Last week I wrote about my meeting with Gov. Ehrlich aides concerning education. (Note to self: You still owe them some contacts). I also wrote about a Black Democrat politician who was interfering with ideas to improve a high school that is not performing well.
I wrote that I had to confirm what I was told before I would mention the politician's name in public.
I went to a source and it was confirmed. However, I won't put the name of the politician out there yet, but I promise that I will.
What I will say is this: The politicians opposition was because of pure politics. Lt. Governor Michael Steele announced in public, in front of the media, that he was supporting Coppin University's effort to help Douglass High School. Some politicians thought this meant a "school takeover," which it was not. Coppin wanted to help improve the curriculum of the high school. After the intention of Coppin was clarified, the politician was still in opposition and it probably had more to do with Michael Steele's involvement.
At this point I will say the opposition is stupid, silly, childish, and self-defeating. I don't give a rat's ass or a damn if a political enemy helps me advance my agenda. In this case, it was helping hundreds of Black teenagers who are zoned for Douglass and destined for failure, maybe not of their own doing.
The following is an example of what parents of kids in Baltimore City schools are dealing with:
The news that 19,000 elementary and middle school pupils in Baltimore were being held back created an uproar among parents in 2003. So the next year, the school system quietly stopped requiring third- through eighth-graders to earn a minimum score on a national standardized test to be promoted to the next grade.
This summer, the school board officially scrapped the testing requirement, a move coming on the same night as it lowered the passing grade in key subjects from 70 to 60.
The result is a promotion policy less stringent than the one in place a few years ago, but one that eliminates the questionable practices of using a single exam to determine whether children pass or fail and making them repeat grades multiple times.
School system officials insist they have not lowered academic standards or reverted to the practice of "social promotion," saying they still have the toughest policy in the state.
Any parent/guardian living in Baltimore who gives a damn about education, wouldn't be sending their children to Baltimore City Schools. Lester Spence was right.
Recent Comments