"A hard lesson: change can come too fast; Hired as a savior, the young, new principal upended everything at English High but this: the pattern of failure" by Andrea Estes and James Vaznis Globe Staff / June 24, 2012
An extraordinary three-quarters of English High’s teachers and administrators have quit or been let go during the past three years, school records show, as headmaster Sito Narcisse pushed through one controversial initiative after another — from school uniforms to single-sex classrooms to eliminating the grade “D,” forcing students to earn a “C” or fail. Teachers who did not go along with Narcisse’s approach were “not the right fit,” in his words, and he sent 38 of them packing, while dozens of others retired or resigned.
Now, Narcisse himself is leaving for a new job amid questions about the wisdom of letting someone so inexperienced carry out drastic changes. Standardized test scores rose slightly under Narcisse, but so did the dropout rate, the course failure rate, and the absentee rate — while the experience level and morale of his teachers plummeted.
State education officials are so concerned about the lack of improvement under Narcisse that they are withholding more than $900,000 in federal funds until the school comes up with a better plan to fix its problems. If that fails, one of the oldest public high schools in the United States could face state takeover as early as next year....
Narcisse, who is departing to become director of school performance in Montgomery County, Md., insists that he got English High moving in the right direction....
In fact, Narcisse came to English when many teachers, students, and parents were still fuming that Boston school Superintendent Carol R. Johnson had removed his predecessor, Jose Duarte, who had mixed results. Teachers were showing signs of burnout from the extra work to implement Duarte’s changes, the state found, yet standardized test scores remained abysmal and only a little more than half of the class of 2009 graduated within four years....
Yur ejerkashun sistum iz brokin, Bostin.
But Johnson said Narcisse, who came to Boston with only one year of experience as a principal, deserved credit for tackling one of the toughest jobs in education.
“School reform isn’t easy,” especially at high schools, said Johnson. “Not everyone is always going to be happy. I can’t even say everything we did at this particular school was done perfectly. But I do believe there was some progress made.”
Do public officials and authorities have a recording and a string?
How did she do on her report card, anyway?
******************************************
But many teachers decided to give the former D students failing grades, contributing to a big jump in Fs at English. The high school reported an increase in failing grades this year at all grade levels and in most subject areas....
Shanique Green, this year’s senior class president, said Narcisse made the school feel more like a family and introduced elective courses that she enjoyed.
But she was also disappointed that so many good teachers were forced out.
“My freshman year I had awesome teachers. They were more demanding,” said Green. “Now it’s different; the teachers don’t care. . . . Many new teachers let you do what you want. Some just let students sleep.”
That’s what a state team found when it visited English for two days in January. The officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education saw students texting, talking, wandering, and showing up late in more than a quarter of the rooms they entered.
They also saw students napping or resting their heads on their desks, while teachers did little to get their attention.
Related: Boston Globe Summer School: Teachers Do Not Understand the Language
They do now.
Superintendent Johnson acknowledged that English has a long way to go, but said success stories at low-performing high schools are hard to come by....
I will say one thing for the kids: they learned their lesson when it comes to authorities offering excuses.
--more--"
Sticking with the Sunday Globe Special theme:
"After headmaster’s arrest, Johnson failed to act; Boston schools leader facing fire for backing, not suspending, educator charged with assault" by Andrea Estes and James Vaznis | Globe Staff, July 08, 2012
Boston School Superintendent Carol R. Johnson took no disciplinary action after one of her headmasters was arrested and briefly jailed on a domestic assault charge, and even wrote a glowing letter of support to the judge who sentenced him.
Police faxed a copy of their report to Johnson’s office within hours after Rodney Peterson was arrested on June 17, 2011, for allegedly punching and choking his wife five weeks after she gave birth to their first child. He later admitted to sufficient facts for a jury to find him guilty.
But rather than putting Peterson on administrative leave — a common practice in government when an employee is arrested — records show that she did nothing, not even informing City Hall attorneys of the charges against the co-headmaster at one of Boston’s three exam schools.
Instead, Johnson told Peterson that he could remain on the job at the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics & Science in Roxbury as long as the news media didn’t find out, according to someone who was directly briefed by Peterson at the time. Johnson, in an interview, said she did not recall making such assurances to Peterson.
