It's great news for supporters of CCSD's Charter School for Math and Science and public charter schools everywhere!
David Cowell, who was driven to North Carolina by the edublob's representatives at 75 Calhoun, has agreed to return to Charleston County to head CSMS. He is quoted as saying, "[Its offer] represented an opportunity to come back and work in Charleston but not have to work in the box that I call the Charleston County School District. [The district] became a very, very cumbersome bureaucracy." [See Colwell to Lead Math, Science School in Tuesday's P & C.]
Described as "the most recent principal who had success in leading North Charleston High School," Colwell is too much a gentleman to point out the obvious to the reporter: he was never one of the favored ones at 75 Calhoun. After his years as a teacher and athletic director at North Charleston High School, he had to fight tooth and nail to get the principal's position there before disagreements with Superintendent McGinley sent him over the line to North Carolina, his home state.
Colwell provides a perfect example of an effective leader whom the bureaucracy just couldn't let alone: "under Colwell's leadership, the school became orderly. The number of students arrested and suspended dropped and test scores improved." And we all know what happened after he left, what the reporter euphemistically calls "continually changing leadership."
Meanwhile, new principal Middleton, scrambling to keep abreast of the myriad changes to NCHS's staff and curriculum, must now cope with additional problems of the high school's using a middle-school building for half of the next school year [See Brentwood to House School Part of Year]. Let's hope she's not being set up for failure.
Way to go with facilities' planning, Lewis!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
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I went to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website and found his school, West Caldwell High School. OMG! Some of the EOC gains are double-digit in one year. I've heard that the school had double-digit gains in 50% of the 10 tested subjects in the two years he was there. I worked for Mr. Colwell at NCHS. I know the teachers and students at his school in North Carolina must be heartbroken to see him leave. It was devastating to us at NCHS. If he had stayed, there would be no problems at that school at all. He is so positive about students and teachers. I will be calling that school to see if there is any way I can work for him again. He has never believed Dr. McGinley took him seriously as an "instructional leader." This man is driven to prove CCSD wrong! He absolutely is not going to let the district mess with him. Before too long, the word about his leadership style of empowering teachers will spread and a whole lot of us are going to try to get in there. I wish him luck. He deserves it. CCSD really messed this one up. S
Not all that glitters is gold. Sometimes there are two sides to the story.
Do some longitudinal research of his methods....why does he leave so quickly and what is left behind? The above glitter comment holds very true and if folks knew the truth they would simply try to move on instead of continually crying about him being gone. Schools are about kids, not the principals.....
Didn't he stay at NCHS for almost 20 years? Hello!!!!!
He did not have 20 in the head chair where he could manipulate...your sarcasm is admirable, it almost hides your total lack of factual information. But, that is fine, as long as the focus can switch to the kids.
Just so long as it's clear, the purpose of this blog and its articles is not to support students, but to drive wedges between charter and non-charter schools and fuel anti-district sentiment and conspiracy theories. You're here to take shots at the local public schools. If good news emanates from the schools, it's unbelievable; if it's bad, it's joyful. Imagine if all of this wasted energy could be applied to something productive and student-centered?
But of course, there's no fun in that. You wouldn't get to wait around for the next Post and Courier article, every morning on pins and needles, "what will be written next!?" What a fulfilling life--hanging onto every word that someone else writes, then spinning their words to tell the same, worn-out story, always seen through the same played-out lens.
You subscribe to the "let's work against each other, not with each other" school of thought--whether it's bad for kids, parents, and community members or not--and take joy in spinning yourself and a small group of like-minded sycophants into apopletic tizzies about issues real or imagined.
Offering PRODUCTIVE SOLUTIONS to problems? Who needs it, right? That's just too much work, and after all, you're accountable for absolutely nothing, so why bother. Actually volunteering or teaching in a public school? Too much work!
Question for you--do you want the kids to succeed at CCSMS because you care about THEM, or because their success would give you some kind of perverted platform upon which to take shots at the school district? You know the answer. And so do I. It's pathetic, but true.
