First and foremost that 99.9% of teachers are wonderful, caring people who want nothing more than success for their students. Teachers are one of the most important professions in our world and they do not receive the credit or respect they deserve. These teachers are making the majority look bad.
That being said...I can not let these pedophiles continue to prey on our children without attempting to do something.
I am confident in our background checks and know that our school district handles every accusation of inappropriate behaviour consistently. Could our training use some tweaking? This is something we are going to look at. When we have inappropriate behaviour come to our attention we investigate, if the accusations are true we turn the case over to the appropriate law enforcement agency. This is where it is out of our hands.
I believe the disconnect is in the sentencing phase. When you look at recent cases, with the most famous being Debra Lefave, there are huge discrepancies in the way pretty, blonde teachers are handled compared to men. Debra Lefave got, in essence, a slap on the wrist (for being to pretty to go to jail) with house arrest and probation and a man one county over got over 20 years in prison for the same thing. If I were a man I would be furious about the injustice. It is molestation anyway you look at it and in my opinion these teachers who have been entrusted with our children are predators.
Should we consider mandatory minimums for people who work with children and are in a position of trust who abuse that power? Is the school disticts ethics training enough? Are we seeing so many teachers in Hillsborough arrested because we take the accusations seriously and don't cover up? Is this happening more now than in the past and we just hear more because people are less afraid to report it? Is this isolated to Hillsborough County or is this a nation wide problem?
I don't know the answers to these questions yet. Rest assured I am asking them. But we need to start having the conversation sooner than later. I also understand that whatever we do we need to protect not only the students from this type of thing happening. But also our teachers so they are not falsely accused and have their lives and careers ruined because of a disgruntled student. There is a very delicate line to walk on this issue.
Tell me what you think
Monday, March 31, 2008
Good Friday
I have been too busy to post regularly. This is an important issue I know people want to hear from me about and want to comment on the events of Good Friday.
I have called the Good Friday debacle the perfect storm of situations and events that led to the high absenteeism of students, teachers, and support staff.
I understand that for many this is an important religious holiday. There are many however, (just look at the malls and beaches on that day) that don't observe it as a high holy day and were using religion as an excuse. As a woman of very strong faith I personally take exception with that argument. If this is a debate about the day being a traditional family day, or a day for travel, or preparing for Easter then let’s have that discussion. I want to hear what people have to say. But this has turned into ‘us’ against ‘them’, and for me that is not what this is about.
Again, I know there are many who observed the holy day and I respect their right to observe that day with no penalty. But there were some who were protesting for other reasons. I heard from many employees in our district and they referred to what happened as the ‘Good Friday flu’.
There was confusion in communication from the district and we need to look at what mistakes were made in order to solve those problems for any similar issues in the future. That being said, the media played a big role in all the hype and high absenteeism that ensued because of the added confusion. When students found out they would not be penalized for missing the day they jumped at the opportunity and convinced their parents to let them miss school. Again, we could have communicated better.
People have also referenced fair day in complaints about the calendar. Two years ago when we originally voted for the academic calendar. I voted against fair day and lost (only Candy Olson and voted against it). I upset some people with that vote, but I voted against it because I could not justify taking away very important religious holidays and giving fair day off.
There were some people who put in time off request in advance. However, there were many who decided a week or less (some as little as two days) that they were taking the day off. And where our bus drivers are concerned we needed much more time to plan for the absences. I am upset that there was even the most remote possibility that any of our students were put in harms way. If we would have had advanced notice of the absences we could have planned better.
I am an activist at heart and I don't have a problem with people standing up for their rights. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that and when the children are used as pawns to make a point I have a real problem with that.
I also told the media that concerned teachers and parents should lobby their state legislators, as our calendar is being driven in large part by the Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) legislation. By state mandate we are not able to start our school year any sooner than two weeks before labor day. We need to have the authority to set our own calendar as we know what is best for our community. Let's fix the problem at the core.
Our board will be discussing this issue in much greater detail and I will consider all factors for the future, but I personally need untainted data to make my decision, and the 'Good Friday Flu' does not leave me with the feeling that this is unmanipulated data.
I will make my decision first on what is best for the students and second on what is best for the taxpayers. Mistakes were made and we will be analyzing the situation and will move forward accordingly.
I have called the Good Friday debacle the perfect storm of situations and events that led to the high absenteeism of students, teachers, and support staff.
I understand that for many this is an important religious holiday. There are many however, (just look at the malls and beaches on that day) that don't observe it as a high holy day and were using religion as an excuse. As a woman of very strong faith I personally take exception with that argument. If this is a debate about the day being a traditional family day, or a day for travel, or preparing for Easter then let’s have that discussion. I want to hear what people have to say. But this has turned into ‘us’ against ‘them’, and for me that is not what this is about.
