The discussion on the firing of the Hart principal, Ms. Webster has sparked a lively debate on blogs, amongst colleagues, parents, community members and on Wash. Post blogs. Surprisingly in the comments I read, many expressed outrage that termination is the only strategy that our DC chancellor uses to address the multiple problems that our urban school system faces. An anonymous poster on this blog wrote: "Rhee believes she is a weapons expert at DC police academy. "Fire, Fire, Fire". Donald Trump is starting to look a little soft."
Jerome Brocks, a DCPS special educator of 34 years speaks out about the situation at Hart middle school. Having worked at Hart during his career , Jerome contacted me and asked if I would post his comments on my blog. I titled this entry: Taking It To Hart. Here goes:
"Let the truth be told. No one seems to be willing to tell the truth about the problems at Hart Middle School. Not the president of the Washington Teachers' Union , who blames the problem on administrators, not Chancellor Rhee who does not have a clue about what is going on in the neighborhoods of DC which is evidenced by her decision to close down PR Harris and send students to Hart and subsequently fire the principal because she (Rhee) can't solve our schools multifaceted problems, and certainly not the Washington Post who fails to do a full investigation and print the truth.
Two years ago, I witnessed a mob of students from Hart Middle School entering PR Harris Educational Center looking for several students from PR Harris. Both schools have an ongoing rivalry. The Hart students went through the building looking for their victims until the police came and then they ran from the building. Everyone knew there was an ongoing battle between Hart and PR Harris students. Michelle Rhee decided to close down PR Harris and transfer many of these students to Hart MS making an already bad situation worse. This is what happens when a new person comes to our city and is not aware of important facts when making decisions to close schools and relocate students from one neighborhood to another.
Ms. Webster, principal of Hart was set up for failure. Adequate staffing and supervision was never received. Teachers were put in dangerous situations where their safety was at stake. This person that we call chancellor is responsible for all the problems that have been allowed to occur at Hart and she should be held accountable. Equally responsible is George Parker, so called president of the WTU who has been derelict in his duties as he has failed to take an active role in speaking out on what is in the best interests of DC students and teachers. Shame on all of them who have been directly and indirectly involved in sidestepping the multiple problems at schools like Hart middle school. They say children first -what hypocrites they are!!!! If anyone should be fired it should not be principals and not teachers but Rhee herself should be fired immediately ! Lastly, WTU President George Parker needs to resign at once !" (Posted by The Washington Teacher).
Jerome Brocks
DC Teacher ( 34 years)
Showing posts with label Hart principal fired. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hart principal fired. Show all posts
Nov 12, 2008
Nov 11, 2008
So You Wanna Become a DC Principal ?
Really. Well here's what becoming a DC Principal gets you : FIRED ! Hart middle school is the subject of controversy in DC Public Schools. First an article appeared in the Sunday Post which told an all too familiar tale of DC teachers being assaulted, teachers teaching outside of their certification area, substitutes covering classes, overcrowded classes, unruly students, possession of handguns, violence and a lack of supports promised by Rhee's office to a school being restructured. Hart is a school which merged with P.R. Harris Educational Center this school year against the advice of parents and community activists. Here is today's article written by Post Reporter Bill Turque (page B 1) in its entirety. My question is who is to blame ? Is Chancellor Rhee firing her way to a better school system ? You be the judge.
D.C. Fires Principal After Surge Of Violence Educator Says She Was 'Set Up' at Hart Middle School
"The principal of Hart Middle School was fired by District officials yesterday after two months of disorder and violence that included assaults on at least three teachers. Kisha Webster was informed of her dismissal at a morning meeting with Lisa Ruda, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's chief of staff.
Dena Iverson, Rhee's spokeswoman, declined to answer questions and referred instead to a letter over Rhee's signature that was sent to Hart parents yesterday. The letter, which did not mention the school's problems, said Webster would be replaced by a central office administrator, Billy Kearney, who had been serving as the school system's director of principal recruitment. Kearney was a key figure in the filling of more than principal 40 vacancies over the summer, about half of which were created when Rhee fired people for poor performance.
Webster, 37, a former assistant principal at MacArthur Middle School in Anne Arundel County, is the third principal to be replaced since the beginning of the school year. Galeet BenZion, principal at Shepherd Elementary, was fired last month, and the principal at Shadd Transition Academy was reassigned to other duties.
In a phone interview yesterday evening, Webster said she had been "set up" by District officials. She said she was put in charge of the Anacostia middle school without the resources made available to other struggling schools. Hart was one of nearly two dozen D.C. schools placed in federally mandated restructuring for failing to meet benchmarks for math and English test scores. Last year, just 17 percent of Hart students read at proficiency level.
Webster said publicity about the situation at Hart also played a role in her dismissal. On Sunday, The Washington Post published an article that described a school in disarray, with students fighting, roaming the halls and disrupting classes, according to parents, teachers and police. One student was arrested for possession of a shotgun."If I had been able to keep things quiet, I'd still be there," Webster said.
Webster had been hired as principal of Roosevelt STAY, an evening program at Roosevelt High School for people 15 or older who want to complete work on a diploma. She said she was reassigned to Hart after the principal who had been hired decided not to accept the post.
Hart's disciplinary problems did not begin this year. A review team that evaluated the school last year for Rhee noted many of the same conditions that contributed to Webster's ouster.