“I don’t recall saying anything like that,” she said. “We clearly have suspended people in the past with or without media attention.”
Now, Johnson’s failure to impose discipline and her letter describing Peterson as “among our most outstanding school leaders” may be coming back to haunt her. Someone leaked the fact that Peterson was on probation for domestic assault to the news media last month in Memphis, where he had been offered another job. Peterson was then forced to withdraw, leaving Johnson to explain why she didn’t tell the Memphis officials — or anyone else outside of her office — about the assault.
“The entire affair is both shocking and disturbing,” said Mary Tamer, a member of the Boston School Committee. “It is the School Department’s duty to hold all adults who work with our children to the highest standards, beginning with our principals. Why was he allowed to remain on the job?”
****************************
Peterson’s humbling departure marked a rapid fall from grace for someone who had been a rising star in the Boston school system. At 35, Peterson had a beautiful wife, a baby, and a newly created job as co-headmaster of O’Bryant, one of the most prestigious schools in the city. His wife, Dee Griffin Peterson, had a successful career as an anchorwoman for a Memphis TV station, but she said on a local blog that she gave it all up for “God, marriage, and family.”
But, beneath the surface, all was not well at the Peterson home. In less than a year of marriage, Griffin Peterson had already left him once because of what she called his “very bad temper.” Finally, on June 17, the tensions boiled over in a disagreement about housekeeping in their Dorchester loft apartment....
Last month, Peterson, now separated from his wife, asked the judge to end his probation early....
By early June of this year, Peterson was well on his way to building a new life in Memphis, having accepted a job as principal of the Westside Middle School....
But when a Memphis TV reporter, who knew Peterson’s estranged wife, reported that Peterson was on probation for assault and battery, the Westside Middle School officials had second thoughts and Peterson withdrew his application. He is now looking for work, and a School Department spokesman said that if he applied for another job in Boston, he might return....
And if it doesn't work out for Narcisse?
--more--"
Related: Boston Schools chief erred in failing to suspend tainted headmaster
Next Day Update: Boston school chief hit with new criticism
And it is not getting any easier for city teachers:
"Massachusetts teachers union agrees to give up key rights on seniority" by Frank Phillips | Globe Staff, June 08, 2012
In a sweeping concession, the state’s largest teachers union has agreed to give up significant seniority rights, which determine how teachers are promoted and placed in schools, in return for an education advocacy group’s agreement to drop a far more sweeping ballot initiative opposed by the state’s teaching ranks.
Brokered between the Massachusetts Teachers Association and Stand for Children Massachusetts, a national education advocacy group, the agreement has received the support of legislative leaders who have shown a commitment to pass the compromise....
--more--"
Related:
Leading unions vow to fight deal to curb teachers’ seniority
Patrick backs plan to curb teachers’ seniority
I thought he was your friend.
Boston parents urge changes to teacher hiring process
UPDATES: 200 rally to support Boston schools chief
Boston parent group seeks to oust Superintendent Carol Johnson
Boston school superintendent announces full review of top staff
You teachers can be forgiven for feeling paranoid even though everyone IS against you -- even your own.
"Unions won’t oppose teacher-seniority measure; Seniority’s role would be cut" by Jamie Vaznis | Globe Staff, June 21, 2012
The American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts scrapped plans to fight legislation that would reduce the role of seniority in teacher staffing decisions and instead will remain neutral on the issue, the state’s second-largest teachers union announced Wednesday.
That means they approve.
The legislation, unveiled earlier this month, is on the fast track to secure approval in the state Legislature and aims to stave off an emotionally divisive ballot question that called for more sweeping changes. The teachers federation had initially promised an aggressive fight against what it called “extreme legislation.’’
And then they backed down to the bu$ine$$ group calling for the changes. I hope that provides the kids an object lesson in management-labor relations.
But in a statement Wednesday, the federation softened its position while remaining skeptical about the legislation....
Is that how you say sold out these days?
--more--"
Related: Teachers union wisely puts quality ahead of seniority
You didn't think the Globe was your friend, didja, teach?
Also see: Gov. Deval Patrick signs bill to overhaul teacher evaluations
Maybe I'm looking at the wrong web site and reading the wrong paper.
Update: 16 teachers fired in Lawrence overhaul
