Farrell is not a Certified School Business Manager. Her "in the bag" appointment will be on an "interim" basis until she gets certified. NO experience or track record for the position. CT had NO experience or track record as a Superintendent either and look where that has gotten us.
The one who said Farrell was certified was Clown Patrol....liar liar pants on fire!
Ahhh...Waka, Waka, Waka
This has obviously been in the works for months, if Farrell was going to school to get her business manager certification, then the school committee and Taymore had this planned all along. This was all behind the scenes maneuvering , with parents being the last to know. They could have announced this last January, and started a new principal search then. Instead, they chose to put the kids through yet another "interim principal " year, which does nothing but hurt students, sticking them with a lame duck, pseudo principal who can't really make any decisions. This relegates this years freshman class to having three different principals in four years of high school, with the resulting stagnation and bad hires that come with that .
Same here. Granddaughter just graduated from another Middlesex League school. Not Lexington. 181 graduates, 16 Ivys. Roughly the same percentage as the prior poster, about 8.5%. Melrose - 4 out of 230, or 1.7%
Woo!
There has been quite a bit posted on how completely unqualified Farrell is for her new position. Is anyone wondering WHY she isn't going to be the HS principal anymore? Just a few years ago CT passed up great, qualified candidates for the principal job and instead chose Farrell to lead the HS. Now here we are on the third principal at the HS in less than six years.
Farrell wants out because she is overwhelmed and hasn't been able to do her job well. Many MHS Parents and staff are happy to see her out of the role, too. The whole thing is a joke. The schools are in trouble and only getting worse.
5th principal since 2007
The real tragedy is the fact that this superintendent allowed a failing principal to drive out a legendary teacher, only to be gone a year later. What a shame. Once again, the kids are the ones who lose.
I attended the sessions for the finalists for the principal's position. It was painfully obvious Farrell should not have even been considered. She would have looked bad if she was interviewing for an entry level filing position. Despite Melrose's history I thought surely we cannot go this route. I was wrong again. The mayor is intellectually challenged, mean spirited, and should not be on the school committee. Margaret Driscoll is pathologically controlling in the spirit of Nurse Ratched. They both are challenged by mere competence so hired Taymore, another depraved personality who did not even have the established qualifications for the position. Farrell is one of the many results of this toxic leadership. They cannot even admit a mistake so shuffle people around just as with the racist teacher. The taxpayers, and even worse, the children of Melrose continue to pay for the complete and utter lack of competence and professionalism in the city's leadership.
To the families fairly new to Melrose with children in the younger grades - things are reasonably OK for you now. But pay attention to how things are run and start demanding change now. Otherwise your children will get caught up in the stench that is Melrose secondary education.
A little perspective and ditto are the same types of clowns that make pretend they are HS students. Name the towns.
Yes, This:
"The mayor is intellectually challenged, mean spirited, and should not be on the school committee. Margaret Driscoll is pathologically controlling in the spirit of Nurse Ratched. They both are challenged by mere competence so hired Taymore, another depraved personality who did not even have the established qualifications for the position. Farrell is one of the many results of this toxic leadership."
and please will someone Drown the ClownP (aka Vuvu)?!
A little perspective and ditto...where are you? Liar, Liar pants on fire. You make this garbage up and another Melrose Messages clown quotes it like its the gospel. Just name the towns of the graduations you went to. Its an anonymous message board...and this stuff is easy to check. Melrose publishes the information as do most cities and towns. Its driving you losers crazy that a bunch of kids at MHS did great. Eat your hearts out. I heard next years class is wicked smaaht. Can't wait for graduation so I can rub your rubber noses in it again. Honk, Honk.
MHS has posted for a new math teacher, apparently one they just hired is gone. So when are they going to drop the bomb on us and let us know who our principal is, since it's already been decided? No job posting for an AD, either, so are we no longer posting open positions in the district? Are we just handing out jobs to the locals with a wink and not even bothering going through the pretense of looking for, and interviewing, qualified candidates?
By now, most talented people looking for jobs in a school district have already been hired, are we waiting until the final hour to post the job, knowing we won't get any qualified candidates to apply, so we can hand the job over to one of the insider volunteers, or an internal candidate?
