This is a personal request, I am friendly with a live in nanny that has been with a family for the last 5 years. The children have outgrown the "need" and she is looking for a new position. I would highly recommend her, as she is really wonderful, trustworthy, and clearly devoted to these two children who will sorely miss her..
Please contact me via a comment (which will not be posted) and I will put you in touch with her.
Sorry to bother anyone who is not interested. - suzala
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Teacher's Planned Field Trip Gone Awry
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "If the Administration Was Doing Their Job....":
The POB 8th grade Graduation trip to Ellis Island today was horrible! Why bother? The buses left 1/2 late. It was my impression (and the kids thought so too )that the children were actually supposed to go up into the Statue of Liberty and learn something. I heard that someone bought the wrong tickets and the kids actually just walked around the Lady and waved. Hats Off to the person who organized this trip. I heard it was the teachers. Oh was it the teachers who got the big raises this year? It was my impression as a parent that the trips were supposed to be for Educational purposes and not fun! I think the BOE needs to review this policy because the only thing educational about this trip today was that my kid came home with a bad sunburn from walking and sitting around outside for 2 hours..doing nothing. There was NO tour of Ellis Island by anyone. Most of the kids did not even know they could go inside the building on Ellis Island. So much for the educational reason and the point of the trip......
What was the point anyway? Can someone clarify this? Maybe when you take the fun away, this is what you get. The Merrick school district took the graduating 8th graders to Citi-Field this year.
Board of Ed and Administrators: Time to regroup and re-think the Field trip policy in the POB schools.....
The POB 8th grade Graduation trip to Ellis Island today was horrible! Why bother? The buses left 1/2 late. It was my impression (and the kids thought so too )that the children were actually supposed to go up into the Statue of Liberty and learn something. I heard that someone bought the wrong tickets and the kids actually just walked around the Lady and waved. Hats Off to the person who organized this trip. I heard it was the teachers. Oh was it the teachers who got the big raises this year? It was my impression as a parent that the trips were supposed to be for Educational purposes and not fun! I think the BOE needs to review this policy because the only thing educational about this trip today was that my kid came home with a bad sunburn from walking and sitting around outside for 2 hours..doing nothing. There was NO tour of Ellis Island by anyone. Most of the kids did not even know they could go inside the building on Ellis Island. So much for the educational reason and the point of the trip......
What was the point anyway? Can someone clarify this? Maybe when you take the fun away, this is what you get. The Merrick school district took the graduating 8th graders to Citi-Field this year.
Board of Ed and Administrators: Time to regroup and re-think the Field trip policy in the POB schools.....
Sunday, June 20, 2010
If the Administration Was Doing Their Job....
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?":
I don't think salaries correlate to quality of education or teacher ability. Salaries and raises are based on longevity and undeserving teachers get the same raises as more deserving teachers. Administrator output is not commensurate with their salaries. Our district is far too top heavy and generous considering the mess that exists. Parents concerns would be minimal if administration was doing their job watching and questioning and fixing what is going on. They are getting paid a lot to be managers and they should be managing and striving for improvements. There need to be district-wide standards and accountability to even things out among schools and classrooms.No one seems to care that some schools or classrooms do a whole lot more than others (except for the parents in the schools or classrooms that feel like they are being gypped).
I don't think salaries correlate to quality of education or teacher ability. Salaries and raises are based on longevity and undeserving teachers get the same raises as more deserving teachers. Administrator output is not commensurate with their salaries. Our district is far too top heavy and generous considering the mess that exists. Parents concerns would be minimal if administration was doing their job watching and questioning and fixing what is going on. They are getting paid a lot to be managers and they should be managing and striving for improvements. There need to be district-wide standards and accountability to even things out among schools and classrooms.No one seems to care that some schools or classrooms do a whole lot more than others (except for the parents in the schools or classrooms that feel like they are being gypped).
The Bullying Problem- Define and Strategize Solutions
Suzala, can you start a new thread with this? By the way, thank you so much for running this blog.
Can we start a thread on this blog on how we can combat the bullying problem? As a community we need to come together on this. Yes, I know there have been meetings, programs, etc. Not everyone can get out to these things. Let's kick around some strategies that have worked for us.
As an educator myself, I've done quite a bit of research on this topic. Yes, I will share much of what I've come up with but I'd like to get a sense of what exactly the perceived problems are. This is an extremely deep issue that I will offer many ideas on. I would like some specifics first.
