HD Cooke
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
No, that's not true. Low income people have email. They may not post on this forum, but suggesting that low income people do not use technology is just not true. I do agree that they don't appear to use THIS site and that if you want to know what they think, you'd need to ask them directly. Which is why, up thread, I suggested that people who want to talk to parents of older kids should email the PTO, at which point we can put them in touch (VIA EMAIL) with someone whose kids are older and at Cooke. |
Anonymous
|
PP...
of course low income people have email... a large number of parents at Cooke..do not. So, its difficult for them to email the principal for appointments..or post on this blog. This is a community and whatever they need to discuss they do so...in person. |
Anonymous
| I too have been victimized by Regina George. |
Anonymous
Stop trying to make "fetch" a thing. |
Anonymous
|
Always two sides to every story... here's another side. The staff turnover rate can not be attributed to anything else but the leader. Implying that they were loyal to the previous principal or are lazy in some way is untrue. The new principal even applauded the entire staff for the students making significant gains during the year. The staffs loyalty is to the students..period. There is a room on the third floor. Lets not call it a "holding" room. Its a room where students that are being disruptive are sent...Long story short...it doesn't work. Anyone who is there everyday sees the broken windows, the chairs being thrown, the constant fights, and the students running the halls. And if you really do work at Cooke in Pre-k you don't have to look far for the disruptive students..because they run through your hallways. Everyday. Be clear about the priority of the safety of the students that the principal has. When you look at the new hires at Cooke..pay attention. The school will be full of new, first year teachers. When given the opportunity to retain proven teachers that the students are familiar with the principal chose unknown, teachers that only have student teacher experience. You cant count on two hands the number of teachers that are returning. That's a fact. The plan for Cooke? You'd have to ask the principal because she doesn't share that with anyone but her "favorites". When your staff doesn't feel appreciated...and they are a GOOD staff...they leave and find a principal who will.
See, again with the lack of productive suggestions. What's your recommendation, PP? Everyone who sends their kids to Cooke now should pull them and send them somewhere else? What about people who are in bounds and don't have other easy options? Are you saying that people who are having a good experience should bail because their experience might not be good next year? How do we fix it? You bailed. You are clearly angry. I believe that you have seen and experienced things that are troubling. I would find them troubling myself. But it really sounds like you are saying that anyone whose experience differs from you is naive, being deluded by a manipulative racist principal who doesn't care about the students or some other nefariousness. What is your suggestion for people like me and the other PP(s) whose children attend the school, who are already enrolled for next year? I'm asking seriously because I actually care. OP here I think the solution is simply , hold the principal accountable for the decisions that are made about the education of your children. Nothing is ever all bad..or all good.. but a majority of the things that are posted here are true. So these are things to think about when moving forward with any school, as a parent, a potential teacher, or a community member. I never mentioned race...or anyone being naive... the truth is the truth. The solutions come from the fearless leader. If you're having a good experience as a teacher or parent then do what works for you. Knowledge is power. As someone who was blessed with attending schools where the staff turn over was maybe one or two teachers every 5 years... I know the value of listening to the teachers and following the signs. |
Anonymous
One of the PPs definitely made insinuations about race - mentions of meetings with Latino parents involving racist allegations, suggestions that new staff members hired by this principal would not be people of color, the suggestion that the principal is actively working to get rid of all the students and staff of color. That wasn't me, but someone who has already self-identified as a former staff member. How do you hold a principal accountable for "the decisions that are made about the education of your children" when the things you're supposed to be holding them accountable for originate in this manner? Seriously. I will schedule a meeting with the principal RIGHT NOW to "hold her accountable" for these things if someone is willing to actually step up and tell me, not anonymously, with specifics, that those things are. If all people are interested in doing is bashing their former employer anonymously on a message board, that's not actionable and I'm not going to take it any more seriously than any other rumor that no one is willing to stand behind. |
Anonymous
|
This are not rumor if you are serious then walk around the neighborhood or visit the parks and ask parents who have kids that attend Cooke and you will see it's not rumor. And ask what happen at a meeting were the parents gather together to argue many issue about the principal bad decisions and were screaming for her to resign A meeting that people from downtown came. A meeting which was supposed to take 45 minutes turn to 5 hour.
