If Being Early Helps, Why Not Open Earlier?

Since Elementary school, I have wondered why the begging of school schedule and lunch times were so rushed.  A recent letter from the Walnut Hill Elementary reminded me just how crazy the school mornings are.  Mentioned in the letter, the school doors open at 8:20 am, and are literally locked until that time.  The bell to be in calls is 8:35 am.  That gives children who show up when the doors are unlocked only 15 minutes for breakfast and to get to class.  Also in the letter is a statement that basically says statistics prove that kids who get to class on time or early perform better.  It seems, schedule wise, kids here are set up for failure then.  I expressed this concern to my representative on the School Board.  Why not open the doors at 8:10, at least for the kids dropped off by parents?  If it is so important for our children to be early, perhaps the schedule should be adjusted to help support just that, instead of the exact opposite.  Here is a shining example of something very simple we could do to help our kids succeed.  Teacher and administrators just have to show the same initiative to get to school early too, a problem I noticed last year.  Having the kids early to class does no good if the teachers are not prepared.

Establishing Lines of Communication

As a parent, it is part of your job to establish lines of communication, if nothing else, with the school and school system your child attends, regardless of whether you able attend School Board meetings, PTA meetings, or school functions.  I was lucky enough to meet in person my representative on the School Board yesterday.

I raised concerns over recent personnel decisions our School System made and also wanted to inform him about the blog.  We had a nice meeting, I shared my many ideas, surely, delivered in a whirlwind, "all over the place" manor...but he did take notes.  I found him open to ideas, not afraid to admit the shortcomings, and aware of the many challenges we face here in Petersburg.  We spoke for over an hour.  I did not hear any solutions, grand master plans for revitalization, or the "out of the box" thinking I was hoping for, but I did see a person open to suggestions, dedicated to improvements, and equally as distraught about the condition of Petersburg Schools.  I think we also agree that just doing things the way we always have or doing things as other schools system do are never going to work to improve our schools.  

As a Petersburg parent and resident, I feel better by having established this connection.  Each parent who cares needs to follow my lead....call or email your representative on the School Board, go to your child's Open House, meet the teachers and principles...establish lines of communication even if you may never attend School Board Meetings or PTA Meetings.  Only then, can we hold them even partially accountable.  Only the combined efforts of parents, the community, the entire School System, City Council, the State of Virginia, and perhaps many more can maybe solve the major issues our schools face.

California Cares About All Their Kids

Virginia is a state where you can find a lot of both worlds...beaches or mountains, rich or poor, country and urban...our schools are much the same way. Schools in Northern Virginia, Prince George, Charlottesville, and many other areas are considered top-notch school systems, while neighboring counties and cities, like Sussex, Petersburg, and Norfolk struggle and are, frankly, deplorable and sometimes dangerous.  In a state with a giant amount of surplus tax revenue, there is no excuse for this much difference in the quality of the schools in Virginia.  

What is better to invest in than our children and our future?  

Virginia has BILLIONS just sitting in the bank, shouldn't they invest in struggling schools in Virginia?  in Petersburg!??!?

Well, they are trying do just that in California.  This has also happened in New York and Hawaii.

Read here:

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/19/212294111/california-upends-school-funding-to-give-poor-kids-a-boost

These are the kind of things any resident can push and support to help our City.  There is still a ton of questions on how we could use that money...but at this point, I think we have to try something.

You Have Questions, I Have Answers!

A few people asked questions that I really wanted to answer to every reader on the blog.

"Why did you start this blog?"

First, I though it would be nice for me, and other Petersburg Alumni, to share the stories we never told anyone...both good and bad.  When creating the blog, though, I felt a calling to have a place to publicly post the things people need to stop trying to "put behind them".  There is no need for a "fresh start", we need to learn from our history if we aim to not repeat it.  Since the first day, I have had almost 100 hits a day.  People care more when informed...even people who no longer live here.  Each parent, and really each citizen, need to know what we are up against and NOT just say, "Fresh Start"..."We have Hope"...hope is for the weak, we need to be determined, driven, and focused on one thing, the best damn schools money can buy.  Enough with "tip-toe'ing" around, avoiding "stepping on toes"...this year, I am stomping feet and sweeping legs out from under these people...change by force is necessary, because 40 years of "Hope" and "Fresh Starts" has resulted in generations of damaged young adults, some of which never recover.


