Coolidge High School Principal Resigns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked at the Coolidge alumni FB page. Someone posted, "Mr. Jackson is the new principal. He is back at Coolidge."
PLEASE tell me this isn't the same Mr. Jackson that embezzled tens of thousands of dollars in grant money, left to be a principal at Booker T. Washington and was never held accountable for any of it. It is a common name, so please let it be a different Mr. Jackson. Does anyone know about this?

Thanks for being the reason we have changed the privacy setting on our facebook page. You are clearly not a member of our group or you would have had the courage to ask your "questions" in the group. What you think you know isn't the truth and what you have said is tantamount to slander. So if you are in our group, I dare you to say something, you insipid little cockroach.

Hey, don't run from this. What did PP say that was "slanderous"? Did the money go missing or not? According to the article posted, Mr. Jackson may not have stolen it, but he for damn sure was responsible for it and had a major hand in its mismanagement. If either of these is true, no way should he be anywhere near a functioning school.

He isn't anywhere near a functioning school. It's Coolidge.

Touché

How did he get the position, why did they hire him, do they want it to die a death and then come out and blame the principal so they can really close the school or turn it over to a charter? The buck really stops with Henderson, why has this school been allowed to languish, it certainly wasn't the teachers as many of them were highly effective but left and were snapped up my other good schools because all the attempts by DCPS to remodel the school have been lame; nobody from downtown has made any effort to visit the school and come up with a plan - everyone is just languishing. Was a letter sent out to parents by DCPS? If not, that shows the contempt that DCPS has for the students and school. If this was any other school in NW, the media and Henderson would have been all over it.

[Anonymous]

Wait. You are saying that media would be all over a principal that resigns midyear? No they would not. I have worked at 2 ES in DCPS and have had principals quit midyear. No one says boo. No media coverage.

I get that its Henderson for bringing back a shady dude. My guess- she knows him. That is how this system works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait. You are saying that media would be all over a principal that resigns midyear? No they would not. I have worked at 2 ES in DCPS and have had principals quit midyear. No one says boo. No media coverage.

I get that its Henderson for bringing back a shady dude. My guess- she knows him. That is how this system works.

Not media all over it but some sort of announcement, if it was Eastern, Dunbar, or Wilson there would have at least been something especially if an old principal who had been accused of stealing and had been written up in the Post was brought back. Also, there would have been an official letter to the parents. Just saying!!!

[Anonymous]

Gotcha. Yes, then I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked at the Coolidge alumni FB page. Someone posted, "Mr. Jackson is the new principal. He is back at Coolidge."
PLEASE tell me this isn't the same Mr. Jackson that embezzled tens of thousands of dollars in grant money, left to be a principal at Booker T. Washington and was never held accountable for any of it. It is a common name, so please let it be a different Mr. Jackson. Does anyone know about this?

Thanks for being the reason we have changed the privacy setting on our facebook page. You are clearly not a member of our group or you would have had the courage to ask your "questions" in the group. What you think you know isn't the truth and what you have said is tantamount to slander. So if you are in our group, I dare you to say something, you insipid little cockroach.

Hey, don't run from this. What did PP say that was "slanderous"? Did the money go missing or not? According to the article posted, Mr. Jackson may not have stolen it, but he for damn sure was responsible for it and had a major hand in its mismanagement. If either of these is true, no way should he be anywhere near a functioning school.

He isn't anywhere near a functioning school. It's Coolidge.

Touché

How did he get the position, why did they hire him, do they want it to die a death and then come out and blame the principal so they can really close the school or turn it over to a charter? The buck really stops with Henderson, why has this school been allowed to languish, it certainly wasn't the teachers as many of them were highly effective but left and were snapped up my other good schools because all the attempts by DCPS to remodel the school have been lame; nobody from downtown has made any effort to visit the school and come up with a plan - everyone is just languishing. Was a letter sent out to parents by DCPS? If not, that shows the contempt that DCPS has for the students and school. If this was any other school in NW, the media and Henderson would have been all over it.

Isn't Coolidge in Ward 4? The only people who really care about Coolidge are Coolidge alums, who live in Ward 4, and whose votes Muriel is desperately courting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+100

The only legitimate reason to keep it open is to appease a diminishing voter block of people who spout "Colt Pride" but have nothing broader to offer the situation. The school was once great pre-1980s, then descended to passable through the mid-nineties. Since then it has not been anything other than significantly sub-standard. Schools like this are a very big part of why the DC school system is so dysfunctional.