I have children in this school which are being taking out for the crazy thing that have happen at the school and have real close friends that work there that are leaving. Also going back to the comment of the principal given prompts to her teacher she is a two face b cause she says good thing to her teacher in from of parents and there evaluations and the degrading way she speak to her staff one on one or in front of her "favorite staff"" is another thing So please ask the parents the information Because the principal is going to give you fairy tales to win point with her parents |
Anonymous
If you don't know how to hold a principal accountable or anyone accountable..I cant help you. Furthermore, the people that need to know about the problem at Cooke..know. The community..the superintendent, the union, downtown..they all know. If you are confused about the benefits of anonymity when speaking to a forum where EVERYONE can see whats going on..again..I cant help you. Obviously all the former employees that have spoken up on this post have one thing in common..what you choose to do with that information is up to you. Im sure everyone who is reading would love to know who you are and if you're currently at 2525 17th st. Because those are the only people that get immediate meetings "RIGHT NOW" with the principal. Because she ignores emails from everyone else. Go forth..and prosper. |
Anonymous
| Cooke never received this much attention in the past. |
Anonymous
| Cooke hit just about rock bottom under the previous principal. When just one-third of your students are performing at grade level, you have serious problems. The school needed a major shakeup, and it was obvious that the new principal was under a mandate from central office to turn the school around. To that end, I am hoping be that rumors about major staff/teacher turnover are true. The school needs to be reinvigorated with a real focus on teaching, and it sounds like the new principal is doing just that. Good for her. |
Anonymous
Interesting how people seem to say that they need not to post anonymously when bashing the current principal but when it comes to the previous principal its "fair game". Focus should be the kids not adults feelings about each other. Get it together HD Cooke. |
Anonymous
The school is getting it together, FINALLY, under the new principal. |
Anonymous
|
The previous principal was very different from the current principal. As noted by another poster she didn't have favor among some of the middle class parents and that ultimately caused her to be labeled as not good, primarily by those parents who tend to frequent forums like this and the listserve. You miss the part about becoming IB authorized, having thriving partnerships where lots of diverse students benefitted, increasing enrollment by 200 students over 5 years and a list of other things that made Cooke a place where children liked to be. Heck, even the staff that you'll are currently raving about (and concerned about the fact that they are leaving) were largely hired and trained by her. In terms of student achievement if you pour into the scores for real you will recognize that the data did indeed move but when you add 40+ students a year, many who come in below level the numbers game doesn't represent the work that was done in the school. Teachers worked hard under the previous principal and she did indeed help us to get better. I truly wish we would move beyond bashing her. We all get it. She pissed off the parents who post here, she didn't make you'll feel welcomed, she focused on the whole school experience in conjunction with test scores and she didn't make any excuses about it. She has moved on and so should we.
The new principal was probably under pressure to do things differently, but that doesn't mean that she inherited a school that was at rock bottom. Far from it, and to suggest otherwise undermines the work of the staff and students who have been members of the Cooke community for a long time. If you really dig into what's happening and ask questions instead of making up things on an random posts you will see the Cooke was full (until this year) of a dynamic committed group of teachers who are unfortunately leaving in large numbers. This is not sound for the students and I hope there is a plan. Parents should inquire with the Principal how she plans to establish a culture where all of the students regardless of background are going to thrive and grow. This can't happen with the removal of all of the cultural programming and community feel that despite if we liked it or not was established and maintained by the previous principal. This can't happen with 3% of parents coming to a board to paint a bright picture and others airing all of the schools growth spots. Someone said that Cooke didn't get a much attention on this board before. It has had its times from when parents were excited for the previous principal to when they were excited she was leaving to a new principal and how wonderful things now are and now how terrible things have become. Moral is the story of Cooke is one with lots of layers to work through. Unfortunately the parents who tend to frequent here don't stay long enough to find out the back story and work to make changes in concert with the families who have been there literally 100 years . Its sad. So my advice to the lady from the 3% that wants to know how to help. Start by talking to the 97% that will be at Cooke when the K exit happens because a spot has opened up at other schools in the neighborhood. Or better yet, commit to staying through early childhood and the upper grades to truly make an impact. Regardless, good luck.
|
Anonymous
|
That's not true about the previous principal--she wasn't interested in engaging at all. She flat-out told parents that there was nothing they could do to help the school when they asked. And the Latino parents thought she was racist against them and was acting in an overtly hostile manner.
I'm sorry, but the purpose of a school is to educate, and the teachers and leadership at Cooke under the prior administration were not doing that. When more than two-thirds of your students are below grade level, education needs to be your priority. The prior principal made it clear that she felt she was dealing with kids who could not be educated. When asked why scores were low, she said it was because of the demographics. How horrible--someone who felt that she simply could not do her job at Cooke. And it was clear from interactions with central office that she was definitely told she would not be re-hired, which explains why she found another job. Good for her--let's hope she's in a better job where she can actually make an impact, rather than having a defeatist attitude that there is no way she can be expected to do her job because the kids at her school are poor and non-white. Time will tell whether the current principal can turn around Cooke and ensure that it provides an education to all the children who show up--poor and non-poor and of whatever skin color they are. It's certainly a huge job. But I think that with new staff and teachers, she has the best chance of achieving that. |
Anonymous
3% lady. We are committed to staying through elementary school. I will talk with more people. I will say that this is also a two way street. I would like the school to be a place where everyone feels welcome. If you want people to commit to stay into the upper grades, welcoming them into the community is a good idea. I am friendly and tried to engage with people at the school every time I was there last year. Sometimes that was reciprocated, but other times, people flat out ignored me. I will say that it's hard to engage with the rest of the school when your child is in PS or PK, partially because of the isolation but also because of the attitude (even if deserved) that there's no point in making friends with the parents of 3- and 4-year-olds because they'll bail on the school at the first chance they get anyway. I can understand why people think that, but at some point, it also becomes kind of a self fulfilling prophesy. If people feel like they're not welcome at a school, they'll be more likely to look for other options. If people are made to feel like they're part of the community, they're more likely to become invested in the school even if they have other options. Either way, I hope that the teachers the principal is hiring to replace the people who are leaving are good and that they become invested in the students and the school. I also hope the incoming parents (some of whom are probably reading this thread) are not completely put off by what appears to be a lot of drama. |