Category: Accountability

"Males of Color" Magnet School, Accountability

FCPS Parent Disputes Opinion Letter on Lexington’s CGW Academy

jcpswatch

My name is Dr. Shambra Mulder, one of the FCPS parents that was named in an article that you published by an “anonymous” writer about the Carter G. Woodson.

First of all, I am appalled that you would allow someone to use people’s names in a public way. Had the person not hid their name I may have believed that their intent was not malicious.

Nevertheless, my primary problem with the piece is that it was a gross misinformation about something that is not that difficult to get accurate information.

To save time, I will share ONLY my social media reactions to the article:

1. Not sure of the definition of “Lexington Elite” because we are still Black and are reminded of that fact everyday in Lexington.
2. My son does not attend CGW but if he did it would because it the best school for him and it is his parent’s choice (unlike some of the “elite” programs in FCPS).
4. If all the kids on this list went to CGW they would make up less than 10% of the school’s population.
3. Why be anonymous- could it be be because you are being messy, racist, or just plain cowardly?

Fear is the at the root of everything when you try to block something that would benefit someone else!

The success of racial minorities do not equal the detriment of White people especially when the game is already stack against us (equity).

5. God is at the root of the success of the “Black Elites” and the success of CGW and Satan (or his children) will not stop it.

My other comments: I guess the boys that go CGW are supposed to be from single parent homes, poor, and thugs because that is how they see them.

I truly believe in this era of “fake news” folks just want to write/say things because they think people will believe it if it is in print.

Also if one is bold enough to write people’s name in the letter, the editor should make you report your name Anonymous (because you feel threatened or unsafe?)…lol.

This letter was published with the permission of the author. Dear JCPS believes it is important to share leads and feedback relevant to information being proposed by the administration in order to help our board make informed decisions. Additional responses can be posted on our Facebook page or emailed to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Accountability, Admin, Vision: 2020

“I Am 100% Integrity.”

jcpswatch

In October of 2016, JCPS Chief Financial Officer, Cordelia Hardin, and HR Director, Tiffeny Armour, decided to create a brand new position to oversee org charts. The salary for the position makes it one of the highest paid clerical positions in the district. And one of the only clerical positions in the district to also require a bachelors’ degree, qualifying it to be part of the KTRS. Sweet!

In November, according to her Linked In profile, that position went to Rachel Hardin, a part-time tattoo artist with a degree in Art. (Not a degree in a related HR field.)

So, how does someone with no visible HR experience, training or certification land such a well-paying, critical HR role?

Did we mention that Rachel is the daughter of the district’s Chief Financial Officer? Ya know, one of the ones who created the position?

First, a little history about the org charts.

You may recall, the Curriculum Management Audit recommended elimination of Executive Director of Human Resources.  Human Resources would fall under the newly created Chief Operations Officer post filled by Mike Raisor.
HR was split into “Recruitment and Development” & “Employee Relations / Labor Management.” Tiffeny Armour was over Recruitment & Development and Carolyn Meredith was over Employee Relations.
Organizational Charts were the responsibility of the Director of Employee Relations and handled by a Employee Relations Assistant (an exempt salaried position).  This was the lowest level of administrative post.
Carolyn Meredith soon after retired.  While attempting to fill her vacated position, the position was downgraded by Cordelia Hardin (CFO) and Hargens.
Rob Tanner was named Director of Employee Relations soon after.
When Employee Relations Assistant retired some time later, Tanner was forced by Hardin and Hargens to downgrade this position to a clerical one.
Organizational Charts were still handled by these two downgraded positions, although Tanner began doing most of the org chart work because of the downgrading of the assistant.
In December 2015, Rob Tanner left Employee Relations.
So in summary, Organizational Charts were always handled by one person in employee relations.
After two years, Raisor created a Director of Human Resources position, as the department was still a mess under Armour.  In effect, Armour was given her old job back of Director of Administrator Recruitment and Development and a boss was named to oversee her and the rest of HR.
Mark Rosen was named HR Director.  Tiffeny Armour publicly defied Mark Rosen.  According to our sources, Rosen, although knowledgeable and capable, was impotent to improve HR due to internal sabotage and insubordination.
In April 2015, Rosen’s contract was non-renewed.  Hargens prevented Rosen’s position from being filled because HR was now going to fall under the newly created Chief Business Officer, so she argued it should be his decision.
After Tom Hudson’s hiring, he almost immediately hired Tiffeny Armour as HR director, under the strong recommendation of Cordelia Hardin.  It appears Hudson interviewed no other candidates.
After Tanner left Employee Relations, there were major problems with org charts.  Late, incorrect, sloppy…
It was at this time that they were assigned to Tiffeny Armour and a new position was created: Organizational Chart Technician. Viola!

