Dr. Broquard/Lafayette

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:You couldn’t pay me enough to be an elementary school principal. They have to be a business manager. Politician. Fundraiser. Cheerleader. Counselor. Pedagogical leader. Facilities manager. They have to manage really creative folks who may have vested a lot of time and energy into special units and activities that from year to year may not fit into the curriculum, and deal with those teachers when they get upset. Newer teachers are often more willing to go with the curriculum of the month, but fewer of them want to work the 60 hours a week that teachers used to, And they’re often not as excited about carrying on unpaid extra traditions. And in DC, the number of personnel evaluations that Principals have to write is crazy. Unless it’s changed, I think they have to do written evaluations of multiple paragraphs for every staff member multiple times a year. It’s a ridiculous amount— order of magnitude more human resources paperwork than managers of other similarly sized organizations.

First of all which principal is a counselor, pedagogical leader, or facilities manager?

That is the actual counselors, social workers, and teachers. Pedagogical leader? Yes I’m sure all of them have experience in special education, ELL, and the range of grades at one school.
Facilities? They all have a manger of operations.

Evaluations? They write a few sentences based off a rubric.

I will say managing adults is hard. But a good leader knows how to do these things and if you worked in DCPS you’d know there is no set curriculum, only set standards and tests. So no, they don’t have to ‘make’ teachers get on board with a curriculum unless they are a poor leader mandating everyone to do the exact same thing, thinking that means the same results will be produced.

I could go on about the other things mentioned, it’s true being a principal is difficult but let’s not act like they are the end all be all.

There actually is a DCPS curriculum in elementary school and it sucks.

There is not a mandated one.

I teach 4th grade, I don’t think it sucks.

You have a DCPS mandated curriculum?
There is no dcps curriculum for ELA, math there is Eureka but schools don’t have to use it.
ECE they make you do heggerty and building blocks.

But there’s no set curriculum for everything. And I do think if you’re not getting results with at risk kids as well it sucks.

I get results with the DCPS curriculum because I am absolutely passionate and am able to teach a Revolution and Independence unit that is great. I get results because I'm a great teacher and my students can see how excited I am about teaching them, the curriculum has nothing to do with it. It sounds like your kids don't have passionate teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You couldn’t pay me enough to be an elementary school principal. They have to be a business manager. Politician. Fundraiser. Cheerleader. Counselor. Pedagogical leader. Facilities manager. They have to manage really creative folks who may have vested a lot of time and energy into special units and activities that from year to year may not fit into the curriculum, and deal with those teachers when they get upset. Newer teachers are often more willing to go with the curriculum of the month, but fewer of them want to work the 60 hours a week that teachers used to, And they’re often not as excited about carrying on unpaid extra traditions. And in DC, the number of personnel evaluations that Principals have to write is crazy. Unless it’s changed, I think they have to do written evaluations of multiple paragraphs for every staff member multiple times a year. It’s a ridiculous amount— order of magnitude more human resources paperwork than managers of other similarly sized organizations.

First of all which principal is a counselor, pedagogical leader, or facilities manager?

That is the actual counselors, social workers, and teachers. Pedagogical leader? Yes I’m sure all of them have experience in special education, ELL, and the range of grades at one school.
Facilities? They all have a manger of operations.

Evaluations? They write a few sentences based off a rubric.

I will say managing adults is hard. But a good leader knows how to do these things and if you worked in DCPS you’d know there is no set curriculum, only set standards and tests. So no, they don’t have to ‘make’ teachers get on board with a curriculum unless they are a poor leader mandating everyone to do the exact same thing, thinking that means the same results will be produced.

I could go on about the other things mentioned, it’s true being a principal is difficult but let’s not act like they are the end all be all.

There actually is a DCPS curriculum in elementary school and it sucks.

There is not a mandated one.

I teach 4th grade, I don’t think it sucks.

You have a DCPS mandated curriculum?
There is no dcps curriculum for ELA, math there is Eureka but schools don’t have to use it.
ECE they make you do heggerty and building blocks.

But there’s no set curriculum for everything. And I do think if you’re not getting results with at risk kids as well it sucks.

I get results with the DCPS curriculum because I am absolutely passionate and am able to teach a Revolution and Independence unit that is great. I get results because I'm a great teacher and my students can see how excited I am about teaching them, the curriculum has nothing to do with it. It sounds like your kids don't have passionate teachers.

Cookie cutter never gets the best results, that’s my opinion. You may not reach all students. Passion also does not make a good teacher, you can enjoy your job and do poorly.
And to disparage your fellow teachers because they think they can do better than the current ‘curriculum’ is odd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Lafayette is the only elementary school in the city that is the same size as the proposed Miner/Maury cluster. I wonder if this move is to position her to take charge of the cluster.

This is the most interesting comment on this thread and the only reason I can see where she would agree to move.

Same

You mean because she has ambitions to oversee a transition to the cluster, and eventually lead it? Would that be an appealing job (seriously asking)?