I get it. If there's a negative article about public education, it's a source of glee; if there's a positive article, it's because the reporter is biased or incompetent. But just know that for those who are actually working with students in our public schools, there's absolutely nothing worse than the arm chair critic who never enters the arena. You have zero credibility, and when our schools succeed, it is despite the efforts of people like you, not because of them.
Being at that one school for almost 20 years proved he WAS in it for the kids. Your sarcasm is so obvious you refuse to admit it. Ask the students who may have had him as a teacher. You'll get the truth. The fact that he was deinied that "manipulative" position and still remained further points he was there for the kids. Those are the facts.
Wow. Looks like someone touched a nerve. Not sure which nerve, but perhaps my new role at the Math and Science Charter will educate me about such things.
I am happy to say that I now work for David Colwell and the CCSMS. He and I worked closely together when he was at NCHS and I was in a previous iteration as Maria's communications director. I know him very well and we stayed in touch during his sojourn in North Carolina (and mine here.) Those who know him will know that he really is in it for the kids, at North Charleston, at West Caldwell and now at CCSMS. Those who don't know him (or who have not had kids at one of his schools) will draw their own conclusions from what they see or hear or from their own biases.
Full disclosure, I also was a reporter for the Courier waaay back in the day and know a thing or two about that profession. Diette is an honest reporter in a tough business. Her literacy series was very very good, and I am still amazed Nancy was surprised by the numbers. What does Babbie call them -- edublobs? Jeez, I guess I used to be one. lol. Maybe Mishawna Moore at Sanders Clyde was contagious and infected Calhoun Street. Who knows.
Blogs like Babbie's are entertaining and the source of good information (sometimes) and good rumor and conjecture. There also is room for truth here that sometimes cannot be explored in the traditional media.
There is safety in anonymity, perhaps, but I am working to start a charter blog to share the adventure of building a school from Year Two forward and truly engaging parents and the community -- not just giving it lip service like Nancy does. Of course, well have to engage CCSD and Nancy and the Courier and the rest of the media and so I hope to share that, too.
CCSMS is off to a good start, but the best is yet to some. We will play hardball if and when we need to, but it's not about politics. It's about the kids. We have the opportunity to build something special and give them a unique and challenging education outside the "box" which is what David calls the controlling CCSD bureaucracy.
As for North Charleston High, it hasn't been the same since David left. Diette was right that he was the last one to have success there.
Thanks, all, for stirring the pot. It's what makes life interesting and keeps presenting challenges and expectations for people in the trenches like David and me.
JA
Welcome back, Jerry.
Oh, but we do live in interesting times. Regardless of past employers and politics, it's where you stand now that counts most. Still, it is welcome news that we can agree on what's important...better schools and more choices for all.
Here’s one bit of advice to Jerry. Beware of anyone who uses the phrase, "It's for the children," or any variation. No one who is truly "in it for the students" has to be told or reminded. The actions of those who are genuine advocates for educational opportunities and academic excellence speak much louder through what they are doing than the empty clichés produced by the PR department of CCSD. The superintendent and her cheerleaders are full of broken promises and failed programs in support of a system that has abused the public trust, not to mention the squandering of our most precious asset...the next generation. The real sycophants are those at 75 Calhoun Street who talk about protecting students while selling them out.
Jerry, if you're sincere and proceed in the spirit you describe, you may be an important contributor in this struggle to improve our schools. If that is part of your role at CCSMS, then I applaud you with more than just these words.
And to the anonymous critic who rants about sideline critics of CCSD, the contributors to this blog, and other public forums, are among those who are doing something for positive change. Many contribute to the public discourse anonymously but their individual efforts are far more substantial. They are teachers, parents, volunteers and even students who are quite active within the local educational community. Most are very well informed and all are struggling to know more. They generously share what they know. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER...sharing knowledge makes us all stronger. On the other hand, being a mindless cheerleader for failed programs, fraudulent policies and incompetent leadership just doesn't do much for positive change within our local schools.