The school was a shambles when she took over in late July, Webster said. Summer renovations had barely begun, and the school had 21 teacher vacancies. With the summer hiring process winding down, she said, she was "forced to grab whatever was left" from a pool of teachers "excessed" by schools that had closed or experienced enrollment declines. At meetings of principals, she said, colleagues told her that she had teachers they were happy to be rid of. Webster said principals at some other schools that were being restructured under the federal No Child Left Behind law had more latitude in hiring teachers. Brian Betts, the new principal at Shaw at Garnet-Patterson Middle School, was able to replace more than 30 of the 37 teachers who finished the 2007-08 school year.
Webster also said academic programs and social services promised by Rhee as part of the restructuring never got off the ground. Many of the people involved are still in training, she said. Only one instructor is available for an accelerated reading program. Webster said she tried to avoid suspensions when discipline deteriorated because they are counterproductive. "They come back worse than when they left," she said. "They come back with this swagger. It's 'I was suspended, now what?' "Eventually, however, the suspensions mounted, and there were nearly 80 in one week in October, she said.
There is plenty of blame to go around for Hart's predicament, Webster said. She acknowledged that she probably alienated staff members by coming in with an attitude that was too hard-edged -- an attitude she said was influenced by her superior's judgment that the school was in terrible shape. "I will tell you, when you come into a building where you are told everyone is crap, you come in hard," she said. In retrospect, she said, she should have taken time to form her own opinions. But others also shoulder responsibility, including an administration that didn't understand, or care to acknowledge, the depth of Hart's needs. "I would say that everyone is responsible," she said. "The community, the administrators, the teachers, the central office." Courtesy of washingtonpost.com. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).
D.C. Fires Principal After Surge Of Violence Educator Says She Was 'Set Up' at Hart Middle School
"The principal of Hart Middle School was fired by District officials yesterday after two months of disorder and violence that included assaults on at least three teachers. Kisha Webster was informed of her dismissal at a morning meeting with Lisa Ruda, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's chief of staff.
Dena Iverson, Rhee's spokeswoman, declined to answer questions and referred instead to a letter over Rhee's signature that was sent to Hart parents yesterday. The letter, which did not mention the school's problems, said Webster would be replaced by a central office administrator, Billy Kearney, who had been serving as the school system's director of principal recruitment. Kearney was a key figure in the filling of more than principal 40 vacancies over the summer, about half of which were created when Rhee fired people for poor performance.
Webster, 37, a former assistant principal at MacArthur Middle School in Anne Arundel County, is the third principal to be replaced since the beginning of the school year. Galeet BenZion, principal at Shepherd Elementary, was fired last month, and the principal at Shadd Transition Academy was reassigned to other duties.
In a phone interview yesterday evening, Webster said she had been "set up" by District officials. She said she was put in charge of the Anacostia middle school without the resources made available to other struggling schools. Hart was one of nearly two dozen D.C. schools placed in federally mandated restructuring for failing to meet benchmarks for math and English test scores. Last year, just 17 percent of Hart students read at proficiency level.
Webster said publicity about the situation at Hart also played a role in her dismissal. On Sunday, The Washington Post published an article that described a school in disarray, with students fighting, roaming the halls and disrupting classes, according to parents, teachers and police. One student was arrested for possession of a shotgun."If I had been able to keep things quiet, I'd still be there," Webster said.
Webster had been hired as principal of Roosevelt STAY, an evening program at Roosevelt High School for people 15 or older who want to complete work on a diploma. She said she was reassigned to Hart after the principal who had been hired decided not to accept the post.
Hart's disciplinary problems did not begin this year. A review team that evaluated the school last year for Rhee noted many of the same conditions that contributed to Webster's ouster.
The school was a shambles when she took over in late July, Webster said. Summer renovations had barely begun, and the school had 21 teacher vacancies. With the summer hiring process winding down, she said, she was "forced to grab whatever was left" from a pool of teachers "excessed" by schools that had closed or experienced enrollment declines. At meetings of principals, she said, colleagues told her that she had teachers they were happy to be rid of. Webster said principals at some other schools that were being restructured under the federal No Child Left Behind law had more latitude in hiring teachers. Brian Betts, the new principal at Shaw at Garnet-Patterson Middle School, was able to replace more than 30 of the 37 teachers who finished the 2007-08 school year.
Webster also said academic programs and social services promised by Rhee as part of the restructuring never got off the ground. Many of the people involved are still in training, she said. Only one instructor is available for an accelerated reading program. Webster said she tried to avoid suspensions when discipline deteriorated because they are counterproductive. "They come back worse than when they left," she said. "They come back with this swagger. It's 'I was suspended, now what?' "Eventually, however, the suspensions mounted, and there were nearly 80 in one week in October, she said.
There is plenty of blame to go around for Hart's predicament, Webster said. She acknowledged that she probably alienated staff members by coming in with an attitude that was too hard-edged -- an attitude she said was influenced by her superior's judgment that the school was in terrible shape. "I will tell you, when you come into a building where you are told everyone is crap, you come in hard," she said. In retrospect, she said, she should have taken time to form her own opinions. But others also shoulder responsibility, including an administration that didn't understand, or care to acknowledge, the depth of Hart's needs. "I would say that everyone is responsible," she said. "The community, the administrators, the teachers, the central office." Courtesy of washingtonpost.com. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).
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