Things Are Heating Up

Sadly, we have heard about a couple of frightening incidents already this week that give us pause, one involving a child slashing bus seats (in Zorro-like fashion) with a knife hidden in a backpack and one that left a child hospitalized after being beaten by a peer.

Both situations could have easily turned tragic. And while we have been blessed to not have an incident of epic proportions, we do not want to tempt fate...

Going to school should not mean taking your life in your own hands...

Looking for Information

We are seeking information on the following incidents:

• A potential gun at Danforth on Friday. We need to know whether there was a gun at school, was it report to the PD, what if any actions were taken.
• A domestic call to Franklin on Friday...
• An assault at ITC this morning
• A harassment call to Dr. King today
• A report of police sent to Henninger...

All reports will be confidential, as always.

Respect and Responsibility

We had the honor of attending the new Syracuse Coalition for Respect and Responsibility's meeting on Friday night. Thomas Lickona, who literally wrote the book on teaching character education in schools, was the guest speaker.

Some of our take-aways from the the meeting...

• We need to be an intentional community, with a unified intent.
• What are the rules that we need to reflect our values of respect and responsibility?
• How can SCSD, or even individual classroom teachers, weave these values into the classroom?
• Change is embraced when people feel like they are in the driver's seat.
• Start each day on a positive note.

So, if we operate on the assumption that with respect and responsibility, what small changes can we make now that might bring forth more positive changes within the district? Can we bring some to pass quickly, either in our homes, classrooms or schools?

We are at a pivotal time in Syracuse - a time when we actually have the potential to make a positive change for the entire community, if we all remain true to ourselves and our values. One of the first steps you can take is make a commitment to attend the next Syracuse Coalition for Respect and Responsibility meeting, which is scheduled in May - date and location to be announced.

To quote the district's recruiting website...

We're all in. Are you? 

Tonight's Board Meeting

Well, that was interesting...

A dramatic turnout for tonight's SCSD Board of Education meeting, including concerned parents and community members, representatives of local activist organizations and (happily) many, many representatives of "Be the Change." So many people attended that not everyone was able to get into the board room until after a group of students receiving awards left.

As expected, it appeared that a few people who spoke may have been "planted" to sing the praises of the District. We also heard from a Fowler parent and a McKinley-Brighton parent each of whom decried the district's communication - or lack thereof - about issues critical to those schools, namely the probable phase-out of Fowler and the gun incident at McKinley-Brighton, respectively.

But the majority of speakers were there to address the recent escalation of violence in our schools and the District's response and future plans. And while there was much emotion on both sides - and an unfortunate perpetuation of an untrue rumor regarding warehousing 1,000 students in what some compared to a "mini-prison" - when pared back to its essence, most speakers were in agreement with the following points:

• Students learn best in a chaos-free environment
• We have a community problem that requires everyone to pull together
• Violence in our schools is not acceptable
• Increased suspensions and warehousing of students is not effective

The biggest surprise of the evening was the unveiling by the Superintendent of several "new" recommendations to provide immediate help to students and teachers.

• The addition of 14 sentry positions at elementary schools for the remainder of the school year. Eight additional sentry positions would be created in the K-8 schools next year.
• Continuation of Twilight Academy programs to help high school students who are over-age and under-credited.
• Expansion of the foster grandparent program through PEACE Inc. in every first and second-grade classroom in the district.
• Expansion of a middle-school alternative program with the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection to 180 students. The program would have a coordinator, teachers, teacher assistants, guidance counselors, social workers, sentries, a nurse and a substance abuse counselor.
• Middle and high school transition teams comprising a social worker, a counselor and a Hillside youth worker to help students entering and exiting alternative programs.
• The conversion of 20 positions to behavior specialists to provide support to students.
• New and upgraded security cameras at the middle and K-8 schools.
• A liaison to coordinate between classroom teachers and instructors of "homebound" students.
• Restoration of clerical staff in schools to a 250-1 student-to-staff ratio. This is in response to concerns that teachers' calls to the office requesting assistance aren't answered promptly due to the limited number of clerical workers who may be involved other matters.

