MVRCS looks like the only option if I want to buy a house in Melrose. I heard even Mayor Dolan is trying to pull strings-to transfer his son in. Telling
Just curious - what school system do the current school committee send their kids to - let's find out - could be some surprises there!
Dolan's support of the Horace Mann Principal is criminal. We're surprised that he's defended this administration and allowed the substandard education to continue for so long considering his kids go to HM. If he gets his children into the Charter, the limited respect he has left will evaporate. If he removes his own children from the MPS, it will leave all the "YES" and MEF crowd speechless and confirm that the "NO" voters were correct on the override. VanCamp wouldn't send his kids to the Everett schools. The hypocrisy is unbelievable.
Sorry Tony no way your kids are getting into the charter school. No SPED kids allowed. Keep your kids in Revere and keep collecting SSDI.
I heard that the black lives matter group is organizing an extended protest of the MVRCS. They are very upset that the school has a very small African American population as compared to the African American population in the city of Malden. Keep watching...things are going to get crazy.
I hate this sensitive world
The Malden School district is 30.7% White. The MVRCS is 55.3% White. You read that correctly. The state's charter school law has allowed a small group of white people to come together and set up a school system where the majority of students are white in a district where the majority of students are non-whites. This is the EXACT OPPOSITE impact that charter schools were supposed to have.
To all of those well-meaning people that were protesting a dream-catcher...if you really want to make a difference and really want to rally against institutional racism, I suggest you educate yourself on charter reform. Take a drive over to Malden. The MVRCS board was an all-white board when it started and I think it still is. They are using YOUR TAX DOLLARS to set up an all-white school and leaving minorities in Malden, and other sending districts behind.
Why do you have to go ahead and break up a good thing?
"To all of those well-meaning people that were protesting a dream-catcher...if you really want to make a difference and really want to rally against institutional racism, I suggest you educate yourself"
This is the biggest point. The "dream-catcher" activists (those advocating for a new logo/symbol) mean well for sure, but their ranks are filled with those who are so limited in their understanding about the bigger issues, and for the most part people who have been absent about much more serious examples of real, actual racist misconduct. They also include in their midst the Grover types who have proven via their public stands, municipal positions, etc. that they are all about politics and not about correcting systemic wrongs (let alone the ones they are directly implicated in). The other side seems even more unwilling to learn about the bigger issues (many even being hard-core proponents--like the Herald radio hack inciting hate speech--of very "-ist" systems), except that they do have a clue when it comes to the financial mismanagement and ethical corruption of those leading the city. Melrose doesn't have a hope of evolving into a more civilized community until both sides educate themselves better and find some balance in greater understanding of the underlying issues.
The fact that both sides include citizens of opposing political sides (like those in the "Yes" campaign versus NO/Mel Taxpayer's Assoc, for instance) will make this interesting as it plays out, unless it just dies on the vine like so many other issues have in the past, after some superficial lame solution. It will be especially interesting to watch some of the Yes types going up against RD, who simply must align himself with the not-PC jock "True Melrosian" types. He knows he will have a constantly renewing batch of gullible young parents as long as he keeps the realtors happy and lying, so it's no big loss to him right now, with 3 years until his next election, if he alienates some of his Yes supporters--those paying attention to anything beyond his cooked press releases or public rants, that is.
If the well-meaning people on both sides do the sustained hard work of coming together over the real issues (which so far they haven't even really begun talking about), then Melrose can get better. By the way, sustained and meaningful action has to occur even over vacation and summer, something that Melrose parents (unlike those in other communities who keep it going even when it's inconvenient) have typically been too self-absorbed to be willing to do. Maybe that's because Melrose parents have generally been of a more well-heeled group that takes very seriously the idea of leisure and down time, where that isn't an affordable luxury for many elsewhere. So the city administration's cynical calculations have been very effective: do the dirtiest actions (administrative raises, contract extensions, etc.) when the do-gooders who might squawk are at the beach or DisneyWorld. If politics prevail instead of sustained and effective action, then the cynical view is all we'll have to look at until the next thing bubbles to the surface demanding some temporary action until that group peters out. There are people of real substance on both sides of the Red Raiders thing, so maybe there's a reason for hope.