On this point I may have to agree with Jerry here, so I'll try to keep an open mind. Sometimes mindless cheerleaders do help the rest of us better define the problems within CCSD. As they rally behind individuals and policies, Butzon and other hired guns often help identify those who sustain the status quo. This eventually leads to telling us why. When the suckups rant against things the critics support, like charter schools or innovation from the grassroots, it tells the critics they must be on the right track for making things work.
Organizing and sustaining successful charter schools are just two of the many ways CCSD's critics have worked in recent years to improve public schools in Charleston. Jon Butzon refuses to accept that critics (especially critics of him) are doing anything constructive. He likes to paint them as "know nothings" and "do nothings" which is a more apt description of his behavior.
More power to those who are making a positive difference in K-12 education in Charleston. That's happening best in places not beholden to 75 Calhoun. And yes, Jon Butzon, we do care about THEM.
Good luck and much success to Mr. Colwell and to CCSMS as it begins its second year.
The problem with anonymity is ... anonymity. I sure would like to have the help of some of the thoughtful and intelligent and creative souls who choose to not identify themselves. Thanks for the good wishes. I can be contacted at jadams@charlestonmathscience.org
The trouble with public education in Charleston County is there is so little factual knowledge about it held by a majority of those who support it with their taxes and vote to retain its leadership. Most people without any closer connections to its operations think its doing just fine under the present leadership.
Even the Chamber of Commerce appears to be blind to the continuing mess. But then the Chamber's biggest dues paying member is CCSD. I wonder what would happen if the rank and file small business members of the Chamber learned that its own Board of Directors publicly supported a major tax increase to be put on their backs BECAUSE the private business lobbying group is dependent on CCSD's continued financial support.
Interesting thought, but off topic.
Well we have the Dave and Jerry show calling people out, we have others calling the board or the Chamber out......just can't seem to get folks to talking about what is best for kids......damn shame, because meanwhile the same old crap keeps going on, and kids lose. Ok, i concede Colwell groupies, please spare us your opinion of his mastery. By the way, what was the grad rate at NC when he was there and if he put such a magnificent base in, what was it right after he left? Bet ya get quiet on that one......
I agree with Jerry wholeheartedly--this blog is "entertaining" and a wellspring of rumor and conjecture. Jerry, you hit the nail on the head! I mean...remember when the Post and Courier had the gall to highlight a Burke senior for her scholarship earnings? What a sham--and the Newsless Courier was rightfully all over that. Thanks, Babbie, for knocking that student down a few rungs--you really put her in her place (I hope the student and her parents found their way over to this site somehow...someone needs to help them put things in perspective).
There was nothing sham about the student, just the numbers game!
Good Lord.....someone mentions focusing on kids so someone attacks one.....class act man, you must feel real good about yourself, what a wuss! Attack the systems if you like, but leave high school girls and all other kids alone please.
That's the problem with CCSD and the educrats that run it. They cheat the kids and when someone points out the sham going on within the administration, that person gets charged with beating down the students. Hey, it's CCSD that's been abusing and robbing the kids all along.
Let's just say good things about Mr. Benton at Burke and ignore the fact that he knows and does nothing about the substandard reading and math performance among so many of his entering freshmen. Where was Dr. McGinley when these same students were in 5th grade? If so many kids can't read or make change after being promoted so many times within the system, then someone in charge of that system should be fired. Maybe a lot of the people at the top of the system should be fired.
Who's going to take responsibility for so many good kids being allowed to fail within the system? Who's in charge of these kids between 8am and 3pm for 180 days a year? Fire them, but tar and feather them first. Our schools need a good revolution...and not one conducted by the Broad Foundation either.
You mean it doesn't help all of our kids at Burke when the district gave us tons of money to run a bogus ap academy and bring other kids in to inflate our test scores?
