The hard work of Horace Mann PTO, HM Parents,and other generous benefactors has finally come to fruition as the new park opens tomorrow at 6 PM. See you there!
Hip, hip hooray for Horace Mann! So much heart and hard work went into this-grass roots at its best. Now, if only the Principal would allow ALL the kids to actually PLAY on it. Under her reign only K and 1 have been allowed on the playground during school hours.
and the super has basically eliminated most of recess
I feel bad for the teachers who have to pay the consequences of poor decision making by the badminsitration. Ever try to teach a bunch of wired kids?
It's really sad and scary that things are in such a mess (which this family can confirm as well). At a time of year that should just be nervous from excitement and getting all the stuff on the supplies lists, instead we are anxious about newest round of awfulness that is already making itself apparent in the various things we are getting and seeing from the administration. Will have to get more directly involved, come what may.
Great 4th grade teacher who was featured in the Mayor's blog (50 great things about Melrose Public Schools) has left the HM school and the district. Why?
Foolish emphasis on playgrounds when the real issue at the Roosevelt is the 4th Principal in 6 years and the Special Ed vacancy which has yet been filled. $ (override) will not fix all the deep seated problems on the SC, at Roosevelt and within the School Administration. With one child at Roosevelt and one at the Middle School our family is saving towards private school tuition and will vote NO on any override attempt. Don't trust the schools or city to manage people or money well.
Congratulations on the new playground. Don't listen to the w*nkers on this board. It takes them a while to realize that they are irrelevant to every day lift in Melrose. Then they go away.
Mr. Absurd: With 135 views since just 9 PM last night I beg to differ. Melrose residents are realizing that the info they can't get from the City and the local so called "press" can be found here. Aside from the opinion and sarcasm, the basic information found within is astonishingly accurate.
Hahahahahaha! You morons are now citing the number of views on Melrose messages as validation for your arguments. Priceless!!!!
Those views are from the same 5 angry @ssholes checking every 5 minutes....I would stake my salary on the fact that 99% of the negative garbage about Dolan, the City and the Schools comes from less than 5 people and my life that its less than 10...
The Fellowship of the Miserable’s is quite small, but the leader is Myron [8)]
Thanks Rick P......but I think that we all know what the "P" stand for!
Well, as was expected by all, The principal and the pols all showed up to grab the credit from a couple dozen hard working PTO members that made this all happen. Still working with the principal to see if she will let the 2nd through 5th graders use the playground ever again during school hours. Its sad we can't give the kids the same experience we had as kids.[:-|][:-|]
"Perhaps your money and time would be better spent focusing on getting rid of the current superintendent whose idea of addressing the school system's problems is to retaliate against the tax payers who point them out to her?"
Yes. This administration (city and schools) is vindictive and hateful towards any who have differing views. Many now have seen this. Those who have only glimpsed it have no idea just how ugly these so-called leaders really are and what they are willing to go after when they are in a rage. Maturity, self-control, common decency are just pretenses. It's hard enough to know how badly they treat adults, but to know how children are being harmed should be the call to action for everyone.
Tonight they are planning to vote to extend the super's contract. What's the rush? Are they just trying to make sure this is a done deal so that she can go out and apply for other things saying she has an extended contract, like Clery did? (Casey gave her a 5-year contract just before she announced she was leaving!) This committee is ridiculous. And whoever is drafting the contracts should be held accountable for making the contracts totally unfavorable to the citizens who are paying the salaries.
Show up tonight! (and no, due to health issues, I won't be there, but I will be watching!)
Shameful.
But do keep focusing on playgrounds if that floats your boat.
Two HM teachers are now part of the Lincoln staff. Their choice or "forced" by Taymore? Another, HM star educator, Melissa Giordano (who was hailed as one of the 50 Best Things about the District Schools in the Mayor's Blog) left for another school system. So, lots of changes at HM far more important than the new playground.
It could be that the two teachers are fleeing the HM school as the Principal has a habit of retaliating against parents and families who complain about wrong doing (Perhaps teachers are also targets?). Case in point; that certain 5th grade teacher losing total control and routinely disparaging kids in front of their peers for simply asking questions. Multiple complaints from parents all year long about anxious children who couldn't eat or sleep because of this treatment were rejected by the Principal as being "unfounded". Parents who shared information with other 5th grade parents about the seriousness of the teacher's behavior were severely "disciplined" with an array of illegal actions (under Federal and State Education laws and MGL) taken by the principal and superintendent's office. One parent was instructed they could no longer volunteer at the school. Another family was warned in writing by the Superintendent's office that they could no longer share any information regarding such incidents between their child and teacher with other parties. A family advocating for removal of their child from this classroom received a surprise visit from the School Resource Officer (courtesy of the principal) who apparently is routinely tapped to dole out intimidation in the form of libelous police reports, warnings of possible filings of criminal actions against the parents, etc. Never mind that the principal was caught intentionally providing false information to the police officer in this case (a felony offense under MGL 269, CH. 13A) and forced to make a retraction to both CT and Chief of Police. And par for course, no disciplinary action taken against the principal. Are we surprised? Makes you ponder whether the retaliatory actions are being taken under direction of the Superintendent?