Anyone interested in a discussion?
Ed's note: Glad I can help- sz
Can we start a thread on this blog on how we can combat the bullying problem? As a community we need to come together on this. Yes, I know there have been meetings, programs, etc. Not everyone can get out to these things. Let's kick around some strategies that have worked for us.
As an educator myself, I've done quite a bit of research on this topic. Yes, I will share much of what I've come up with but I'd like to get a sense of what exactly the perceived problems are. This is an extremely deep issue that I will offer many ideas on. I would like some specifics first.
Anyone interested in a discussion?
Ed's note: Glad I can help- sz
Stratford, Where is the Administration?
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?":
Stratford is far from what it should be. I wouldn't say it's all bad but I can see where parents would be dissatisfied with it. The parents there are great and so is the PTA. The low test scores should not be attributed to the special ed population there. The administration doesn't manage who is teaching what. It wouldn't surprise me if the principal were from the school of thought that her top priority is to support, protect, advocate for and defend the teachers. The students and parents are secondary to her paycheck and grievance avoidance.
Stratford is far from what it should be. I wouldn't say it's all bad but I can see where parents would be dissatisfied with it. The parents there are great and so is the PTA. The low test scores should not be attributed to the special ed population there. The administration doesn't manage who is teaching what. It wouldn't surprise me if the principal were from the school of thought that her top priority is to support, protect, advocate for and defend the teachers. The students and parents are secondary to her paycheck and grievance avoidance.
Partnerships Between Parents and Schools?
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BOE- Will You Have the Guts in July?":
If I felt like the education my children receive was of superior quality, I wouldn't feel the teachers' salaries in this district were so off the mark. Sadly, the school my kids attend (Stratford) falls short in so many ways. While I don't want to discredit an entire district by the shortcomings of hopefully only a small few, I cannot help but wonder how a community like Plainview could allow such mediocrity. The percentage of residents who attend board meetings, come out to vote, get involved in effecting change is extremely low. The board, nice as they are, rarely questions actions of the administration. As in most districts in America, they act as the community's "rubber stamp" for the superintendent.
The district lacks a strong leader who takes parent concerns seriously. There do not appear to be anyone overseeing the goings on at the building level. That explains why, for example, the literacy program at Stratford is so varied between classrooms. While academic instruction should be flexible to meet the needs of all children, the policy that the very program your child receives is at the exclusive discretion of the teachers with minimal administrative involvement is almost criminal. As they move from grade to grade, they're regrouped into situations where they're not all starting the year at the same point in regard to levels of achievement, acquired skills, curricular goals attained, etc).
The mentality is such that if you express any concerns, no matter how courteously, you're automatically branded "crazy" and a "troublemaker" and dealt with accordingly. While I disagree with "witch hunts" as I've detected perhaps a small few around town, some even on this blog, the concept of a true partnership between the schools and parents simply does not exist, at least not at Stratford Road.
If I felt like the education my children receive was of superior quality, I wouldn't feel the teachers' salaries in this district were so off the mark. Sadly, the school my kids attend (Stratford) falls short in so many ways. While I don't want to discredit an entire district by the shortcomings of hopefully only a small few, I cannot help but wonder how a community like Plainview could allow such mediocrity. The percentage of residents who attend board meetings, come out to vote, get involved in effecting change is extremely low. The board, nice as they are, rarely questions actions of the administration. As in most districts in America, they act as the community's "rubber stamp" for the superintendent.
The district lacks a strong leader who takes parent concerns seriously. There do not appear to be anyone overseeing the goings on at the building level. That explains why, for example, the literacy program at Stratford is so varied between classrooms. While academic instruction should be flexible to meet the needs of all children, the policy that the very program your child receives is at the exclusive discretion of the teachers with minimal administrative involvement is almost criminal. As they move from grade to grade, they're regrouped into situations where they're not all starting the year at the same point in regard to levels of achievement, acquired skills, curricular goals attained, etc).
The mentality is such that if you express any concerns, no matter how courteously, you're automatically branded "crazy" and a "troublemaker" and dealt with accordingly. While I disagree with "witch hunts" as I've detected perhaps a small few around town, some even on this blog, the concept of a true partnership between the schools and parents simply does not exist, at least not at Stratford Road.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
