Of Fools and Cowards - The Ballad of the Wentzville School District

"Inconceivable."  That was one person's reaction.
"Below the belt."  That was another person's statement.
"I've never seen a school board do this to parents." was a comment from one TV reporter on the scene.

That about sums up our experience tonight at the Wentzville School Board meeting in the Wentzville School District.  Personally, I've never seen such a display of arrogance and disregard for the people that they apparently serve.  If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't have believed it.  But I'm getting ahead of myself....

The evening started pleasent enough, with excellent weather, a good turnout (50-60 people), and plenty of sense of purpose.  Our agenda, as a group, was to speak to the board about our concerns regarding the censorship policy of the Wentzville School District, and lack of communication with Wentzville administrators and Wentzville board members, and in support of a great teacher.  We didn't want to make the evening about the faults of a particular person.  We wanted to air the issues regarding our kids, about our attempts to work with the district, and the unnecessary loss of a great teacher.

Every school district in its right mind knows that success hinges on working with parents to address issues.  And any good administrator or manager knows that nipping problems when they are small keeps them from becoming big.  Every school district seriously pursuing educational excellence appreciates parents that care...
... and then there's Wentzville School District.

Instead of open and honest communication between parents and Wentzville board members, which they've continued to dodge, the agenda was all about Principal Winston Rogers.  It seems that the Wentzville Administration and the Wentzville School Board conspired to censor the parents!

Yep, you read that right.  Parents and students were censored at an "open" forum.  How?  Arbitrary policy, of course...one of the core issues that we find so abhorent in the district.  According to the posted board meeting policy...

Addressing the Board

Public comments are welcome at each regular Board meeting during the period designated for citizen statements. To address the Board, sign in before the meeting convenes at 7 p.m. at the Board table. Citizens will be called to the podium by the Board president to make comments which must be limited to three minutes

So, accordingly, we came early to sign up in order to voice our concerns.  Several students and parents signed up prior to the meeting to speak.  We also knew that comments may be limited, just based on time. 

Little did we know how limited....

At the beginning of the open forum section of the Wentzville School District board meeting, the board president, Dale Schaper, made the astonishing statement that - according to some policy that I have yet to be able to find in their posted policies - comments would be limited to 15 minutes, and only the first five people that signed up would be allowed to speak.  This was in obvious collusion because - surprise - four of the first five speakers were friends and family of Winston Rogers.

We got to hear how misguided and immoral we, the parents, were for speaking out for our children's education. (Umm... this might be a bit embarrassing, but...  yeah, we're right behind you.)  What a great job Winston Rogers is doing, and as an example he's making the teachers dress up so they look better. (Teachers leaving, students upset, parents angry... obviously these aren't as important as having a nice pantsuit!)   How the teachers that influence students (I call that teaching) should be ashamed.  During this show, the parents and students that had come to talk about issues, and not people, left the meeting. 

How do I know this was planned?  First, the people that had managed to get the "golden tickets" to speak were there LONG before we arrived.  I personally arrived 45 minutes prior to the meeting, and they were already seated inside.  Second, according to the board's own policy, posted on the doors of the meeting room, they have the right to extend comment time based on necessity.  Board President Dale Schaper apparently didn't notice the extra 50-60 people in the room (Again you don't see us?  Honestly people, we're right here!), and obviously felt there were no other issues to discuss.

After we had vacated the room, with shouts of "stack the deck", "censor the parents" and "that's okay, we'll just talk with the media", one board member, Mike Cecil, did notice there was an angry elephant in the room, and motioned that our group should be allowed to speak.  Dale Schaper begrudingly allowed one speaker from the group, since he deemed that having one student speak out for such a large issue was equivilent to having four people speak out about.... well, nothing!

The Timberland High School senior newspaper editor spoke of how she has accomplished much under Coach McCandless, and how thanks to her, she is now proudly the 4th best highschool editor in the country (based on national competitions a few months ago.)  At this comment, a dismissing snicker was heard from Assitant Superintendent Melody Marcanotonio... a supportive and professional response to an aspiring journalism student overcoming dyslexia, don't you think?

