Volume 17 October 19, 2009
Things have been busy on the forum lately. You’ve had lots to say about whether or not the district should bus every child, and Sunday’s D&C article about unequal spending on different city schools started discussion as well. Now there’s news of more cuts to the state education budget, which can only make those conversations more difficult. Want more bus service? Where’s the money coming from? Does creating equity have to mean taking away from some city schools to give to others? Is there even anything left to cut?
The one thing missing from the conversation is YOU! We appreciate all the visitors to our site so much - and we’d really love to hear from more of you. If you’re timid about getting into a political discussion, then share what you make your kids for lunch, or your ideas for fundraising, at the Question of the Week. Your voice is what makes the forum valuable!
From our latest posts …
On different city schools receiving different levels of funding from the district:
(Response to an article Sunday in the Democrat & Chronicle)
I just want to point out that at various points in the article it is implied that experienced teachers = good teachers. I don’t think is a fair statement AT ALL! There are a couple of teachers at our school that immediately come to mind, first and second year teachers, that are equally good if not better at educating our students than some of the veterans. One new staff member has also become a leader in our PTA and is helping connect our parents to our staff. Sometimes you don’t get what you pay for. In these cases we get MORE than what we’ve paid for - and the opposite may also be true at times.
Second, when will the teachers union and central office staff realize that the goal for each should be to educate our children?! There are requests to be “invited to the table” for discussions and being asked for input. How about we all just assume there is ONE table that doesn’t require either an invitation or an RSVP!
On new paperwork for field trips:
Just found out my child’s field trip is cancelled tomorrow because of a paperwork issue. The teacher just found out yesterday that she needed to complete yet more paperwork for the school nurse, at least 1 week prior to the field trip. Since she just found out yesterday, the trip is now cancelled. Unfair to the kids, the teachers and an inconvenience for the parents who were planning on taking the day off to go to the field trip with their kids.
On how schools use federal parent involvement (Title 1) funds:
The money has been used for a bunch of things: it helps with the costs of our end-of-year picnic and 6th grade & K moving up ceremonies, we’ve had a family yoga night, brought in a speaker to talk about dealing with tweens, books for kids in Saturday school, it pays for the communication folders every student has for homework . . . I’m sure there’s more.
The only problem is that getting the money is a nightmare. It’s an incredibly tortuous process (multiple forms to be filled in, often the same form more than once) that takes months. A couple of times the PTA has had to foot the bill for something because vendors are fed up of waiting so long to be paid and then the PTA has to try and get reimbursed. Also, there seems to be no way to get the money early in the school year, which is the best time to really try and do something about parent involvement, which is after all what the money is supposed to be spent on!
On the district’s graduation rate (from City paper):
City Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard has repeatedly said that his goal is to increase Rochester’s graduation rate to 75 percent by 2012. And he has made headway. The district’s graduation rate has inched over 50 percent, up from 39 percent two years ago.
But it’s possible, Brizard says, that the graduation rate will dip again. The potential drop has to do with changes imposed by the NYS Education Department.
Albany is phasing out local high-school diplomas, which allow students to graduate with a passing grade of 55 on final exams. New York will soon grant Regents diplomas only. Regents exams are given as final exams in five subjects: math, science, comprehensive English, global studies, and US history and government. A grade of 65 or better is required to pass those exams.
…The tougher requirements may mean that more students will need more than four years to pass all five Regents exams. And that could drag down graduation rates for the big five urban school districts, Brizard says, which includes Rochester.
Plus … favorite fall activities, state budget cuts, why our improved math scores might not mean much, more debate on bus service, ideas for bag lunches … and more!
Question of the Week:
What’s Your Favorite Fund Raiser?
What are the best fund raisers — at your school, your church, or other community organizations? What are the most popular fund raisers … which ones are the most successful?
Share your ideas at http://flowercityparents.org/forum/index.php?board=24.0
Feel free to answer previous questions of the week, too!
From our calendar:
Thursday, October 22 - School Board meeting
Saturday, October 24 - Open House & Community Read-In at all city branch libraries, Family Science Day at Sully Library
Tuesday, November 3 - No School (Superintendent’s Day)
Final Thoughts - Where’s the Parent Council?
If you had a child in the District last year, you may remember hearing about a district-wide Parent Council. There were calls for nominees. There were mailings with information about the nominees. There were robo-calls urging us to vote. There was voting. And then … silence.
So where’s the Parent Council? Do we have a Parent Council? A recent editorial in the Democrat & Chronicle said Superintendent Brizard “isn’t pleased with the initial effort” and “is right to try again.” Do the parents elected last year know that? (Who were the parents elected last year?) Let’s hope they’re not investing time in a cause the District has already written off.
When representatives of Flower City Parents Network met with the superintendent last spring, we suggested taking advantage of the elected parent representatives each school already has (or should have): school-based planning team representatives and PTA/PTO/PTSA leaders. That hasn’t happened - but we still think it’s a good idea. 
Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel every few years (this is at least the third Parent Council effort in recent memory) what about supporting the parents who are already involved, and helping expand their numbers?
We care about our children’s education and the health of the District. We want to help - but in ways that can really make a difference. There’s too much that needs to be done in our schools to waste time (and money) on elections and councils that go nowhere. If there’s a reason the Parent Council isn’t happening - let us know! And let’s move on.
Thanks for your support -
Sincerely,
Hilary Appelman, Elizabeth Bakari, Lori Bryce