How open will Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools be to visitors, what are the rules for such visits and what can lead parents or others to being banned from school property? Those are some of the questions Superintendent Heath Morrison and the school board are taking up in a new policy that's up for a public hearing Tuesday.
Morrison says CMS needs to be more thoughtful and consistent in its procedures, and this looks like an early example. The proposed policy calls for the superintendent and principals to craft rules to encourage openness while protecting the educational environment, including "reasonable limits on the frequency or conditions of school visits by parents or other visitors." The policy also addresses people on the sex-offender registry and the type of behavior that's prohibited, such as threats, vandalism, disorderly conduct, "rude or riotous noise" and "profane, lewd, obscene or abusive language, gestures or other written or electronic communication."
The policy also addresses how schools should deal with violators and calls for the superintendent to develop procedures for banning people from CMS property.
None of this strikes me as new or shocking. Schools already have their own processes for handling visitors, and parents and others have been banned for various violations. (Remember the "Myers Park Mooner" who was banned after dropping his pants during the 2011 graduation ceremony?) The board policy, combined with any procedures that follow, just spell out the terms more clearly.
Families may want to take note and get engaged. I've seen several parents come before the board to complain about being banned from their children's schools. Anyone who wants to speak can sign up by calling 980-343-5139 by noon Tuesday, or do so at the meeting. There should be a second public hearing before a vote in December.
Bonus link: A reader passed along this EdWeek blog summarizing five big issues facing U.S. Education Arne Duncan in the next term.
Friday, November 9, 2012
CMS crafts rules for school visits
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YES PLEASE. You would not believe how many parents walk their children to class and then expect to have a 15 minute conversation with the teacher every day. They don't seem to care that there are 25 students in the room and the teacher needs to supervise and get ready to teach. It is very disruptive. And they seem insulted when the teacher says "I'm sorry but I need to get ready to teach." I'm sure there are parents who would shadow their child all day, every day if there weren't rules against that.
My school is a "good" school but we still have parents who come in looking like they are on their way to "work" on a street corner, or start talking on a cell phone in the hallway (something school staff are strictly forbidden from doing, and with good reason). They complain when they can't have junior's birthday party at school, during instructional time.
A school is not a daycare facility. Parents need to learn to drop off their child(ren) and GO, unless they are staying for a previously-planned function or volunteer opportunity. Teachers don't show up randomly at your job to talk about what you are doing or to "hang out". Pay us the same respect please.
Five Issues Facing Arne Duncan in a Second Term:
1 - Money
2 - Money
3 - Money
4 - Money
5 - Money
Aren't the school problems for Arne Duncan still the same:
How to waste even more money on poorly behaving and poorly performing minorities?
CMS Teacher @ November 9, 2012 6:51am: "Teachers don't show up randomly at your job to talk about what you are doing or to "hang out". Pay us the same respect please."_________
I don't take up my child's teacher time, as I do respect their time. But don't try to make the comparison that you don't show up at our office. Your child's welfare is not dependent upon MY job.
The biggest problem I see re: visitors is all the schools do is require a generic 'visitor' sticker after supposedly signing in. I COULD use the same sticker, not sign in, and walk the halls if I wanted to practically every day and no one would likely say anything. Not much control there.
When I was PTA president at an urban junior high school, we used to encourage parents to come to parent day and shadow their child all day, or as much as they could stand. However we did instruct the parents that they needed to be as inconspicuous as possible. Interestingly, a large group of parent volunteers came out of these "days" when they realized how much they could help a teacher even with an hour a week volunteering. It seems obvious what a parent can help do in an elementary school but it is not so in middle school school or high school.
I have to say...as a parent of a kindergartner, teachers seem to be so "bothered" by parents who just want to be involved! Yes, parents should not take up teachers time in the morning with extended conversations, but their motives are pure. They care about the well being of their kids! In this day and time, I would think teachers would be grateful for parents who actually care and are interested in supporting the kids and teachers. By all means, redirect the parents to more proper channels...but don't despise them for wanting to engage their child's educator!
8:51, in principle I agree with you but you have to understand the politics of public education these days where most politicans, educrats and definitely community organizers believe most parents are incapable of properly raising their children. The children will not get enough government indoctrination with your influence and thus they are best at judging how your child will be raised. Your religion is phony. You need to accept the government as your new king.
Arne, the best thing the federal government can do for public education is to get out of it. Just step back and look at what government involvement did for the housing market. Look at what the feds did to medical costs when they started Medicare. Look at what they did to the cost of college education when they started changing the supply and demand curve. I can do on and on.