And where was Mr. Rogers, since the public comments were all about lauding his ability to make teachers buy a new wardrobe, and how he struggles against immoral parents that make their kids think?  And how the school is such an improving place, by refusing to even return a greeting of "good morning" to my son, and attempting to save us from pictures of teenage girl's shoulders? Witnesses saw him in the building, but he didn't have the courage to attend the meeting or even look at the parents he helped to ire. 

So, not only was this shocking and insulting to the students and parents, it was high drama for the media in attendance.  Local TV news teams from the NBC and CBS affliates in St. Louis were in attendance, as well as a reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.  Comments I garnered from the reporters told me that they had never seen a school board act as arbitrary and arrogant toward students and parents before, and they were in agreement that there was a deep and definite issue in the Wentzville School District.

And still, we the parents, that simply want to talk to the board and administration, are still ignored and in the dark. The sad part about all this, is that I'm sure that somewhere out there, a surprisingly shy Mr. Rogers, an overly-comfortable (and, up for re-election) Wentzville School Board president, and others in the Wentzville School District administration are lying in bed with a feeling they have won.  They feel that they've accomplished something... but I doubt they can put their finger on it.

Board Meeting Rally/Protest

Hi All,

As a reminder to those that follow this blog, the upcoming parent/student rally and protest against the censorship of the Timberland High School journalism programs, the continued harassment of journalism program mentors and students by Principal Winston Rogers, and the advocation of censorship by the Wentzville School District Administration and Board is quickly approaching:

When: March 18th, 2010 @ 6:45pm
Where: One Campus Drive, Wentzville MO

As far as I can tell, after doing a little research and speaking with media reporters, this could be one of the largest education protests in Wentzville history.  The numbers, if those that have RSVP'd on the facebook Team McCandless page appear, are staggering.  I'm expecting that attendence could be well into the hundreds!

Given a crowd of that size, I'd like to toss out few suggestions:

• Meeting Participants: Get there early if you plan to speak.  While there are posted procedures that state people may speak at the event, there is no guarantee that the number of people permitted to speak won't be limited.  Also, according to the posted agenda, the speaking portion comes near the beginning, so punctuality will be rewarded!
• Demonstrators: We will need particpants to be part of the street demonstration.  The most effective place to demonstrate would be at the intersection of Campus Drive and Pearce Blvd, we should have more than enough demonstrators to also gather in front of the Board offices.
• Parking:  There should be plenty of parking in the Holt High School parking lot for the board meeting.  Please be courteous of other businesses in the area, and limit parking to the school grounds.  The most appropriate place to park for street demonstrators is at the Middle School, which is just a short walk from the Pearce intersection.  Again, please respect the surrounding businesses and the flow of traffic.  There will most likely be press coverage, so we don't want bad publicity.
• Attire: Wear your "Team McCandless" shirts to show your support.  If you don't have a "Team McCandless" shirt, green is the color of the day!  Again, we intend to have press coverage, and the more visually interesting this rally is, the more likely it will get aired/printed!  The weather forcast (as of this moment) is clear but cool... so dress appropriately!
• Signs:  If you are particpating in the outside demonstration, please consider bringing signs of support/protest.

Signage Guidelines:  We are attempting to make a positive difference, so please make sure your sign is appropriate.  If we cannot convey a positive message, then we will not succeed.  Here are a few general guidelines in creating your message that should help prevent embarassement for our cause.

• Positive messages:  Your positive messages can show support for Ms. McCandless, the journalism program, free speech, and the like. 
• Protest messages:  Messages against censorship, teacher and student harassment, administration censorship policy, and school board silence are all appropriate. 
• Avoid messages that directly reference administrators or board members with unsupported claims or generalities.  For instance "Winston Rogers sucks" is inappropriate, but "Stop Winston Rogers' Censorship" would be okay. 
• Avoid messages that would be considered insulting, slanderous, obscene, vulger or in any other way inappropriate.  (You guys are journalism students, so use what Coach Mac has taught you!)

