Replacing teachers with administrators? Anyone think this is a good idea?

Something to think about:  will this newly re-assigned teacher/administrator have her heart in the classroom?

Mr. Taplin,

You seem angry and biased in your views of the Ridgway Schools.  The administration and the school board have many years of experience and are the experts in running school districts - not parents.  Parents are partners with teachers, staff and administration.  They should not dicate how the school should run.  Can you only imagine if every parent had it "their way".  There would be strife and mayhem because every parent would want it their way!  No one would be able to agree on anything.  It is best to leave the running of school districts to the experts that have been hired and the school board that the county has voted for.

You should take into consideration the other side of story before ranting on and on and on....... 

Nenana

The only way that experts earn the trust of the people who HIRED them or voted them into office is by performing and communicating professionally. The arrogant idea that someone who is labeled an expert no longer has to explain or justify their actions is unacceptable.

When I have gone to the school administration with questions and request for information, their responses have been exactly like your message. "Run along and let the adults do their job." When I attended a school board meeting to get a clearer understanding of why some decisions were made, I was shocked and saddened by the utter lack of professionalism, preparation and thought going into the decisions. I was appalled that the board would declare in public "Parents dont run the school, we do." The board and administration must answer to the parents and community for the decisions they make. They are responsible to provide the best possible education for our children given the available resources.

I have very real concerns about the handling of our school's resources and the educational choices they are making.

I believe that there should be public discussion of these topics.

Do you have a specific opinion on the topic I raised or are you just annoyed that I have the temerity to disagree with the school administration? Don't you think it would be better to consolidate the two principals and superintendent into 2 positions so that we can keep more of the current faculty in place? Since there is not any open discussion available to me, I don't know whether these options have been considered.

I think it would be great to have further discussion here.  I'd love to get more people involved in this process.

Seeing how the taxes we pay fund these schools parents should have the right and ability to be diirectly involved.  US school systems are pathetic in large part due tomparents not giving a darn and relying on schools to raise and discipline their kids.  Parents get invovled, this is your school!

Hot topics sell newspapers!  What would we do in Ridgway if we did not have the school to gossip and complain about?  Instead of  being so negative all the time, what about all of us working together!  What a concept.........

Lets start by hearing your opinion on the topic at hand? I know that I'm not the only one with similar concerns as I've had several parents stop me to comment.

I believe that in every comment I have made, I've asked for more thoughts and input from others. I'd love to hear thoughts on how the school is being run, what thought processes are leading to the changes and how those changes are meant to bring about positive change in our local education system. I know that many other local parents share my concerns and frustrations with lack of information and lack of access to the process. I have to assume that there are some who are happy with how things are being run (haven't heard from or talked to any of them) and I'd like to hear what their thoughts are as well.

Mr. Taplin,You seem angry and biased in your views of the Ridgway Schools.  The administration and the school board have many years of experience and are the experts in running school districts - not parents.  Parents are partners with teachers, staff and administration.  They should not dicate how the school should run.  Can you only imagine if every parent had it "their way".  There would be strife and mayhem because every parent would want it their way!  No one would be able to agree on anything.  It is best to leave the running of school districts to the experts that have been hired and the school board that the county has voted for.You should take into consideration the other side of story before ranting on and on and on.......  Nenana

-nenana

That's just one model, and one that I think can leave some mediocre results: Involved, active parents can be a huge asset, and that's been something that's been ignored in the school system a lot recently.

Kids learn no matter what you do. Making sure they have access to good resources only speeds and expands the process.

Teachers are just one such resource.

I've seen the results of parents having it their way, and it works.

Ultimately, it's about the educational opportunities that we as people have, and not about who should be in charge. Framing it that way is the biggest disrespect to a parent who is trying to get what's best for their kid. The school board is certainly not infallible, nor have they even been transparent about many matters lately, so it is impossible to know if they're making good decisions.

The "We know best" model has been frustrating parents in this town for a long time, to the detriment to a bunch of kids who would benefit from other approaches, alternatives, and the support of the school system.

Aria Stewart
Unschooled, now business owner.

I certainly must disagree with the statement "The administration and the school board have many years of experience and are the experts in running school districts - "  This School Board has almost no experience in education except for one member who I believe was a past principal.  The rest are Moms and Dads, business people in the area.  Good people but they do not know education nor do most of them have any experience in running a profitable business.  And believe it or not education, schools must be run with sound business practices in place.  Ridgway does not do this.  The fly by the seat of their pants most of the time!  I have been in the community many years and this opinion comes from experience.  The teachers are afraid of the Admin and the School Board because they seem to have "hidden agends"  All the teachers want to do is have a stable work environment.  What do you think of a Board that can't keep Principals?  This school has had about 7+ principals in the last 10 years.  Do you think that leads to teachers feeling they are in a consistant work environment when each new Principal comes in and changes everything.  Imagine going to work and the intire management team is changed on a yearly basis. This community must take a look at what the Board and Admin is doing to this school! 

I see the environment of fear and mistrust between the teaching staff and the administration as the single biggest challenge in being able to improve our school district. I think that it would be a useful practice to work as parents to build a more effective direct communication channel between the teaching staff and the parents. I have spoken to many parents who would like to find ways to help support the teachers but have not been able to get enough information to provide useful assistance.

I would propose the first Saturday of each month, any interested teacher or parent meet at the Cimmaron Bookstore coffeeshop at 730 am for a friendly discussion of the current state of affairs. I expect that we'll evolve some sort of discussion protocol, but I would love to start with getting to know each other and finding out what sorts of supplies and physical assistance are needed that would be most useful to the classrooms. I think that by better understanding the challenges and successes of our teachers, we as parents can be more effectively involved both in the classroom and in our input to the administration and school board.

I know that our teachers work long hours and if they aren't still working on school business on the weekend, they value their time away, but I'd hope that we could get a few each month to find the time to come chat with us. I hope that by getting to know them better, it will be easier to have other discussions on an even less formal basis.

If you are a teacher reading this, please consider it an invite, if a parent please join us and please pass along to other parents and teachers the same invitation.

If we hear enough interest it may be worth trying to have a trial run this weekend?

Looking forward to more input from the proverbial peanut gallery.