As the above poster says, these decisions were made a long time ago, behind our backs. High school parents are sick of being kept in the dark. We have a right to know who the "interim" principal is, we have a right to know who will be running our athletic department and hiring the coaches who will interact closely with our kids. While the SC and the superintendent spend all their time placating the elementary school parents, it's just another slap in the face to the High School parents. No explanation of who will be the dept chairs and who will be the dept directors, or how any of this will effect our students.
The chaos at the high school is disgraceful, and the disrespect shown to high school families by the superintendent and school committee, who seem to have the time to send out boastful emails about what a great job they are doing, but can't tell us who the principal is....will not be forgotten by parents.
You're comparing Weston High School to Melrose High School? You are a clown. Maybe MFD will hand you the baton and you can lead the next parade down Main Street.. How does it feel to be the poor white trash in the family? Do they make you wear your clown suit and juggle at the family parties before they feed you. I applaud the accomplishments of the students from the wealthiest community in Massachusetts. Pull your head out of your @ss you fool. 4 Ivies baby..Boo Yah!!
Let's sum up the current situation in Melrose:
1. There is not enough space in the schools?
2. The superintendent wants to move 5th graders and 8th graders and completely change the Middle Schools and High Schools?
3. The superintendent wants elementary school to end at 4th grade?
4. The superintendent wants to keep a for profit pre-school?
5. The High School Principal is leaving and being put in charge of the finances for the district?
6. The Middle School Principal will become the HS Principal?
7. The Middle School will need to start a search for a new Principal - in July?
8. There will be no Athletic Director or Math Chair at the High School?
9. There is currently no IT Director for the schools/city?
10. The Superintendent is changing the start times of the Middle School and High Schools?
11. The Superintendent and the SC eliminated class rank and the Valedictorian and Salutatorian at the High School?
Time to sell the house.
Ahhh...Waka, Waka, Waka.
Oh, and, um...Boo Yah!
Very eloquently said, Clown Patrol. We can see you have a lot to offer to the conversation.
Getting back to the original post on this string...in 2014 a driving force on the SC behind the decision to eliminate the valedictorian was CKK. Now that she has resigned from the SC they should be urged to reconsider this nonsensical decision.
Very good point.
Oh good, now Agree/Clown/VV is hearing voices (her own--or maybe Margaret's) and replying to herself. Ask Kristin or Margaret about their packed summer agendas and why important changes are always left to the beach months--like voting for that leprechaun's "pot of money" for Taymore to give out like candy for administrative raises, that they have every year done in the summer when they think they can get away with the most evil of the crappy things they keep doing. Nice that you think you can blame your favorite hate-object for the awfulness happening throughout the district. Have you heard about OCR? Have you heard about Kick a Ginger Day? Have you heard about the messed up "plans" (if you can even dignify them with that word) of the administration to move hundreds of children every which way? Have heard paid attention to anything but the nasty little hate monster talking in your head and directing you to your favorite Voodoo doll? Disgusting!
Parent Back off on the meds. Clowns OD'ing on oxycontin and prozac shouldn't post. Save a Clown...no posting while under the influence.
Mr clown patrol at it again with of course no message other than hate.
Just putting facts out there. I am sorry if you don't like the origins. I stand behind my earlier post. CKK was clearly the driving force on the SC behind the elimination of the valedictorian. She is no longer on the SC. Anyone concerned should urge the SC to bring this back.
It seems to me the truth keeps speaking for itself.
Hi MFD,
This is John Laidler from the Boston Globe North.
Could you kindly contact me regarding the valedictorian issue?
Many thanks,
John Laidler
781-784-0446
laidler@globe.com
You are wrong. Laidler called several of us for opinions and he reads this board (as do many in the media). He had no idea how to reach MFD and tried any way he could figure. Apparently he asked school officials about the Valedictorian issue and they wouldn't talk, nor would Guilfoil. Funny that. They have a million rules to restrict who has access to information and who is allowed to talk, but when questioned by the Globe about a topic hundreds are talking and writing about, they all shut up. They are total cowards, which by the way MFD is definitely not. Anyway, he had nothing to do with John Laidler reaching out.