After 100 days this is what we get? Its basic pal sign in drop your DL at the desk. Parents only other family members would have to be checked in with parents. Or simply gett he ID and have PTA provide scanner to police data base of police records. Its a simple finger scan thats been used for decades linked to Sheriffs database. Is this really what we paid for after a extensive search? Keith W. Hurley
Thank you CMS Teacher for your insight. I am one of the parents who used to stop in and talk to the teacher. I never thought about how disruptive this can be. I now communicate with my Kindergartener's teacher mostly by e-mail. That way, she can focus on teaching her students during school hours and answering my e-mail afterwards.
If there is something substantial that I need to discuss with the teacher, I will ask for an appointment so that she can set aside an alotted time for me. We can discuss my child without being rushed. We can also be sure that we have prepared for our discussion.
Thank you CMS Teacher for showing me that it's not all the parents. It's about our children.
*I meant to say, it's not all about the parents. It's about our children.
Lisa Damien: I am not the 6:51AM teacher but I have to comment with a big THANK YOU for your respectful response. Too often, commenters are self-righteous and defensive because they are so focused on THEIR message instead of hearing the message someone is trying to say, and looking for middle ground. We can all work together better for the sake of our students.
There are about 60 page views on this blog for every comment (gotta love numbers), so I always hope some of the people who aren't joining the fray are still reading, thinking and learning.
60 page views for the entire blog or this one story?
Sixty times as many page views as comments. So far, 851,102 views and 14,499 comments in just over two years (I guess you were Comment No. 14,500). It's actually more like 57-point-something if you're going to truth-squad me, but it was 60ish the other time I calculated, so rough estimate :-)
You're popular.
It's a good thing you can't track who is looking.
I'm guilty of 63.2% of page views.
If I got paid by the numbers, Wiley, I'd owe you a commission!
Ann,
Can you please shed some light on why CMS has decided to subsidize AP exams this year? Who made the decision? What will this add to the budget?
Thanks
I don't recall hearing about that. Maybe happened while I was on vacation. I'll check next week.
25 Students in the classroom ?!!?
Where are you and why are you worried. Most of my peers are teaching at least 30 and I am teaching 39.
Pay for Performance. What a joke with ALL the variables involved.
Money for VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS is the only thing good that could come from the Federal Government. They have spent billions of our money to take us out of the Top 25 in the World.
Better get ready to spend more on building prisions at a cost of $30,000 per year per prisoner.
Great work Arne. Go play some more pickup basketball while Rome BURNS.
They should send in FEMA for our education system !
Riddle me this:
Which is the WORST school sytem in the US?
CMeS
Detroit
Chicago
Hint: The one Arne Duncan left from
Pay for performance is the way to go. The rest of us get evaluated based on our output...and teachers deal with our most precious commodity on a day to day basis. They should DEFINITELY have student performance tied to pay (if the child doesn't know his abc's at the beginning of the year and doesn't know his abc's at the end of the school year, heck yeah, we should be looking at the teacher for answers...). And I AM an educator AND CMS teacher...
I meant I am a former CMS teacher...but I am still a parent and educator.
So I get a junior who can barely read and write. Now I am paid on the lack of performance of all the educators before me who couldnt teach or reach little Johnny who is now big Johnny the THUG. Great pay system !
A. Pay for Performance - I have a student who has been absent for over four weeks and the parents don't seem to care... Why should I be held accountable for that student? In your "paid for output" job--you'd FIRE that employee who wasn't showing up...can't do that in schools, but I should be held accountable via my pay because a parent won't make their kid come to school? Yeah..right...no. Pay for Performance isn't realistic as we are not producing a product...kids and their parents and their outside of school lives and issues all bleed into the classroom and impact "performance". If girl A runs away from home for a few weeks...how come that should be reflected in MY pay? If girl B gets pregnant how should that be reflected in MY pay? If Boy A's mom is diagnosed with cancer and he goes into a tailspin academically because he is a teenager who hasn't developed coping mechanisms yet...how come that should be reflected in MY pay? If Boy B plays video games until 2 AM every night instead of doing homework...how come that should be reflected in MY pay? If girl C spends more time in the Twittersphere than on homework... If a student has to work an almost full time job to help support his/her family because in this economy it may be all hands on deck... At the end of the day...these are KIDS who bring so much with them to school that WE AS TEACHERS CAN'T CONTROL. PERIOD. So...how come OUR pay should potentially take a hit or our evaluation section about testing potentially be poor when we can not possible control every aspect of our jobs because we deal with PEOPLE...DEVELOPING people at that.
