Saturday, December 15, 2007

CCSD Superintendent's White Wash Not Inspiring

Let's face it. Superintendent Nancy McGinley has decided which side her bread is buttered on. Those responsible for her selection as superintendent want to protect the cheat system in place at Buist come hell or high water, regardless of the needs of the rest of her constituents. She's made her choice and is steering clear of any decisions that would annoy her majority on the school board.


Now comes the plan for "partial-magnet" schools. [See
Struggling schools might get to 're-create' themselves in Saturday's P & C.]

Read carefully. A seasoned veteran of the CCSD wars has:

Charleston Superintendent Nancy McGinley has placed her "plan" for reorganizing failing schools on the penninsula, in North Charleston, and on Johns Island on the CCSD web-site. It is full of education jargon, some that sound good and many that just make sounds. It reflects an attempt to "play catch up" and “me too” with other communities around the country that have tailored successful programs rooted in unique communities. To be fair, some locally generated ideas are included within McGinley's new plan, but most of these have been borrowed, too, (more like plagiarized) with little or no acknowledgement to sources found among Charleston’s rich, built-in cultural resources or to the help of those active within the city's many integrated communities.

Certainly the plan has its problems, which may be unintentional, but this is the worst part: there is a thinly cloaked attempt to close the barn door on CCSD's embarrassingly weak position on "county-wide" magnet schools. With one exception these only exist at the high school level. McGinley gives the "county-wide" magnet concept legal standing for the first time, without ever acknowledging that the concept was illegitimate to begin with, as it has been applied to Buist Academy. In one section of the document under the heading "A 'Partial Magnet School' Constituent District" she says, "If the constituent district has county-wide magnet schools, they will continue to operate utilizing their enrollment criteria."

What does she mean “schools”? There’s only one K-8 magnet that fits that description: it’s Buist. And, unless she meant to limit only "academic" criteria remaining unchanged, this is a naked attempt to close the back door on the scandal that has surrounded CCSD's loose-as-a-goose "enrollment criteria" at Buist.

Complaints against the address cheats and admissions scams at Buist have little to do with academic qualifications. If cover-up is her purpose, McGinley is not correcting a problem; she’s white washing it. She is attempting to plug the gaping hole in CCSD’s defense of having run the Buist scam as long as it has. She gives it cover. No one will ever be held accountable.

If this bad apple is still stored with the rest, how long will it take for other parts of her plan to become spoiled by this exception to consistancy and fairness? If the other points in her reorganization plan are so good, then shouldn’t Buist conform to them as well?

McGinley needs to be questioned directly on this and not allowed to wiggle out of it . . . or be permitted to slip out the door before questions are answered. The truth is that Buist should be allowed to keep its "academic criteria," but it should also be required to conform to the enrollment and opportunity zone aspects of this new "partial magnet" concept that is being proposed for the other schools in the community. Buist might see its integrity restored in the process.

If McGinley refuses to budge on this exception for Buist, then her stonewalling the issue has to be seen for what it is. We all know that Buist organizers greatly fear racial inclusion. Those behind keeping Buist just as it is still share this fear, even if their fears are based on a downtown that existed 25 years ago, but no longer. Because of the academic criteria at Buist and CCSD’s failure to provide substantial early childhood education to minorities and low income children before now, the argument (and fear) that Buist will become “all black” no longer applies.

Too bad the original NAACP suit didn't use its position to change the inequity of early childhood education instead of just the appearance of "diversity" at the upper levels. [Note from Babbie: Oh, that's right. Isn't that the part that Gregg Meyers is responsible for?]

Where’s the policy that says Buist is a "county-wide" magnet? Where are other comparable K-8 "county-wide" magnet schools? Unless Buist has peers, it should not continue unless CCSD acknowledges it was established on the principal of racial minority exclusion and still functions that way.

Who came up with that "partial magnet" phrase, anyway? I thought St. Andrews was what a real magnet school was supposed to be. It’s Buist that is the crazy hybrid. We should say that Buist is at the same table, exactly like the other "partial magnets," or the county should be prepared to name about six more "county-wide" magnet schools, designed to be just like Buist and strategically located in other parts of the county. CCSD might start with converting Jennie Moore. Then watch the storm of protests go up when local residents are required to participate in a county-wide lottery just like Buist. Will they follow with forcing this on Ashley River Creative Arts? Not likely.


So she's throwing a few crumbs at those vociferous community members who disagree with CCSD policies on Buist in hopes that will quiet them down for a while.

By the time it becomes clear that the "partial magnet" system is another sleight-of hand, McGinley will have moved on to greener (as in $$$) pastures and those students who are now in CCSD's failing elementary schools will be in CCSD's failing middle and high schools.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ghostryder here,

I like the concept of the individual schools choosing a theme. I would hope that parents would become more involved in this process.

This in no way should excuse Buist from it's admission scandal. Although why a parent would want their child to go to a school where the principal has no problem in cheating deserving, qualified students a seat at her school in favor of letting spoiled adults getting their way. Does no one have a problem of the message that is sent to the students of Buist when it comes to cheating which is ... as long as you are getting something out of it, it is alright to cheat.

But I am getting off task and the task at hand is to make sure we educate all kids of every economical, social group in Charleston County. Here is the rub. How many teachers and administrators in these schools will like and support the change because if those teachers and administrators do not support the theme, then it will fail or the process will be slow to change. Those teachers and administrators who disagree with the theme will see to the new programs failing because they fear the change, the unknown. Hopefully the teachers and administrators of these schools will welcome the change and get behind the process one hundred percent and learn the things they need too, but that is not my worst fear.

My worst fear is Dr. McGinley. She was responsible for the A+ program at the 'New' Brentwood and Burke middle schools. How have they improved? Have those schools turned around yet? No, No, No, and No and Dr. McGinley was the leader of that endeavor. They have not because the promises made to these students, teachers, and administrators were broken once again. These schools are worse off today than they were two years ago. We needed to stop changing a school's direction every two or three years and put in a program that has a vision. There cannot be no real traction in solving the problems if we change focus every two or three years because there is a new flavor in town.

We also need to provide a philosophy that takes into consideration that we have parents who seem to care less about the children's education because they do not get involved with their kid's education. They appear to only be concerned that Johnny and Jane are out of their hair. This is not a new problem. This is a problem that has been around for a long time and we should have in place programs that could serve those student's needs. But we have no such programs because we want to think it is a new phenomenon, but I disagree. These students have always been here. It is that a good education is more important in this day than any other time in our American history. We need to have a very literate society for us to continue to enjoy the things that we do today. And lets not confuse formal education with intelligence. People have done well in the past without having to have a lot of formal education, but those days have gone like the jobs that moved to the third world.

We also need to embrace the fact that people learn in a variety of different ways. We need to teach in the students strongest modality, no matter what it may be. It is a know fact that most people learn the best by doing it, then seeing it, and in a deep last by just hearing it so why do we still favor a lecture type class. I have one suggestion. This is what is the most comfortable format for the teachers. We need to adapt to the students needs. People downtown, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Hollywood, James Island, Johns Island, West Ashley, Hollywood, and all other areas need to make sure that all students and not just their own get the best education that we can provide. We need to stop looking shortsighted and be visionaries. That is all I have to say. Todays students are tomorrows worker, citizen, and taxpayer. Ciao

Anonymous said...

Once again, Ghostryder, you've hit the nail on the head. I especially agree with your observation that the lack of parental involvement has always been an issue, but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to not meet the needs of children whose parents aren't involved.

I wonder if Dr. McGinley or the county school board members ever that the time to read or listen to such conscientious and well considered comments as these.