I hope people do not lose sight of the fact that the P&C article mentions Mr. Colwell's "aging parents" as a reason for his move back to Charleston. Some shots have been taken at him for leaving his previous position. If, in fact, he is dealing with aging parents, who can blame him.
His parents live in Wilmington, NC if I recall correctly. He stated he went to NC to be closer to home when he left.
Having worked for Mr. Colwell before we both departed the school, I can positively state he has strengths, and he has weaknesses, like any other person.
He is not the miracle worker some have ascribed to him. In fact, when he left, the wheels were already falling off the NCHS wagon, unless test scores are the only measure of the worth of a school.
He was great for the three months he stabilized the school after Roy Hollaway, and several months into the new year.
Contrary to popular belief, he did not bring data analysis to NCHS. That was brought by Mike Peake, and the team of curriculum specialists who worked under Dr. Martha Kanapaux during Hollaway's year in tenure.
I liked Mr. Colwell as a person. I hope he does well for the school who now employs him, but he is no messiah returning to stick it to CCSD; he is merely a shrewd, mostly well-meaning, politically connected guy getting a charter school and the independence he wants.
Popular belief in data analysis? Gee, sounds like an educrat to me!
In response to Anonymous 6:48PM, let me paraphrase an active Burke alumnus who is involved in the process. Pete Lawrence said in a recent edition of the Charleston Chronicle, CCSD has never been committed to sustaining any program it started at Burke.
No matter how well meaning or good the program looked on paper, Nancy McGinley and her predecessors, with the support of a majority of the School Board which she controls, have too often simply manipulated the numbers. Test scores, scholarship totals and every other bit of data have been turned this way and that to support a desired interpretation by district officials. This effectively diverts our attention away from meeting the long term needs of the community or from holding anyone accountable for grossly short changing the students downtown for years.
Illiteracy isn’t something new among downtown high school students, nor is stacking scholarship dollars to ridiculous heights that mean nothing. The faking of numbers and raising concerns about students who can’t read have been pointed out by those in the know for years, but McGinley and English-Watson ignored the complaints. They couldn’t ignore the newspaper when the illiteracy problem was put on everyone’s doorstep one recent morning. School officials continue to sweep the truth under the carpet and direct us to what they want to show us, but the truth is still the truth. It stinks when it’s ignored.
Mr. Lawrence is also saying what the Burke community desperately needs, and CCSD isn't about to provide, is the very independence and grassroots creativity from within that Mr. Colwell sees is potentially happening at the Charter School for Math and Science. It is significant that CCSMS is less than 10 blocks from Burke and is already a complete demographic mirror of the community. Burke can be just as accurate a mirror, but it has to have the chance to restore its reputation using solid tools that don’t include CCSD supplied smoke.
Pete Lawrence sees Burke’s dependency on CCSD and McGinley as the reason the Burke community is being held back...regardless of how the numbers are being manipulated to imply otherwise.
"It is significant that CCSMS is less than 10 blocks from Burke and is already a complete demographic mirror of the community."
How is this significant? "Mirror" of what community? I know you're not referring to the downtown community...because clearly you know that CCSMS is not a neighborhood school, but a charter school--and lest you think I'm splitting hairs or playing semantics, charters, by law, must be open to all students. They don't (can't) have attendance zones. It is absurd to suggest that CCSMS is a "downtown" school, other than its location. This is akin to saying that Academic Magnet and School of the Arts are "North Charleston" schools. Talk about sketchy conclusions--let's stick to the facts, and not compare apples (Burke) to oranges (CCSMS).
Let's be fair here. Mr. Colwell inherited North Charleston High School AFTER the wheels had come off. CCSD stuck it to him in late March after numerous gang riots, teacher assaults, and the defections of 30-plus teachers by firing Holloway and "giving" the principalship to him. Lucky guy! He put the wheels back on - and two years later, declined that sweet $25K salary bump that was accepted by other principals at Stall and Burke. He's slightly more than a nice man. It took &^%$#@ to stop the chronic violence in that school. How many have tried and failed since? Politically connected? With whom? Nobody in CCSD ever wanted him to have a principalship in the first place. He "won" NCHS by default from McGinley and Darrell Johnson. Then he went out and hired all of those new teachers without ever being assured that he would even get an interview for the permanent position. And to say he wasn't in it for the kids? Give me a break.