B. Visits- It comes down to a safety issue. Three weeks ago, I looked up and there was a man standing in my room. No visitor's badge. I had students in tutoring, it was 3:00. What if he had been some wahoo who tried to hurt me? What if he was there because a student in my room had said or done something to his kid and he was looking for payback? What if he verbally assaulted me or a student in my room? I couldn't leave the room to get help and leave the kids...How can I protect the other students in my room when a parent thinks he can just walk up to my classroom and come in any time he wants to? What if a non-custodial parent shows up and takes their child because it was just so easy for them to get on campus and the teachers weren't aware of the conditions of custody? Too many variables... IT IS A SAFETY CONCERN and it scares me. I know many parents are well meaning, but let's face it...it's 2012 and there are some wackadoos out there.
Simply look back to the eastside incident last year with the teacher and her estranged husband came on campus. Very serious issue we are dealing with folks. Frankly with volunteers in most main offices checking these folks in security in lack in majority of schools. County took resource officers away in most schools. CMS hides most of the incidents it can from the publics eye.
6:41,
I can only add:
a. One or both parents are either in jail or out of the state or country.
b. The wealthy parents are in a bitter custody dispute.
c. The state legislature will never have the funding for PFP.
d. Mckinney/Vento students who have to deal with how many blankets in the car are enough.
e. Bogus evaluations.
f. Amateur parent curriculum experts.
g. Worthless Common Core training with textbook
vendor software than hasn't worked for
over a year.
It is next to impossible to secure every enyrance door on some campuses. For example, NWSA has 5 separate buildings each with it's own entrances and exits. If you count the off campus building where satellite classes are held, NWSA is housed in 6 separate buildings. To station a guard at each entrance would be extremely expensive. Then you have the issue of fire safety.
Buildings that comprise NWSA -
Main
Side
Arts
Gym
Cafeteria
Music Factory
All of these buildings where built separate each with itheir own front, side and back doors. A lot of other schools are designed the same way.
There are a minimum of 18 entrances and exits at NWSA.
Myers Park, South Meck and Garinger are also a hodgepodge of buildings. The ability for me to walk into any of these schools without a nametag or badge is easy. Bypassing the main office to sign in is a no brainer. No school is 100% secure. Neither is a movie theater or any other public space.
The BED kid in the next classroom is far more dangerous than some parent in the middle of a coustody battle. The kid who just received a 2 week out of school suspension for bringing a loaded gun to school is more dangerous than Chilly Willy.
The volunteer football coach or Boy Scout leader is more likely to molest a kid than a random parent meeting their child for lunch.
Outside trailers. How secure are outside trailers?
If you count these, NWSA has 10 or so separate buildings.
The greatest safety threat to students are other students. The greatest safety threat to school staff are students.
How many parents harm, maim, blow-up, shoot, bully or molest a kid at school?
SAFETY AND THE FUTURE….or how our public school policy will create a nation of fraidy-cats.
It is often difficult to see into the future. But if you want a strong clue, look no further than the social issues that get their first footholds in public schools.
As was pointed-out in the CMS policy committee that has drafted the “who can come on our campuses” paper; our 141,000 students are a target to everyone from the sexual pervert to Coca-Cola to fringe groups. Everyone wants a piece of the student pie. To these groups success is measured in the number of young minds that can be influenced.
I can’t think of many societal shifts that didn’t incubate in public schools.
To name a few: Save Willie, Global warming, “a better world through better technology,” the demise of religion and of course the three biggies – No Smoking, Sexuality and a Colorblind World. The exception is the environment. It was a book,Silent Spring, that cemented public opinion. Yet eventually that became the life-blood of every K12 lesson plan. Save Willie? Heck, save us from ourselves all the teachers cry!
What this boils-down to, is attempting to create world where no one has a chance of being a victim. I guess a world without victims is good; but not reasonable or realistic.
So can CMS bar every group? How does it filter the requests? Can it bar every door? And if it does, will it have protected students or altered them badly?
Bolyn McClung
Pineville
Bolyn , IF CMS does not bar the criminals and seedy volunteers (look in mirror) then they will further run parents away. They will not help themselves with state judges and most likely be forced to disband in a few years. LIFT has done this already with its little core of a jumbled mess. The County has not helped the issue by not funding the security officers at schools. Adults with no children in the school simply do not belong. State leaders must fund the needs of our schools along with the County. Mcrory said he is all about education even though he has never had a child so lets see what he is made of.
The greatest threat is the constant liberal philosophies that the students are bombarded with by their teachers. Next stop SOCIALISM
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