Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. So goes the continuing saga of Danville Public Schools. The lions are at the door in regards to the principal of GWHS. Someone is finally waking up and looking at the travesty that is taking place there.
In a set of recent posts on a national website the public has begun to express their concerns about how things are going at GWHS. One post from a parent:
“GW is a school that has past its prime. The administration is weak and the superintendent even weaker. Security is the only thing good about the school. The once great GW is but a tarnished has been as it slowly sinks deeper. Only an overhaul of the administration and school board could save this school.” Submitted by a parent
And another one:
“This school has good teachers, but a terrible environment for a child to work in. The school is full of dangerous people and becomes more and more like a penitentiary every day. The school has cameras and tall fences(Which have done no good), but ten year old books.”
I guess the next new position at DPS will be a full time press agent to twist around the words like the Register & Rag does. Wonder why you never read anything negative about DPS? This is because the local newspaper has been bought and sold by the politicians in Danville. Can’t sell the mythical new companies on Danville if anything “negative” is in the paper. What a poor excuse for a newspaper. Bring back the old weekly paper in Danville. How much worse could it be?
Back to GWHS the administration is now allowing juniors to go off campus on Friday for lunch. Please, have the administrators lost their mind? Does anyone know of any other school in Virginia that allows the students to leave the campus in the middle of the day for lunch? The practice dates from years ago when GW had over 2,400 students. The cafeteria could not accommodate the students so seniors were allowed to leave. With the population at GW down to under 1,700 a schedule could be designed to keep the students on campus. Teachers and security report that more problems with drugs and drinking occur when students return from off campus lunch. But the brainless school board allows the practice to continue. As is always the case it will take a serious event to occur before they will suddenly wake up. Every bit of data for schools tells you that controlled supervision is the safest way to run a school. When a student is killed or seriously injured, god forbid, I hope the families sues the pants off the school district for gross negligence. GW, oh GW what have you become?
UPDATE: After a previous blog pointed out the huge number of discipline cases in DPS the edict has come down from the concrete castle that referrals will be curtailed. Now teachers report the discipine referrals are not being acted on and in fact are being trashed. So much for working together with the teachers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I'm a current student at G.W. and after reading this article I'm filled with confusion.
The quote, “This school has good teachers, but a terrible environment for a child to work in. The school is full of dangerous people and becomes more and more like a penitentiary every day. The school has cameras and tall fences(Which have done no good), but ten year old books.” is cited as a "recent post", but according to http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=416&state=VA&sortBy=dd&pager.offset=4 , the original post was made September 18, 2003, over 5 years ago. G.W. has since gained an entirely new administrative staff as well as DPS gaining a new superintendent. Since this quote and the other were made with almost 5 years in between, it can hardly be classified as a "set".
Also, the initial quote claims that GW "is a tarnished has-been" that is "slowly sinking deeper". According to the preliminary data from the VA department of Education, G.W. has made state NCLB AYP goals for 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008, maintaining its accreditation ever since the restructuring of the school board. School attendance for G.W. is experiencing a peak and overall school enrollment is up. Our sports teams are doing well, including our second place state finish in basketball 2 years ago. our competitive Academic team won the Northwest Region last year, finishing in the best 8 at the state finals. G.W. also placed 3rd in the state in the Wachovia Academic Cup this past year. I don't see how our school can be considered to be "sinking deeper" when considering that.
This article makes reference to the Register & Bee never criticizing the DPS school system. While there are relatively little news stories with negative slants, you also must consider that there has been very little negativity lately. When something happens, it will be reported.
here is a story on criminal charges against a Pittsylvania County busdriver
http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/school_bus_accident_results_in_reckless_driving_charge/7824/
and here is a reprinted story (albeit an older one) over an unpopular move by DPS
http://www.insidehazing.com/headline.php?id=614
A lack of negative stories does not necessarily mean that there is something not being reported.
This entry cites the now defunct policy of allowing juniors to go off campus for lunch on Fridays is a bad thing. You mention that with "only" 1,700 students there could be a schedule that could keep all students on campus.Even with 4 split lunch periods, the cafeteria is crowded. If you can think of a feesable schedule, that can fit the criteria without extending hours, I'm sure the school board and G.W. administrators would overwhelmingly approve it. Also, only juniors who have honor roll and no disciplinary problems are allowed to leave. This is an incentive to students to improve for more privileges.
You mention that unidentitfied "teachers and security report that more problems with drugs and drinking occur when students return from off campus lunch." I don't understand this. If a student has it in their mind to take drugs, they will do so, whether on or off campus, before, during, or after school. There doesn't seem to be any correlation with these numbers, so scapegoating an off campus lunch privelege does nothing to help.
There is also a mention that "data for schools tells you that controlled supervision is the safest way to run a school" but in an above quote, there is criticism that G.W. " becomes more and more like a penitentiary every day. The school has cameras and tall fences but ten year old books If we students need controlled supervision then why cite a source that looks unfavorably upon measures to add "controlled supervision."
We are facing tough econmic times, and Gov. kaine has announced educational budget cuts. I understand that there may be some resentment over certain policies, however given the limited budget that is allotted to southside, I believe G.W. is faring well.
The post here by the user iconoclast is an awesome retort to a narrowminded ramblings of "The Centurian". Lynn Hoffman is a teacher at Galileo High School and seems to be bent on showing off her lack of grammar skills and amount of extra time based on these rants. Do yourself a favor and ignore them much like SPAM mails or toilet tissue caught on the bottom of your shoe.
Ms Sue Davis of the Danville Public Schools brought the Lynchburg-danville register & rag publisher Steve Kaylor into the local Rotary Club.He owes her. To get him to "ONLY" have positive stories about the schools in the paper and not the truth about whats really going on in the schools.I know kids who are in the band so they can bring their lunch and eat and use the bathroom on that end of the school. Others who chekout and go home to use the bathroom because its not safe at GWHS which has hundreds of video cameras in and around the school.I have a friend who teaches in the public school and says if they send a student out of class and to the office they would be the one that would get in trouble.If a student calls them a S.O.B. in class all they are allowed to say is "Thank You for sharing that with the class". Ask any teacher you know and they can tell you exactly how many days,hours and minutes till they can retire.If a student is not in class the schools arent getting their money.Gang members everywhere.I remember years back when Westwood school first opened and the students trashed the bathrooms and puled the urinals off the wallsand flooded the bathrooms.Another teacher friend said the principal threated the teachers to tell no one especially the media.She would get them fired.At GWHS they had to padlock the toilet paper rolls to prevent students from flushing them and flooding the bathrooms there.The stuff paper in the sinks and leave the water running to flood them.I could write forever.
You are right on the money. Your site is witty, timely, pertinent, and politically necessary.
I’m sure you have heard all the rumors about Mr. Cheng (being fired abruptly without notice, being escorted out of his office, being denied time to gather his personal belongings, broken leg, etc.). Please tell your readers what really transpired. Will Mr. Cheng’s position be eliminated or refilled? Also, please identify the IAT positions that have been altered (either by position termination, employee firing, or employee replacement. There are some useless positions at IAT that should have been eliminated and more that needed personnel replacement due to incompetence and/or ignorance. Believe it or not, there are some members of the IAT staff who work their butts off and do a GREAT job. Unfortunately, others exceed uselessness. I hope the IAT “clean-up” was beneficial to students and teachers and not just another lame-brained scheme by the SBO to “do something, even if it’s wrong.”
Post a Comment