Again, I know there are many who observed the holy day and I respect their right to observe that day with no penalty. But there were some who were protesting for other reasons. I heard from many employees in our district and they referred to what happened as the ‘Good Friday flu’.
There was confusion in communication from the district and we need to look at what mistakes were made in order to solve those problems for any similar issues in the future. That being said, the media played a big role in all the hype and high absenteeism that ensued because of the added confusion. When students found out they would not be penalized for missing the day they jumped at the opportunity and convinced their parents to let them miss school. Again, we could have communicated better.
People have also referenced fair day in complaints about the calendar. Two years ago when we originally voted for the academic calendar. I voted against fair day and lost (only Candy Olson and voted against it). I upset some people with that vote, but I voted against it because I could not justify taking away very important religious holidays and giving fair day off.
There were some people who put in time off request in advance. However, there were many who decided a week or less (some as little as two days) that they were taking the day off. And where our bus drivers are concerned we needed much more time to plan for the absences. I am upset that there was even the most remote possibility that any of our students were put in harms way. If we would have had advanced notice of the absences we could have planned better.
I am an activist at heart and I don't have a problem with people standing up for their rights. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that and when the children are used as pawns to make a point I have a real problem with that.
I also told the media that concerned teachers and parents should lobby their state legislators, as our calendar is being driven in large part by the Save Our Summers (S.O.S.) legislation. By state mandate we are not able to start our school year any sooner than two weeks before labor day. We need to have the authority to set our own calendar as we know what is best for our community. Let's fix the problem at the core.
Our board will be discussing this issue in much greater detail and I will consider all factors for the future, but I personally need untainted data to make my decision, and the 'Good Friday Flu' does not leave me with the feeling that this is unmanipulated data.
I will make my decision first on what is best for the students and second on what is best for the taxpayers. Mistakes were made and we will be analyzing the situation and will move forward accordingly.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
I love reading this
My campaign centered on career and technical education. So to hear the people at the top talking about how important they think these programs are excites me.
Read the SP Times article here and tell me what your thoughts are.
Again I say that not every student is college bound and these programs can help keep kids in school. With programs like Excelerator and SpringBoard that are geared towards teaching students college skills we must be even more mindful that we don't forget students who are not college bound. Not every child is able or willing to go to college right out of high school. Some may never go, and some may go later in life. We need to get away from the one size fits all approach.
Read the SP Times article here and tell me what your thoughts are.
Again I say that not every student is college bound and these programs can help keep kids in school. With programs like Excelerator and SpringBoard that are geared towards teaching students college skills we must be even more mindful that we don't forget students who are not college bound. Not every child is able or willing to go to college right out of high school. Some may never go, and some may go later in life. We need to get away from the one size fits all approach.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Playing catch up
I have been busy and have not kept up with my blog lately. So I am going to try to catch up on some top issues.
Abridging the first amendment
The school board chair has dropped the no name rule. I did bring up my concerns at the first available opportunity, and was told then that there was no statute supporting that rule. At the following board meeting the chair placed the approval of these board guidelines on the agenda.
I was very concerned about number four on the guidelines being too stringent and made an amendment to the motion to accept the guidelines. My amendment was to strike the word 'require' in the third sentence of number four and replaced it with the word 'request'. It passed unanimously.
Read the Tampa Tribune editorial here and the SP Times editorial by Sue Carlton here.
SpringBoard
I am still listening to teachers and bringing up SpringBoard at board meetings and in one on one meetings with upper level staff. I have concerns that we are going to push students out of career and technical classes into college prep classes. I have always said I want more students going into college, however our sole focus can not be college bound. We have to prepare those who do not want or unable to go to college with trades and skills that can help them become productive citizens.
I am also concerned that teachers are losing even more flexibility in the classroom. I have been assured that SpringBoard days are going to be revised and we are going to re-vamp the schedule which will give creativity and flexibility back to teachers. There have been many changes over the last decade and we need to be aware that the classroom environment is very different. Between NCLB (No Child Left Behind for non-educators), FCAT (everyone knows this four letter word, there is no need to explain this one) and all of the other state and federal mandates, people downtown need to realize how important it is to get buy in from teachers and allow some flexibility and freedom in the classroom.
Cell phones in the classroom
My statements in reference to cell phones and electronics in the Tampa Tribune were taken out of context.
This is what I said. “My son took his PSP to school it was wrong I admit that, I didn’t know he had it. It was taken away. His teacher did not secure it. It was stolen. The school offered to pay for it, but I didn’t hold them responsible, and I didn't hold the teacher responsible. His consequence was that his father and I did not replace it.” He does not have it to this day and it was taken last school year.
