We entered Eaton Park Elementary on August 16th for the first day. Here we are faced with the school board’s 🙁 decision to solve the problems for our parish. Of course, after almost a month, I can relate the school board 🙁 has once again made their choice and not the people’s.
Let me give you a snapshot of the school. Three different groups of children moved from two schools and mixed with another. All of these schools were small and servicing children with fairly good results. Throw the children into one school that numbers over 700. Keep the administration the same– one principal, one assistant principal and one school counselor. There are some people that are hired as contract personnel to assist in the discipline. This was available at the other schools also. Hire some extra teachers, move in some butler buildings and say “Wow, this will work wonderfully.” WRONG!
The assumption that this will work wonderfully was a poor assumption at best. People can not believe that moving children helter skelter across the parish was a wonderful event. They should take that into account when they made the -‘fantastic’ decision. Truly, we want it to work out. But to assume it will just because you decide that -‘it will’ is asinine. But what should we expect from a group who has made themselves into -‘asses’ for the last five years.
Yes, we have received the government’s wonderful money again. We are to work our magic and continue the growth that we have had in the last two years. I, for one, hope that this is the case. But my doubts are high. I do hope my doubts can be unfounded in the future.
My cohorts (the two ladies I work with before) have set ourselves up nicely. We have started the year and by the Labor day we wondered –“What the hell did we get ourselves into.” 😯 Within two weeks, we had to learn how to use an internet site to write our lesson plans. (I ended up having to assist my two friends. They were a little weak on computer skills.) But I am proud to say we have succeeded in achieving this goal. At the same time, we are working with three very sweet hyperactive girls. The reason they are is because their reading coach puts everything on them and they believe they are the bosses. Since they are nice, I think they finally realized that we are little old ladies. We have finally found a safe haven for 30 minutes every day. This is while we eat our meal for the day. Another problem is that the two reading coaches are having difficulty working together. One believes that everything should run exactly as she has let it run, and ours believes some changes should be made. Needless to say, our reading coach is taking the back burner and letting the other do her thing. We are worried that she will quit and leave us to fight the fight.
Then during our very second faculty of the year, we were insulted. No, we do not believe the principal realized what he had done, but he made disparaging remarks about where the children went to school last year.
He told the teachers, “Remember our children knew the program and were handling it successfully, but we have had 200 children moved in that obviously did not have the same discipline at their other school. In fact, it must have been handled with laissez -–faire.” This statement was completely unprofessional. I have hoped that he is under such a strain that he was not aware of what he was saying. I took offense at this statement and the more I thought of it the angrier I became. }:-@ Our children have been through a great deal and no, they are not angels, but we are teaching at-risk children. The ones I see getting into trouble are the ones that were in trouble at every school. The bad thing is they have become more of a problem, because of their lack of security. This was their main problem at home, but now it has developed in the school system. So once again, I see the kids that I am attached to, becoming a bigger problem than before.
My good friends and I have decided. IF we make it through this year, we will make it. It seems strange, but each year we have been faced with challenges that we find difficult to overcome. We did well last year, we hope the same will happen this year. We also hope that our children come through it with us.