Finally, lets make this an event to remember!  If you can, bring friends, family, neighbors... anyone that you can!  Let's try to make it into the history books with the largest educational protest in Wentzville history. I think Cathy McCandless and all the students in the Timberland Journalism programs deserve it!

Timberland Needs Collaboration, Not Clobbering

After sleeping on some of my earlier comments, and after some consideration and conversation, it has occured to me that there is another possible perspective on the current failures of the Wentzville School District administration, and the censoring of Timberland High School's publications by Principal Winston Rogers.

Let's assume the original perspective of the Wentzville administration in hiring Principal Rogers based on his prior experience is correct:  It is true that socio-economic status of a community contributes to educational decline.  And it is also true that making even a small improvement in a failing school is an improvement.  And that such an environment has many challenges to overcome to gain such a success, such as lack of parental involvement, lack of attendance, and a whole host of teen problems (drugs, pregnancy and violence).

To overcome those challenges, even for a small improvement, probably takes a stern management style that works in an environment with less-than-adequate parental support, less-than-adequate teacher performance, and certainly with difficult-to-handle kids.  In that environment, a "my way or the highway" attitude probably works well.

Now, after nine years of honing a brute-force managerial style, he brings it to Timberland High School.  Here at Timberland, the parent involvement is magnitudes greater, which creates less troublesome teens (notice I didn't say trouble-free), and has an environment that attracts highly-qualified (and independant) teachers.

This bully-like approach probably worked at Berkeley to reach a minimum level of performance from teachers and students... but Timberland is already past that.  The horsewhipping that the teachers and curriculum are taking will result in the same effect as it had at Berkeley... to reach a minimum level of performance.

And that, I'm afraid, is what is going to happen at Timberland if censorship is allowed to continue.  The censorship and harassment of the journalism program is just the first symptom of a larger illness.  One of the next things to go might be student development trips, much like the D.C. trip the journalism students experienced this year. It could be prom that gets cancelled next, due to some "inappropriate attire" controversy.  Who knows. But the overwhelming amount of grief given to teachers wanting to exceed will stop them from bothering to try, which is the first step in deteriorating the Wentzville schools.

I urge you, if you have not already, to join Team McCandless, and help us in stopping thisdestruction while it can be stopped.

A Positive Move, But At What Cost?

Reports surfaced today that a judgement has been rendered about the controversial yearbook portraits.

As you may know, yearbook staffers, the Timberland High School journalism teacher Cathy McCandless, Timberland High School Principal Winston Rogers, and Assistant Superintendant Melody Marcantonio met yesterday to discuss "inappropriate" student portraits and activity pictures in the upcoming Timberland yearbook.

The description of the meeting I've been given can be summed up into one word... "tense". The impression I've gotten was that Principal Winston Rogers was unprepared to defend his judgements on the yearbook portaits, while Melody Marcantonio acted mostly as the meeting administrator.

I've been told that frustration levels were so high, that Ms. McCandless left the room in order to depressurize, and to reduce the tension. Since one principle of this blog is to not seek information from her directly, I'm not sure of the exact exchange that led to her temporary exit from the meeting.

So, today, the decision was passed down from Ms. Marcantonio that ALL the portrait pictures will be allowed. Also, the questionable swimsuit picture will be allowed, as long as written approval is gained from the student and her parents.

This is a very positive decision, and is possibly an indication that Team McCandless has started to get a message through to the Wentzville Administration. However, this decision is not without its issues...

Due to the excessive delay caused by this fiasco, there are implications in the final production of the yearbook, it's delivery schedule, and possibly to the final cost. It is unclear at this point, but the yearbook price could increase dramatically, and those that have pre-ordered their yearbooks may have to pay a "surcharge" when they get them.

