A concerned parent asked us to post this article anonymously. Your comments are always welcome - The Reconfig Team
Both sides in the recent discussions surrounding reconfiguration have cited results from the community survey as justification for their positions (for example: whether or not all the lower-house students should be in the same building).
But in focusing so much on survey results ("53% of respondents say XYZ"), a much more important point has been missed: that there is a fundamental lack of real leadership by the administration. Some stated goals of the administration are to minimize transitions for students and to achieve a high level of satisfaction with regard to various aspects of our schools. How do these goals help our students learn? How do they help prepare our students for high school and beyond?
The real goal that appears to motivate all of the administration's actions is: "maintain the status quo". This is apparent in the fact that the grade groupings for the houses will not be changed; that extra groups of students will be brought into selected houses to avoid making fundamental structural changes; and in the fact that all lower houses will not be placed in the same school building. In other words, it's business as usual.
By the administration's own admission, we are a divided community--with people disagreeing on what form the educational structure in the Williston schools should take. (And in fact, the surveys have revealed that this division goes nearly down the middle.) Against this backdrop of community sentiment, guiding our schools requires a clear statement of a solution to bridge this divide and a description of how we can achieve that solution.
True leadership does not consist of changing the subject or evading the questions. It consists instead of building consensus through communication and respect and then developing in stakeholders the desire themselves to do what is right.
This is the kind of leadership we need for our schools.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Survey Results Versus Real Leadership
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13 comments:
Excellent Points!!! Any institution cannot move forward when half of the stakeholders are not satisfied. How would the administrators of CVU High school respond if 40% or higher of community members were not satisfied with the current high school structure? I'm sure they would identify the problems and come up with real solutions. The WSD administration needs to listen and acknowledge all sides to reach a common ground. It is time for the administration to stop the defensiveness and avoidance of the real issues.
A friend of mine has a 7th grade daughter who goes to the Middle School in South Burlington and I asked her about how much science and social studies instruction her daughter receives there. She told me that her daughter gets both science and social studies every other day for a double block (about 2 hours) for the entire school year. I told her that my 8th grade son in Williston only gets science and social studies for fifty minutes for half a year! My friend was shocked. She said, "How can Williston get away with that? I thought that science and social studies were full year courses in all middle schools."
Your friend in South Burlington should be shocked!!! My question is: Why aren't the WSD administrators shocked about the lack of full year science and social studies instruction? Were they not aware this was happening? Where is the accountability? Shouldn't a Principal know what is being taught in his/her school? It sounds to me that there is little accountability anywhere in the Williston School District. Everything from the Food Service Program to not meeting AYP on NECAP exams to enough time for academic instruction. It is time for new leadership in our schools.
A huge Thank You goes out to the group of parents who are finally holding the Williston School District accountable!!! I heard that the school administration feels that it is only a small group of parents who are not satisfied with the school structure. Based on survey results, it is around half of the community. I have been quiet up to this point, but I will be coming to the forum on Monday night and I'm bringing five of my neighbors with me.
Is it true that many students in the Upper Houses get more Band/Chorus instruction in a school year than Science and Social Studies? How can that be true when science and social studies have to be offered in public schools in Vermont? Aren't band and chorus officially considered extracurricular activities? I don't think there are any Grade Level Expectations for Band. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.
Why is Walter Nardelli doing an audit on academic instruction in the upper houses? Maybe I'm not understanding something, but isn't this something he should already know? It seems like parents know more about what's going on in the school than the administration.
If you are going to impose a non-traditional school structure on a community, academically -- you need to be kicking ass.
Williston is not kicking ass academically...and with all of our resources, there is no reason why we shouldn't be.
I believe we are doing as well as we are on tests like the NECAP in spite of the Williston School District and due to the fact that there are so many concerned, involved parents who are supplementing in the many areas where our schools are failing us.
In a recent Newsweek article, there was a review of schools which are considered to be standout institutions of learning, at elementary, middle and high school levels. The only mention of multi-age groups was for two-year looping, something which ought to be considered by the WSD. The idea of four-year houses at the elementary level and more four-year houses at the middle school level truly limits students' exposure to different teaching styles, instructional approaches, not to mention social interactions! It also allows each house to conduct business within their own microcosm without making the necessary and essential connections with the larger school community and faculty/staff. From a pedagogical perspective, WSD is far behind the eight ball in how education is structured and delivered. And, recent NECAP scores indicate that the situation is only getting worse, not better! Listen to community members and families! They have a lot to say and would appreciate having a responsive and proactive administration and board working alongside instead of in an adversarial relationship!
Thank you to the author for writing this insightful post. I have worked in several different school systems around the country including California, Maine, Colorado and Massachusettes and have never personally experienced or heard about a more ineffective administrator. He seems to perch upon a pedestal that he his built higher and higher and further and further out of touch with his community.
I'd be curious to hear if anyone has ideas of what to do if "real" and significant changes are not outlined Monday night.
I'd also love to hear from some of the WSD teachers who I trust must be reading this blog by now. What do you think about this administration? Is this group missing something? Is there divide among our teachers?
Anonymity is fine.
Great post and to the point. We all know that if we were running a business and nearly half of our customers were not happy, we would be pounding the pavement looking for another job. Mr. Nardelli actually thinks 53% is good because it is more than half. He needs to be held to much higher standards. I think its time to demand that our school board listen to the concerns and step in and make administration accountable. They have heard comments/concerns/satisfaction at a public forum and a school board meeting. Its time for our elected school borad members acknowledge dissatisfaction of a large group of people and say something. I hope this will be done on Monday.
The questions about science and social studies are important ones, and I expect we will get an answer about them. I want my child and all children to have sufficient instruction in these, and all, areas. However, the proof is not in a raw number. The proof is in how our students do in CVU. I have not heard that Williston students are struggling in these areas in high school. Is there such information out there? The question about rigor and the question about structure are separate - related, intertwined, but separate. We've been happy with the house structure - there's a lot that's good about it. I know some find it seriously flawed, but I just don't see it. With that in mind, I would love to see all this energy directed at working with the administration and the high school to find out answers to the key question - are our current methods failing our students? If so, let's absolutely fix them. If not, let's focus on real problems.
I can't speak to whether our students as a whole are struggling once they reach CVU, but I can share this. When my child transitioned to CVU, the science teacher mentioned that they do a lot of review work in the beginning months because they've learned that the kids come to them with varying science backgrounds. When it became clear that my child had no knowledge in a specific science topic, the teacher actually asked whether we came from Williston. What does that say about our inconsistent curriculum if the high school teachers can peg what school a kid comes from based on their entering knowledge base? There has been a lot of effort to standardize curriculum across CSSU schools, WHY isn't that job being done WITHIN OUR OWN SCHOOL???
In the interest of openness and honesty, I wrote the comment that begins "The questions about science and social studies are important ones." I would have signed it with my blogger ID, but it was nearly midnight and I was tired. :)
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