Friday, March 23, 2012
Who's on First?
I am assuming I am not the only one confused, so I am posting to understand what is going on. The topic is Nathan Hale. I have heard that there was a group of students who were homogeneously grouped at Nathan Hale. I have also heard that the principal was told that he needed to stop this practice of grouping mostly minority students together. Then I heard that the group of minority students no longer existed, according to the principal. Now I'm hearing the group still exists. Could someone please clear this matter up for those who are hearing two different stories?
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I hear that this whole situation was the subject of a sitdown between Supt. Marks and the NAACP. Too bad she didn't explain to the BoE and the public what was going on. She didn't respond to public comments about it last month either.
ReplyDeleteAnother sign of our taxdollars hard at work in the Central Office.
Right, Rowayton Cowgirl, I know this superintendent doesn't want to do or say anything that might make her look bad. I also know the principal at Nathan Hale is the other 'pet', so like like the director pet, he gets whatever he wants. But like the question asked in the post, is this still going on? Is the principal ignoring the Board and continuing to group kids this way? And if so, why is the superintendent allowing it?
ReplyDeleteI'm confused. The superintendent knew about this but has done nothing? Am I missing something here? What are we paying her for? Who is running this school system? BOE please do something I have kids in the school system.
ReplyDeleteI look daily to see if there is a reply to this one. Should I assume that games are being played by these people in the school system? I am sure many of us would like an answer from the superintendent or the principal. How about it?
ReplyDeleteThe Supt. of Schools has to be held ACCOUNTABLE for this problem. If the Principal was wrong, then she should have ordered him to stop the program. If the program was helping kids, then she should have given Midaglia Rivas the courtesy of explaining her decision.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone going to do something about what appears to be a superintendent who would have been fired long ago by another BOE?
ReplyDeleteHow about this one... What has happened to a certain house master? He has dropped off the edge of the earth. And is he being paid for not being at school?
ReplyDeleteThe situation at Nathan Hale has been going on for months. Is it that the principal is in such good favor with the superintendent that he (1) doesn't have to change what has been called an illegal practice and/or (2) doesn't have to comply with a Board directive? Answers, please!
ReplyDeleteLet's review--- Supt. Marks isn't a leader. She lets Carol Marrinacchio take loads of vacation time, she won't say a word about either a great program at Nathan Hale or a huge blunder there, she has no plan for the budget, she's being led by the nose on curriculum, she proposes eliminating staggered entry for kindergarten without consulting her own early childhood director and her answer for everything is that her budget was cut and it's too tough to do anything.
ReplyDeleteSue Haynie spent the past few years carrying Marks' water and attacking Colarossi. I don't see how she will ever publicly join Marks' critics-- she'd have to admit she was wrong and she doesn't do that ever.
Barbis votes with Haynie. Jack is a Marks' supporter (someone explain that to me, please, because I just don't get it). Does anyone think that Heidi will say a bad word about anyone?
So that leaves a bizarre collection of Rivas and Murray along with Lyons (who probably leans to support), Artie and Colarossi.
This leaves the city's schools with a giant vacuum at the top.
I BLAME THE MAYOR FOR THIS MESS WITH MARKS.
ReplyDeleteHe propped her up in the Fall when she threatened to quit. He promised to keep some Board members off of her back. Her payback was to overspend some accounts, attack the Republican majority on the BOE and bury her head in the sand about how bad the budget crisis is. Good work, Dick.
The truth is finally out. So now what can be done about it? Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteBlame dick and jack for allowing marks to be held unaccountable. Dick did in fact ask jack and a few other board members to back off until after the election. He was afraid it would affect his re election. Now she feels she has a carte Blanche to do whatever she wants.
ReplyDeleteI heard the exact same information, 8:44. I was in disbelief that a politician would do that. How stupid was I? He is a politician after all. Why put the education of Norwalk's students first, right? I guess a politician does what a politician needs to do to get reelected.
ReplyDeleteMoving on to the present....Taxpayers need to ask for action from the Board. Norwalk needs better than this. So what if a mistake was made? Let's move forward......Here's a call for a new superintendent......and let her take her pets with her.
Do you ever wonder how the public schools would run if no one filled the superintendent's office?
ReplyDeleteSince enough people have stated that Nathan Hale has really chosen the 'Path of Ignoring Laws and Mandates,' does anyone have any information whether being found out has made a difference? Or do we have a Bad Boy on board? Wait, does that mean anything? No one will write him up. We all live in the land of unaccountability!
ReplyDeleteResearch shows:
ReplyDeleteCHAMPAIGN, Ill. — African-American and Hispanic students placed in ability groups for reading instruction learned less compared to demographically similar minority students who weren't grouped by ability, a new study by a University of Illinois expert in the sociology of education found.
Christy Lleras, a professor of human and community development, says that ability grouping, a pedagogical tool for sorting students into different academic tracks based on their perceived academic ability, is a "net-loss" practice that not only impedes the literacy of lower-grouped minority students, but also doesn't substantially strengthen the reading ability of higher-grouped minority students.
And from Harvard:
ReplyDelete"Evidence is mounting that schools that reserve the highest quality educational opportunities for the "best" students -- as determined by a selection process that is often flawed and discriminatory -- are denying many students the opportunity to achieve their full potential. This injustice is made even more onerous by the rising importance of standards-based school reform, which seeks to hold all students and schools accountable to higher levels of learning. Schools cannot embrace high standards for all students without addressing the barriers that prevent many students from equal educational opportunity."