And of course, the greatest cost is to the kids, to the journalism program and to its teacher Ms. McCandless. This abuse has taken its toll. The journalism staffs are emotionally tattered - their work being inconsistantly questioned, criticized and censored. Ms McCandless has already resigned, consigning the children to a lesser journalism program (assuming anyone in their right mind would take such a job with the history of the current Wentzville administration).

Timberland's New Principal Has Old Baggage

Hello again,

A news story has broke regarding school performance in Missouri.  Yesterday, the St. Louis Post Dispatch posted a story entitled "State releases list of 'lowest achieving' schools in Missouri; 37 of 52 in St. Louis area."  The story has been picked up by the local news agencies, and is making a stir this morning.

The list of underperforming schools, thankfully, does not include schools from the Wentzville School District, but we shouldn't worry... because the Wentzville School board and administration are working diligently to correct that ommision.

You see, the new prinicpal at Timberland High School is the former principal of Berkeley Middle School... which did make the list as one of the worst 5% in the state!

Okay, I know what some of you are thinking... "So what?  He's been principal of Timberland High School for the last year, so it could be that the school has headed downhill since he left."  Au contraire, mon ami!  The data used to report these failing schools was collected last year... the last year of his nine year tenure!

In nine years, Winston Rogers took a failing school and turned it around into.... well... a failing school!  According to the site city-data.com, a community data collection website, some of the 2007-2008 MAP scores were as follows...

Mathematics - Female Students 8th Grade:
Percentage of students scoring below basic:
Berkeley Middle School: 45%
State average from 1213 schools: 13.6%
-
Percentage of students scoring proficient or higher: 
Berkeley Middle School: 11.3%
State average from 1213 schools: 44.3%

Mathematics - Male Students 8th Grade:
Percentage of students scoring below basic:
Berkeley Middle School: 67.6%
State average from 1256 schools: 15.7%
-
Percentage of students scoring proficient or higher: 
Berkeley Middle School: 11.3%
State average from 1256 schools: 45.1%

Science- All Students 7th Grade
Percentage of students nearing proficient:
Berkeley Middle School: 6.2%
State average from 398 schools: 23.6%
-
Percentage of students scoring proficient:
Berkeley Middle School: 0.6%
State average from 398 schools: 11.6%

So, the obvious question becomes; How did the Wentzville School administration not question this lackluster performance, and pick from many of the other highly-qualified candidates for Timberland's Principal?  I found a bit of insight in this article from the Suburban Journals published last April about incoming Principal Winston Rogers:

A woman who did not identify herself called the Journal on Tuesday to voice concern about Berkeley's academic achievement.

According to state data, 21.1 percent of Berkeley students taking the 2008 MAP test scored proficient in communication arts, compared to 38.1 percent at Timberland. In mathematics, 14 percent scored proficient at Berkeley, compared to 55.2 percent at Timberland.

Susan Hladky, the Wentzville district's human resources assistant superintendent, said the comparison was "apples and oranges." Besides the age difference between middle and high school, there were important demographic differences. Most of Berkeley's students are economically disadvantaged, with 88.6 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches in 2008, according to state data. At Timberland, 13.9 percent qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.

Berkeley's MAP scores have increased 84 percent since 2004. Its attendance rate has increased 3 percent during the same period. Hladky said Berkeley has shown great progress and academic improvement under Rogers' leadership.

"He has demonstrated he has the skills to lead a school to excellence," she said.

Apples and Oranges? Last time I checked, children are still children, and not some philosophical fruit salad!

If Principal Rogers had increased the scores of Berkeley Middle School 84%, that's great! But which scores? How low must they have been to have almost doubled the schools performance, but still qualify as one of the most troubled schools in Missouri? That's like me announcing, "I just increased my net worth by 100%!", but since I only had 50 cents yesterday, that really doesn't add up to much... and neither did this!