Why is the CFO so involved in HR, anyway?

Organizational Charts must go through CFO Hardin after HR to get on board agenda.
Hardin meets with Hargens in regards to open positions and whether or not they need to be filled (not HR).
At a May board meeting, Frank Mellon said “I think we should let the HR expert speak to that.” Yet, CFO Hardin, not HR Director Armour, spoke up. Is the CFO the HR expert? Why does the CFO need to point to the place on the page that the HR director needs to read from (see video)?
At the prior meeting, when pressed, neither Armour, nor Hardin, would volunteer to the board the make up of the committee that evaluates positions or org charts, saying they would get the board that information.  It is only two people – the two of them. How hard is that to answer?
At the 5/23 meeting, in reference to a completely different snafu, Cordelia Hardin said, “I do not lie. … I am 100% integrity.”
Did Hardin and Armour created a brand new, highly paid with a great retirement, job for Hardin’s unemployed / underemployed daughter because Hardin pushed to get Armour the HR director job? Accurate or not, this situation does not appear to be 100% integrity.

Some facts.

Looking at the board minutes, we found that this new position (job description on the right) was presented and approved in the 9/27/2016 meeting, resulting in this revised org chart.

Based on the JCPS salary grade information, this is a 1A Grade 14 position with 260 work days/year. (52 weeks * 5 days/week).

According to the salary schedule document, a grade 14 position with 0 years prior experience is worth $23.1811/hr. Multiply that out, and the salary for her position *should* be $48,216.69, annually. However, with the degree requirement, this position has the second highest earning potential of any clerical job in the district, according to one source.

Hopefully, our district’s new interim superintendent, who takes the helm on July 1, will address this situation and do what needs to be done to prevent any future events like this from happening. The public deserves to have confidence that members of the superintendent’s cabinet actually are all about 100% integrity. Teachers and staff deserve an HR Department that is made up of Human Resources professionals, not untrained folks who seem to care more about looking out for their buddies than they do about putting the right people in the job.

Dr. Pollio: Good luck. We’re all counting on you.

Disclaimer: This post was compiled from data and tips from more than one source. Prior to posting, we conducted extensive fact-checking using public databases from where this information is stored. Every effort has been made to provide complete, factual information that will restore integrity to our district. While it is unfortunate some individuals have been called out, we feel it is important to share what we have discovered in order to give the district an opportunity to address any inappropriate conduct, or to respond should this information be incorrect. The sources are anonymous here, but they are not anonymous to us. If we have made any errors in our reporting, please send an email to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Accountability, Admin, Privatization of Public Education, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020

@JCPSKY needs to tackle the BIG R issues that get in the way of education

jcpswatch

Dear JCPS Board of Education,

In February, I wrote to you as a parent of a Maupin student with my concerns about the possible impacts of an audit on Maupin Elementary after being placed into “priority status”. My original concerns, quoted below this letter in many ways have not changed. The only thing that has become clear since that time is that the District continues to take actions that will lead to the end of the Catalpa model at Maupin unless you take action to forge a different path.

From early on in the implementation of this program, the leadership of the school and district have continuously reneged on promises, degraded the integrity of the Waldorf model, and made unilateral decisions that silenced the voices of teachers and parents at the school and in the Parkland neighborhood and have brought us to this precipice point. While I could write you a long letter describing the ways my family has dreamed of having access to Waldorf education for our children and would never have the economic access to attend a Waldorf school outside of a public school system (something that is true), today, even though my family will be affected by this decision, the reality is that as a family with many underserved privileges that come with white skin and being perceived as “middle-class”, I know that my family will ultimately be okay whatever decision is made. However, this is exactly this reason that I am writing to you today. The reality is that families in West Louisville who bear the brunt and the burden of racial injustice in this community will be harmed by the removal of the Waldorf program at Maupin.

