June 11, 2002 - Baltimore City Public Schools

Board Meeting Minutes
Page 16 of 41
meeting that day. And we were giving teachers -- I mean parents incorrect information. Now we've
gotten the last data about a week ago. Now, I'm saying if I see some children have gotten a 1 in math, a
1, and a 1 in reading, and you talk about intervention, what was happening from last year's scores to this
year's scores to help their child, you see. What is really going on? Doesn't it say something about us if
46,000 children, 45,000, are going to summer school? What did we do wrong? Let's not put all this on
the youth. What did we do wrong? By the way, stop calling them kids, please, because they're not baby
goats. Maybe we'll see them a little differently if we stop kidding around with the data and be for real.
But when are we going to own up that we're not doing our best. I had another administrator who takes
the children's food and throws it away before they're done, you understand. This doesn't make sense, the
meanness. And then I'd like to ask -- and I'm trying to come again, what is the purpose of a suspension?
You understand. I'm getting very confused now. Disciplinary removal, I thought -- because some
suspensions -- and I've been doing this over 30 years -- the parents didn't come back to get the child, and
you gave them a DR, right, a Disciplinary Removal, of three days. If Charles Dugger got suspended or
disciplinary removed, at 9:00 in the morning, if my dad could bring me back at 1:00, I was allowed back
in the building. Not now. I'm at a school where children get three days, five days, seven days, at a shot,
nine days, nine days. I went to beg for a young man the other day. He's not coming back to take your
final exam, Mr. Dugger, unless -- he's going to be back out of the building. So what are we giving them,
jail time? You understand. I thought we wanted parent involvement. You speak of intervention. You're
supposed to add some new department or something, as someone said earlier. Then why don't we really
intervene and show these children we really care about them. Stop being so hard, so mean, so punitive,
you understand. In a majority of an African-American city, that's why I feel that the American Civil
Liberties Union, the Federal Government, the AEC, somebody needs to investigate. What is happening
in Baltimore City for us to be in such a deplorable state? Most teachers I speak of say the biggest
problem is discipline. A lot of us are very, very concerned about discipline. Knowing we can make it
better too, though, but you've got to back off of all the paperwork. You know, when we hear that
somebody's coming in the building, they don't come in and say, "are they going to come to help?"
They're coming to warn each teacher that somebody's going to find fault. That's all that's happening
now, find fault. When you come and roll up your sleeves and say, you're doing a good job, let's even
make it better, and let's really serve these children so we can teach them well, and they really will lead
the way. All of them. Not just a select few that you relish, but for all of them. Let our children deserve
that. It will be a better city without a doubt. Thank you.
MS. WELCH: Thank you, Mr. Dugger, for your comments. Brian Glover, is he here? Cynthia Robbins?
MS. ROBBINS: Good evening. Thanks to many of you, I've had a chance to speak and meet with some
of you and talk with you while we were waiting for you all to come down. And so our No. 1 goal here is
to improve students' achievement. There's so much other commentary that has been speaking to that.
Your mission is in concert with students, families, and the broader community to prepare all students to
be responsible citizens, and afford them the opportunity to acquire the skills, knowledge, and abilities
necessary to make informed decisions that leads to meaningful and productive lives. Our mission at
Edison Schools is to help you and our more than 80 public partners around the country to provide worldclass
public school education for all students. That is happening here in the Baltimore Edison Schools.
You heard Councilwoman Stansler speak to it, you've heard from our parents and teachers, and students
have written to you. They were here about a month and a half ago talking to you outside. They have said
that they're overwhelmingly satisfied with the success that they're enjoying as part of Baltimore Edison
Schools. From the winter up until now, we've been trying, the parents and staff, have been asking, what's
going to happen with their students. You know that our three schools here are pre-K through 6th grade.
And now, at the end of the school year for everyone, they're still trying to find out what are the plans for
their children. And their children were in the lowest-performing schools just two years ago, in the state,
and now they are -- they've all experienced growth in their CTBS scores of anywhere from 2 to 74
points, in every grade, in each of the three schools, in both English, Reading, and Math. We have
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