Point taken...replace that with "mostly white school." That doesn't change the narrative at all. Charter reform was intended to help minority students. It was not intended to help a small group of white people set up a mostly white school in a mostly non-white district. We are paying for this. It is institutional racism funded by taxpayers. All of the good folks that showed up last week...if you live in Melrose your tax dollars pay for racism.
Vilifying those who send their children to Mystic Valley will help no one, regardless of the make-up of the school or its inherent administrative corruption (or the flawed funding formula). Keep the focus on why parents are sending their children there and remember that you might want to do the same if you understood how bad things really are in the MPS and had young children. Fix the local problems in our own school system, and MPS wouldn't be seeing the charter school cap for Melrose students always maxxed out or losing many of its best and brightest annually to the private/parochial schools (at least 550 families a year and maybe many more now). If you are the local whiners (Vuvu, Clown, MBMM, GI), then just keep yammering your vile vilifications about Mystic Valley and trying to dishonor your neighbors and fellow citizens who made the best choices they could for their own children.
It is old history that Mystic Valley was basically set up as a "free" private school for Mayor Richie and his political allies, one of the staunchest of whom is our own mayor, who has always referred to King Richard as his "mentor" and even tried to hire him as the Melrose city solicitor, that is until the State Ethics board shut it down as the totally unethical conflict of interest that it was from the first foolish utterances out of Robbie's hind end. So criticize Mystic Valley for all the legitimate reasons you feel a compulsion to do (still hearing your choir of angels singing, Margaret?), but remember that its founder was the mentor (of Filthy Politics 101) of King Robbie.
I assumed it wouldn't be popular here because it is not a criticism of Melrose or the School Committee. While a nice deflection, the fact remains that this school was set up by white folks in Malden to keep their kids away from the non-white public schools. It is very true that Richard Howard was a driving force behind this, he and many other white politicians in Malden. While the knee-jerk reaction on this site is to try to attach all negative issues in Melrose to the Mayor or the SC, that really doesn't apply here. What happened here is that a very savvy group of white individuals exploited a system designed to help minorities and set up what is basically now a private school that is mostly white. While many want to protest dream catchers; there is real institutional racism taking place and the tax dollars of Melrose residents are funding it.
Also, regarding the point of comparing against the sending districts and not just Malden…this is exactly what they want you to do. They purposefully included Melrose, Wakefield and Winchester to get these demographics and help justify their scheme. Credit to them, it has worked perfectly for them. Despite the racial strife that is popping up everywhere, they are flying well below the radar and even getting praised by some of the very organizations that are taking them to task. Again folks, before you crowd into the SC chambers to complain about useless issues; give this one some consideration. This is racism right under our noses and we’ve all chosen to turn a blind eye and pay for it with our tax dollars.
A MVRacistCS apologist at work. You play right into their hand. How many board members were from those sending districts when it formed 20 years ago. Zero. It was all of the Malden politicians that did not want to send their kids to the non-white Malden schools.
This has nothing to do with the performance of the Melrose schools and everything to do with what is right. These mostly white cities are not why the charter reform was implemented. These Malden politicians pulled a fast one on the state and got the good folks of Melrose to pay for it and have apologists like "Nah" to defend them. Hurl as many insults at Dolan and the school committee as you like. They probably deserve it. Just recognize that you are funding racism if you live in Melrose.
R, You need to educate yourself about the history and current day philosophy regarding school choice across the nation.
Right now you're saying that white families don't want better schools for their children?! Look at AZ as a case study. That will help you learn.
Janice Bissex from Melrose was on the Mystic Valley board for many many years. The Meal Makeover Mom. Although heavily weighted toward Malden residents, the board may have had some residents from other towns.
The only racism that Melrose residents are paying for right now are from the MPS. I have seen no federal investigations of the charter school.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/enrollmentbyracegender.aspx is the section of the MA DOE website that R & myself are using for the enrollment data.
Interesting to see that the Voke or Northeast Metro Tech as it's now called is 63.8% white. Only 3.3 % black. Draws from the same towns as Mystic Valley plus a few more. Chelsea is one of the cities so high Hispanic population 29.6. Is Melrose paying for racism there too?
