This should make it official. This post is not to gloat because the Academy is a step in the right direction. The school failed primarily because of its late start. Other schools make decisions on enrollment in January and February. We hope that the administration takes some time to re-think the academy and considers...- Making it a charter school to take advantage of increased revenue and school management (and hiring) flexibility.
- Dropping the testing requirement
- It takes a hard look at the curriculum and offerings. If they want to attract students, theyare going to have to offer something better than an honors program duplicated from Hamilton Prep.
But it is not a success when all it does is pull from their current student body. Would there even be 59 applications if DAMS wasn't being talked about closing? 43 of the applications are from DAMS, 7 from Sonoran Trails. 3 are from Foothills Academy, 1 from Bella Vista, 1 from Hamilton Prep, 1 from AZ Virtual Academy, 1 from Scottsdale Prep, 1 from Outside of the US. So in theory, only 9 new students to CCUSD to fund an entire new school, we should not be "feeding" off the other schools with a specialty Prep Academy. Let's think about the man hours spent by District employees for this special project, the money on postage, the money on printing postcards, the money on banners. Why not spend the money on our current schools and our current kids? I guess that is what I keep going back to, let's worry about the kids we do have and stop worrying about those who left. It looks pretty evident that the time and money spent on the Academy did not bring back the students that left. I don't know what the right answer is for the budget crunch of the State. But, what I do know is you don't spend money (All Day KG, Virtual Online Academy, Prep Academy) when you are staying the budget is so bad we have to close a school. Common sense parents don't get it, I think common sense other Districts don't understand it either, but they will take CCUSD students with open arms.
ReplyDeleteMy wish is that the Board and Adminstration see the errors in their thinking and rewrite history by stop spending money they don't have, and keep open the School they do have. If you don't have enough money to keep a self funded school open, then you don't have over $500,000 to pay for the other half of Kg. That is common sense to me.
I will not post under anything except my name. If you plan on critizing me, please at least post your name.
Sandy covers a lot of what I and many parents I talk to feel about prep academy and other recent attempts to attract new families to the district. -Extreme waste of our tax dollars in a recessionary period. New families and ones that last come by way of good "word of mouth" advertising, forget the complicated mktg strategy CCUSD...
ReplyDelete-Wish she would consider a run for governing board. We need more common sense.
I second that!
ReplyDeleteRight on Sandy! You just mirrored my own complaints about this pet project and money wasted to a tee. Think of the good that those man hours and dollars could have done if they had been spent on reinventing DAMS or shoring up the holes in our maintenance budget. CCUSD administration is finally coming clean about the true costs of bussing DAMS kids to STMS. They have to switch start times and widen the bus turnout at the STMS campus. Nice to know that we have money for further improvements to that campus. The administration actually plans on coming back to the voters in the fall to ask for money for new buses. Don't they realize that they have already lost that vote? Makes me sick that this plan ever got off the ground as a money saving project. I've been saying from the get go that in the end this combining of schools will only cost them money and will self destruct the district.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering why there is not one Board Member or Administration member talking about all the record requests for students out of DAMS...I hear there are well over 40+ us in future 7th graders for CCUSD. What does that add up to in lost dollars for CCUSD?
ReplyDeleteIt's over $200,000.....bear in mind that at least some of those lost DAMS kids also have siblings who will also be pulled out of CCUSD, contributing to the increase of loss of funding. The district knew that a mass exodus would occur when they started talking closure (publically) back in January. The true wrath of this decison won't be felt until August when they see how many kids actually have left - and may well never return to CCUSD.
ReplyDeleteThey are in denial. They told a group of concerned parents that went to meet with Dr. Burdick on Friday for one last ditch effort to illustrate how damaging the closing of the school would be, that they "only had about 15 withdrawals and that is normal for DAMS in a year." Well, I would admit, most parents do not think of doing the official "withdrawal" until the school year is over, but...I'm going to do mine on Wednesday right after the recommendation and vote because I have no reason to stay in CCUSD after that. I imagine they will take it more seriously when the actual withdrawals begin coming in which I would expect would start on Wednesday or Friday. It will, of course, be too late then and too late to decide to listen to parents.
