Monday, March 9, 2009

And Now, part II

• The day-to-day attention to supervising the maintenance and custodial issues

Probably would help to improve the relationship, as well. I know she came in like gangbusters on this issue, but obviously we’re not the only one noticing the cleanliness of the school.

• The ongoing professional development for faculty to support the educational goals and special needs of students.

No arguments, although not sure the focus of the past year on children with special needs is where Holy Cross School is, or should be headed. “Special needs” means special treatment, which means extra costs and extra money.

• The continued effort to improve communication with parents, especially through the use of PowerSchool.

I like the “continued effort” that they work in there, but we’ll deconstruct some later comments about that. I think PowerSchool is doing exactly what it should be doing, but am willing to be enlightened what else could be done.

• The updating of the Science lab and the enhancement of technology resources to increase active learning.

Again, no argument here. One of the reasons the high school was forced to shut down (for those not here at the time) was the declining ability to maintain academic standards in such areas. I’d argue, however, that Denise put all the eggs in the basket with the grant application….she never answered the question what she was going to do if the money wasn’t available, and the issue dropped after she was denied.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to the grant? There was all this big talk about it in the newsletter and then she never mentioned it again.

Anonymous said...

Worthy of a reprint:

And wonderin' why the Amazing Quizinator didn't give this a front page way back when...

Hello. I have never looked or cared to look at the blogs because, someone always gets hurt at the end. Well, let me be the first to truly introduce myself. My name is Angela Manifold and I am/was the HC PTO President. I am very sadden by this whole process. My statement/e-mail was posted in the Crusader this past thursday so, now everyone knows exactly what my e-mail said. I will start by letting you know I DID NOT resign because of Mrs. J. I DID NOT resign because things were not going my way nor did I resign because of the PTO Board members. I will say we did disagree on some things but, that is the nature of being on the board and a good board will always will not see eye to eye because, we are human. Which I'm sure I may have vented once or twice like everyone does but, I feel the board members are still my friends. Just like I vent about my husband but, he's still my husband and I love him. We are all human. I left because I have 3 daughters my oldest is 8 and my husband who works a lot of hours. I would like to maybe be PTO President later but, right now was not the right time for me. Maybe in a few years when my daughters are a little older. I appreciate all the support I have received. Thank you but, please let's not slander anyone. Change can only happen with support so, please support Mrs. J and the school boards with your help and not with harmful words on a blog. Sincerely,
Angela Manifold

October 31, 2008 11:35 AM

Anonymous said...

Maybe someone who has the courage to sign her name has a little insight eh?

The Quizzinator said...

Because I felt it in the best interest to let it rest, even though, I thought, I said I stand by my story...and I still do. It remains, for those interested, one of the most read postings we've had.

Believe it or not, I make sure that every story I post here is verified by at least one other independent source, for several reasons (unless it happened to me or my family, in which case my source is good enough since it my blog). One, I want to be sure that what I am reporting is as accurate as I can get it. The second reason is that I don't want to compromise my sources, or me, for that matter.

My sources come from within the school, friends of the school, friends of teachers,former teachers, family members who are unusually close to the inner workings of the school, and the ability to listen when it doesn't look like I am listening.

Anonymous said...

There is sooo much that I could say about the Middle States document, particularly since I was involved in the process, but what I just can not wrap my head around is that anyone could possible suggest that Holy Cross is clean and well maintained! GROSS! I

Unfortunately I had to attend a funeral last Saturday. When I used the restroom I was appalled at the nasty condition of the restroom. Fecal matter on the toilet seat, disgusting floor, no paper towels and overflowing trash cans. Can't say I was surprised. I try to avoid using the restroom when I attend mass. This was an exception to my rule.

This evaluation by the visiting team does NOT reflect the true picture of Holy Cross. They must have put on quite a show!

Anonymous said...

Holy Cross most definitely put on a show for the Middle States Team. Power Point presentation, a dinner with wine, and a meeting inviting only those parents who would give a one-sided impression of parental involvement at the school and the principal.

Anonymous said...

That almost feels like a sin.

The Quizzinator said...

I'm not against putting your best foot forward. This process SHOULD be about putting Holy Cross in the best possible light, but I think that some of the things such as the wine and flowers for the visiting team COULD be seen as a bit much. Not inviting the seething massses isn't something that I would ever expect UNLESS a principal was totally on top of their game and could show how they were effectively dealing with discontent.

Anonymous said...

I can tell you that the whole catered dinner, flowers, wine, tc. is standard procedure for Middle States - WHATEVER. There is so much more in the report that is baloney. It really makes me wonder why we even put on the whole dog and pony show when they just give out a passing grade anyway. There is a lot of fluff that is not really how HC operates behind the curtain.

The Quizzinator said...

Good points. I agree that the report is baloney, which is why I started this review of comments. What I do think is in some of the comments, especially the suggestions Middle Schools made, is the same exact suggestions or demands that were made.

For instance, I suggest that you look how often the report mentions the School Advisory Panel - you know, the one that Denise didn't want and didn't think she needed? They seem to have done an awful lot for a group that hadn't met more than two or three times and wasn't even organized until months after they left.