I understand we have a serious problem with cell phones. On a day-to-day basis, they are disruptive to the educational environment. Cheating, taking pictures and videos and posting them on MySpace. Texting is causing major distractions in the class room. These are just a few examples. We need to solve these problems. I want to work with the board, administration, and teachers to figure out how to do this with common sense, keeping both teachers and parents in mind. I want more consequences for students who break the rules than just having their phone taken away.
I do not think teachers need to be held financial responsible if the proper chain of custody is followed. In my opinion the problem is that there is no clear procedure for chain of custody.
What would teachers and administrators think of students violating the rules getting ISS or some type of detention? I know there are some teachers that don't want to deal with taking student's cell phones away because of a lack of time to go to the office and turn it in. They also may not have locking drawers or cabinets in their room and don't want to be responsible. I also know students sometimes become disruptive when their phone is taken away. I have spoken to some of these students and they don't understand why there is not consistency. We must have consistency from teachers enforcing the rules and administrators must support teachers who enforce the school board policy.
What would teachers and administrators think calling the office when there is a violation and have the office send a student volunteer with a pre-printed form that the teacher signs when they turn over the phone? When the student volunteer turns the phone over to someone in the office that responsible adult signs the form and puts the equipment in a safe place in the front office until it is picked up.
This would eliminate teachers having to leave their room when they don't have enough time and it takes the burden of responsibility off teachers. That way there is a standard procedure in every school, so when teachers leave one school for another there won't be any confusion. This would also eliminate teachers having to deal with irate parents because they would go to the office to retrieve the equipment.
Abridging the first amendment
The school board chair has dropped the no name rule. I did bring up my concerns at the first available opportunity, and was told then that there was no statute supporting that rule. At the following board meeting the chair placed the approval of these board guidelines on the agenda.
I was very concerned about number four on the guidelines being too stringent and made an amendment to the motion to accept the guidelines. My amendment was to strike the word 'require' in the third sentence of number four and replaced it with the word 'request'. It passed unanimously.
Read the Tampa Tribune editorial here and the SP Times editorial by Sue Carlton here.
SpringBoard
I am still listening to teachers and bringing up SpringBoard at board meetings and in one on one meetings with upper level staff. I have concerns that we are going to push students out of career and technical classes into college prep classes. I have always said I want more students going into college, however our sole focus can not be college bound. We have to prepare those who do not want or unable to go to college with trades and skills that can help them become productive citizens.
I am also concerned that teachers are losing even more flexibility in the classroom. I have been assured that SpringBoard days are going to be revised and we are going to re-vamp the schedule which will give creativity and flexibility back to teachers. There have been many changes over the last decade and we need to be aware that the classroom environment is very different. Between NCLB (No Child Left Behind for non-educators), FCAT (everyone knows this four letter word, there is no need to explain this one) and all of the other state and federal mandates, people downtown need to realize how important it is to get buy in from teachers and allow some flexibility and freedom in the classroom.
Cell phones in the classroom
My statements in reference to cell phones and electronics in the Tampa Tribune were taken out of context.
This is what I said. “My son took his PSP to school it was wrong I admit that, I didn’t know he had it. It was taken away. His teacher did not secure it. It was stolen. The school offered to pay for it, but I didn’t hold them responsible, and I didn't hold the teacher responsible. His consequence was that his father and I did not replace it.” He does not have it to this day and it was taken last school year.
I understand we have a serious problem with cell phones. On a day-to-day basis, they are disruptive to the educational environment. Cheating, taking pictures and videos and posting them on MySpace. Texting is causing major distractions in the class room. These are just a few examples. We need to solve these problems. I want to work with the board, administration, and teachers to figure out how to do this with common sense, keeping both teachers and parents in mind. I want more consequences for students who break the rules than just having their phone taken away.
I do not think teachers need to be held financial responsible if the proper chain of custody is followed. In my opinion the problem is that there is no clear procedure for chain of custody.
What would teachers and administrators think of students violating the rules getting ISS or some type of detention? I know there are some teachers that don't want to deal with taking student's cell phones away because of a lack of time to go to the office and turn it in. They also may not have locking drawers or cabinets in their room and don't want to be responsible. I also know students sometimes become disruptive when their phone is taken away. I have spoken to some of these students and they don't understand why there is not consistency. We must have consistency from teachers enforcing the rules and administrators must support teachers who enforce the school board policy.
What would teachers and administrators think calling the office when there is a violation and have the office send a student volunteer with a pre-printed form that the teacher signs when they turn over the phone? When the student volunteer turns the phone over to someone in the office that responsible adult signs the form and puts the equipment in a safe place in the front office until it is picked up.
This would eliminate teachers having to leave their room when they don't have enough time and it takes the burden of responsibility off teachers. That way there is a standard procedure in every school, so when teachers leave one school for another there won't be any confusion. This would also eliminate teachers having to deal with irate parents because they would go to the office to retrieve the equipment.
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