+2 Also Maury has a principal. They told us that they basically will start talking about it again in 2026-27. Meaning earliest is 2027 or 2028… So she’s willing to wait 3-4 years? Or perhaps it’s a test to see how well she does with Miner first.

Dr. Broquard is a lot more experience than Maury's principal in absolute terms, and if she starts at Miner next year will only be one year behind Maury's principal (who is in her first year). That will make Dr. Broquard the obvious choice between the two of them to take lead on the cluster.

The bonuses that come with administering a title I school may well be a lot easier to get once you infuse the Miner population with the Maury population. That could be part of the appeal.

The bonus is only $5,000 more…if she gets it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lafayette is the only elementary school in the city that is the same size as the proposed Miner/Maury cluster. I wonder if this move is to position her to take charge of the cluster.

This is the most interesting comment on this thread and the only reason I can see where she would agree to move.

Same

You mean because she has ambitions to oversee a transition to the cluster, and eventually lead it? Would that be an appealing job (seriously asking)?

+2 Also Maury has a principal. They told us that they basically will start talking about it again in 2026-27. Meaning earliest is 2027 or 2028… So she’s willing to wait 3-4 years? Or perhaps it’s a test to see how well she does with Miner first.

Dr. Broquard is a lot more experience than Maury's principal in absolute terms, and if she starts at Miner next year will only be one year behind Maury's principal (who is in her first year). That will make Dr. Broquard the obvious choice between the two of them to take lead on the cluster.

The bonuses that come with administering a title I school may well be a lot easier to get once you infuse the Miner population with the Maury population. That could be part of the appeal.

The bonus is only $5,000 more…if she gets it.

The bonus is not having to deal with Lafayette parents. Priceless.

[Anonymous]

I need to stop opening these Lafayette threads. They are so far from what we experience there. Nice families (for the most part) and amazing, dedicated teachers. I’m ambivalent about Dr. B leaving, mainly because I know we could get worse. But a good new leader could breathe life into the school and improve morale. Many things seem to have been on autopilot for a while now and k has been a revolving door for at least the past two years. I’m not convinced everyone posting anti Dr. B sentiment here is a current Lafayette parent. I think she made a lot of parents angry when she arrived and changed things up.

[Anonymous]

No principal is going to make everybody happy - especially at a school the size of Lafayette!

Dr. B did some great things for our community and made some decisions that not everyone agreed with. And that’s to be expected. She led the school through a modernization, COVID, and a district SpecialEd reorganization. And she’s helped make Lafayette into the special place that it is - with the help of amazing staff and families.

After 10 years, she deserves to be celebrated for all that she’s done and I’m also excited to see what a new principal will bring.

To the Miner parents, you’re getting a knowledgeable and hard-working admin who has high expectations. She cares a lot about kids and the opportunities they have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No principal is going to make everybody happy - especially at a school the size of Lafayette!

Dr. B did some great things for our community and made some decisions that not everyone agreed with. And that’s to be expected. She led the school through a modernization, COVID, and a district SpecialEd reorganization. And she’s helped make Lafayette into the special place that it is - with the help of amazing staff and families.

After 10 years, she deserves to be celebrated for all that she’s done and I’m also excited to see what a new principal will bring.

To the Miner parents, you’re getting a knowledgeable and hard-working admin who has high expectations. She cares a lot about kids and the opportunities they have.

What about that slave lesson back in 2020 when students re-enacted slavery traumatizing black students?
Not sure if she is fit to be the administrator of a majority black school.

[Anonymous]

Agree: no principal is going to make everyone happy and, yes, Dr. Broquard excels at logistical challenges, and, yes, Lafayette parents have high expectations and are not afraid to use their power to call public employees to account.

All that being said, Dr. Broquard is one of the most dishonest and unpleasant people I have ever had the displeasure to meet. She is quick to label people who disagree with her as racist and entitled, and she is an expert at pitting parents and teachers against each other. She lies frequently. While she fired a few problematic teachers, she also drove many amazing ones to leave Lafayette.

I feel sorry for the Miner parents and teachers who will now have to deal with her and I shudder to think of how she will treat anyone who opposes the proposed merger of Maury & Miner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to stop opening these Lafayette threads. They are so far from what we experience there. Nice families (for the most part) and amazing, dedicated teachers. I’m ambivalent about Dr. B leaving, mainly because I know we could get worse. But a good new leader could breathe life into the school and improve morale. Many things seem to have been on autopilot for a while now and k has been a revolving door for at least the past two years. I’m not convinced everyone posting anti Dr. B sentiment here is a current Lafayette parent. I think she made a lot of parents angry when she arrived and changed things up.

If Dr. B is so good and the problem is disgruntled former parents, why are K teachers leaving? Why does morale need improving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to stop opening these Lafayette threads. They are so far from what we experience there. Nice families (for the most part) and amazing, dedicated teachers. I’m ambivalent about Dr. B leaving, mainly because I know we could get worse. But a good new leader could breathe life into the school and improve morale. Many things seem to have been on autopilot for a while now and k has been a revolving door for at least the past two years. I’m not convinced everyone posting anti Dr. B sentiment here is a current Lafayette parent. I think she made a lot of parents angry when she arrived and changed things up.

