Why I withdrew my daughter from Lowell School: an open letter to BUSD: Although I had high hopes for the incoming school board, I withdrew my 13-year-old daughter from Lowell school this week. This was a difficult decision, cultivated after two years of internal debate. My decision had nothing to do with the teachers. Both of my daughters have had the best and the brightest in Bisbee schools – with a special shout-out to English teachers Mr. and Mrs. Bromke. At a recent school board meeting, I heard BUSD business manager Elias Jouen explaining that the reason enrollment was down by “49.871” was because of the economy. That may be partially true, but I personally know of three students who were withdrawn because of administrative actions. Here are my suggestions for improving community relations and keeping kids in Bisbee schools: #1. Stop calling the police on matters that could and should be handled by the school. Do not call the police on parents, on students, on teenagers sent by their moms to pick up their siblings. I often hear school officials talking about how they want to follow a “culture of respect”; calling the cops does not do that. Two years ago, I had my own brush with the police after making a complaint of bullying at Lowell School. The school responded by calling the police. That call cost me two court appearances and $1000 in legal fees, and I met with school administrators to strongly urge them NOT to do that to another parent. It is the job of the police to arrest people; they are not concerned with innocence, guilt, or justice. I would rather see a salaried teacher in the school than a salaried police officer, which is another position BUSD insisted on creating. And, by the way, involving the police did nothing to nullify the bullying incident. #2. Stop micromanagement and top-heavy administrative policies. For more than 20 years I worked as an ICU nurse, and have often been struck by the similarities between nursing and teaching. The best unit managers and charge nurses understand that they are not the boss of the unit, but are in service to their colleagues. In other words, your job is to insulate your staff from administrative hassles, not create more. Good teachers - like good nurses - will naturally rebel against policies and procedures designed, to paraphrase a pundit, “to shrink public education to a size where it can be drowned in the bathtub.” The human experience cannot be quantified by a checkbox, nor knowledge by a standardized test. The best teachers understand this, and these teachers – as well as students and their parents - are your foundation. If you don’t support them, they will leave. I recently learned that BUSD incurs some of the highest administrative costs in the state. That’s pretty disturbing, especially when the board votes to create an administrative position for a relative of one of the board members. If it looks and smells like nepotism, it probably is. #3. Start listening and stop making excuses. If an irate parent scolds you for confiscating their kid’s cell phone, don’t ban them from school property (also don’t call the police; see #1.) If a parent criticizes the superintendent at call to the public, don’t interrupt them and then submit a petition from one school to “prove” how much your teachers support you. When your chief ally on the board has a daughter who is principal of that school, and her husband is the “Dean of Discipline” at the same school, and the principal circulates the petition to each teacher at that school asking them to support you, it looks fishy (see #2.) If high school students speak to the state of their education at a board meeting, don’t accuse them of “being there only for the grade.” If a teacher encourages their students to exercise their civil rights, don’t send the teacher a letter threatening their job. If an experienced educational professional from the U of A criticizes board policies, DO NOT call their boss and complain (it’s called tortious interference, and could well have cost you a lawsuit.) All of these actions have lost the district good teachers, good principals, and good students. It’s up to you, the new school board, to change this culture. I want to bring my daughter back.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 19:43:04 +0000