It should be acknowledged that in the beginning of this program, neighborhood families, as I understand it, were skeptical that Waldorf was right for their community (and made me hesitant to choose this magnet for my child), but over the two years that this program has begun to sink its roots into the community, neighborhood parents have shared the many ways they have come value the Waldorf approach to education. If these families were not given a voice the process of bringing the disruption of a new model to their school two years ago, we absolutely owe them the opportunity to be major contributors to the process now.

During a parent meeting at Maupin in February, Principal, Maria Holmes expressed that she felt that Waldorf was not providing equitable education for many students whose unstable life situations caused them to leave the school and need to integrate into a different educational setting. While I appreciated and agreed with this concern, I have ultimately come to disagree with the conclusion that Waldorf-type education would necessarily lead to this imbalance. Because here’s the reality: education will never be able to educate away poverty, and systemic racism. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I don’t believe there is any program or system that can actually wipe out the affects of poverty, racism, and trauma that educators are tasked with “educating out of the classroom”. Maupin did not “fail” because Waldorf creates inequitable ways of educating. Frankly, I believe It failed because the district and principal, consciously or not, did not believe that it could succeed with black children. They actually reinforced the stereotype that they could have addressed by providing the kinds of supports that begin to address inequity: access to health care and mental health services, family supports, access to jobs and job training for parents, supporting programs for home ownership and economic development, etc.. But these are big problems that are seen outside of the scope of education—these are the challenges of dismantling systemic Racism with a capital R. The Kentucky Department of Education and indeed, JCPS have shown and time and time again that they don’t see the need to do that and would prefer to fall back on blaming teachers, parents and students for their failures as measured by standardized tests measuring unstandardized lives.

So right now, I see that the board actually has two choices. 1.) The board can vote to support a system that ultimately always chooses to protect itself. I get it: KDE is sort of driving this bus right now; so, choosing not to go along with the district’s plan is going to be incredibly challenging. It will be a fight. OR 2.) You can decide to make a choice that values the input of community stakeholders who have the most to gain or lose by this decision and you can demand a leadership chain (including finding a new superintendent immediately) that is willing to do whatever is needed to tackle the BIG R issues that get in the way of education. And if the Waldorf model stays at Maupin, the school and TEACHERS MUST be given absolute support to fully implement the model at every level of the school.

Thank you for considering this perspective. I hope you will hear the families of West Louisville.

Emily Pickett,
Parent

Accountability, Admin, Privatization of Public Education, Standardized Testing, Vision: 2020

Mr. Brady, Where Do You Stand?

jcpswatch

The following letter was sent to @BradyJCPSBOE on April 23, 2017 from a Maupin parent:

Mr. Chris Brady,

I am following up on our conversation on Wed, Mar 22, 2017 after the Townhall meeting w/ Pruitt.

As I recall you had stated that you thought this year would have been the 1st year to consider since last year was a transition year. Also that you thought that the implementation at Maupin was horrible. That you had set up a meeting with Mr. Leffert and were going to discuss my questions and concerns with him.

You also stated that at that time no one had released any information regarding the audit or the parent meetings that occurred afterwards to the board. That you were requesting that as well as the questions/concerns that the parents/caregivers sent to Joe Leffert and/or Maria Holmes.

Lastly I recall you stating that once you received that information you would fight for this program to both the School Board and KDE if need be.

So now I’m asking:

1. How did your meeting with Mr. Leffert go?

2. Are you still going to try to save this program and convince the school board and possibly KDE if needed to support it?

There has been so much misinformation and piece-mealed information lately that I feel that I have to ask you my District Representative where you stand in regards to this program.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Also for all you do for the children in the communities you serve by being on the School Board. I know it can’t be easy continually dealing with some parent and their schools’ issues. So I thank you for doing it.