Of course it's also pretty pathetic that the Globe is so out of touch that it doesn't know the players or understand the issues at all. Laidler was only interested in a Yes or No opinion, nothing in between, and certainly nothing nuanced or with historical context (he could have reached out to Maura Quinn, the former MHS Guidance Officer now in Philly or someplace but still accessible, who first brought the proposal to the school committee years ago and had a very articulate rationale). But Laidler may as well have been the National Enquirer in the superficial fluff he was seeking. Sad and typical. Instead he'll probably publish something that will only serve to fan the flames. Those fake "true Melrosians" will feel their very patriotism has been violated, as with the feathers issue, while those who might have a sensible and thoughtful approach will be ignored, and Melrose will just carry on like a poorer but more pretentious and self-righteous version of the way towns like Tewksbury have managed sensitive issues. Meanwhile, "following the money," the administration is marching on claiming victory, basically stealing (again and more!) from the Melrose taxpayers with their indefensible budgets, tax rates, and water/sewer rates that no elected officials had the courage to evaluate and correct. Good job Melrose!
I would hope that any person in the media reading this board would know enough to work on the "lawsuits against SPED families" story- that would be a great read.
Agreed 100% "To the Media" about fake "real melrosians." These are a few loudmouths who go through life blasting their ignorance on social media and thinking everyone agrees with them simply because most others think there is no way these loudmouths will ever change their minds so why bother with a response. It never ceases to surprise me how these folks are rude, often mean-spirited and deaf to thoughtful responses as a way of life yet when hit back with the a small bit of the same, they basically get self righteous and drape themselves in fake patriotism and "I got here first so I know more" bs. Unfortunately, the mayor is one of the worst of these. He is the source of most of Melrose's problems.
If what you say is true about the Globe reporter, that is very disappointing.
Who are really worse though? The old school real Melrosians who have roots in the community but can be resistant to change OR the folks that got here yesterday from places such as gentrified Somerville (not the real Somerville) and want to force the long term residents into their way of thinking because they are oh so superior. They should have stayed where they were (but they were afraid of the schools because, you know minorities) or moved to Arlington where their sanctimonious nonsense will fly.
Dolan has to straddle this division with the Red Raiders & the school overcrowding. Which way to go?
I'm going to be upset when Shaws doesn't give me a free plastic bag for my meat & dairy. The costs are always put back on the customer.
Those MEF mommies deserve a dose of traditional Boston suburban thinking. It's poetic justice. When you moved to Melrose because of the price (before things got crazy) and the nearness of Boston, what did you think you were going to find? We border Malden, Saugus, Wakefield & Stoneham. How did you think it would be?
It's more than graduating from Melrose High or living here your whole life. Many people move to Melrose as adults and DO NOT attempt to raise everyone's taxes. Nor do they run to city hall or the school system for a job so they stay beholden to the powers that be.
Some people can move here and allow their neighbor to decide the length of their grass or allow a once a month church dance to play music until 10 PM on a Friday or go to a preschool that's not the ECC. Some people enjoy giving out candy on Halloween and appreciate popsicle day at school.
It's moving here from your gentrified town where you were scared of the schools to Melrose and deciding that you know what's best for the Melrose community. And you will push and push and push until you get your way.
No valedictorian? hahaha what a joke. Of course Malden North / Mini Cambridge would adopt this BS. AWESOME.
I think the issue with the MEF crowd is the fact that they are not inclusive at all. They never wanted to reach out to the greater school community; instead, they formed an insular little clique and decided they could leverage fundraising money for political influence, for the benefit of their own children.
There is also a sense that some of them are angling for a job in the district, which is true of many of the parent "volunteers". There seems to be such a lack of sincerity and exclusiveness surrounding the group, it's a huge turn-off to most parents, both "new" and "old" Melrose.
The override campaign was one of the most disastrous campaigns I have seen in my 25 years in Melrose. The MEF moms came across as a bunch of self-entitled narcissists, demanding we all give them money for another layer of support staff for their elementary students, and accusing anyone who disagreed as being against education. They were proclaiming the high school a big success, all the while secure in the knowledge that our disastrous principal would be gone by the time THEIR kids got there. Maybe if the MEF crew hadn't put so much energy into promoting the high school and propping up this administration , we could have replaced this principal sooner, and saved everyone the embarrassment of frequent negative news headlines. The kids would certainly have been better off.
MEF will never be able to pass an override , they squandered their one opportunity with a ridiculous list of "wants not needs", in a year with a 3 1/2 million dollar budget surplus. They come across as insincere social climbers who really only care about THEIR kids. They have not made any inroads with parents in the district, and don't seem interested in doing so.