By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, June 6 at 10:50 AM
The following letter is from Marya Green, a parent at Madison School:
Instant messaging, what a wonderful tool for the 21st century. My teenager seems to have mastered the art of sending text messages. I have often scolded her for doing so. My cell phone company charges extra for this type of communication. I won't be scolding her for the one she sent me yesterday.
At 9:30 am Monday I was notified that there won't be transportation for summer school. That was the first day of summer school. I was not informed by my child's school, a magnet high school with students that come from both the city and the county. I was not informed by the school district. I was sent a text message.
Now, I'm not one of those last-minute parents. I made inquiries about transportation for summer school. I was told by my child's counselor and the school social worker that they were unsure. They stated that there might not be transportation for summer school but that
there wasn't confirmation of this yet. I was assured by my child's counseler that I would be notified about transportation before the end of the regular school year. I tried calling the transportation office but that office isn't good about answering the phone.
After receiving the text from my teen I called the school. The person on the phone was rude and told me that letters were sent out. I don't know when those letters were sent. No one I talked to knew anything as of five days before the end of the school year. I was told to "call Creig Williams and complain to him."
That was the suggestion given to me from the school my child attends.
My child attends a magnet school. Magnet school students come from all over the St. Louis area, not just the city. Not every parent drives a car or has bus fare. Public transportation may not serve every student who needs to get to summer school. Buses from St. Louis County are not as frequent as those in the city.
It would have been nice to have been informed about this before the start of summer school.
I bid you Peace
-- Marya
19 Comments:
You are absolutely correct Mother! You should have been notified via telephone and/or letter sent home from the student. However, I don't know if calling Dr. Creg Williams to complain would have been the best plan of action. My suggestion is to contact your childs Principal. You need answers and who better to give them then the person immediately responsible for your childs safety and education? Yes, the Principal. He/She should be the one actually held accountable, and if you are not satisfied with their response...then take it to their boss...Dr. Williams. But, I would exhaust the deputy persons in charge under Dr. Williams first. I do again hope your child can make it to summer school in a timely fashion and I thank you for sharing your experience...I surely heard you.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 11:23:00 AM
My child attends an elementary magnet school and we were told of summer school transportation issues/limitations before school was let out. I'd have to agree with the first post that it sounds like the school messed up, not necessarily administration. If our school was telling parents about this then the problem wasn't with the higher-ups. Whoever messed up, it's not acceptable and I would approach administration not from the perspective that it was their fault, but that they need to clean up the act of those who should have notified you.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 12:57:00 PM
Marya-
My daughter is attending a magnet HS in the city and there IS bus transportation at that school.. It sounds like the school itself may be at fault.
Who knows?
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 4:28:00 PM
Oh my goodness I can do better than that story, I put in an application to summer school for my son and was told the last day of school this school was not participating in summer school this year for his grade (Compton Drew)but was assured he would be sent to another I would hear from transportation as to which one. never heard from them, I called there is no record of his application therefore no transportation anywhere. Icalled the school district and was told rudely "why don't you send him to your local school "! as if my choice to participate in the desegregation/ magnet program was not even needed! also if that story doesn't top it my oldest son got a transportation card for summer school we never signed up for at Pruitt which wasn't even on the list to participate this summer! what a bunch of #@#$% idiots running this school district, they don't know what they are doing from one day to the next. Oh by the way don't bother with the bumbling idiot Mr. Williams he doesn't respond to anyone emails but little girls in grade school, complaining about homework. This time I choose not to remain anonymous I am Brenda DeClue
Tuesday, June 06, 2006 9:21:00 PM
Brenda,
I agree with the 1st blogger in your situation also. Have you spoken with the principals of your child(s) schools? It sure does not sound like it! It soulds like you just went straight to Dr. Williams's inbox with your complaints. Just following proper chain of command would have empowered Dr. Williams to look at the situation as a manager...which is what he is a Manager. YOU seem to have overlooked his immediate Supervisor (Principal) and went straight to the Magager. Brenda, it is unfortunate what has happend and we see the problems such as these all the time. But, you as a parent MUST start holding the PRINCIPALS accountable for their individual business units or schools! Going straight to Dr. Williams is not orderly or proper. Help empower Dr. Williams by going through the proper steps and THEN holding Him accountable to address his Principals under him who He has intrusted to meet yours and your childs needs immediately. Just think about it Brenda.
Friday, June 09, 2006 9:08:00 AM
Brenda,
First of all, quit going to Dr. Williams. That blogger was right...He is the Executive Manager of a huge business. You need to go to your children(s) Pricipal and demand a response! Instead of slandering Dr. Williams...why don't you help Him in holding his Principals responsible(so he can fire them if needed. It does seem like you skipped some steps and went straight to adding your complaint to the mailbox of Dr. Williams. And guess what? that same inbox is full of complaints from parents just like yourself who have skipped steps as well and then you blast Dr. Williams when you don't get a response. Get a clue.