A case in Georgia:
ReplyDeleteThey allege that the use of achievement grouping in Georgia public schools is intended to achieve or results in intraschool racial segregation. This, they say, is violative of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2000d et seq. (Title VI); and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, 20 U.S.C. Secs. 1701 et seq. (EEOA).
To the person quoting legal stuff with no context, it doesn't help anyone understand Norwalk's issue. If the kids were getting special services, how is that a bad thing? Seriously, don't you want the achievement gap closed? Why is no one screaming that we have kids in 6th grade who are below 'basic'- I think that's a sin, don't you?
ReplyDeleteI will attempt to be perfectly clear about why this information Is pertinent to the subject being discused. (1) The Nathan Hale case appears to be a perfect example of racial segregation, a practice not acceptable both in Connecticut and according to the Constitution.
Delete(2) Less than adequate instruction is offered to these students since the teacher is not certified in the subject area in which she is teaching.
(3) According to what I have read, the NAACP had a sitdown with the Superintendent and stated their opposition to this practice
(4) It has been inferred that the Superintendent has done nothing to rectify this problem for months.
Seriously, does this make the issue perfectly clear to you now?
How about looking at the data of ALL the children coming out of this program for the last few years? Kids who arrived at Nathan Hale who could not read and are now in grade level english classes - students of all races and ethnicity. I'm sure there's plenty of data - McCain doesn't make any decisions without data.
ReplyDeleteThis is Mosby's sticking their nose in again without having all the facts - threatening another Mosby lawsuit.
That is a first. students who enter sixth grade unable to read and leave on grade level. Why that's six years growth as a result of one class. All in one year! No one...I repeat.....NO ONE has ever been able to produce results anywhere in the country like your results. Harvard, Princeton, Yale.....nowhere near those results! Six years growth after 180 days of one class! It's a miracle!
DeleteI say, I say my name is John mosby.
ReplyDeleteA weak superintendent, a stubborn principal and a pair of political grandstanders- that's a great combination to improve student outcomes.
ReplyDeleteNo one is talking about if the class worked. The focus is on the appearance. No one on the BoE (at least that I know of) is telling Susan Marks that this is another problem she's created. Heidi, Mike, Rosa, Migdalia, Mike, Jack, Steve, Artie and Sue-- don't any of you see what's going on here?
A few of us do...
DeleteOnce again, who's thinking about the students? Innovative ways to close the achievement gap? But threaten a lawsuit and oh boy, we'll pay attention! The Norwalk way, pretty damn sad...
ReplyDeleteWith no apology, I am thinking that people must be totally lacking in intelligence to support the Nathan Hale issue. Listen up, please!!!!! The grouping of minority students has been proven NOT to help minority students. Research has proven that grouping students this way hinders growth. Minority students who are not achieving need the rich language and thoughts of students who are achievers (the minority achievers as well as the majority achievers) as their role models in their classes. I have to say that I'm wondering if the people posting to support the thinking of the principal are really looking to racially segregate the classroom. Nope, this is not innovative thinking. This is backward thinking.
ReplyDeleteThey're in the Language Arts class for 2 periods!! There's rich language and thoughts in all the other classes as well - but you need to know how to read to participate! They're not in the class because of their race, they're in the class to learn to read. This is helping close the achievement gap at NHMS, but of course many of you won't see it that way...
ReplyDeleteGotta love the big lie---- if we call it "discrimination" enough, if we say it's "segregation" and say it alot, then it must be bad, right? Children were put in the program based upon their CMT scores, not the color of their skin.
ReplyDeleteAnd some people can rationalize anything.
ReplyDeleteOne may think that instructing students of the same level in one classroom for two periods a day is a good idea, but the principal of the building should know that doing so is not accepted and perhaps illegal. If there is a question as to it's legality, the principal should known to consult with the superintendent, who then may consult with the Board's attorneys for a ruling. To group racially, no matter what the intention might have been is a glaring error that a principal should not make. To continue the practice when told it is illegal is even worse. What is in question here is NOT the idea, but the outcome of the grouping and the total lack of judgement for what is allowed and what isn't allowed legally or by mandate. The judgement of the principal is at the crux of the matter, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't rocket science. Look at the CMT scores for Nathan Hale and the other middle schools. You can break out the scores for students on Free/Reduced Lunch. Compare them. You will see that Nathan Hale's program had better results than West Rocks and Ponus for the past few years.
ReplyDeleteActually it is rocket science, so to speak. In order to compare test school results, one needs to have control groups set up. To make a statement like yours speaks to your lack of sophistication about research models, or, perhaps to your understanding about research models but to your denial of what was possibly illegal. It's interesting that you didn't mention Roton Middle School. Was that by error or were the test scores better than yours?
DeleteOnce again, this isn't about. the program. It is about the law and the judgement call made by the principal. If the program is so great, then the principal needed to ask permission from the state to try a new model which would involve grouping students homogeneously. Perhaps the state would have agreed, perhaps not. In the end, it is still about the judgement call made by the principal and possibly by the superintendent as well. And that is my opinion on this matter.
ReplyDelete