Four Freedoms

I have been calling our current superintendent names for a long time.  I've also been calling her out on her managerial skills, which I find lacking, for a long time.  Two avid readers and followers of the goings-on at the McDevitt, who post anonymously, are implying that I don't have any right to call the Superintendent names or to have an opinion on the leadership skills of the principal at the McDevitt.

So, let me back up a minute here and remind anyone reading that a blog is an opinion piece.  I started blogging back in its infancy, and I had a blog on Salon.com (when that e-zine was in its infancy), which was more like an online journal.  I picked up blogging again in the Waltham Patch a few years ago, when I was stunned by decisions that were being made by members of the School Committee.  The Patch changed its format, and I tired of the trolls, so I moved the blog here, where I post my opinions, to which I am entitled and with which you, Gentle Reader, are entitled to disagree.

Since a blog is an opinion piece, you can bet your bippy that telling me that I am wrong because you say that I am is not likely to change my mind.  Especially when you post anonymously.  And then try to change my mind by telling me that some middle schoolers don't like the principal because her niece is in the National Honor Society and gets some perqs that other NHS kids get.  Or that incidents in the school are 'common knowledge' among middle schoolers, because middle schoolers are very reliable and give very objective and reasoned information except when they are rattled by hormones and homework, which is always.

I would encourage @fedup and @wvet to start their own blogs.  Perhaps @wvet could have her son do it as part of a homeschooling project: call it "The Truth About the McDevitt, According to Students in 6th-8th Grades."

One last thing: I don't edit my blog posts and perhaps I should.  If I did, I probably would have called the Superintendent 'wicked' instead of 'evil' and I never, ever, ever again will use the word 'alleged' lest someone who has watched too much CSI come back and tell me that its use was incorrect.  Or gives me a gag order.

Anyhoo, I have a conference call now to prepare for and I am leaving tomorrow for 5 days, so you'll all just have to get on without me for a bit. Suggested reading: School Committee meeting minutes, posted on the city Web site and articles in the News Tribune, which does have an editorial board.  Be sure to watch the School Committee meeting tomorrow night on the teevee.  And be sure to show up in support of the Superintendent's decision to not renew Gavin's contract, if that's what you think is the right thing to do.

Finally, the Four Freedoms are that of Speech, Religion, Assembly, and the Press.  I exercise mine regularly and support anyone else who does so and especially those who don't hide behind a cloak of anonymity when doing so.  It's easy to be angry when you can't be seen: just look at Twitter.

A Few More Thoughts on a Certain Decision by our Superintendent

I read with interest a Letter to the Editor in the News Trib.  My first question is, why do most letters to the editor in Waltham start with "As a lifelong Waltham citizen…."?  As a non-lifelong Waltham citizen with lots of friends who are lifers and just as many who are Breezers, I really don't see how that adds or detracts from one's observations on and thoughts about a topic.  Maybe all my Waltham peeps can let me in on the secret.  Certainly with the current issue of the non-renewal of the the McDevitt Middle School principal's contract, I would think that lifelong residents would be more inclined to side with the principal, who is herself a lifelong resident, rather than our current superintendent, who has never made any attempt to connect with the Waltham community.

These questions came to me as I was reading that letter as well as the responses to my last blog post:

• What is the role of the superintendent of schools in dealing with alleged assaults, staff firing, and alleged bullying incidents?  I call these incidents 'alleged' not because I don't believe them, but because our system of justice states that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty.
• If there is evidence that the principal at the McDevitt school was not dealing with alleged incidents appropriately, wouldn't it be incumbent on the superintendent to provide the principal with training and resources so that she could appropriately manage them?
• What is the succession plan?  If the principal at the McDevitt is so terrible -- in fact, the worst of any principal in the district -- and there is documentation to support this, what happens in September?  Right now, there are two assistant principals at the McDevitt: one is an interim and the other is preparing for maternity leave.  So, that leaves us in September with a brand new superintendent and no principal and one interim assistant principal.  Keep in mind that, in addition to the 6th graders from the Stanley and the Whittemore, the students from the Fitzgerald will be there in the fall.  Those incoming sixth graders have never had a principal for more than two years: Shull in K, MacInnis in first, LaRoche for 2nd and 3rd, Castelline in 4th, and now Santillo.  Yes, MacInnis and Castelline were interims, however, does anyone else here see a trend with inability to manage direct reports?  Turnover at the principal level has also plagued the Whittemore School.  And let us not forget that there has been significant turnover at the superintendent level, too. 
• How will the Waltham Public Schools attract strong leaders with a record like that?
• What is the reasoning for the non-renewal of the contract?  Given that a new superintendent starts in two months, why not allow him to make such critical decisions regarding his team?  That is, unless the McDevitt principal was caught with a pack of matches and a can of gasoline trying to burn down the school, what is so urgent that it can't wait?  If it's the timing of the contract, then why not just give an extension and allow the incoming superintendent to assess and make the determination?

Many many parents and students will attend the School Committee meeting on Wednesday in support of Beth Gavin.  Again, I ask the School Committee to take a vote of no confidence in the Superintendent and to ask her to renew Ms. Gavin's contract.