Some of the most memorable politicians possess a remarkable mix of showmanship, persuasiveness, and likeability. But they often lack the ability to predict future disasters even when the signs are floating all around them.
Howard Eagle, Ernest Flagler, Ronald Hall, Tim McCauley, and Candice Lucas each made compelling pitches to mostly parents last night for a seat on the school board. Three incumbents are up for re-election this year — Van White, Cynthia Elliott, and Jose Cruz. White, Cruz, and newcomer Lucas have been endorsed by Monroe County Democrats. It is unknown at this time if Elliott is staying in the race.
Some of the candidates’ themes are as perennial as the candidates themselves. Flagler said he wants the district to help students with skills training to become firefighters, police officers, plumbers, and electricians. He also advocated for better health services for students, as well as for the adults who work with them.
Eagle said he identified with children living in deep poverty, and he pushed back on the idea that children who come from poor households can’t achieve. He also said that social promotion in the district has to stop.
High salaries for Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s growing cabinet concerned Hall, who said he isn’t seeing enough support for students being directed down to the classroom level. McCauley said he wants to see more resources devoted to early childhood development.
And Lucas pined for more parent engagement.
Almost all of the candidates said that parents, family members, and even volunteers are not currently welcome in the RCSD. And some said racism permeates the district and argued for a more genuine effort at an Afrocentric curriculum and cultural awareness training.
At one point, board hopefuls were asked what may have been the most relevant question of the evening: how can they assure the community they won’t “sell out” once elected? But that’s a difficult question to answer until you see the job from the inside.
While some of these issues are undoubtedly on the minds of the incumbents trying to hold on to their seats, their focus right now is on a declining student population — something no one at last night’s meeting addressed.
Within a few years, more charter schools will open, filling their seats with city students. That’s the iceberg that’s sending a chill through the administration, and whomever voters put into office better have a plan to navigate around it.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2013.
With all due respect to City Newspaper reporter Tim Louis Macaluso, his news report only adds to confusion, surrounding specific types of things that must be done in order to produce widespread change and improvement within the Rochester City School District, and make the District a solidly viable and healthy institution. Rather than viewing, and describing issues raised by me and my colleagues during a recent candidates forum (such as “helping students with skills training to become firefighters, police officers, plumbers, and electricians,” i.e., authentic alternative education programs; “better health services for students”; “stopping [the criminal practice of systematic] social promotion”; significantly reducing “high salaries for Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s growing cabinet”; ensuring that additional “support for students [is] being directed down to the classroom level”; making sure that “more resources [are] devoted to early childhood development”; and producing “more parent engagement and cultural awareness training”) — as representing the types of things that must be addressed in order to effectively halt “a declining student population,” and the wild proliferation of (in some cases) semi-private-like charter schools, which he maintains will “fill their seats with city students” — Mr. Macaluso made the critically important mistake of setting up a false dichotomy. That is, because none of us mentioned “declining student population,” which he refers to as “the iceberg that’s sending a chill through the administration,” apparently he falsely assumed that we are so “perennial” that we are not aware of “the iceberg.” He is even more off-base via his simplistic, and unrealistic declaration that “whomever voters put into office better have a plan to navigate around it.” It’s like the guy doesn’t really get it. There is no magic. We did articulate the “plan” via the issues raised above, which must necessarily be effectively addressed in order for the Rochester City School District to compete with charter schools — the latter of which (in many cases) will prove to be no more effective than traditional schools, particularly as it relates to serving our most challenging students (well), which is why most charter schools routinely engage in “creaming” — while lying about so-called random lotteries. Charter schools do not represent a panacea for the very old, deep-seated, urban education crisis. In fact, in many cases the corporate and wealthy forces that are behind them, are nothing more or less than sophisticated poverty-pimps.
What the hell does a declining student population have to do with the fact that the RCSD has proven to be incompetent when it comes to educating Rochester’s children? The declining population is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.
I was at the forum, and I found it to be both a robust and entertaining discussion. It’s time for a new approach to educating our children. what we’re doing now isn’t working.
I attended the forum as well. Tim Louis Macaluso, maybe the reason why the “issue” of a “declining student population ” appeared to have gone unaddressed may be due to the fact that “declining student population ” is the focus of you and administration but not the immediate focus of parents; hence why the “issue” was not raised. Perhaps, unlike yourself and current administration, we parents are wise enough to understand that the issues that were raised and addressed are the reasons why parents/guardians are taking their children out of the RCSD and therefore leading up to a “declining student population”. In actuality, the “issue” of “declining student population ” WAS addressed by the candidates by them focusing on a plan to transform the current horrific condition of the RCSD, which will ultimately produce an environment conducive to learning, evidently make the RCSD a viable option for parents/guardians and students as a provider of a quality and competitive education, and will in turn improve the “issue” of “declining student population “.
I felt the need to reply to the accusation that Tim Macaluso is somehow unfair or judgmental in his education reporting. I want to add that I have never defended anyone like this but I have been involved with Rochester education for many years and have read lots and lots of “stuff” over the years.
Rochester is a volatile place for public education and covering it has to be almost impossible to do professionally because so many people have their own interest. A writer is almost certainly going to piss someone off if they try to walk down the middle especially when extremes seem to be so popular.
Those who claim to be grassroots activists along with conservative, wealthy, business elites come out every few years but in the end they all get the same results-none. Along the way someone has to report this and they have to do it without taking sides. Given the twenty or more years of stagnation, writing about schools here has to become both frustrating and uneventful. It would be easy to raise alarm and take sides but I have not seen Tim do this.
He gives me what I want when read about schools-the facts. I am not concerned about the anger or hugs. I want to know where things stand and what steps are being done to improve things. It is unfortunate that so many people in Rochester throw stones at others thinking that this will help the kids and their families.
It is kind of like the guy who drives by kids waiting for a bus in the pouring rain. He curses the bus company for not having built a shelter but as he drives away he fails to give them the huge umbrella sitting in his front seat. He sees it but does not want to turn his car around. We gotta stop taking the easy way out.
John Bliss, 25 year city homeowner, RCSD parent, RCSD substitute teacher and former charter school founder.