We were saddened by all of the negativity in the meeting tonight, especially when it was directed at our teachers and staff by some of the speakers or when it manifested itself with rude comments as teachers left the room for the night (or so we heard). Thank you for doing so much for our kids with so little thanks and for holding yourselves to the highest standard tonight. You guys rock!

So... We still have a long way to go, but we are being heard. In the next few weeks, representatives from "Be the Change" will be meeting with the District and community organizers to find common ground and learn how we can all work together to improve our district.

Thanks to all who have supported
and been a part of this movement!!!

 

You have been heard!

Devastating News from Pittsburgh

Yet another horrifying incident of school violence took place today. As of the writing of this entry, at least twenty injuries are reported at a high school outside of Pittsburgh, PA. At least eight people have been transported to local hospitals, some in critical condition.

Please keep the victims of this tragic incident in your thoughts today.

Quieter Today? Or Are We Just Not Reporting?

Perception is everything, or so we would be led to believe...

According to our official sources, Meachem School had a police call today, although we have no details. And it appears that a fight big enough to warrant a 911 call took place at Elmwood School, site of official district hearings. Hmmm...

In other news, we've heard about an object of some sort that required police attention at Grant, although not officially dispatched. And this evening a robo-call was made to Grant families with a reminder that students are not to bring electronic devices to school. Coincidence?

Any reports from your schools today?

Thank You, STA!

A well-written letter from the Kevin Ahern, president of the Syracuse Teacher's Association, appeared today on www.syracuse.com. It is a must read! 

STA to Syracuse Board of Education: "Restorative justice is fine, but what about safety?"

For anyone who is familiar with the "Be the Change" movement, reading this letter will make it clear why STA was willing to endorse and present our Plan of Action to the SCSD Board of Education. Our positions are in harmony - safety for ALL students and staff, creation of a supportive learning environment, a system of consistent boundaries and consequences, provision of social-emotional supports for those students who need them, and a refusal to allow "a few students exhibiting serious anti-social behavior to interfere with ability of the majority of their peers to learn."

If you haven't seen it yet, please read it and add your support to Kevin's letter by adding your comment.

Busy Day!

Here are the calls that 911 responded to in our schools today...

8:29 am - Criminal mischief at Corcoran

8:30 am - Assault at Delaware

2:32 pm - Fire alarm at Clary

2:38 pm - Fight at Corcoran

3:36 pm - Juvenile incident at Frazer

Wonder what joy tomorrow holds...

Political Posturing at Its Finest

Dear Syracuse Board of Education Commissioners,

Until we address the immediate concern for safety in our schools, you will NEVER receive the support of SCSD staff and the majority of responsible parents in this district.

Our children and staff are no longer safe in the city schools.

 

Period.

This problem was not created overnight and it will not be solved overnight. We understand that. This problem was created, in part, by a system of rewarding and excusing bad behavior. And our kids are smart, they learn fast. Just as they do at home, if they can get away with pushing the boundary at school today, they will try to push it some more tomorrow, and the next day and the next.

Couple that with a community-wide violence issue and you have what we have today. A broken community and a broken school district. All of it will take time to fix. We know that.

But we will not accept that, while the District works on the long-range solution, our children and the dedicated that staff we value so deeply for their commitment will remain in danger on a daily basis!!!

We understand that increased suspensions are NOT the answer. The "Be the Change" group has been quite clear on that point. We understand that alternative settings are a LAST RESORT, reserved for the most violent and intentionally disruptive of students.

All of that being said, we cannot continue to sacrifice the education of 95% of our students at the altar of those few students, who for whatever reasons, are not able to conduct themselves appropriately in the classroom.

It is not fair!!!

In the short term, we MUST take a stand and say no more violence will be tolerated in our schools. We must increase our community agency partnerships, as requested in the "Be the Change" Plan of Action, to provide on-going and intensive community supports for those kids who need it. We must provide in-school solutions for kids who are struggling.