"Don't you think this blog will do more harm then good?"

Really, what could do much more damage then was already done by the hands of incapable people.  Knowledge is power, even the bad stuff.  If a teacher, principle, administrator, or school board member knows that any miss dealings will result in posts on public blogs, for the world to see, perhaps, just maybe, they will do their jobs better.  Besides, it is our right as a citizen of the United States of America to have freedom of speech...and this kind of issue (and many others in Petersburg) are precisely why that right was preserved.  The State of Virginia has proven to me that despite 40+ plus years of poor performance and declining conditions, they have no interest in stepping in and correcting these issues...it is up to only the Citizens of this town to create the change we need to happen.  There should be 100 blogs like this...any communication, at this point, is positive.

Suspension by Letter.

Walnut Hill Elementary has a new principle, but I see that the school system chose not to find a better qualified person, but again, just moved up another person who is neither qualified for the position nor shows the character and drive it takes to be a principle at a struggling City school.  Though it is only hear-say, I heard the former principle was found to not have the proper degree for the position, and furthermore, was just bad at the job...so surprise there.

So I had personal interactions with this new Principle last year.  You may have read my post about Suspending Kindergartners (http://petersburgschools.blogspot.com/2013/08/suspending-kindergartners.html)...yeah, that was her.  So, besides the Suspension, it was how it was handled that angered me the most.  My son got into some altercation, while not being properly supervised, that they could only categorize as a "Physical Altercation" because that was the only thing that seemed to fit from their preformed list of offenses...really, he just pushed a bully down and defended himself, something I wish I would have done at his age.  The event happened late on a Friday.  Though the teacher promptly wrote up the offense, the (then) assistant principle simply did not have time to handle it right away.  On the following Tuesday, my son brought a letter home, informing me of the suspension.  No one ever called and explained the situation...and here I am, 5 days later, trying to pry what happened out of a 5 year old.  Needless to say, I was very upset.  Part of my appeal process put be right across the desk from her, where I ask some hard questions.

When asked about why she didn't call me or handle the situation promptly, I was told she did not have time and had other obligations.  

When I asked about other forms of punishment, I was told they did not have resources for anything other than suspension...no ISS, no detention, no counseling..."just send them home" seems to be the "go-to" discipline.

She asked me if I "would want to be contacted in the future if there were issues?"  Really, she had to ask that?  YES!  I want to know everything I can about things like this, RIGHT AWAY, so I can make sure to do my job as a parent so that it will never happen again. 

I asked about her if she had spoken with the teacher or either child, she said no. 

With the kindness and calm demeanor of a saint, I had at her for almost 30 minutes, asking tough questions, and every question was poorly answered...and I have proof.

After all that, I still had to sit in front of the Principle to get my appeal...which was ONLY given because of the hours I spent dealing with the situation....TIME THEY should have spent DOING THEIR JOB from the moment this event happened!  This had nothing to do with race, this one was just plain "being bad at your job" and not caring.

So nice to see that our School Board and Superintendent are "Aiming for the Stars" with every principle they put into power....jeez people, at least use common sense.

True Stories - A Child's First Day at Peabody

This is the first installment of "True Stories", a regular posting series which will be mostly comprised of anonymously told true stories about the Petersburg Public Schools.  Sometimes, like the one presented today, they will be told in the 1st Person.  This story is not mine, but at times, I will be sharing my own stories and hope others will contact me and do the same.   

People need to hear these stories.  

I think most of us didn't even share with our parents just how bad things were.

For the first story, I am glad to have the opportunity to share...

"A Child's First Day at Peabody"

I am sure most kids are excited to move on to Middle School.  I was scared to death.  I thought 5th grade was bad, but I had kind of found my comfort zone there...had my friends...and kind of knew everyone in my grade...but now, I am going to Peabody, to be mixed in with kids I don't know.  Peabody was well known for it's reputation, even among 5th graders.  Peabody Middle School is in a rough neighborhood.  We never even drive through that neighborhood...I mean, it was a scary place.  Boarded up structures on the property, huge fence (like a prison)...I had only seen it a few times, but it gave off the same feeling you get from a haunted house.

