“Officials rack brains-why did grades fail?” reads the headline. What a misleading headline. It probably should have read: “Breaking news - officials have brains!” The Osceola County School Board has spewed the same rhetoric since they all took office. Every time the FCAT scores are released we’re told: “We’ll have to evaluate the data and make improvements and corrections where they are needed.” When school grades come out every year we are told: “We’ll evaluate the data and make improvements and corrections where they are needed.” Well, more than 3/4 of Osceola County’s schools either maintained or fell in letter grades –not an impressive number and not a great indicator of a quality community. A recent Workforce Central Florida survey reported that most employers feel that a better K-12 grade education is needed for a better and stronger workforce.
Based on last week’s school board meeting statements, the parents are to blame. Is it true? But at the same time the school board says that the reason they need the government subsidized housing project in St. Cloud is so they can attract qualified teachers. Well, how did we get the teachers that are teaching here now? Aren’t they qualified enough? There are no government subsidized housing projects now. Is the school board accurate to say that it’s the parents fault and the teacher’s fault that the schools perform so poorly? We don’t think so. The parents in this community are hard-working people that are doing the best they can for their families. Sure there are a few bad apples but what barrel doesn’t have a few bad apples? Our teachers are the best there is, in fact they are so good that the school board gave them a raise this year, making them among the highest paid teachers in Central Florida. So why is the school board blaming everybody else? Because it’s easy. Responsibility is a hard pill to swallow. But we believe that when you're sick, you need to take your medicine if you’re going to get better. Don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cold. The only problem with this analogy is that a cold will usually get better on it's own, and that is not going to happen with this cold known as the Osceola County School Board. How do we know this? Look at the recent history of our schools. Backsliding grades, increasing discipline problems, and more money being spent than ever before to accomplish these falling standards. Any doctor would look at a chart with that kind of data, and declare there is a problem. We also highly doubt that the prescription to make the patient better comes in the form of a government subsidized housing project, or a $185,000 DVD that blames the parents for the lack of educational increases in our community, or spending money on customer service posters detailing how administration personnel and teachers need to improve their customer services skills. Now those are hard pills to swallow.
The buck stops with the Osceola County School Board Members who are responsible for the state of our schools. Perhaps if we built a subsidized housing project to attract qualified school board members our schools and kids would start scoring better, but then again, school board members probably don't want to live in projects either.
Based on last week’s school board meeting statements, the parents are to blame. Is it true? But at the same time the school board says that the reason they need the government subsidized housing project in St. Cloud is so they can attract qualified teachers. Well, how did we get the teachers that are teaching here now? Aren’t they qualified enough? There are no government subsidized housing projects now. Is the school board accurate to say that it’s the parents fault and the teacher’s fault that the schools perform so poorly? We don’t think so. The parents in this community are hard-working people that are doing the best they can for their families. Sure there are a few bad apples but what barrel doesn’t have a few bad apples? Our teachers are the best there is, in fact they are so good that the school board gave them a raise this year, making them among the highest paid teachers in Central Florida. So why is the school board blaming everybody else? Because it’s easy. Responsibility is a hard pill to swallow. But we believe that when you're sick, you need to take your medicine if you’re going to get better. Don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cold. The only problem with this analogy is that a cold will usually get better on it's own, and that is not going to happen with this cold known as the Osceola County School Board. How do we know this? Look at the recent history of our schools. Backsliding grades, increasing discipline problems, and more money being spent than ever before to accomplish these falling standards. Any doctor would look at a chart with that kind of data, and declare there is a problem. We also highly doubt that the prescription to make the patient better comes in the form of a government subsidized housing project, or a $185,000 DVD that blames the parents for the lack of educational increases in our community, or spending money on customer service posters detailing how administration personnel and teachers need to improve their customer services skills. Now those are hard pills to swallow.
The buck stops with the Osceola County School Board Members who are responsible for the state of our schools. Perhaps if we built a subsidized housing project to attract qualified school board members our schools and kids would start scoring better, but then again, school board members probably don't want to live in projects either.
7 comments:
But they can dance! Well at least a couple of them can dance. And their favorite dance is the Hustle.
Get'em WayneWho! Keep'em honest.
What is scary is that todays Osceola News-Gazette article proves your point. The School Board is creating several "administrative" positions for the upcoming school year - all in an attempt to reverse low-test scores and poor-performin schools. It also says that they are creating more top-level positions including a chief administrator to oversee two deputy superintendents. All of this is treating the symptom and never address the cold. And the scariest comment of all: "if it takes us a little more money to get results, then I,m all for it." Just keep throwing or tax money at the schools and we might soon see all of the schools failing!
That picture represents every politician that we have sitting in all of our governments. The only thing the x-ray does not show is the defect ear canal that would allow the normal person to listen. All these poor politicians can do is make snap decisions using their undersized tool set.
Maybe it should be elected offical subsidized housing. We can just dump them all in once place so we can keep an eye on them.
I think the fact that the Osceola News Gazette was able to put a real article together is scary. Quick, through in some more advertising.
REMEMBER THE SAYING "TOO MANT CHIEFS AND NOT ENOUGH INDIANS"? WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS A WAY FOR STAFF TO SHIFT BLAME AWAY FROM A FAILURE (MUSE) AND MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THEY ARE ADDRESSING AN ISSUE. IT DOESN'T WORK IN BUSINESS AND IT WILL FAIL HERE. THE GREER GANG NEEDS TO BREAK AWAY FROM A LOCK STEP AND END THE PROBLEM WITH A PROMISE OF A SOLUTION, A NEW SUPERINTENDANT. WITHOUT THAT, OUR KIDS FAIL AND SO DOES OUR FUTURE.
I am trying to place a new teacher in one of my rentals. The family of 10 is coming from Colorado on a "conditional contract." It somehow escapes the school board that drug testing can be done in any state.
I call the school she will be teaching at, and they never heard of her. I called human resources and they never heard of her. I called the Education Foundation and they will not return my phone calls.
No wonder they cannot hire out of state teachers.
It's time for a whole new school board
Tom Long
President
Osceola County Landlords Association
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