Why is everything about race? Whatever happened to just going to school in your own neighborhood. If that were the case, none of these conversations would be taking place. My head is going to explode if I hear "race" being the center topic one more time.
And just FYI, there are technically all black schools so why can't we have one of our own? Not EVERYTHING is racist people. Most of you need to go back to Cambridge where you belong.
I am sure that Kinnon and the powers that be at the MVRacstCS are glad to have mouthpieces like NAH. Bissex was not there when the school formed. It was formed entirely by people from Malden. Richie Howard first initiated the building of multiple elementary schoolsin Malden by gettting the state to fund 90% of the cost based on desegregation laws. He then got behind the MVRacistCS movement and was a driving force behind getting it in place. His building of the district schools helped shield him from criticism related to his choice of schools for his kids.
Nice attempt with the Voke...which sits in Wakefield. However, take a look at why vocational schools were formed vs. why charter schools were formed. Was the intention of charter reform to take white kids from cities like, Wakefield, Stoneham and Melrose and send them to schools in Urban areas? In your heart of hearts do you think that is the reason?
The intent is to help kids in urban areas. Throw out all of the subterfuge that you like; the fact is that a small minority of white folks in Malden have managed to create what is essentially a private school that is mostly white in a town that has schools that are mostly non-white...and they got us to pay for it.
Kudos to anyone who starts a school that educates children well, as Mystic Valley gets recognized for every year.
Kids there are selected by lottery. Not by race. Not by the school committee. By all accounts, they get a good education. They always show up in the state scores and US News.
Complain all you want about who started it or why. The fact is that 1,500 children in this area are getting a better education there than they would if they had to go to the Malden or Melrose schools. Mystic Valley has only been in existence less than 20 years. but they do better than Malden and Melrose. Both had a century-long head start and nothing to show for it. Kudos to Mystic Valley founders, school committee, school leaders staff and students. They all can be proud.
Another deflection ignoring what is happening in plain site.
Not sure how it is a deflection. Your comment is a deflection. Can you refute the fact that it is a lottery?
I think that the lottery system is the fairest way to do this. No complaints here.
The Voke is a regional school. Where its buildings are doesn't matter. If it gets moved to Chelsea, does it need to reflect Chelsea's population? Your argument makes no sense.
You can criticize Mystic Valley for many things but calling the racial makeup of the students a racist conspiracy is crazy.
The students get in through a lottery held publicly and with a video put up on YouTube.
Looking at the link above, it tells me that Mystic Valley is pretty well balanced racially when you consider the school is in Mass. I'm going to guess that very few schools worldwide have a perfect racial balance. Melrose has recent civil rights violations so this is an odd focus.
You should call the Mass Dept of Ed to complain. See what they have to say about your conspiracy theory.
For many on the left - they look for racism behind every stone even when there are no stones to uncover!
I am starting to think that maybe "R in MVRCS stands for Racist" just didn't get in through the lottery. Sour grapes...
"R" is one of those who simply need to believe the Melrose Schools are the best, no matter the obvious. They think the school committee, superintendent, mayor and her own children are the best. If anyone appears to do better, she has to denigrate them, their achievements or the path of their success. When other children thrive, she has to take them down a notch so her kids look better.
[quote="R" is jealous]"R" is one of those who simply need to believe the Melrose Schools are the best, no matter the obvious. They think the school committee, superintendent, mayor and her own children are the best. If anyone appears to do better, she has to denigrate them, their achievements or the path of their success. When other children thrive, she has to take them down a notch so her kids look better.[/quote]She's the mother at the ballgame who has to look for excuses why the star player is so much better than her son. You know, like private coaching, the father played ball, the kid had older brothers.
[quote="R" is jealous]"R" is one of those who simply need to believe the Melrose Schools are the best, no matter the obvious. They think the school committee, superintendent, mayor and her own children are the best. If anyone appears to do better, she has to denigrate them, their achievements or the path of their success. When other children thrive, she has to take them down a notch so her kids look better.[/quote]
Perfect description of someone who is part of a "low trust culture"...deny all problems, suppress all dialogue, stop any questioning or dialogue and control, micromanage and hire PR firms to spin your message when parts of the puzzle don't fit.