The bus ride in was about normal...with a few older faces I knew from the neighborhood.  I could tell right away, though, I was going to stick out like a sore thumb.  As the bus approached the school, I got this feeling, one not unlike the feeling you might get if a cop was pulling you over.  There were so many buses and the yard was just full of kids.  As the door opened, I certainly was not the first to jump up.  I swear I didn't make it 5 feet before I was spotted by a group much older kids.  A group of 4 boys began to circle me, bumping me around then kind of filed to my side.  "I got you, white boy" one said, while gesturing to his eyes, before making his way into the school.  I had not noticed, but an assistant principle was not far behind me, walking my way.  Lucky, I guess.  Well, little did I know that a week later the same kid would prove to me that luck runs out, but that is another story by itself.

The buses drop you out back, and most everyone funnels into this narrowing area between buildings.  On my walk into the school, I noticed how filthy the ground was...mashed trash all over, soiled pavement covered in some kind of grease or tar, the smell of garbage...really classy place for kids.  Trying to get into the building was much like trying to get into a packed night club.  I entered into a packed stairwell, I filed into the crowd, head down, hoping to just get to my class.  The place looked about as bad inside as it did outside.  Peabody has several halls, wings, stairwells...plenty of hiding places for mischief, and trust me, even on the first day, mischief was all about.  I noticed very few teachers dare police the hallways.  I made it to my first class.  This year, we would rotate classrooms...something that I was not crazy about.  Sure, the high-school kids on TV did it, and it looked like fun to them, but for me, it just meant more exposure to danger.  Clearly, this place was as bad as I imagined.  Just about every teacher I encountered looked embattled, even on the first day...rarely smiling and seemingly not enjoying a minute of teaching here.  I had one nice math teacher, who seemed dedicated to making a difference...and, of course, she was constantly abused by the "bad seeds" in the room and had little control of the classroom.

The classrooms seemed to be the safer places in the school, yet still, you knew what laid outside the doors of the class...a kids hell, if you will....then, it was lunch time.  The lunch room was it's own nightmare, with clicks and tables...none of which I was welcomed too.  At that time, they had to actually reserve an area for the 6th grades because so many were shunned from other tables.  This area was where I sat...an area regularly pelted with food.  Getting your lunch was a chore, taking up almost all of the time you had.  In a way, I was glad to just be able to wolf down my food and get out of there.  Then, I realized that I had to pee.

The bathrooms where about what I imagined...radiators full of urine, no stall doors or privacy, and and lots of trouble makers.  Just like earlier in the day, the minute I walked into the bathroom, I was targeted.  A much older kid decided that I would look better with spit in my hair.  I knew better than fight back...after all, I was a foot shorter, 3 or 4 years younger, and would rather be spit on then beat to a pump.  I didn't do anything to cause that...I just had to pee.  Where would I pee next time?  How can I pee safely here?  What if I have to shit?

When my last class ended, I rushed like crazy to my bus, but did not miss out on several stiff blows to the back of my head by passer-bys...as "stole-ing" a person in the back of the head was a "in thing", so it seems.  Compared to a few others I witnessed, as I peered out of my bus window, I was lucky to have just had to deal with that.

Here I am, what, 10 years old, seemingly fighting for survival in a hostel environment, in the ghetto, surrounded by a lot of hate...and this is where I am to learn the foundation of teachings that I will need for success in High School?  I am supposed to be able to concentrate and learn tougher subjects and be challenged in an environment I can not even feel safe in?  A place I can not even take a leak in safely?

To this day, the school remains much the same.  Go tour it for yourself!  That school is one of the reasons our City and our Public Schools are not improving.  Anyone who has attended that school, if being honest, would tell you it should be closed.  No one should have to send there kids there.

Communication is the Key

Through my experiences with the Petersburg Public Schools, both as a student and as a parent of a student, I can tell you, despite the many other issues facing this school system, communication seems to be one of the biggest issues.  Almost every relationship related to the school has communications issues...between teachers and administrators....administrators and the School Board....between the teachers and the students....and, most importantly, the teachers and the parents.  So what causes these communication breakdowns?  Reputation has a lot to do with it.  Parents often have reservations about the school system, often starting off a conversation with disdain.  Teachers here are often overburdened and under-supported, which may cause them to show frustration or a lack of patience.  Administrators are under intense pressure and apply intense pressure on teachers to drive increased performance, especially on SOL's.  Though the cause of these issues is connected to real issues, out school system needs to find a way to put that aside and focus on what really matters, our children and their right to a quality education.  A better system should be in place, likely going beyond the scope of what any other school system has to establish, to inspire and support communication between the school system, parents and the community.

"Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success."  
 - Paul J. Myers

"Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind"
 - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Until communication is made to be a priority in the Petersburg Public Schools, our issues will continue.  It will take the combined strength and support of our entire community to begin to repair the damage done to the mismanaged Petersburg Public Schools over the past 40 years.

Suspending Kindergartners.

So, how do you feel about suspending Kindergartners?

Last year, I dealt with just that at Walnut Hill Elementary School, in Petersburg, VA.  My son had an issue with another student constantly messing with him.  Even at 5 years old, he was not going to take it.  When left unsupervised and pinched, he lashed back.  No one was hurt.  When I picked him up from school, the after-school care lady mentioned that "something had happened during school" and that I would get a call.  No call came.  For days, my son went to school, trouble free.  Then, 4 days later, a letter is sent home, suspending him for 2 days.  I was irate because of the nature of the "alleged" incident and the fact that I was never contacted.  So, in true blogger fashion, I penned this jewel of a letter to appeal the suspension, emailed it to my representative on the School Board, and delivered in hand to his principle.  I later met and spoke with the assistant principle, who issued the suspension.  When she was asked about alternative forms of punishment for children, she had no answer...they only had suspension.  Suspending very young children is cruel, unorthodox, and just lazy.  Teachers need to have the time and patience to help guide these young children, not just scare and shock them into submission.  Needless to say, it was repealed and my son only missed part of a day of school.

When I polled several retired elementary school teachers, including one principle, none of them had ever even heard of a Kindergartner being suspended for any reason.  So why is it different in Petersburg?  Well, for one, lack of experienced, properly trained Elementary School teachers.  I believe that the pressure from City officials and the School Board for improvements in SOL scores has created a hostile work environment.  There is no doubt in my mind that Petersburg teachers face more obstacles.  I am also sure that the children here are more challenging, most coming from low-income households.  Parents have been poorly welcomed into being involved in the schools for decades, so few parents visit the school on a regular basis.  

One thing is for sure...change is needed.  I know that if I witness my child, or any other child, being yelled at this year, I will be sure to personally belittle that teacher and complain/report them until the issue is resolved. I suppose the child should feel lucky he/she was yelled at and not just blindly and ignorantly suspended.  I plan on talking to the new principle, whoever that would be, about suspensions and alternative punishments that actually teach right from wrong, but I am just one parent and really, they should already know that suspension is a last resort kind of punishment for a young child.

I Must Need To YELL LOUDER!!!

I am sure most people with children have been guilty of raising their voice from time to time, but how would you like it if you found out the teachers and administrators at your child's school were yelling and screaming at your child?  Parents in Fluvanna, VA, did not take kindly to a former Petersburg principle Yardley Faruquharson constantly yelling at students at Fluvanna Middle School.  The concerned Fluvanna parents created and signed a petition to have Faruquharson removed.  

(Follow the story here:  http://tricities.nbc12.com/news/news/150493-fluvanna-parents-petition-have-former-petersburg-principal-removed)

I witnessed this issue on multiple trips to Walnut Hill Elementary, in Petersburg, last school year.  I found a hostile environment, lead by a principle and assistant principle who ruled with an iron fist over teachers all scared they could loose their jobs.  This created tension you could almost feel in the air as you walked around the school that surely was felt by our small children.  Teachers were under-supported, scared, and frustrated, willing to use any means necessary to get the upper hand on their classrooms, including "scare tactics" (like yelling and screaming).  My son was in kindergarten and on multiple occasions, I witnessed his teacher and several other kindergarten teachers screaming at our children.  Like the Fluvanna parents, I complained, to no avail.  The yelling continued and now my son was under an even larger "magnifying glass".  Seems in Petersburg, they do not like parents, much less ones who "make a splash".     

Welcome to the Truth!

For the past 40 years, the Virginia Department of Education, Petersburg City Leaders, and the people of Petersburg have turned a blind eye to the steady deterioration of Petersburg Public Schools.  The neglect shown by all responsible parties makes alumni and caring parents sick, and frankly, we are just not going to put up with it any longer.

This blog will be dedicated to sharing the real truth about Petersburg Public Schools (in Petersburg Virginia).  Expect to see stories and experiences (both past and present ), pictures of current conditions, current news and updates, and posts by past and present students and parents.

If you would like to contribute, please email me at cwbarr01@gmail.com .