ReplyDeleteThat is strange thinking on the District part, because a record request should be "a warning sign" of things to come. I understand a parent won't do the official request, but the warning sign should be sounding as loud as a fog horn by now. I feel sorry for all the parents sitting in a place of blissful thinking because it wasn't their school. The price to pay will be huge in lost revenue.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with 7:04pm and 10:49pm. This is largely our district's problem --parents who don't think that all decisions affect their children. We are a small district.. many decisions, especially major ones, affect most students one way or the other. Perhaps, the decisions being made this year will be a wake up call to all CCUSD families and in the future we won't have so many sit idly back.
ReplyDelete2 points on this one:
ReplyDelete1.The district should be focusing on the needs of the middle of the road students and expanding support for the kids who might not be going to college. ENOUGH SAID!
2. Instead of everyone abandoning the district and leaving for other districts they should be getting off their backsides and working to get better resources and support for the district, but you sound like children on a playground taking your ball and going home.
Stop complaining and get out there and work for all of the district, not just your school or your pet program. Last year parents at the middle schools and high school didnt vote for the K-3 because it didn't affect them, well guess what, it affects all of us.
Our voters are pathetic here.
p.s.
What is the Watch's opinion on the Prop 100 and what is your opinion on closing the school?
You've been strangely quiet on this recently.
I will be withdrawing my children also if they vote tonight to close Desert Arroyo. Alot are waiting to see what happens first. My daughter came home Monday and said the teachers have said its already decided and that it will close. Pretty Sad!
ReplyDeleteThe noise created when the voted is tallied will sound like a toilet flushing. Together with my neighbors, I fought many a battle with the CCUSD Board over issues (EMF) at STMS and was stonewalled at every juncture. This vote could be really, really bad and I'm done as my daughter is enrolling at Pinnacle next year for lots of good reasons. Shame on you CCUSD
ReplyDeleteWhat makes people think other districts are any better? PV has it!s share of problems, my kids went there for several years so I speak from experience. The problems are with public education. I know several families whose kids started at Pinnacle this year and came back to CSHS at semester. The grass isn't necessarily greener.
ReplyDeleteI know that many of you are angry.
ReplyDeleteI hope that most of you come to your senses.
This is not the first district in the nation to close a school. It has happened before, it is happening all over the place now.
You should always do what is best for your child. If another school is truly best for your child, go to another school. But, don't just go to another school for spite. Only go there if it will provide a better education for your child given your child's needs.
This situation is a catch 22. Tell your state to do what it needs to do to get the revenue to properly support education even if it means raising taxes.
Well said 7:48 pm.
ReplyDeleteOther schools in other districts have been closed for entirely different reasons!!! When those decisions to close came about the closing was facilitated by an administration that was interested in a smooth transition for all students being affected. That is not the case with this administration. Heaven help Burdick and her minion if they can't show any true savings with this mess. RECALL!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe only district closing schools in the Phoenix area "as of this time" is CCUSD, Please report where these other schools are that are closing? These types of decisions are the reason the community has voted "NO" and will most likely again this November. I would like to thank the 2 board members that used their senses and voted "NO" against the closure.
ReplyDeleteI think that is what most parents are missing. It is not about closing DAMS if the money was truly not there. It is about not researching EVERY option available starting in July of 2010 when they voted not to close DAMS because they knew the budget shortfall was going to be bad again. It is about talking about how horrible the money is , but then approving spending more than $510,000 on all day KG, talking about opening an Academy that would cost almost 30% more to run than all of our other schools, bringing a virtual on line school in one board meeting with a cost of $96,000 on it. Like I said last night. It is not emotional for me, it is NOT about bricks and mortar. It is about being good stewards with the funds they are receiving already. David Schaefer said (this is in my own words as I did not record it) last night they would have that money for reserve. You don't close a school for reserve money. I am sure it is an emotional decision for the parents who have their children on an a bus an hour or plus with no air conditioning. This District and Administration has lost the faith of alot of parents. Did you know that according to Debbie Burdick that the Board Website where the video is posted is run by a coummunity member? Also, did you know that community members makes he decision of what video is shown and not shown. My comments from two board meetings ago were "left out" or you could say censored. I pointed out that the Principal my son's school BMES, had sent out one very generic letter to 5th grade parents that the Principals were meeting. I had requested an update and I also pointed out that BMES parents were not surveyed to see if they wanted Core Knowledge (earlier in that same meeting Jana Miller said they would survey parents before a school philosophy would change). The 2 statements I made were true. Actually as of right now, there has been no additional communication for our school about our 5th graders. So you can tell the truth and be "edited" out of the Board Meetings. If you don't go to the Board meetings and just watch the video, be careful, because you might not be seeing everything. Not sure what I will do with my son, I am "Exploring" the options of neighboring Districts as a backup plan. But even if I do pull my child from CCUSD, I will still be at Board meetings, because how they manage this District affects my home value.