One reason for charter school success is the self-selection process. The people who send their kids to the charter school are the ones who paid attention to schools when kids are only three and four years old. The kids of the ones who didn't pay attention can't go to the charter. Some of those come from good homes, too, but won't get the benefits the charter has, and as a group won't perform as highly.
The charter has a longer school day and year. They say their kids get the same as three extra years of school because of that. That makes a lot bigger difference than playing around with start times.
The only thing that should concern Melrose about the Charter School is how many kids they lose every year to it. The amount of money Melrose sends to the Charter each year is staggering. A complete strike-out - Melrose loses money, top students and invested parents.
MVRCS is basically a daycare center for a bunch of middle and upper middle class white families from Melrose, Wakefield and Stoneham who don't want to pay for daycare for their kids so they drop their kid off in Malden. It truly is a "lottery" because they won free day care. It's bad enough my federal tax money goes to the so called legitimate welfare crew all over Malden, Chelsea, Everett etc but now I have to pay for the real frauds from Melrose, Wakefield and Stoneham.
I am very familiar with many of these families. They had the kid that just didn't quite fit in at the local public school and they were going to leave to leave for a "fresh start" whether it was a private or our local charter/daycare. For those of you that landed at MVRCS, congrats, you won the daycare lottery.
Pudwid, you are a whiner like no other. Did you ever read Aesop's fable, the Fox and Grapes? That is you, in a nutshell. Oh, you can't reach the grapes, no matter how hard you try? No worries, just say you never really wanted them. You are pathetic. And, instead of doing anything positive to make your life better, just insult people who took a chance and it paid off for them.
If you are so opposed to charter schools, go become an activist against them. I am sure you can team up with the teachers' unions across the state and march to the state house.
Pudwid, you are pathetic in so many ways.
You know no kid could ever start at the public school and enter the charter later. Your insulting comment that kids go there when they don't "quite fit in" is simply abusive to children in general, as well as to some that may not be a fit for the inflexible Melrose Schools. That says something negative about the Melrose schools, not about the child. The child's needs are always true.
If any child doesn't get in through lottery up front, there is no way to go later. Many excellent children from many excellent families in Melrose go to the charter school. Would you say those things to them personally or are you just abusive behind your anonymity? You, with your abusive support of the Melrose schools are the poster child for why families should send their kids to the charter school.
Melrose raves about its Early Chilhood Center as being critically important for children, but charge a hefty price. The charter school provides it for free. You resent the charter school doing a good thing and providing it free, so get Melrose to offer it free. I'll bet the same amount leave, though. They are right to trust their children to the charter school instead of the abusive Melrose schools with abusive people like you supporting them.
The Charter School Pom Pom crew is right out of the Star Wars bar scene from 1977. The island of misfit toys. Getting into the charter school is winning the misfit lottery. Upper middle class white families in Melrose whose children have zero special education needs get free round the clock care at the expense of the sending districts. The smart kids insist they come back after 5th or 8th grade to go to a real school, which is why the graduating class at the Island of Misfit toys is the biggest freak show around...and about 10% of the size of the classes they started with in elementary school.
Melrose schools are going down and all you people care about is trashing the charter school? That is such a negligible part of the problems that Melrose has with their school system. This is a red herring. They want to engage in this stupid fight so they can distract everyone from the disaster that is Melrose Public Schools.
Pay attention. If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention or you are not smart enough to get it.
This is all part of the game the super, school committee and mayor are playing to make everyone think we need an override. Start attacking music and the arts, unnecessarily hike the fees on sports to get the parents' attention, then make a plug for the override. Absolutely despicable tactics, particularly when a 3.5 million surplus just disappeared, and while they are spending thousands on PR spin doctors and legal fees to defend themselves from their illegal activities related to the numerous Civil rights violations.
FOCUS, above is absolutely correct. All of this is to try to push for the override again. Some parents of students in the schools might go for it this time, thinking that it will actually save them money. Word to the wise -- it won't.
Since this is the charter school thread, all the misinformation about the charter school promoted by the mayor & the SC could be cleared up by city solictor who sends his kids there.