Tossing Baby Out With the Bathwater?
Over the past few days, I’ve received e-mails and phone calls from out-of-state friends and relatives asking, “Didn’t your kids attend Miramonte? Are they ok? Nothing happened to them, did it?” I then explain, “My two oldest went to Miramonte High School in Orinda, not Miramonte Elementary in Los Angeles.”
By now you’ve probably heard the disturbing allegations involving not one, but two of Miramonte Elementary’s teachers. The teachers are accused of committing incredibly lewd acts that I have no desire to detail in this post. If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can click here for one news article that does a good job of providing background information and an assessment of what’s currently happening. However, I’m sure a Google search will reveal many more similar news articles, if you’re interested.
In response to the allegations, the Los Angeles Unified School District transferred the entire 120-member staff to a school that’s under construction and replaced them with a set of new hires. The administrative staff, the teachers, and even the janitors are new to the school and the students. It’s also worth noting that this decision by the LAUSD is an expensive one. It’s costing the district nearly $6 million at a time when it, like many school districts in California, is struggling financially.
What do you think of LAUSD’s response? Was this a wise decision, necessary, as the LAUSD superintendent suggests, “to clear the school from a cloud of distrust and suspicion.” Or, is it too drastic of a move, needlessly causing even more stress to students as they must now adjust to having a new teacher? Should the financial implications play a role in the decision making process?
Motherlode, the parenting blog for the NYTimes, had an interesting assessment.
The message I hear is, “We don’t know how to know whom to trust.”
If that’s accurate, then I’m certainly not left with a great deal of faith in the public school system’s ability to protect children from predators. For the sake of our children, I hope the blogger is wrong.
Chris Nicholson
6:44 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
I think the response was hasty and ill advised. It flushed $6M (about $6000/student) and undoubtedly reduced their quality of education for months and perhaps years.
On the bright side, maybe the parents will find the whole thing so frustrating that they self-deport.
Patrice Martens
10:22 am on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Nice.
Dan Perkins
6:25 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
What on earth is wrong with you?
Ann
10:36 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
The act that the school district felt compelled to relocate the ENTIRE staff is indicative of why the teacher's unions MUST be dismantled from their cuurent structure. Too often bad teachers cannot be let go until they have committed a criminal act or one that borders on criminal. The saying 'those who can't do...teach' was generated out of the culture of mediocrity brought about by tenured teachers employed by overly powerful unions.
Robert Strauss
4:09 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012
They should have done this with AIG and the banks.
fredsbreakfast
8:01 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Isn't the transfer (not firing) of all these union workers probably a way to avoid attempting the impossible -- getting rid of ineffective and poor teachers? I mean I suspect this huge transfer of staff and faculty is because getting rid of bad teachers and crappy other school employees is impossible because of their union contracts, no?
Anyway, it seems really weird - this moving everyone to another school.
fredsbreakfast
8:04 am on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Maybe this is partly about the loss of Fed $ each day kids miss class. And regaining the confidence of the mainly illegal mexican parents in a situation where they feel some trepidation? But isn't LA still a 'sanctuary city'?