ReplyDeleteWho said parents are moving kids out of DAMS out of spite? That would be wrong... Agree that parents should look at the big picture and if another school serves their child's needs better, fine. We started looking at other schools in December after being majorly disappointed in DAMS teaching staff and the lack of quality education being provided.
ReplyDeleteI said that school districts are/have closed schools and did not specifically reference Phoenix. My statement was national. I grew up in a district that closed down a middle school (to sell the land to build condos - great rationale, huh?), and later reconfigured my elementary school for early childhood education only. The next door neighbor district to my hometown recently shut down an elementary school. Look at what is happening in Kansas City.
ReplyDeleteYou should always do what is best for your children, not what is best for a school district. Sometimes that means exploring alternatives.
The community member who posts the video makes no secret of who she has. Ms. Krestan needs to speak with her.
I did email her and received no response(regarding the censoring of the video). I ran into her last evening at the Board meeting and ms. Gaines requested it not be posted to the website. I just find it crazy that the District has a "community member" as Debbi Burdick called it controlling the website. That's all I have to say on that subject.
ReplyDeleteWho is Ms. Gaines?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry 11:27 a.m., but I voted for the K-3 override because I know these decisions affect EVERYONE. Resources going to K-3 from the override help free up resources in other areas. That is how the budget works.
ReplyDeleteI am a DAMS parent. I voted for that and EVERY bond and override since my kids have been in the district though few directly supported my children (the bonds all went to build schools down south while our schools remained old and unrenovated --even voted for K-3 the first time when I had NO KIDS in that age group).
I worked to support those bonds and overrides. I spoke out in favor of CCUSD. I attended endless meetings and sat through many committees. For what? Nothing seems to be getting better.
So I take offense at your assumptions that middle school parents did not vote on the K-3 override because it "did not affect them". Go look at the numbers. Elementary schools down south had less than a 21% turnout. That is them not supporting themselves. To me that says parents don't care about the K-3 override.
So why is CCUSD saving all-day kindergarten at the expense of a whole school?
I am abandoning CCUSD because the closure of DAMS takes away the one remaining thing that was keeping me here (since I HAVE voted and others have not)--the convenience of DAMS to my community.
Now that is gone and since I would have to drive as far as STMS, I might as well look at what else I can find nearby. I found a lot and my children are angry that I did not look earlier.
So, your assumptions in some cases are very wrong. CCUSD is losing active, involved, voting, supportive parents. The importance of convenience in terms of a school cannot be overstated. The importance of a school in the surrounding community is massive.
7:07,
ReplyDeleteMs. Gaines is the principal at BMES.
The Principal at Black Mountain Elementary
ReplyDeleteIf convenience & school in the surrounding community are so important why would you take your children further away from their community? I've always thought of the whole district as my community.
ReplyDelete3:13pm... if the community school isn't giving your child the level or type of education and opportunities that you want for him/her.. (or you need a special school, or want parochial education... ) that's why you take your children to school out of the community. Education isn't about convenience. It's about doing what's right for your child.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Sandy Krestan from CCUSDGB.org
ReplyDeleteMs. Krestan, I did not receive an email from you directly. I received a really long email exchange/string of mumbo-jumbo that consisted primarily of dual-crazy-long email signatures between you and the district. It appeared to me as mere criticism, so I deleted it.
Another very clear and concise question came through the author of this blog that I answered in great detail and I trust my response was forwarded to you. While I do not agree with Watch on most days, I do believe they follow through on such requests.
Why you chose not to use the "contact us" button at CCUSDGB.ORG to contact me directly in the first place is unclear, because clearly, you checked the site... and clearly, you know how to use email.
You and your peers were thanking me explicitly for my volunteer services last year when I ONLY posted short snippets from meetings, and not entire meetings. Remember when I captured President Warren stating the board would not close a school last year and his apology resulted solely from the video post?
Why is it that you thank your fellow community members for their volunteerism when things go your way, only to berate them when they don't?
Why is it that you chose a governing board meeting to publicly criticize/accuse your principal of malfeasance when she had no opportunity to defend herself? The Governing Board room is not your personal court room, even though you choose to use your 3 minutes as such regularly. You will find several instances on CCUSDGB.org where your public comments have been posted.