If Dr. B is so good and the problem is disgruntled former parents, why are K teachers leaving? Why does morale need improving?

PP Where did I say she is “so good” and former parents are the problem? My sense is that current parents dislike her less. Is that better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree: no principal is going to make everyone happy and, yes, Dr. Broquard excels at logistical challenges, and, yes, Lafayette parents have high expectations and are not afraid to use their power to call public employees to account.

All that being said, Dr. Broquard is one of the most dishonest and unpleasant people I have ever had the displeasure to meet. She is quick to label people who disagree with her as racist and entitled, and she is an expert at pitting parents and teachers against each other. She lies frequently. While she fired a few problematic teachers, she also drove many amazing ones to leave Lafayette.

I feel sorry for the Miner parents and teachers who will now have to deal with her and I shudder to think of how she will treat anyone who opposes the proposed merger of Maury & Miner.

You do realize that DCPS doesn’t support the proposed Maury & Miner merger, right? Hence the compromise and agreement to “study it” no sooner than 2026-2027. It’s never going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to stop opening these Lafayette threads. They are so far from what we experience there. Nice families (for the most part) and amazing, dedicated teachers. I’m ambivalent about Dr. B leaving, mainly because I know we could get worse. But a good new leader could breathe life into the school and improve morale. Many things seem to have been on autopilot for a while now and k has been a revolving door for at least the past two years. I’m not convinced everyone posting anti Dr. B sentiment here is a current Lafayette parent. I think she made a lot of parents angry when she arrived and changed things up.

If Dr. B is so good and the problem is disgruntled former parents, why are K teachers leaving? Why does morale need improving?

K teachers are leaving because more and more children entering Kindergarten are dysregulated and parents don't know how to parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to stop opening these Lafayette threads. They are so far from what we experience there. Nice families (for the most part) and amazing, dedicated teachers. I’m ambivalent about Dr. B leaving, mainly because I know we could get worse. But a good new leader could breathe life into the school and improve morale. Many things seem to have been on autopilot for a while now and k has been a revolving door for at least the past two years. I’m not convinced everyone posting anti Dr. B sentiment here is a current Lafayette parent. I think she made a lot of parents angry when she arrived and changed things up.

If Dr. B is so good and the problem is disgruntled former parents, why are K teachers leaving? Why does morale need improving?

K teachers are leaving because more and more children entering Kindergarten are dysregulated and parents don't know how to parent.

So where are they going where K children aren't dysregulated? Or are they going to a different school where they get more admin support?

If you can't teach at Lafayette, where most kids are coming in with several years of preschool and few kids have witnessed/suffered trauma, you aren't going to be more successful elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree: no principal is going to make everyone happy and, yes, Dr. Broquard excels at logistical challenges, and, yes, Lafayette parents have high expectations and are not afraid to use their power to call public employees to account.

All that being said, Dr. Broquard is one of the most dishonest and unpleasant people I have ever had the displeasure to meet. She is quick to label people who disagree with her as racist and entitled, and she is an expert at pitting parents and teachers against each other. She lies frequently. While she fired a few problematic teachers, she also drove many amazing ones to leave Lafayette.

I feel sorry for the Miner parents and teachers who will now have to deal with her and I shudder to think of how she will treat anyone who opposes the proposed merger of Maury & Miner.

This. I’m a former Lafayette parent with kids now in middle school. She does excel at many things. I started out thinking complainers were high maintenance whiners too, (and there are some) until I saw the crazy with my own eyes. She is just not what she appears to be.

Anyhow, if the struggles at Miner are logistical or if they have a lot of deadweight teachers who need to go, she’s great for the job. But beware that she also drives away wonderful, engaged, creative staff as well. One former Lafayette teacher actually left to get away from her and is now at Miner. Will be interesting to see if she sticks around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree: no principal is going to make everyone happy and, yes, Dr. Broquard excels at logistical challenges, and, yes, Lafayette parents have high expectations and are not afraid to use their power to call public employees to account.

All that being said, Dr. Broquard is one of the most dishonest and unpleasant people I have ever had the displeasure to meet. She is quick to label people who disagree with her as racist and entitled, and she is an expert at pitting parents and teachers against each other. She lies frequently. While she fired a few problematic teachers, she also drove many amazing ones to leave Lafayette.

I feel sorry for the Miner parents and teachers who will now have to deal with her and I shudder to think of how she will treat anyone who opposes the proposed merger of Maury & Miner.

You do realize that DCPS doesn’t support the proposed Maury & Miner merger, right? Hence the compromise and agreement to “study it” no sooner than 2026-2027. It’s never going to happen.

I think the study/working group is a way to bake the idea into the environment. DME made the change, and DME 100% wants it to happen.