Creation of a Fairy Tale, Part Two

One can only hope that our nation's leaders are not nearly as blind to the truth as our district appears to be. Today, Superintendent Sharon Contreras was one of several panelists at a briefing for members of Congress and their staff. Also on the panel were:

• Dan Losen, Director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies
• Marcia Weissman, Director of the Center for Community Alternatives
• Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers
• Representative Bobby Scott from Virginia, top ranking Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee

At this briefing, the Superintendent was quoted as saying "This has been difficult work, but we certainly have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of suspensions in the Syracuse City School District."

As if this is the measure of success???

When asked for hard numbers to back up the assessment, they were not "readily available." Did no one anticipate that this question would be asked and ensure that Superintendent Contreras was armed with the necessary data? Or could they not arm her with data because the statement is NOT TRUE?

Just because the district is not suspending students out of school DOES NOT mean that things are better. It may just mean that, as hundreds of teachers allege, our district is...

Sweeping behavioral issues under the carpet!!!

 

Our friends at Be the Change recently polled their members to get their perception - as people who are in the schools on a regular basis - on how the disciplinary crisis is playing out. 78% of the nearly 500 respondents are current district employees and another 10% are parents. All people who have a pretty good idea of what is going in our schools RIGHT NOW, because they are there every day. 

 

Their assessment is devastating, to say the least, and in direct contrast to the fairy tale our district leadership attempts to paint. Take a look...

 

Be the Change Safe Schools Report

 

What do YOU think?

An Open Letter to Mayor Stephanie Miner

Dear Mayor Miner,

It has been nearly a week since you appointed Mark Muhammad to fill Bill Bullen's seat on the Syracuse City School Board, following his sudden resignation. Mr. Muhammad's credentials - both academic and as a long-standing community activist - were glowingly recounted in your office's press release. Also acknowledged is the fact that Mr. Muhammad is a minister with the Nation of Islam.

In the days since the appointment was announced, many in the city have struggled to understand how it can be that a representative of the Nation of Islam - not just a representative, but a MINISTER charged with preaching its word and doctrine - could be appointed to the school board.

So we ask you... Why?

Are you unaware that the Nation of Islam is - at the end of the day - a group that preaches a radical separatist agenda? One that advocates for SEPARATE SCHOOLS for blacks and whites, boys and girls. One that advocates for black children to be taught by their own teachers - teachers who are left free to teach as they wish.

How is this appointment in the best interest of
ALL children in Syracuse?

 

Regardless of Mr. Muhammad's countless achievements as an academic, a mentor and a community activist, this is an inappropriate appointment in light of Mr. Muhammad's high rank within the Nation of Islam.

 

It is wrong in the same way that appointing a white supremacist or a Neo-Nazi or member of Westboro Baptist Church or an anti-Islamist would be wrong.

 

It is wrong because it is exclusive, not inclusive.

 

It is wrong because it is a tacit endorsement of the philosophies that Mr. Muhammad represents as a minister of the Nation of Islam.

 

It is just wrong.

 

We urge you reconsider your appointment. Mr. Muhammad has made - and will certainly continue to make - many, many, many valuable contributions to the city of Syracuse. But neither he, nor any person holding separatist beliefs, belong on the school board in a city with the rich diversity that Syracuse is blessed to have.

 

Sincerely,
The Writers and Editors of the "SCSD Take Back Our Schools" blog