Reply to Shake Up at SSMA?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]SSMA is a sinking ship as long as the ED is around making personal rather than professional decisions, as long as the Board continues to be her rubber stamp, and as long as the staff has few other viable options. It’s toxic.[/quote]

This thread is so depressing.

How is it that so many people know that Shining Stars is a toxic work environment, yet nobody does anything about it? Was it always this bad or has the principal's leaving made it like this? [/quote]

Yes, it is really depressing.  This was the 3rd principal in 4 years so we were used to principals leaving (and hoping - maybe foolishly -  that there were not deeper issues).  But, the WAY that  and the timing of the principal being fired was shocking and made parents start asking questions, talking to teachers/staff (who were shocked as well and it seemed needed to start telling parents more about the leadership of the school).  What's more depressing is that the ED answers to the school's board, the school board answers to the charter school board. [b] The charter school board only cares about advancing charter schools - so unless someone has done something illegal they are happy to let things continue as is.[/b]  When the school's board responded to the PTO's questions/concerns with accusations of bullying and harassment, and threatening to get rid of the PTO, that's when parents should have begun looking for alternatives. 
[/quote]

It's so weird to me that the DCPCSB thinks the way to advance charter schools is to do no oversight and allow them to flail and fail in a publicly humiliating manner.  Wouldn't it be in the best interest of the movement generally to have some quality control?  There is so little transparency that it's hard for parents to provide effective oversight, so if the DCPCSB doesn't do it, who will?[/quote]

It is a feature, not a bug of the original DC charter law. The PCSB has very limited power once a school is up and operating, unless a school fails to make academic progress or if there is financial mismanagement or bankruptcy. They have the most leverage and power when a school is authorized to open, and when a charter is up for renewal. But even then they have to make decisions based on finances and academic performance.

They can talk to schools about management issues, but they cannot force things to change. [/quote]

Thanks feature not a bug person. You always say this. The thing to talk about is, how's it working? It's not. There is a middle ground which needs to be achieved because the current charter laws are not enough. [/quote]

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