Anonymous 2:57PM said:
"How is this significant? "Mirror" of what community? I know you're not referring to the downtown community...because clearly you know that CCSMS is not a neighborhood school, but a charter school--and lest you think I'm splitting hairs or playing semantics, charters, by law, must be open to all students."
I hate to break it to you but you are play games with semantics. CCSMS is by virtue of its admissions process and its very open lottery a mirror of the community, both the one on the peninsula and the others that comprise the larger community in Charleston County. Yes it is a charter school, but you can't begin to compare it to a magnet. That would be a very bad analogy and would require suspending all references to reality. Buist and the other magnets don't have an open admissions policy. Charter schools do. In the case of Buist, no one really knows what its admissions policy is on any given day.
It's been argued to death that downtown students couldn't get into Buist if they tried, even if they were "academically" qualified. As for AMHS or SOA, no they aren't neighborhood schools, but according to CCSD, neither is Burke. The superintendent, the chief academic officer and the board chairmen have never explained to us the open county-wide admissions policy at Burke either.
The mirror image that CCSD doesn't want to face is that successful charter schools do reflect their communities far more accurately than the schools managed directly by CCSD have. It is a fact that CCSD has all but wrecked the concept of neighborhood schools in Charleston with more than 23,000 students out of a total of 42,000 enrolled taking a school bus. How many of those don’t attend a neighborhood school? By contrast, look hard at James Island Charter High or Orange Grove Charter Elementary. Both schools include a solid representation of the communities in which they are located. Burke doesn’t. Even West Ashley is receiving a large number of transfers from St. Johns and St. Pauls. Few if any CCSD managed schools can claim to be neighborhood schools anymore.
The Charleston Charter School for Math and Science because of state requirements, and in spite of CCSD’s veiled objections early on, has turned out to reflect the demographics of the entire county after all. It isn't really that far off from doing the same for the peninsula where the population is far more racially balanced than some Chicken Littles on Calhoun Street would have us believe.
Unlike the magnets, there is no question about access to CCSMS. Geography, politics, economics and race have been given far less consideration at CCSMS than the superintendent or the county board chairmen have tried to make of them. The results this past year have been to give nearly 200 families and their children a choice for an academically challenging environment that CCSD has heretofore denied them.
The proof can be found in the actual numbers and the measured success of the first year at CCSMS. Unlike among the educrats, there is no quibbling over semantics there.
So why do some continue to complain about the existence of a charter school that is meeting its goals, if not exceeding them? Why seek to find fault in a school that parents and students are generally pleased with? CCSMS is doing what the superintendent and the county board promised AMHS and Buist would do for downtown almost 25 years ago, but didn't. This one really is open to those who live on the peninsula if they apply. By law, it’s open to anyone else in Charleston County for that matter.
So what’s the issue? Perhaps we should open this discussion to include the lack of adequate access to the successful magnet programs. I’d rather not since this is about charter programs that work and that are accessible, something that doesn’t exist among CCSD’s magnets using a closed admissions process.
You're right. Burke, Buist, SOA and AMHS are apples and JICHS, OGCES and CCSMS are oranges.
Obviously folks enjoy making up their own facts, but truth be told,
(1) Mr. Colwell was hired as interim principal by Maria Goodloe, then permanent Principal by the same. Darrell Johnson was co-named in the very messy lawsuit that developed during that year, and was to be replaced by another person. He was powerless at that point and on the verge of retiring.
(2) There was one gang riot, and he was part of the administrative team at the time. To place that solely at the feet of one person, when there were three assistant principals, six student concerns specialists and two resource officers is funny.
(3)The major hiring of teachers that summer was completed with the advocacy and support of the district, who streamlined the process and filtered candidates his way. Incidentally, most of these hirees did not stay long at NCHS.
