It is difficult to resist shaking the bony finger of disapproval at the Rochester City School District. But this morning’s Democrat and Chronicle editorial telling Superintendent Bolgen Vargas and the school board to “reassess” was simplistic to the point of being ridiculous. Their recommendation follows the announcement that Rochester Institute of Technology will partner with […]
Superintendent Bolgen Vargas
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas and the RCSD’s management problems
During the 1990’s, business schools and management gurus gushed over the virtues of managing chaos. As the money masters of Wall Street made millions buying and selling companies or shifting manufacturing overseas, managers and rank-and-file workers were urged to learn how to thrive in quixotic, ever-changing times. In the 2000’s, managing chaos has been replaced […]
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Rochester students fare poorly on new state tests
This morning, the State Education Department released test results for grades 3-8, and the scores for the Rochester school district are shockingly low. Only 5.4 percent of city students are proficient in English and only 5 percent are proficient in math. Rochester scores are again the lowest of the state’s Big Five school district’s, with […]
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The pain and politics of school closings
Politics may be local, but school closings are personal. School 44, which is due to be closed, had a group of teachers, parents, and homeowners from the 19th Ward confused and angry at a meeting of the Education Committee of the Southwest Common Council earlier this week. Many of the school’s teachers said they had […]
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Questions linger about RCSD’s plan for longer days
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas has made longer school days a cornerstone of his strategy to improve student performance. Three schools served as pilot programs this year, and Vargas plans to have a total of 10 schools with longer days beginning this fall. But some parents, teachers, and school board members aren’t sold on the […]
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The RCSD’s grant dependency
Grants have become a crucial part of the Rochester City School District’s yearly budget. How important are they? Consider that the RCSD now receives about $100 million in grant money annually from federal, state, and private funding sources. And grants make up 13 percent of the budget just approved by the school board for the […]
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RCSD: Longer days for an out-of-school culture?
More than a year ago, Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas launched a major campaign to improve abysmally low student attendance in the city school district. Now teachers are in the hot seat. Vargas has sent an email to teachers saying that 730 of them were absent last Friday, and he he’s concerned that teacher absenteeism […]
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How do parents feel about the Rochester school district?
The Rochester school district has had a tenuous relationship with parents for years. Almost every superintendent in recent memory has made some kind of an effort to improve relations between parents, teachers, and school administrators. But success has been illusive and varied depending on the school. The district’s Office of Parent Engagement is making a […]
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Week Ahead: Fracking discussion, RCSD budget vote, State of the City address, Preservation Board considers University Ave. complex
On Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the local anti-fracking group R-CAUSE will hold a panel discussion titled “Hydrofracking as Seen Through the Lens of Public Health.” Two panelists will discuss the possible environmental consequences of fracking, and fracking’s potential impact on human health. The speakers are Dr. David Carpenter and David Kowalski. Carpenter, […]
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Week Ahead: RCSD budget, College Town groundbreaking, active transportation summit, food truck in Henrietta?
This is an updated version. The Rochester school board will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, for a final review of Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s proposed budget for the 2013 to 2014 school year. This could be the last opportunity for board members to listen to parents, teachers, and students about the impact of […]
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Neighbors rally to save School 10
Parents, residents, and members of several southwest city neighborhoods are waiting to hear schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s latest recommendation to the school board regarding Schools 10 and 1. They held a rally last night at School 10, also known as Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, to protest Vargas’s proposal to close the school. Vargas proposed combining […]
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Could charters chew up the Rochester school district?
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter about charter schools. Rochester, with some of the lowest-performing schools in the country, is a market ripe for an explosion of charters, according to some local educators. Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas has on multiple occasions talked about the decline in student population, which is largely attributable to […]