Very Respectfully,
Mrs. Shanna Miller

Accountability, Admin, Privatization of Public Education, Standardized Testing, Vision: 2020

Perhaps Impatience and Lack of Commitment Are The “Problem” With Maupin

jcpswatch

Dear Dr. Willner:

Please vote “NO” tomorrow night for the removal of magnet status from Maupin Elementary School’s Catalpa School of Innovation Magnet Program and the discontinuation of the Catalpa Waldorf model for the 2017-18 school year.

I have spoken to a number of individuals who share my concerns about the discontinuation of the Magnet Program and Catalpa Model and the likely impact on the students who are presently enrolled in the school. Parent engagement is up, attendance is up, the number of behavior issues are down, and test scores are trending back up. But the message being communicated publicly is that parents don’t participate, students are poorly behaved and failing, and teachers have given up. We must use extreme care and ensure that yet another effort to close the achievement gap and improve the lives of students and their families in Louisville’s West End is not terminated before it has a chance to deliver on its promised results.

The application for designation as a School of Innovation clearly spells out the change that is required and the need for a strong well-trained staff to execute the vision. How is it then that the principal appointed to lead the school is not trained in the Waldorf method? And, that the training that was to occur for teachers throughout the school year has not been done—not to mention that in the first year of implementation 8 of the teachers were in their first year of teaching? Is it no wonder that some of the teachers are encountering problems teaching the new curriculum and managing student behavior in the new instructional environment? Not to mention, being forced to perform under the watchful eye of State administrators whose focus is on student testing and Common Core standards and call for bolder thinking but who fail to do their part in creating the conditions for this to happen. Unfortunately, it is the children and their families who will suffer if the program is terminated prematurely as is currently proposed by Dr. Hargens and her executive staff.

As a Board you have taken steps to address the divide that exists between JCPS administrators and the communities they serve by negotiating Dr. Hargen’s resignation. I ask you now to take the next step in voting NO at tomorrow night’s meeting. I implore you and the other Board members to step back and look anew without prejudice at this program and its performance. Please allow adequate time for parent and community input and counter-arguments. And, before you decide to terminate it, first ask what it would take to make it successful. We need to demonstrate through our actions that we recognize the potential of each and every student who resides in West Louisville—and that while we too often have labeled them and their families as the “problem” (e.g., the students poor behavior and lack of parental involvement), it may in fact be our own impatience and lack of commitment that are the problem.

In these times where we are witnessing an assault on public education, I so value your stewardship over our public schools. Thank you for your service to our community and your commitment to our children and youth.

Sincerely,
Theresa Glore. MS

Accountability, Admin, Privatization of Public Education, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020

Resignation Letter From Maupin Teacher

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This letter was from 2015. It reveals that the Catalpa school was not receiving the support it needed from the beginning. And that the administration was trying to change instruction back then, as well. Tonight’s vote is more of a matter of asking the board to rubber stamp a defacto decision the district has been implementing since the beginning. As a parent at Shawnee, I witnessed what happens to schools that endure constant “change for the sake of change” activities. We cannot let this pattern continue.

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Vision: 2020

Facts About Maupin’s Catalpa School of Innovation

jcpswatch

This post will be updated.

After having completed two open records requests and interviewing more than two dozen Maupin parents and teachers, I am starting to have a pretty good grasp on the situation, yet there is new information coming to light every day. Damning information. And I really hope that instead of rubber stamping the district’s decisions that led to the recommendation to discontinue Maupin’s Catalpa School of Innovation, they take the time to fully understand the real impact that this program is beginning to have on the kids and what supports must be provided to make it successful.