" Another family was warned in writing by the Superintendent's office that they could no longer share any information regarding such incidents between their child and teacher with other parties."
Is this true? Are you telling me that a parent cannot talk to other parents about what is going on in a classroom? Says who?
I am very confused....did a parent send out an email to everyone in the fifth grade? How many other families claimed that their children were also affected by the teacher's behavior?
The school department has no basis for telling parents they cannot discuss what happens in a classroom with other parents. Over the years, there have been situations in this district where teachers have had mental health issues, and have acted inappropriately in the classroom, and the administration always protects the teacher and ignores complaints by parents. I thought maybe those days were over, and it's sad to hear that they are not.
This administration makes all prior ones look good (unbelievably) when it comes to its tyrannical conduct. There are no bounds to what CT feels empowered to do, thanks to the unconditional and unintelligent support she has gotten in this community.
And you wonder why the OVERRIDE will not pass!
She left for Newton Public Schools where she is making $20,000 a year more in salary. I agree, we need to pay our teachers more. Yes to the override! So glad this board is finally coming around.
Cute little myth being promoted there, but it's an old one that does not work. Sure, educators can get better-paying jobs (if they're decently qualified, which our new hires courtesy of charlatan hacks with no HR skills like CT, MA, PWL are generally not).
The Melrose Public Schools is currently witnessing (though trying desperately to keep secret) an exodus of its very best educators, and NOT for reasons of convenience or more money!
Dr. P is the first and most obvious (and she deserves the honors as perhaps the best teacher ever to have worked in our district), and she is most definitely not leaving because she wants more money. (She will quickly answer that one honestly and simply, without any ill will, but reflecting the angst that led to her decision to leave.) But she is not the only one leaving due to the toxic and untenable teaching (and learning!) atmosphere, and though the administration will tell you otherwise (quite emphatically), money is not the reason. Neither is the Common Core, for many/most are leaving for other public schools, which also must continue implementing the new teaching standards but most still recognize the critical importance of treating teachers with respect instead of the open contempt they face here in Melrose. The working atmosphere in the MPS is deeply toxic. It is "untenable," as many educators here will tell you if you ask those who are not the CT sycophants.
Glad you agree we should pay our teachers more! I do agree with you that an override is needed now more than ever! Yes to Melrose!
Keep drinking the koolaid. Apparently you too never read the new Teacher's Contract (neither did the School Committee, any of the several times it voted and approved it). Grossly irresponsible mismanagement! Oh, just FYI, the Override has nothing to do whatsoever with paying teachers more. There is not a single item there which addresses teacher salaries. So just keep pushing those lies and misrepresentations. You've got a few months ahead of you to stamp out the burgeoning fires of truth which will ultimately prevail over your corrupt lies.
The 11:23 post above is pure mythology. NO override. The above poster is going around to the various topics and trying to spin the discussion into support for the override. This is absolutely false. The comments clearly indicate NO to the override. The incompetent administration simply wants more money to waste. They don't deserve any more taxpayer funds when they haven't used the money they already have in a wise manner. Every bit of their machinations is designed to cover up their own incompetence or feed their sole purpose of duping some of the fools in this town into voting for the clowns again. They have completely failed at their jobs. Most importantly, they have forgotten that the positions they hold are an honor and a privilege. They are supposed to serve the interests of the greater good not for their own petty power trips.
I would have left for a $20,000 salary increase too! So yes, I agree with you that we need to pay our teachers more! The average teacher salary in Newton is $76,904. The average teacher salary in Melrose is $53,569.
Thanks for drawing attention to this important topic that definitely supports the need for an override!
MONEY NOT THE REASON SHE LEFT HM......
Smart of her. $20,000 is a big raise!
The teacher you speak of retired early on "medical leave" several weeks prior to the last day of school in June, 2014. I'll let you read between the lines. The HM principal you speak of has apparently been rewarded by the superintendent of schools with another three year contact, despite taking Horace Mann School down to a level three rating in a short few years. Go figure.
Welcome to the new America where "progressive" liberals try to control everything we do or say and are starting by taking over the schools.
Let us not forget the teacher who was fired mid-year for drug use after leaving her tools in a bathroom at HM.
The school was also classified as the lowest level a school can be at which means the entire Melrose system is a level three district.
The school has lots of problems.
You are correct about some things, but your assertion that "Welcome to the new America where "progressive" liberals try to control everything we do or say and are starting by taking over the schools.... " is wrong on so many levels. What is happening here has nothing to do with party politics whatsoever (although the local a$$holes happen to be predominantly local dems, contrasted with the teaparty wingnuts on the other side and a lot of apolitical citizenry in between). Sure, when it comes to Common Core implementation, for example, progressives and right-wing reactionaries have come together in opposition to the way Arne Duncan and this administration have linked with big corporations (They are now people, apparently) to violate the boundaries of state's rights and shove this mandate down the throats of the educational systems across the country. The massive dysfunction in the schools in Melrose is its own variety of nuts.