(4) He had the full support of Mayor Summey, and actively politicked with community power people with the Education Foundation and Chamber of Commerce, which should hopefully serve him well at the new charter school.
-----------------------------
As for being an educrat, Babbie, I am a former teacher at NCHS overlapping Mr. Colwell's tenure as Assistant Principal and Principal, and have read (in the comments from community members here and at the Post and Courier)that Mr. Colwell is a revolutionary, data-driven maverick, when the truth simply is not as simple as portrayed.
He is a well-meaning, predominantly student-centered, guy who was not treated as unfairly by the district as portrayed, nor is he as driven and honorable as the community believes in all matters public. The truth is somewhat in the middle, which some here do not seem to wish to accept.
Well-said.......have not heard many say negative of Colwell, but annointing him as "legendary" is a bit off. Back a few responses ago someone asked about the NCHS grad rate during his time......never saw an answer, hmmmmmmm.
Babbie, you put some food for thought out for all to see, but you go overboard trying to slay Calhoun at times, actually all of the time. If that is your gig, hey, enjoy yourself, but over-inflating the worth of people like Colwell seems odd to me.....freedom of speech i guess, but some facts would make it interesting maybe......
Hey, happy 4th everyone!
No question the Math & Science Charter School is a burr in the administration's saddle. Every charter school that carves a different course and rates above the district's median runs against the grain for those committed to conformity. That is exactly what charter schools are supposed to do and why the charter option exists. Non-conformists are often the best innovators.
It's easy to create a successful school when you can pick and choose the students who attend it, and can streamline the rules by which you can remove those who are not "successful".
Anonymous 9:57 AM:
No doubt you are right - but since charter schools can't pick and choose their students, I assume you're talking about some other schools. Magnet schools, maybe?
Here's my take on it...any school that takes the slightest bit of effort to enroll on the parent's part usually does better. If a parent is willing to make the effort to get their child in a school that means they are willing to make the effort to be a parent and be involved on every level and the students do better. Sorry, probably not going to be a popular comment but it seems to hold true.
I could be wrong, but I am guessing that the CSMS will not reflect the demographics of the area it is in. The school will get some of the higher functioning, parent-supported students from the community, a sprinkling from more affluent areas and will perform better as a result.
It becomes a de facto performance-based admissions school because of the effort required of parents. They should do pretty well, but to say it is because they are more innovative and better than neighborhood schools who do not have admissions screening capabilities is the farce that continues to be perpetuated.
Time will tell, won't it?
If you want farce, look no further than Garrett Tech. Word is they "kick" kids out if they fail one class. Sweet deal, then they brag about their grad rate.....another CCSD political masterpiece........
Garrett is grabbing kids from CE Williams who do not go to School of the Arts and Magnet.
The Magnet's minority student representation has been shrinking, and fast (FROM 15%), and has very few representatives from the north area who are preferring to attend Garrett. Add to that, that it has a .2% SPed population...
The School of the Arts minority percentage has reportedly dipped below 10% from nearly 25%, and has a SPed rate of 2.4%. You'd certainly think that children with disabilities would have talent as well, wouldn't you?
Lastly, transfers out of north area schools are predominantly farmed out to West Ashley. I have spoken to parents who wished for their children (black) to attend either James Island or Wando, but were told that not all requests are granted and it depended on multiple factors...
Yea! School choice. Meanwhile schools like Stall and North Charleston have Sped rates of 18% and 27% respectively, and according to the Post and Courier article have incoming 9th graders reading at a 4th grade level at a 42-45% clip. But those schools are failing because they are not innovative enough.
Policy at Garrett is that a student who fails two academic classes, or one tech class is not allowed to return.
Garrett is a joke and then CCSD brags that they are the only "successful" school in NC....they are set up to win no matter what it takes.....lets give them some more awards. A nice figure to publish would be their student retention rate, hell, they have a built-in grad rate.....not fair!
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