I would also like to point out that while most board members have been accessible and responsive to our concerns, parents are not being given the same opportunities to present their counter argument Tuesday night, despite repeated requests to do so. They will not be given equivalent time to speak in public in an open format, but instead will be forced to speed read through their comments in three minutes each. They may even be limited to the number of speakers that can speak on the topic. There will be no time for Q&A afterwards, and in fact, if there are any questions from the board, they will likely be posed to the administrators to spin the way the want. Lastly, it’s worth noting that any of the efforts to present the “pro” Catalpa side of the argument had to be done by unpaid persons, on their own time, without full knowledge of the data that exists, requesting open records according to state regulations (3-days in advance), siphoning through 26 MB of open records responses, including much mundane, irrelevant info, and contacting board members one at a time to make their cases, in some cases receiving no response at all. Meanwhile, the “anti” Catalpa folks are district employees on full salary (many making well into six figures), with secretaries, assistants, technology teams, etc. with access to any and all data and resources they wish to select from until they find what they need to support their argument. AND they are afforded the luxury of posting their fancy proposals to the district website, for the public and all board members to peruse over the weekend. AND they will be given the floor, a computer from which to project their powerpoint slides, and a screen and as much time as they want to make their case. Followed by open dialogue with board members.

So, what do we know?

At least on 5 occasions, the district made unilateral decisions that should have been run past SBDM, JCPS Board of Education and/or KDE, but weren’t:

  1. The decision to terminate the SBDM and reinstate a new one in 2015, despite it not technically being a new school.
  2. The decision to not grow the school to K-8 the second year. (Initial promises were one new grade per year, so they should be K-6 right now.)
  3. The decision to go from grades K-5 to only having grades K-2 teaching Waldorf.
  4. The decision not to use the waiver granted by the state. (SBDM voted on this in November of 2016, yet Dr. Hargens had already notified KDE in September.)
  5. The decision to freeze the add-on budget that would have allowed for additional staff to support the program.

The district appears to also have engaged in deceptive practices on multiple occasions:

  1. Selecting Maupin as a location for the SOI after two years of failing scores, possibly as an opportunity to “reset” the scores and restart the clock. This plan backfired when the student population did not change enough to warrant a reset, but the scores followed them into the new school so that in their first year of Waldorf (third year of failing scores), they were subjected to a state audit.
  2. Not sending any of the promised communications home to existing Maupin parents in order to set their expectations for the years ahead.
  3. Essentially discontinuing the program through the actions noted above, so that families and teachers left, causing the school’s failure to become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
  4. Not ensuring teacher training. It takes 4 years of summers for teachers to become certified. This was in the original plan and proposal that the board approved. Teacher training was supposed to be mandatory those 4 years, but we were later told that that MOA “sunsetted” at the end of year one, so training became optional. Still, most teachers attended. Not so with the administration. In addition, the principal is not Waldorf trained and therefore, does not fully understand how to lead in this environment. There has also been no ongoing training throughout the year as promised. That’s part of the funding that was frozen this year.
  5. Not honoring board approvals. The district is asking the board to rubber stamp actions that the district has already taken, giving up on this school after just two years (sooner actually), when the initial proposal  that was approved was for four years.
  6. Not defending the school and the scores to state auditors. When asked if this happened, the current assistant superintendent simply responded, “I don’t know, that was before my time.”
  7. Telling parents that the audit results could not be appealed, because the superintendent did not feel one was warranted.
  8. Telling teachers to go ahead and apply for transfers “just to be safe” since they were not sure if the program would continue.
  9. Sending home a misleading flyer telling parents the board had already voted to discontinue the program when in fact they hadn’t.
  10. Sending the flyer home only to magnet parents, so that resides parents remain oblivious to the impending changes.

Dirty Dozen: What they’re not telling you:

