Connecticuts Status Quo Declares War Against Parents and Community Members

It looks like the Waterbury Teachers Association and the rest of the status quo forces have declared a full scale war against any Waterbury parent and community member that stands their ground for effective school improvement efforts which result in safe schools and better academic outcomes for children. Waterbury parents, most of whom are African American or Hispanic and low-income, have been trying to partner with the teachers union, the local school board and administration to improve the failing Walsh Elementary School, via the school governance council created by Connecticuts parent empowerment law of 2010. But the union and the status quo forces at the school dont want a partnership with parents they want a dictatorship! That much was obvious when Walsh Elementarys interim principal, Gina Calabrese, unilaterally decided earlier this month that she didnt like how Walshs school governance council was being run and that she intended to disregard the spirit of the parent empowerment law and remake the board from scratch. That means getting rid of the current council members and electing all new ones. Calabrese broke the news to current Walsh School Governance Council Chairperson Athena Wagner during a Sept. 13 meeting. Of course, such action is completely illegal under the councils bylaws that were unanimously adopted by council members on January 8, 2013. Wagner informed Calabrese she was in violation of the bylaws, and promised to fight against any attempt to dismantle the current council. Why would the union and the status quo forces suddenly do this? Answering that requires a little background information. School governance councils are Connecticuts (watered down) version of the parent trigger law. The councils are supposed to be established in 355 chronically failing schools, and they consist of seven parent representatives, five teacher representatives, and two community members.

The purpose of the councils is to offer advice to the local school board about which policies are needed in order to turn around the troubled schools. Those possibilities range from small to large. For example, a school governance council could recommend personnel changes such as replacing the principal or some teachers or it could propose turning control of the school over to a charter operator. State law requires a council to be in place for three years before its legally allowed to make any policy recommendations to the local and/or state school board, which makes the final decision. A question that parents ask is why allow a child to suffer in a failing school three consecutive years before we effectively intervene to support their academic success? That brings us back to the problems at Walsh Elementary. Walshs school governance council has been in existence since November of 2011. That means the council will be able to recommend changes at the school next year. When that time comes, Calabrese and the status quo protectors want the right people on the council to make and enforce their policy recommendations. If there are too many parent-rights activists on the board, it could make life very unpleasant for the local teachers union. The status quo forces at Walsh Elementary are sending a message to parents that they dont want vocal leaders or independent thinkers like Athena Wagner on the council. They only want parents who will rubber stamp what the union wants. The status quo-ers want to monopolize any and all school improvement efforts and the extra state funding for their salaries and benefits that comes with it regardless of performance and without any fiscal oversight/checks and balances from the parents on the school governance council. This power grab at Walsh Elementary School is an example of the bullying and intimidation Connecticut parents face when they try to make schools better for their children. In closing, State lawmakers and the State Department of Education leaders need to intervene in the Walsh Elementary situation and quickly. If our leaders dont get involved, it will result in the voices of Connecticuts most disenfranchised populations low-income parents, students being ignored, once again. If the status quo is allowed to prevail, it will mean that the school-to-prison pipeline, which is created by Connecticuts dysfunctional education system, will grow and worse. Yet I will say; parents and community members have absolutely no intentions of sitting on the sidelines while our kids continue to be denied an equitable education! Those days of blindly trusting the so-called education experts are over.

By Gwendolyn Samuel Public School Parent 9.25.13