But... We also must also provide supports and a safe, chaos-free environment for the 95% of students who come to school every day, eager to learn! They deserve as much nurturing and support as the we can possibly give them. For many students, school is their safe place and they are working hard to succeed IN SPITE of the chaos around them both in and out of school. We need them to know that they are valuable and cherished by the District and hat they deserve our support.

It does not escape our notice that nowhere in the Board's statement - nor in the fabulous glossy brochure the District sent out two weeks ago - is there any mention of victims' rights or the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA).

Why is the district and the Board
so unconcerned about the victims?

This board needs to closely re-examine the message that their statement today has sent to all of those students who are working so hard to succeed. And what they are saying to all of the voters and taxpayers in the city of Syracuse.

Respectfully,
The moderators of SCSD Take Back Our Schools

If You Are Not Part of the Solution

Do YOU want to look back and wish you did more? Had more conviction? Believed that a group of people with a passion CAN make a difference?

Your voice matters! The children of the SCSD - all of them - deserve the best education we can give them. We all need to jump in 100% and do everything we can to be part of the solution. When you feel fear, let it be overwhelmed by the faces of the children who NEED us, who need school to be a safe place, who need the education that the amazing teachers in our district can provide.

BE THE CHANGE - BE THE SOLUTION!

And the Hits Just Keep Coming!!!

Many of you may have already seen this story on www.CNYCentral.com about the SCSD Vice Principal who was attacked by a fifth-grader, allegedly at Delaware School (if the grapevine can be believed). If not, the link is below...

SCSD Vice Principal Attacked by Student

Again, we implore the district to take a first step in trying stem the onslaught of violence in our schools. It could make a huge impact for the Superintendent and all, some or even one of the Board of Education members to spend next week visiting the schools and addressing each individual classroom - unannounced - to bring home the message that acting out violently (or threatening to) is NOT acceptable in our schools!

We have reviewed the Board of Education's Statement of Core Beliefs, which is posted on their website. It is posted in its entirety here, with a couple of items of particular interest highlighted...

Syracuse Board of Education
Statement of Core Beliefs and Commitments

Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the Board of Education’s beliefs about the potential of
our students, the purpose of public education, the impact of our teachers, leaders, schools and
district on student achievement and its duty to promote a culture of high expectations and
accountability. It also sets forth its commitment to act on these beliefs to achieve its vision to
become the most improved urban school district in the nation.

We believe that teaching and learning is our core business.
We will make district decisions in an equitable manner, including those related to resource
allocation, based upon our core business.

We believe that education is a means to eradicate poverty.
We will fully support and implement initiatives aligned with the Say Yes model.

We believe all students can learn and achieve at high levels.
We will prepare every student to graduate college- and career-ready.

We believe positive, supportive, and safe environments are essential to teaching and
learning.
We will create school communities in exceptional facilities with positive cultures and high quality
supports for students and staff.

We believe that teachers have the greatest positive impact on student achievement.
We will recruit, develop, support, reward and retain world-class teachers.

We believe that effective leaders produce excellent results.
We will recruit, develop, retain, and reward leaders who champion a relentless focus on high
student achievement and effectively manage teacher talent.

We believe that a high-performing organization produces a legacy of enduring greatness.
We will build a high-performing organization that values and strives for excellence at all
levels and is organized to support our core business.

We believe in data-driven decision making to ensure continuous improvement at all levels.
We will have accountability for performance at all levels of the system.

We believe in the value of parents as their children’s first teachers and that the
involvement of parents and community partners is vital to improving educational
outcomes.
We will develop and implement effective and sustainable partnerships with parents, families
and the community at both the school and district level to enhance student learning.

We are not promoting high expectations or accountability. We are not creating school communities with positive cultures. We are not providing high quality supports for staff and our high quality supports for students are inadequate to meet our needs.

But we can...

And we, educators and parents alike,

need to demand it.

And we need to be relentless.

Our kids' lives and our staffs' lives literally depend on it.

It Is With Great Sadness...

Today we were VERY disheartened to learn that one of the young men directly involved in the gun incident at Grant Middle School yesterday was the same young man who allegedly attempted to sexually assault a twelve-year-old H.W. Smith student in a school bathroom earlier this school year while his two friends blocked the door.

