We Demand Answers, Action and Accountability!
Moving in the right direction.
First, we want to give credit where credit is due. In February, the community of JCPS stakeholders (parents, teachers, staff and community leaders) held a rally to ask our Superintendent to step down. On April 13, the JCPS Board of Education held a special executive session where her resignation was accepted, effective July 1. We commend them for being responsive and accountable to their constituents and taking bold action in resolving this issue. Hargens' departure was one of the promises made by two of the candidates during last November's campaign, and they did what we elected them to do! Now that outspoken Hargens supporter David Jones is out, and taxpayers and stakeholders voices are being heard (at least at the local level), things are finally moving in the right direction for our district. But we still have a long ways to go. We now hope the board will name an interim superintendent who is familiar with the inner workings of our district, but impervious to the corruption and politics, so they can steer us back on course. We also want the community to be part of the conversation when selecting a long-term replacement.
In the meantime, it's still business as usual at
Van Hoose.
"Lies? Deceit? Corruption? I don't know what else to call it," says Gay Adelmann, co-founder of Dear JCPS. "I went to one of the parent meetings and I see why they continue to leave with more questions than answers. In essence, the district has already discontinued the Waldorf program at Maupin, and now they want the board to rubber stamp their actions. Rubber stamping bad decisions and misinformation is not what we elected our school board members to do. So we plan to show up Tuesday night to insist they listen to BOTH sides of the story, and vote for what's in the best interest of the kids, not the adults who want this problem to quietly go away. This is a social justice issue. And it is a pattern we see repeatedly in our West End schools. Where is the accountability?"
It's hard to deny that JCPS made numerous mistakes with the implementation of the Catalpa School of Innovation at Maupin Elementary. There is evidence that district leaders made several decisions without board and SBDM approval, and failed to implement and support the program fully in the first place. These actions have effectively led to tomorrow night's vote, and also resulted in the loss of the school's SBDM council. In what was considered a deceptive maneuver by some parents, administrators even sent a flyer home implying that the board had already made the decision to discontinue the program when the vote isn't actually until tomorrow night! There is an elaborate proposal on the agenda that explains how "data" shows that this program should be discontinued, but parents and teachers say it doesn't tell the full story, and they deserve an equal opportunity to be heard.
Referring to the documents on the agenda, Adelmann said, "Imagine if they had put this much effort into helping the school be successful in the first place. We wouldn't be placing our board members in the difficult position to vote on this recommendation right now. This was a thoroughly researched and carefully considered proposal our board already approved unanimously 2 1/2 years ago. Asking them to vote on it again now is the educational equivalent of double jeopardy."
Learn more here:
Here are some recent letters and emails from Maupin parents, community members and Dear JCPS:
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We are asking for three things from our board Tuesday night:
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Answers: What went wrong?
This is a pattern we have seen with schools for years -- especially schools in the west end. We want a full investigation of all of the missteps that happened along the way, not coverups and deceptive tactics, not ending the program so the problem can be neatly packed away and forgotten about. We need authentic answers and solutions, so that we can make sure nothing like this happens again.
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Action: Name an Interim Superintendent ASAP!
Despite agreeing to step down July 1, we can see from this example that Dr. Hargens continues to push an agenda of shell games and sweeping problems under the rug. We want a new leader before July 1! Someone who can hit the ground running, who will facilitate an authentic audit with KDE, who will be in a position to restructure appropriate key central staff members before the May 15 transfer and non-renewal date, and who will bring recommendations to our school board that are honest, forthright, collaborative and in the best interest of students!
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Accountability: Vote NO on the Proposal to Discontinue the Waldorf Program at Maupin!
This program was originally promised 4 years to succeed. The drop in scores at the outset was part of the proposal. We KNEW it was going to happen. Yet the district seems to have gotten cold feet and has unilaterally made numerous decisions that did not involve SBDM, KDE or board approvals along the way. In essence, through unauthorized decisions and lack of support, they've already discontinued the program and now they're expecting our elected representatives to rubber stamp their decision. Hold the district accountable to keeping the promises that were made by them 2 1/2 years ago.
What can you do?
- Call or email your board member with the ANSWERS, ACTION and ACCOUNTABILITY points above before tomorrow afternoon. Information on how to locate and contact your board member is available on our website.
- Join us at the rally from 6:30 - 7:00 pm Tuesday night prior to the 7:00 JCPS board meeting. Then stay for the meeting. Wear green to show your support. (Any groups or individuals wishing to speak to the press or during the board meeting on Tuesday evening, please contact moderator@dearjcps.com or call (502) 565-8397.)
- Sign this petition to Maintain a public Waldorf model at Maupin Elementary.
Thank you for your continued support of public schools in Jefferson County, including this important public Waldorf program.
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