In the previous open thread, a big part of the discussion is about problems with this school year getting started with the new temporarily location of Lowell APP at Lincoln.
School starts tomorrow, so here is a dedicated thread to talk about Lowell@Lincoln and how it is going.
11 comments:
I also want to mention there is also a "Lowell Transition Topics/Questions" page with a lot of information that is useful to APP parents at Lowell@Lincoln.
I felt the morning coffee was uplifting and it was nice to see old friends -- there was definitely a positive vibe from the parents in the room. I thought there were less parents than at other first day coffees, but it could have been that we were just in a much larger space.
I'm very glad the tone from the Dr. Enfield, Director Sherry Carr, and Assistant Principal Rina Goeghagan, was to thank all the hard work so many parents did this summer. PTA co-chairs thanked a long list of people.
In addition to her thank you, Dr. Enfield stated that Rina Goeghagan is our Assistant Principal, and that Gregory King is our Principal. He needs to be our principal of record, because we are still part of Lowell School and we need a principal of record. (more on this below).
Sherry Carr mentioned that the board was "available to hear your concerns" but also included the ominous "with what is going to happen this year."
I wasn't taking notes, so if my recollection of the meeting is not accurate, please correct me.
More on the Enfield piece...
She never mentioned Marella Francios in her speech. For those who don't know, Marella Francios was named a co-principal of Lowell last year. Nancy Coogan further stated that Marella Francios was a principal of Lowell, with her office at Lincoln in her August 8th letter.
Well, where in the world is she? She wasn't at school on the first day of school. According to some other parents, she has never been at meetings she was supposed to be at this summer, and (this, now, is second-third hand, total gossip) Gregory King has NEVER spoken to her.
The Lowell @ Lincoln main office lists her office/room space as #403, so I took a walk up there to see if the lights were on. Room #403 is a conference room. It is not an administrators office. Nobody is home there.
Based on past talk (see saveseattleschools.blogspot.com) and other threads there about Ms. Francios, this may be for the best. I also understand that there may be a serious medical leave issue (perhaps, just a rumor) so I wish this person well.
An elementary school with 460 students qualifies for a full-time principal, and a full-time assistant principal. This is Lowell @ Lincoln. A school around 200 students qualifies for a principal. This is Lowell@ Capitol Hill.
Just want to put all that out there. Doesn't seem fair that this group of kids, this community, this year needs to have an understaffed administration.
What do others think?
I went up and asked Rina about the mysterious (and absent) co-principal after the coffee. She said the person is sick. She didn't elaborate and pursed her lips as if there were more to the story. Then she repeated that the woman is sick. I definitely got the impression, though this is only my opinion, that in addition to being sick something else was going on. It seems odd to me that district folks wouldn't just say she is sick- why didn't they just mention that at the coffee? Very odd.
Lowell did not make AYP last year. If all the exceptionally high performing children are removed from Lowell officially, then the school will fail AYP again in a much more spectacular way.
-APP Parent
AYP progress is based in part on sub-groups making progress. According to the report, special education and low-income student groups did not meet proficiency goals in reading (though all groups met them in math).
Lowell AYP Summary
The gossip that I've heard about Francois is that this is her last year before retirement so the position might just be a placeholder for her. I've also gotten the impression from Rina that she is trying to be diplomatic about the whole situation but there is some job shirking going on ...
From what I've read about her, it's probably for the best!
--NE APP Parent
Reposting this comment from Save Seattle Schools:
h2o girl said...
I heard this story this morning - they interviewed a student at Lowell @ Lincoln, who was bright, articulate and adorable. He mentioned that his afternoon bus was over two hours late and the school finally called and was informed there was no bus coming. So his dad came and picked him up. They had a quote from the head of transportation saying that the new plan featuring fewer buses and drivers was not responsible for the delays and no-shows, which made me burst out laughing. Apparently some of the pages in the drivers' manuals of routes and maps were missing, or something. The cutie from Lowell said that perhaps they should be more careful next year when making the manuals.
You can read the transcript here:
http://kuow.org/program.php?id=24506
She said the person is sick. She didn't elaborate and pursed her lips as if there were more to the story. Then she repeated that the woman is sick.
I've also gotten the impression from Rina that she is trying to be diplomatic about the whole situation but there is some job shirking going on ...
Jeez people. Why do you think staff are so reluctant to be honest and straightforward with parents? For fear that their comments, and now what, even their facial expressions and body language will be published for the world to read about.
What ever happened to being appreciative of such information (direct or implied), sharing quietly with other parents, or writing on a blog in such a way as to not get our existing staff in trouble when they do occasionally open up just a bit.
Thanks for ruining it for the rest of us.
Think before you type-- I have heard the information about the third principal being sick from a number of people, so I don't think it is private information. And, I do wish they would make a general announcement. However, I agree that I should not have included any speculation. You're right, I didn't really think it through as I was frustrated at the time. I apologize for my mistake and will slow down next time. I hope that you, too, can take a gentler approach to giving feedback and think before you type.
Hi MontMom,
You're not the only one.
As you mention, the news itself was making the rounds, but discussing in a totally public forum who said what, and what was insinuated beyond the words can be very dangerous. Especially to our staff in the buildings. But I think you get that now, and that's good. Perhaps you can help spread the word on that?
Yes, I could have (should have) left the last line off my previous post. It's just hard year after year to fight the same battles, hoping that people will know better. The thing to remember is that this is a totally public blog, and one should assume that every word we write is read by central office staff and passed around. Much of it is.
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