Past performance is the best indicator of future potential. Here's what we can look forward to if we allow this first attack against our schools to succeed: - the targeted destruction of the Timberland High School journalism program:

• Declining MAP scores (due to loss of good teachers)
• Declining academic achievment (due to loss of interest in our students)
• Reduced student participation in extra-curriculars (since the kids won't want the hassle)
• Increased costs to taxpayers and parents (due to interference with already financially strained programs)
• Reduced school ratings (due to all the factors above)
• Reduced property values (because prospetive home buyers will go to better districts)

In my line of work, we have experienced what we call "pass the trash", which is when an unqualified employee is "promoted" to another area so they can backfill it with a more qualified person. Berkeley got the better end of this deal!
.....Does anyone know of someone in need of a new Principal?

Yearbook Censorship Meeting Happens Today

Hello all,

The much talked about Timberland High School yearbook censorship meeting is scheduled to occur today.  It is unclear from my sources who will be in attendance at this meeting.  At a minimum, journalism instructor Cathy McCandless, Assistant Superintendant Melody Marcantonio and Principal Winston Rogers will be discussing the proposed censoring of student portraits for having too much skin exposed on their shoulders.

Those that are in question to attend are student staffers (who were reportedly "uninvited" to this meeting), any parents (one of whom was told that she couldn't attend because of a lawyer's interpretation of their policy), or even an NEA (teacher's union) representative.

Stay tuned for updates!

Timberland Journalism Students Make Good at Local Conference

As if in defiance to the anti-journalism policies of the Wentzville School District, the Timberland High School journalism students demonstrated the strength of their current journalism program. 

The newspaper and yearbook staff attended the Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis Spring Conference at Webster University today.  Awards given at the conference were ranked from "Honorable Mention", "Excellent", "Superior" to "Best of Show".  The "Best of Show" ranking is the ultimate honor, and is only given to one individual or publication.

The THS journalism students amassed 23 individual awards from a pool of 650 entries!!  This included one "Best in Show" award, that was earned by Senior Nikki M. for her November front page design!  I am one proud parent of these great kids! 

Here is a breakdown of the awards given:

Overall Awards
Overall Yearbook Award—2009 Wolf Tracks “Oh. nine”
Excellent

Overall Newspaper Award—2009-2010 Wolf’s Howl
Superior

Individual Contests
Newspaper Inside Page Design
Colleen G.—Superior
“Going Green: It’s easier than you think”

Newspaper Front Page Design
Nikki M.—Best of Show
“November 2009”

Newspaper Newswriting
Nikki M.—Honorable Mention
“One trillion dollars, please”

Newspaper Review Writing
Danielle G.—Honorable Mention
“New opportunities for petite models”

Newspaper Feature Writing
Taylor W.—Excellent
“A boy that leaves you speechless”

Newspaper Infographic
Colleen G.—Excellent
“Big green bompanies”

Brittany L.—Honorable Mention
“This or that”
Newspaper Editorial Cartoon

Colleen G.—Honorable Mention
“Cold classrooms”
Newspaper Commentary

Cara E.—Honorable Mention
“Food for thought”
Yearbook Student Life Design

Amanda C.—Honorable Mention
“Work, work and more work”

Elaina O.—Honorable Mention
“It’s chic fashion show”

Sami T., Haley S. and Amanda C.—Honorable Mention
“Feed me”

Yearbook People/Classes Design
Kendall M.—Honorable Mention
“Underlassmen design”

Yearbook Photography
Amanda C.—Excellent
“Oh!”

Yearbook Sports Copy
Haley S.—Honorable Mention
“Sideline Success”

Rachel S.—Honorable Mention
“Heated Rivalry”

Yearbook Feature Copy
Ally G. and Angela B.—Excellent
“Growing gas prices”

Yearbook Theme Development
Wolf Tracks Staff—Excellent
“Oh. nine”

Yearbook Sports Photography
Haley S.—Honorable Mention

Yearbook Sports Design
Amanda C.—Honorable Mention
“One stroke at a time”

And finally, my condolences to the Wentzville School Board, Principal Winston Rogers, and the rest of the administration for yet another poke in the eye to their censorship policy, and that real journalism is what these children deserve to learn.