St. Louis Schools Watch

ABOUT THE WATCH

"The St. Louis Schools Watch was founded on the premises that parental and community involvement are needed for good schools to flourish, and that public participation is a cornerstone of democracy. The Watch offers information and analysis that we hope contributes to a public debate over what changes are necessary to improve St. Louis public schools, and what works."

-- Peter Downs, Founder

Got a press release, news tip or rumor to share? Maybe a suggestion on how we can improve this site? Email us at editor@pubdef.net

Or call our 24-hour Tip Line at (314) 518-2364. All tips are confidential.

VIDEO: Committee to Look at SLPS 'Turmoil'

By Antonio D. French

Filed Friday, July 28 at 10:51 AM

As we reported yesterday, State Education Commissioner Kent King has appointed five people to a special committee charged with analyzing the current state of St. Louis Public Schools and making recommendations to the Missouri Board of Education on how the state can best help the district become successful.

"My biggest concern frankly is not who's administering, but the stability that needs to be in place so kids have a chance to learn," said King. He noted the sudden departure of Superintendent Creg Williams two weeks ago and the continuing conflicts on the school board.

After having just two superintendents in the 12 years before the April 2003 school board election, SLPS has since gone through five district leaders in just over three years.

1 Comments:

Anonymous said...

The appointment of the special committee by D. Kent King, Commissioner of Education signals the first step in the State’s takeover of the District. First, D. Kent King and the State Board of Education declined to get involved of the turmoil within the district when the former majority board decided to hired William Roberti as Superintendent. Moreover, the state board declined to get involved despite the protestations and request by the community and parents that the state become involved with the situation in the district. Yet, D. Kent King chides parents for their lack of involvement in the affairs of the district. Here was a situation where the school board had hired an individual with no educational background or credentials. Weren’t they (State board) concerned about,” the continuing turmoil in the St. Louis Public Schools” when the school board decided to hire an individual with no educational background or credentials to lead the St. Louis Public Schools.
Secondly, we have the same cast of recycled characters appointed to the board. Dr. Donald Suggs was one of the main individuals responsible for the hiring of William Roberti. What has been the outcome of this appointment? Instead of being two points away from accreditation, the district is now many more points away form accreditation. Is this what we are to expect with his continued involvement in the schools? Then we have attorney Frankie M. Freeman who openly supported James Buford and Ms. Clinksdale the two school board members who were recently defeated in the April elections. How objective can she be? The same can be said for Dr. William H. Danforth. These two individuals were silent when the management team took over and started to dismantle the district.
The fix is in. The power brokers have started to use their proxies to attain their goals.

Sunday, July 30, 2006 12:21:00 AM