have been told that a little over 700 students will be invited to participate, about 12 percent of kindergarten students. Yet, research and your own data clearly show that at least 50 percent of kindergarten students are at risk of reading problems and need additional help. On kindergarten class size, Dr. Jones indicated the class size would be reduced to a maximum of 25 and an average of 18. Yet, the maximum is already 25, and won't be changed for next year. What Dr. Jones did not mention, though it has important policy and budget implications, is that next year, for the first time, all-day kindergarten classes are mandated to have kindergarten aides. Kindergarten aides are better than no aides. But research, again, shows that aides are not effective, while reduced class size is. However, the most important point is not it's a good or bad policy made. The failure lies in the fact that the Board and the community were never informed of this basic policy change during the budget process, and there was absolutely no presentation of the research on aides. These examples are the tip of the iceberg of the last of reliable, complete information from top North Avenue staff on curriculum and instruction. It isn't just the community that feels shut out of the policy development process. The Board, itself, seems more and more out of the loop, or misinformed. Hopefully, the Board, which has played such a commendable role, will do a lot more to insist upon well researched, well developed policy proposals before they are approved and implemented. The Board must follow up and hold the staff accountable for Board questions that later on are either not answered or answered only with vague responses, without policy or procedures spelled out in writing. And, hopefully, the Board will direct or urge staff to reconsider its growing practice of withholding timely information and cooperation from the community. And I hope you know that there is a strong feeling across community groups -- I don't speak for each of them -- that this is the gradual withdrawing of cooperation in the spirit of openness among staff at North Avenue. Thank you. MS. WELCH: Mr. Hettleman, thank you. Harry Gray? Page 14 of 41 MR. GRAY: Thank you, Board, for letting me speak tonight. I'm a first-time speaker here. I listened to a lot of the Board Members who said they attended the graduations Saturday and Sunday. Tears were in their eyes attending Northern High's graduation on Sunday. And tears were in my eyes. I'm a graduate of Northern. But, in the media and everywhere, it's been said that there would no longer be a Northern High School, is very sad. I'm hoping that the Board has not come to a complete decision on this. And, hopefully, it can come to some type of agreement to, at least, keep our name and our colors. I was at a PTA meeting on Thursday with Mr. Mark Smolarz, and he discussed some of the plans that was taking place at Northern; that there will be two schools, two athletic departments. One of the stalemates that we do have at Northern now is our athletic department. We are now able to have our kids trust our coaches, trust our athletic director. They may not always agree, but they do trust them. And to break up the school into two separate schools, you're looking at two athletic departments. Just today, I was surprised file://S:\CMS_Content\meetings\2002\J11_02.html 9/23/2002
Board Meeting Minutes that our baseball players and the parents came and gave me a ceremony today, an appreciation ceremony, where they actually presented me with a big plaque. They were appreciative of what I've done with their young men over the four years that they have been in the baseball program. And it saddens them; they cried. To see those kids that I've never seen show a bunch of emotion, even when we won the championship last year, but they cried. They were coming to an end of a legacy. They also looked at me and said, where will you be next year, Coach? They said, it's not Northern High School. And these are questions that I can't answer them. But I'm asking the Board, please, reconsider some of the things that you want to do with Northern. And, hopefully, it will be in the best interest of the alumni, the graduates, from this class. Even the administrative staff. And the Board may not fully agree with the way they've done things. These kids need a familiar face that they can relate to in coming to school in September, their coaches and teachers. And I think that's when we can get Northern to be the school that we all want Northern to be. Thank you. MS. WELCH: You did a good job for your first time. Thank you. Mr. Charles Dugger? Page 15 of 41 MR. DUGGER: Good evening to everyone. Thank you for the opportunity. It's sad to see, that as time goes on and with all the things that are constantly happening, that so many people don't even come to the Board meetings like we would hope that they would, in terms of constantly expressing their concerns. You know, it's sort of disappointing as a teacher who's been in the System over 30 years to hear, like for Mrs. English, our newly-elected BTU President, not getting even a little bit more time, when you hear a lady that's representing 8,000 people. And whatever time I would feel she needs to take, let her take that time. I really don't understand the School System in terms of what it really sees teachers to be. You know, with the kinds of things that are happening far and wide, why don't we, as we've heard the gentleman with Mrs. English, speak of the portfolios, and the time that it takes, of one almost selling oneself. You know, we were told a long time ago to be aware of braggers. So, I mean, what is the purpose of more than one in this society where we have shallowness or surface versus substance. I don't think September the 11th, 2001 would have happened if more people would have done their job. Now we're hearing a lot of excuse-making. Teachers are constantly doing their job and more, but, yet, they're constantly stressed and pressured. And it's just so difficult to understand. I mean, if you really are concerned about the children of Baltimore, then why is there so much paperwork. What does it mean? Who's reading the paper? Who is reading the paper? Ms. Cervance, Roxanne Cervance, a beautiful lady that teaches at our school, computer science, that was her son, Reo Gerrell Tadum, that was murdered so horribly Memorial Day weekend, you know. Peace and sympathy to her family, and strength and love. And hearing about the young man that they have, is 29, and has been in the criminal justice system about 15 years. That puts him around 14 years, perhaps, starting. That puts him around where I am, in middle school, you understand. Because I have, I think, I've told you before, about four or five 14-year-olds in my 6th grade class, my home room class. So where have we failed this young man. Who made his paperwork, the suspected murderer, you see. As our time and our society sees more and more horror, you see, who is reading all the paperwork along the way? Where those who are -- my favorite song is "The Greatest." You know, they're told to teach the children well, and let them lead the way. You love the fact that your children are getting up to $1,000 in scholarships. But that could be many children if we were really allowed to teach them. I'm at a school that I think that some of my administrators are mean. I'm at a school where you sight the United Nations, children from all over the world go to our school, but it's very difficult doing activities, you understand, because being mean seems to be the thing; "I'm in charge," you see. And that's so sad. One administrator says, I'll get you locked up by Northern District; tell your mother that. I've heard this man say this. It's rough to me. He's supposed to be really concerned about children, you see. I'm saying this is not that unique. We're being told, if you can't document why you fail that child, we'll pass them anyway. The System did that for 20 years, falsely promoted them. That's why we're in this confusion, one of the reasons, because all of this time, social promotion was all right. Now, to me, we're going too far the other way. We're going from MSPAP to CTBS. When I came to you the last time, I was telling you -- we were having a social promotion 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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