There may come a day when you don't want your previously posted video comments out there. They aren't exactly flattering. If you do, I will be happy to oblige your request to remove them, as I have in the past for fellow community members.
C.Weiss Revisionist history in the making???...or just hollywood editing???
ReplyDeleteCynthia, I would be happy to email you the sent confirmation that went to you on Friday, May 7th at 12:54pm. I didn't know who you were until we met at the meeting this week on Tuesday. As to the rest of your comments I will leave that alone. As everyone has a right to their opinion. Please contact me on my email or my cell. Thank you for what you do, I just don't agree that the District having a community member run the website. That doesn't mean what I think you do isn't worthwhile. Thanks
ReplyDeleteMs. Weiss the service you provide to the community is much appreciated. I have often looked to CCSOS for accessible data, facts and information that cannot be quickly found on the district's website. That being said I find it odd you didn't just put a disclaimer with the video posting allowing for the fact the video may be edited and please refer to the minutes for a complete accounting of the board meetings. The public should have been made aware of this from the start and during this period of what I would call severe mistrust of this administration I would hope they correct the issue immediately. Your organization is quickly becoming perceived as simply a mouthpiece for the district. I often don't know both sides of an issue and I not only count on I demand our governing board be looking at all sides. We are not sheep. While I don't always agree with Ms. Krestan in idea or presentation I wholeheartedly agree with her right to speak her mind. And you should too. Although her remarks were inflamatory regarding Ms. Gaines and BMES they were also accurate. This district has no forum for Ms. Gaines to respond but they also have no forum to disagree with them or be involved in true decision making, except the governing board. Their agenda is top down management period. I'm tired of being managed and I for one am glad people speak up and the last time I checked the first amendment didn't include the words "don't forget to be polite".
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had an old adage: You can get more with honey than you do with vinegar.
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't you be polite to a board that gives a great deal of its personal time on a volunteer basis to serve the community even if you disagree with their opinions?
If you think it is so great, high, and powerful to be a board member, run for the board. If you are just going to just sit in the audience and criticize, they least you can do is be polite. Some of the less polite in those meetings come off as deranged anyway.
The other way to look at it is, they chose to be there. They ran for the position to put aside their own opinions and ask the tough questions and not make a decision until the questions had been answered. When you ask question after question that don't have any answers or any good answers, but they make a vote on bad information. Why not hold them accountable. I think everyone forgets, that Dr. Burdick works for the Board and the Board does not work for Dr. Burdick.
ReplyDelete7:50 AM - What part of the words "highlights" or "clips" do you not understand? The intent of the site is clearly made on the homepage of CCUSDGB.ORG. There is also a disclaimer page if you care to read it.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Constitution protects our freedom of speech, our laws also protect individuals from slander. The GB president reads a warning prior to all public comment that statements made by the public can be considered slanderous.
I also don't believe the Governing Board can discuss specific employees in an open meeting without prior knowledge and a slated agenda item. If Ms. Krestan truly had issues with a specific district employee she felt could not be addressed properly by anyone other than the governing board, she should have asked a board member to slate the item for a future agenda so the board could actually discuss the matter.
I have a great respect for Ms. Krestan and agree with her on some of her issues. I also owe her an apology as I found her email from last Friday. I was out of town for several days and it got buried. Sorry, Sandy.
As for those of you who choose to remain anonymous, you are no different than the author of this blog. Just more mud slung from behind a curtain. You ARE the author of this blog for all we know.
For those of you interested in the GB meet videos, I hope to have them posted sometime this weekend.
C Weiss, I did not attack Elie Gaines, I simply pointed a fact out about the principal at my son's school. I would not use as an example any other school, because I do not know what goes on there. Pointed the fact out that as a parent getting an update on what plans are going on at BMES for future 6th graders should not take me reading a 244 page board packet or attending a Board Meeting. As a school and Distirct, we should make it easier for the parents to know what is going on. That was my point. Either way I would have been judged, too generic or too specific. It is the truth. Up until that date, there was 1 very, very generic letter that the principals were meeting. That was the update.As far as me adding about the Core Knowledge vote, that was after Mark Warren made the comment maybe to be equitable all the schools should get CK, then Dr. Miller stated there would be a survey to the school community. I pointed out we did not have a school survey about CK at BMES. That was me pointed out a true fact. That is all. I do appreciate your comments and your apology. Stuff happens, and there is not a perfect person on this world. Thank you again.
ReplyDelete