Comments on: Intolerable Inequity

By: Steve Buel

Steve Buel — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 04:51:58 +0000

Steve, I don’t expect major movement from this board ever on my list. Geez, how I wish I am wrong.

By: Wacky Mommy

Wacky Mommy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:59:55 +0000

Anne,
re: facilities. Flyers were sent home with all the kids last Monday (1/7/08), and word was circulating about the facilities meeting way before then. The e-mail that was sent at 5 p.m. last night was just a reminder, prior to the first meeting.

yours in better communication,

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:41:16 +0000

In today’s Oregonian columnist Renee Mitchell speaks out about the deplorable inequity between Jefferson and other high schools.

http://www.neighborhoodschoolsalliance.org/node/28

Many people have been speaking out for years about Jefferson, with great insight and patience. The above link is to a speech that Glenda Walker Simmons made two years ago about the reforms initiated by Vicki Phillips and driven by a Gates Foundation agenda. When Simmons made the speech two years ago, predicting and explaining the conditions at Jeff that were exacerbated by Phillips, she was ignored at best and demonized at worst. Some of those who condemned her are now criticizing the current state of Jeff.
Let’s push to the root causes and speak out like Simmons about the hidden and not so hidden sources of the inequity, ie corporate influence in public schools.

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:05:02 +0000

So it looks like PPS was a little late in getting the reports out for the facilities discussion on Tuesday night. Friends said they only found out at 5pm on Tuesday that the complete facilities report is on line at the PPS site. From what I heard at the last minute PPS also declared discussions of high school facilities off limits, despite the fact that the facilities discussions are being held at high schools. True?

We have got to stop waiting for PPS bureaucratics to ensure democratic, sane decision making. We are the only ones that can make that happen.

By: rubycakes

rubycakes — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:30:26 +0000

Here, here. Well said. I hope the will exists to make Jefferson a school that the entire city can be proud of.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:30:09 +0000

I think just once, on the line “This district and this city have failed Jefferson and its community.”

By: Zarwen

Zarwen — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:27:12 +0000

Steve R.,

I just gotta ask—how many times were you interrupted by applause??

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:25:38 +0000

Baby steps, Steve B., baby steps.

At the end of the week, we’ll have what we have right now: a general recommendation from the Jefferson administration and the office of high schools to merge the two non-gender academies at Jefferson.

I don’t expect any significant movement on the student transfer policy, the teacher transfer policy, or anything else by week’s end.

By: Steve Buel

Steve Buel — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:28:52 +0000

(continued)
on Jeff and its feeders.

The elimination of the neighborhood to neighborhood transer policy or massively improving the poorer schools so they can hold their own.

Lots of extra money poured into the cluster so the offerings will be substantial.

A new building for Jefferson (like at Lincoln)

A revamping of the teacher transfer policy to protect the drain of better teachers into upper middle class neighborhoods.

And …………

(Let me know when you see any of these things.)

Of course, the flight to the moon included liftoff.

By: Steve Buel

Steve Buel — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:22:03 +0000

Terrific speech, Steve.
Let’s see — at the end of the week we should get what?
A comprehensive high school.
A cluster wide committee fairly drawn to advise PPS