As I pointed out in December in CCSD's Musical Chairs with Principals,
maybe it's just a coincidence that the first head to roll in McGinley's plan to shuffle principals once more belongs to the wife of a principal of a charter school.Anne DiCenzo [fired principal of Mitchell Elementary]'s letter in her own defense that appears in Tuesday's P & C reveals why people simply do not trust what CCSD officials say. The abrupt removal of a principal just before the Christmas holidays suggests that somehow DiCenzo was ineffective. Well, as the letter states, if she was, her evaluations didn't reflect it.
In her own words,
Principal responds
For the past seven and a half years I have been the instructional leader (principal) at Mitchell Elementary School. I have been removed from Mitchell because I was an ineffective instructional leader. As the leader of the school, I am evaluated yearly. All of my ratings have been high.
In the 2006-2007 school year, all below average and unsatisfactory schools had to complete a plan for school growth for the six core strategies of the Plan for Excellence. The ratings are zero to five, with five being the highest. I scored between 4.83 and 5 in all strategies.
I also instituted new programs this year to help students and staff increase achievement. I hired two teacher interventionists to help with small-group instruction at the upper-grade levels. I hired two reading recovery/interventionist teachers for the lower-grade levels, and I hired a prevention specialist to minimize disruptions in the classroom.
Our PACT scores should increase this year, according to our winter MAP scores, which are the district's benchmark test. The MAP scores showed a vast improvement and indicated that the new programs were successful.
PACT scores reflect only a few days out of the school year and are only a snapshot of a part of the school. I am proud to say the teachers and staff at Mitchell are there for the students and go above and beyond every day. We do things for students that are not measured on a test. Mitchell is a family community. I will miss my family very much.
Anne DiCenzo
In other words, what more could she have done? What warnings did she have to improve?It's politics, folks, CYA that uses principals as pawns. Superintendent McGinley has to look like she's creating progress, so musical principals is the current answer.
We can expect more of the same.
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6 comments:
I believe that Dr. McGinley has said that as many as one third (or about 25-30) of all senior school level administrators will be replaced by next year. Unless this is just musical chairs, where does she intend to get all of this new talent? Unless they can get some protection from the politics of 75 Calhoun, most talented professionals try to get away from Charleston County. Charleston is not a good place to build a career for most people. Maybe Nancy McGinley is considering that, too.
This looks like just more knee-jerk reactions to a system that no one knows how to direct. What exactly is her vision? And I don't just mean putting bandages on Goodloe's now warmed over Plan for Excellence.
Does anyone else think that CCSD's underhanded politics played some role in the suspended Assistant Principal's suicide last night. The way they railroad these folks is inhumane
McGinley was quoted in the paper saying she was on "medical leave". This is the first I've heard that the AP was suspended. Please verify. Under the circumstances and to be fair, I don't think anyone should be passing along hearsay information.
My deepest sympathy to her family.
As beautiful a place as it appears to be to tourists, the real Charleston is not very kind to its young people. Recent news reports only seem to support that belief.
Ghostryder here,
This is off subject, but I do have a question and was wondering if someone had an answer for me. Orange Grove is a charter school so why are the taxpayers relocating that school and are responsible to build its replacement. Why is Orange Grove not paying a huge amount of rent at Ron McNair? I mean that is what the school board is making the new propose charter school do at the Old Rivers site. Why the special treatment for Orange Grove? Yet Youth Build struggles to find a plance and is not having a site built by CCSD and Susan G. Boykins sits in trailers and the school districts is not building a facility for them. Why is Orange Grove so special? Is it the Buist Academy of that area or does it have some political connections? What is the story there? I am just curious how some charter schools get special attentions and others not. Why does the proposed charter school at the old Rivers have high rent and taxpayers are building a new Orange Grove. I thought Orange Grove was responsible for itself now so why is CCSD building a school for them. If they are building for Orange Grove then they should have to build a school for all charter schools; otherwise it looks suspicious to me. One for all and all for one. Ciao
Well, Mr. Meyers, 7:44 poster, did you have that much sympathy toward Scott Knight's death? After all the charges were "alleged". He had not been tried. Did anyone feel sympathy for someone who witnessed his murdered and raped Mother's body in her room? While Ms. Dozier's death is sad, does it represent anything more because she was an attractive well dressed lady. Scott wasn't so lucky to be a handsome person but he was still a human being.
I'm responding to Ghostryder...You ask some good questions. Maybe Bobby Harrell can answer those questions. Remember Bobby Harrell helped Orange Grove circumvent state law from the beginning. And Brian Moody clearly represents his district, doesn't he?
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