The school has been systematically overlooked for decades now. Maybe the problems have more to them than appeasing voters who are nostalgic with school pride. We have an entire feeder system of schools that makes it possible for someone to get a diploma when a person is barely literate. Less than a handful of the kids I knew who graduated from there a decade ago who did make it to college were actually able to graduate. How can there be so many years of efforts put into elementary schools with zero progress on having more than one or two upper level schools that are functioning and producing educated adults? I understand that the resources are limited, but there has got to be some way to deal with this. Unfortunately, I think the problem is so deep and covered in so many layer of issues that the best solution is to dismantle the decades-old culture of the school, mothball the school and offer it up to a charter.

Oh, Right -- turn it into a charter -- that will help (not!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He did spend AOL grant money to fund a Gospel concert. That point is not in dispute. He and the bank manager were the only people in the school who were authorized to cut checks. They are the only ones who had access to the money.

Factual information, by definition, is not slanderous.

NP - Did he ever do anything good/effective as a Principal? I'm not trying to sweep the misappropriation of grant funds under the rug - that is very very serious. But I'm much more concerned at this point about whether he was a decent or crappy Principal in the past beyond that issue, because the last thing Coolidge kids need now is a crappy crappy Principal.

And maybe I missed the post that said it, but do we know why the other Principal is leaving? I've heard really good things about him up until now. What happened?

[Anonymous]

The newly appointed principal is rumored to be Richard Jackson who was a former DCPS principal and Charter School principal. He returned back to DCPS by being appointed to Woodson, took a leave of absence, returned as Assistant Principal at Johnson Middle School and now appointed to principal of Coolidge.

I state that if DCPS can appoint a former principal like David Pinder to Associate Superintendent of High School then recycling a principal like Jackson is predictable. Heck, was already making a principal salary might as well get your monies worth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The newly appointed principal is rumored to be Richard Jackson who was a former DCPS principal and Charter School principal. He returned back to DCPS by being appointed to Woodson, took a leave of absence, returned as Assistant Principal at Johnson Middle School and now appointed to principal of Coolidge.

I state that if DCPS can appoint a former principal like David Pinder to Associate Superintendent of High School then recycling a principal like Jackson is predictable. Heck, was already making a principal salary might as well get your monies worth.

When did David Pinder become Superintendent of High Schools? When did Jackson get appointed?

[Anonymous]

Pinder became Assistant Superintendent this year...and there was no outrage. Jackson was appointed Principal under Janey, dismissed by Rhee, hired by the Charter School, dismissed by the Charter School and hired by Henderson, reassigned by Henderson and now appointed by Henderson.

More insight on the resignaton of the current principal, through my sources, allegedly he was a tyrant and there was pending sexual harrassment issues from his males subordinates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pinder became Assistant Superintendent this year...and there was no outrage. Jackson was appointed Principal under Janey, dismissed by Rhee, hired by the Charter School, dismissed by the Charter School and hired by Henderson, reassigned by Henderson and now appointed by Henderson.

More insight on the resignaton of the current principal, through my sources, allegedly he was a tyrant and there was pending sexual harrassment issues from his males subordinates.

THIS is the best they could do??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pinder became Assistant Superintendent this year...and there was no outrage. Jackson was appointed Principal under Janey, dismissed by Rhee, hired by the Charter School, dismissed by the Charter School and hired by Henderson, reassigned by Henderson and now appointed by Henderson.

More insight on the resignaton of the current principal, through my sources, allegedly he was a tyrant and there was pending sexual harrassment issues from his males subordinates.

THIS is the best they could do??

This is on Browser's turf, what does she have to say about the matter or is she keeping schtum and hoping that no one important notices? Catania also recently visited the school and not being impressed had a lot of negative things to say, what say you now David?

[Anonymous]

I would tread lightly about the 'pending sexual harassment'. I am not defending anyone- but comments like that, even if made in good faith on an anonymous board IS libel/slander.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would tread lightly about the 'pending sexual harassment'. I am not defending anyone- but comments like that, even if made in good faith on an anonymous board IS libel/slander.

I'm rusty on libel and slander, but if the allegation is true is it still libel or slander?

[Anonymous]

That's the word allegedly was used...it buffers the situation tremendously.