Who do you think is in YOUR school?

What might their history be?

Did they receive supports to help them learn how to make better choices?

SCSD staff knows, but parents generally do not, that often when a student commits a serious infraction at one school they are "churned" to another school with little or no counseling and supports provided to help them be successful in school.

"Be the Change" wants to change that. We do not advocate for increased suspensions or taking away due process. We know that suspensions DON'T work. We know that providing supports DOES work. We believe that our district is filled with amazing children who have unlimited potential. And for exactly that reason...

• We want every child to have the tools they need to get a sound basic education - and perhaps even a little more.
• We want to ensure that kids who come to school every day ready to learn have the opportunity to do so AND we want to ensure that those who are not ready to learn are given the tools ands supports they need so that they CAN be ready.
• We want ALL children to be successful.
• We want to see the end of the school-to-prison pipeline by creating an environment of learners who know to their very core that they deserve more and that they have the ability to achieve it.
• We want to teach kids that their choices have consequences, intended and unintended.
• We want schools to provide structure and boundaries so that kids are ready for the real world when they leave school.

We all need to remember that the people kids will encounter as adults will not be nearly as forgiving as our district has been lately and we are doing our kids are huge disservice. Employers, colleges, police officers - none of them will give them a "pass" when they commit a crime, bully or act disrespectfully - they will feel consequences. We have an obligation as parents and educators to prepare them for this reality.

Perhaps, if the young man involved in the Grant and H.W. Smith incidents had been provided with the academic and social-emotional supports that we are advocating for, he would have made a different decision when contemplating bringing a weapon capable of causing serious injury (this was not JUST an old-fashioned BB gun) to school. But, as SCSD runs right now, we will never know that answer...

Our detractors have accused us of racism. And we won't say that racism doesn't exist, because it does. We have been accused of trying to warehouse kids. But we aren't - any alternative placements we advocate are designed to be temporary. We suggest that critics read the plan before reacting to it.

Because what we are advocating for is the creation of a safe, chaos-free, nurturing learning environment for ALL KIDS.

This movement is not about bad kids or good kids,
white kids or kids of color, poor kids or rich kids.

It is just about KIDS!!!

We - our entire community - need to acknowledge the reality of our current situation and commit to doing everything we can to change it.

Not the perception of change, but real substantive change.

Grant Middle School

As many of you may have already heard, Grant Middle School was placed on lockdown this morning. It is alleged that a student brought a gun (reportedly a BB gun, but not confirmed) to school. It was discovered quickly, three police cars and the crime scene unit were seen at the school during drop-offs this morning. One parent has reported that the lockdown has been lifted, as they were able to get into the building and speak with the Principal, Dr. Taylor.

To the best of our knowledge,
all students and staff are safe and no injuries have been reported. 

Watch the news, as we have confirmed that reporters were en route to the school to cover the story. If any Grant parents or staff would like to contribute what you know to this discussion, please add your comments to this thread, that way they are easily accessible for everyone.

Yet Another Weapon Incident

It is with profound relief that we can report that the second weapon incident in the SCSD in less than a week (that we know of!) did not result in any injuries. As many of you may already know, today a second-grader at McKinley-Brighton brought a .22 caliber handgun to school and was showing it off at lunchtime to a friend when a staff member spotted it. We have avoided tragedy twice... Can we avoid it a third time?

Every single SCSD parent, staff member, and stakeholder should be demanding a statement from the Superintendent and the Board of Education, outlining how they will handle this escalating crisis!

There is an immediate need for our leaders to stand up and make it known to students and parents that WE WILL NOT TOLERATE weapons in our buildings! Where the heck are they? Why are they not on the news? Why are they not in our schools? Why are we getting robo-calls about the Latin school, but not a single district-wide robo-call advising parents and students that schools do not tolerate weapons on campus and providing guidance to students on what to do if they see a weapon in school?

While their silence is not surprising, it is disappointing - again.

SCSD LEADERS TAKE NOTE. NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE A STAND BEFORE A TRAGEDY OCCURS!