Friday, June 09, 2006 9:22:00 AM
When an employee is rude and unhelpful and not doing their job correctly than yes you must MUST go to the MANAGER in charge, in this case isn't this Mr. Williams? I did contact the person in charge of summer school applications, remember i put two applications in, of course i contacted the principal next and was told he would be routed to an open summer school. My next step was to call recuitment and counseling and was treated rudely, then i let Mr. Williams know. I couldn't give a rats *&^%% how full his in box is, if it's that full than he needs to get to work earlier, for what he's making a year he should come in on weekends during this summer until parents know where there kids are attending school next year. Brenda
Friday, June 09, 2006 8:59:00 PM
and another thing,why would the man put his email address on a web site and not want to hear from people about anything that has to do with his job? Of course this man has lots to do, but thats what he signed up for. When you apply for a job as a fry cook for McD's you must deal with french fries no matter how many of them there are you DEAL WITH IT. He has to deal with the problems one by one that includes answering annoying emails from concerned mothers who expected her kid in summer school and now has to find another summer school so he can keep his mind fresh.Brenda
Friday, June 09, 2006 9:09:00 PM
Well, Brenda it is obvious that you are determined in your mind that the SLPS is not working for you. Perhaps, you should just join the 1,100+ students/families and enroll in another district that you feel will meet your immediate needs while the SLPS finishes their huge transformation. You do have that choice you know? It is evident that you want to be part of the continuing list of complainers and not the process improvers...even your language used in a 'blog' is reflective of just anger, nothing else. Believe me...if Mr. Williams is not moved by 600 Teachers voting 'No Confidence' in him...I highly doubt that your anger alone will raise any hair on his neck either. My opinion is that he does not get paid enough with having to battle us St. Louisans and our sometimes ignorant language, unchanging mentalities & non-progressive behavior. But, don't worry Brenda...you don't fall into any of those categories... :)
Monday, June 12, 2006 11:10:00 AM
Yeah your right, I do have a choice, I thought I choose a school district with plenty of opportunities for my children. My concern is that they are not going to get those opportunities because of mismanagement.I have one child that choose a military school and now is not able to attent that school, and one that is gifted and might not be able to attend the school of his choice. We don't know where either one of them are going and I am frustrated. Because the administrators screwed up a simple thing like a summer school request, how are they going to handle switching around so many schools. Much like the teachers I have lost my confidence.Brenda
Monday, June 12, 2006 4:32:00 PM
Am I glad that out of the thousands of teachers in the SLPS and Williams supporters both in the community and industry, the voice of 600 teachers voting 'no confidence' was just a quite noise compared to the many others that do believe that the great transformation can happen. I guess it just depends on how full or empty you 'choose' to see the glass. I say leave if you're so unhappy because the snowball is not going to stop building energy as it moves across the hill by your departure.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 2:04:00 PM
WHAT SNOWBAL? THE SNOWBALL OF BANKRUPTCY?
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 4:48:00 PM
No, I think that blogger meant the the 'snowball' of progression. The possible bankruptcy snowball you speak of has always existed. I believe the snowball here was respresentative of the new hope we all feel in the SLPS and the change that is soon to come, and I have to agree...Brenda should just leave.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 11:17:00 PM
Brenda, Don't leave. We need people like you who use their voice. It's easy to leave, the hard thing is to stand up for your child's rights. Hang in there and do what you know is fair and right. Don't let these bloggers shut you down. They obviously don't have as much at stake.
Thursday, June 15, 2006 7:15:00 AM
Brenda, is not in the least bit concerned about making a difference. Brenda just wants to complain. That is evident by all of her blogs. Quite frankly I think Brenda could benefit from the Parent Resources Dr. Williams has set up. Brenda's language alone leaves a lot to be desired for the 'outside of school' education her/our children get. And yes, I have a lot on the line as well as a parent of a SLPS student.
Thursday, June 15, 2006 10:58:00 AM
I have a hard time believing you are a parent of a slps child. If so you wouldn't feel the need to be anonymous and you would be supportive of this parent and her concerns.
Thursday, June 15, 2006 3:03:00 PM
First, I can be ananymous because I choose to be right now. Second, I am just so tired of the way things have been and now I am an agent for change. Parents like Brenda make me weary because we already know what's wrong with the SLPS...I am interested in seeing things fixed. Excuse me if I don't think the way you expect a SLPS parent to be.
Friday, June 16, 2006 12:05:00 AM
your right, you don't have ANYTHING at stake it's your childs education that's at stake here. We need to stop thinking about ourselves and put our children and their education first.
Friday, June 16, 2006 7:16:00 AM
If any of you truely cared for your children's education, you would send them to private schools and not deal with this SLPS mess.
Thursday, August 03, 2006 11:55:00 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home