  1. Scores for Catalpa classes are outpeforming non-catalpa classes. But they’re lumping all classes together for their presentation tomorrow night.
  2. Parent engagement at Maupin is the best it’s been in years. In fact, before the magnet was implemented, the PTA got into trouble because they only had school employees serving, which is a violation of RedBook policy. The PTA treasurer CANNOT be a JCPS employee.
  3. Attendance at Maupin is up.
  4. Behavior issues are down.
  5. The proposal that the board approved 2 1/2 years ago warned that scores would go down before they went up. This was a known issue, and is no reason to abandon the plan.
  6. Not only are the destroying the public waldorf option at Maupin, but they destroyed the successful one at Byck in the process, since they moved all of the families and teachers over from there.
  7. Yes, scores went down but they appear to already be trending back up in 3rd grade with those who have been in the Catalpa all along. It’s working! But we need more time.
  8. The first year of the program was really a transition year. There was a new principal, and all but one teacher left. The behavior and discipline issues escalated due to the uncertainty, lack of training and building of capacity. The scores that the school are being held accountable for were from that first, troubled year, and do not reflect the true potential of this program.
  9. The state’s decision to remove the SBDM’s decision making capacity might have been avoided had the auditors been informed that this was a school of innovation, the scores are from just the first year, and that decisions were being made without their knowledge or input.
  10. Magnet families are being offered the opportunity to apply to new schools since they missed the transfer window. However resides families are not.
  11. Current magnet families will not even have the option to stay if this program is removed.
  12. This is not the first time the district has short-changed a school in the West End. In fact, it’s business as usual.

We are still expecting more information to come forward. Please continue to check this post.

If you have any information you think should be added to this list, please send an email to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Accountability, Admin, Privatization of Public Education, Vision: 2020

JCPS is For The Children? Really? Which Ones?

jcpswatch

The following email was sent to board chair @BradyJCPSBOE (Chris Brady) by a Maupin parent on April 20, 2017.

Chris,

I realize that you have a lot on your plate besides what is going on at Maupin.  And I understand that you have a huge workload and are very busy.  But the attached letter I received from the School greatly upsets me.  I was under the impression that the Board has not made a decision on removing the Catalpa Model at Maupin yet.  This was something that was going to be in discussion per the Agenda for the April 25, 2017 School Board meeting.

These letters, from talking to other parents, appear to have only been given to Magnet parents who live outside of the cluster.  Since, my husband has already been told we would not be able to keep our children at Maupin when the magnet is dissolved since it is not one of our cluster schools.  Really?!?  So, if after all the JCPS Administration has done to families if our kids end up wanting to stay because they end up having teachers that stay, that option is no longer open to them?  With such low enrollment can they really risk kicking out the only diversity they have in the school as well as the possible number of kids?

I keep hearing that JCPS is for the children, well I have to ask, which ones?  Because I feel like mine keep getting screwed.

I’m going to look at the bylaws, any governing body has them, to see how this should have occurred.  Decisions made behind closed doors and then voted in public after the fact or if these discussions are to be announced, even closed session ones with an Agenda, so that the public knows what is going on.  I feel like if it’s the latter then how is this any different then when Dr. Hargens / Maria Holmes were making those decisions and then having the SBDM vote on them after the fact?

Also, if you dissolve this model, the entire student body deserves to know.  All families, regardless of neighborhood/cluster/magnet should be given the opportunity to decide if this school is where they want to send their child next year.  Some of them actually came for the program as well and communication should be to everyone not just a few.

Very Respectfully,
Shanna Miller

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Vision: 2020

Don’t Rubber Stamp Unauthorized District Actions

jcpswatch

This is an email that was sent to @JCPSKY board chair @BradyJCPSBOE Chris Brady by a Maupin parent.

Mr. Brady,

I realize you’re expected to vote on the discontinuation of the Waldorf model at the next board meeting.  I want you to know that the district has already taken steps to discontinue it, and now they are asking for you to rubber stamp what they’ve done.  There are two examples of SBDM violations where they did the same thing to us. One where they decided to go from K-5 to K-2 without SBDM input.  Another where they decided not to use the waiver we received from the state.  The district made this decision in September when Hargens sent a letter to KDE, but the SBDM didn’t vote on it until November.  This school of innovation was passed unanimously by the board, but has been riddled with poor execution and lack of support since day one.

The promises with regards to communications and expectations with incoming families, with recruiting across the district to bring in families who want this style of teaching, to change the student mix to “reset” the school.  None of this ever happened.  We have now lost our SBDM because school and district leadership that went around our council, so of course they’re going to be considered ineffective by state auditors, who by the way seemed to not understand Waldorf style, nor the fact that we were in our first year of SOI when the scores that triggered the audit came about.  We were held responsible for the prior school’s scores.  And we were lied to about an appeals process, because they didn’t WANT us involved.  And now they’re lying to you.  There is a reason Hargens is leaving.  Please give us the chance we deserve.  The one we never got under her failed leadership.  Give us one more year to demonstrate that this program can work.

