An elementary principal in Opa-Locka, FL, is under investigation for her crusade against "problem" students. The Miami Herald displays a copy of a memo that Parkview principal Susan Renick wrote to homeroom teachers in which she asks for a list of students who are "frequently tardy, absent, late being picked up from school, behavior problems, inattentive, who do not complete class and home learning assignments," ostensibly for the purpose of getting these students "outta" "here" so that FCAT scores for the school will go back up.
Sounds rotten, to be sure, but at first the particulars of this situation confused me. Ms. Renick wanted only the names of problem students who were outside the Parkview attendance area. Why should she care? Only 3% of Parkview's students are out-of-area, using waivers to attend the school.
Or was she trying to identify students who were out-of-area but attending Parkview illegally? The article points out that Parkview's overall school grade has risen steadily over the past three years, and Ms. Renick obviously wants to continue that process. Is it that Ms. Renick thought that the desirability of the school might have produced an influx of new out-of-area students (whose parents lied about their address), and the principal wants to boot out any of those who are duds?
This part of the article confirms my assumption:
Parkview received a C grade from the state this year, a B last year and three D's before that. But parents most likely would have been aware of the B grade when enrolling students for the 2002-03 term...
The district's records of out-of-area students are considered unreliable, because parents sometimes lie about their address so they can send their children to higher-performing schools. Principals are primarily responsible for policing their borders.
Parkview would have been susceptible to that trend last year: Of the 14 public elementary schools in the area, only Parkview, Myrtle Grove and Skyway elementaries earned at least a B grade in 2002.
So Parkview has worked hard with its students to raise the overall school rating - but Ms. Renick wants to cook the books. She's going after an easy target - students who are enrolled illegally - but she's only interested in getting rid of those who make the school look bad. It's an astoundingly unfair plan, and I'm amazed that she'd try it (and in so ham-handed a fashion, at that).
Posted by kswygert at July 2, 2003 12:35 PM