Very Respectfully,
Mrs. Shanna M. Miller

Letter sent to KDE in September stating the decision had been made not to use the waiver.
Header from the minutes where the SBDM voted not to use the KDE waiver.
Minutes from SBDM Meeting in November to Approve Discontinuation of Use of Waiver (after notification has already been sent to KDE).
Accountability, Admin, Vision: 2020

Maupin Concerns: Letter to JCPS Board of Education

jcpswatch

This email was sent to the board on April 6, 2017. 

Greetings Dr. Hargens, Chair Brady and Members of the JCPS BOE,

On Oct 13, 2014, the JCPS Board of Education approved a “schoolwide implementation of the Waldorf-inspired Catalpa School concept at Maupin Elementary School for the 2015-16 school year. “

Only three of the seven JCPS board members who approved this recommendation are still serving on the board today. Furthermore, only five of the seven who approved the subsequent waivers in 2015 are still serving. Therefore, Dear JCPS wanted to make sure the newer board members had easy access to the previous conversations that took place, votes that occurred, and promises and expectations that were set, regarding the decision to turn Maupin into the Catalpa school after four dedicated teachers won the School of Innovation Competition. For your convenience, I have tried to gather four “key” components for your consideration into this email in an abbreviated timeline. Should any of this information prompt further questions from you, please let me know. I would be happy to research and/or provide you with additional information as warranted or requested.

Please review the following items:

  1. 9-22-14 WORK SESSION: This “video” merges the audio file with the powerpoints from the 9-22-14 work session. I added a few images of some of those speaking when I could, just to make it less painful to watch. I’m clearly not a professional. 😉
    Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjO4P5z_J1M&
  2. 10-13-14 FOLLOW-UP WORK SESSION: The above work session ran out of time, so the audio for the follow up meeting on 10-13-14 is here (the first 18 minutes are focused on Maupin):
    Audio: https://archive.jefferson.kyschools.us/Board/2014_MP3s/WS_2014-10-13.mp3
    (I have not merged the audio file with the slides and culled out the Maupin component of the presentation, but I can do that if it interests you.)
  3. 2-23-15 WAIVER APPROVAL: Here is a snippet from the board meeting where Bob Rodosky proposes the waivers that the district will be requesting for Maupin.
    Attachments: JCPS DOI Waiver Requests
    Video: Maupin Waivers Approved By JCPS BOE (Feb 23 2015 Board Meeting)
    Order #2015-32 – Motion Passed:  Superintendent Donna Hargens recommends that the Board of Education approve four waiver requests to be submitted to the Kentucky Board of Education as part of our District of Innovation status: (1) the minimum requirements for high school graduation; (2) accountability administrative procedures and guidelines for Limited English Proficiency students; (3) Maupin Elementary—grade-level timeline deviation for coverage of Kentucky Core Academic Standards; and (4) Maupin Elementary—activities of the student attendance day. The recommendation passed with a motion by Mr. Chris Brady and a second by Mrs. Stephanie Horne.
  4. LETTER FROM PARENT: This letter from a Maupin parent was sent to Dr. Hargens last week.
    https://dearjcps.com/dr-hargens-keep-your-promises-keep-maupin-a-public-waldorf-school/

Parents and teachers deserve to know what the district’s plans are for this school, even if the decision is NOT to continue with the Catalpa model. Teachers have been told to put in for transfers “just to be safe.” Parents are being told nothing can be done to accommodate them if they want to transfer their children to another magnet since “no decision has been made.” We respectfully request that the JCPS BOE add this item for vote on the April 25 board meeting and allow time on the agenda for Maupin representatives to make a presentation to the board so that you can make an informed decision on how to move forward.

Please advise next steps.

Thank you for your service,

Gay

Gay Adelmann

Co-Founder, Dear JCPS
Charter Member, Network for Public Education
2014 Governor’s Commonwealth Institute for Parental Leadership (GCIPL) Fellow