tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post1042107596859192450..comments2024-03-18T16:51:10.406-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Lawton Principal ChangeMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28866063576651920932011-10-22T19:11:01.611-07:002011-10-22T19:11:01.611-07:00Ms. Helm said she felt overwhelmed by the prospect...Ms. Helm said she felt overwhelmed by the prospect of another year as principal without a vice to help out and had looked forward to the comeraderie a VP would bring. The Spectrum debacle and its aftermath was clearly very difficult for everyone. At the same time, she said the Whittier opening offered a chance to learn from and work alongside an experienced principal (in a school with similar demographics). It does take a strong person to admit being unprepared and wanting to gain more knowledge before taking the reigns of a school again. I certainly respect her choice and her reasons for making it. That doesn't mean, however, that the district/school wasn't interested in her for that role because of her experience implementing the cluster grouping model. Far from it, I think that was icing on the cake.NLMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33729167735874090522011-10-22T16:01:16.294-07:002011-10-22T16:01:16.294-07:00Reading this is like watching a reality show. OK, ...Reading this is like watching a reality show. OK, I have to ask why did Ms. Helm leave Lawton? After reading the last several comments. she sounds like she is a good fit for the school (granted maybe not for the spectrum folks, but they seemed to have given her a pass and chalked it up to her inexperience).<br /><br />According to one poster, Ms Helm had to end a program that needed ending and as one muser posted, especially since teaching to meet all those individual needs is just "too hard" (curious to know if this is REALLY what your teachers think about their work, 'cause it is not very complimentary). Anyway, sounds like you all need to get her to come back and continue what she started.<br /><br />-watcherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25741514019816824042011-10-22T13:01:40.490-07:002011-10-22T13:01:40.490-07:00Thank you to all for your insights. I think it on...Thank you to all for your insights. I think it only points out that our district has NO clear vision for the AL program because otherwise these kinds of unhappy machinations would not have happened (or be happening). <br /><br />JMHO, you hit the nail on the head. If this district wants to get to cluster groupings, then every - single - teacher has to be trained in differentiating their teaching and differentiating the curriculum. <br /><br />The district makes it sound like this is easy to do but I believe it means real professional development to have it work well. I do not believe the majority of our teachers know how to do this in a real and sustained manner.<br /><br />So if they want cluster grouping, they better have the goods to back it up. Otherwise, it then looks like they are doing it to help the teachers and not the students.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47665110594078642002011-10-22T12:32:05.513-07:002011-10-22T12:32:05.513-07:00I will miss Ms Helm at Lawton. She is a very nice ...I will miss Ms Helm at Lawton. She is a very nice person who had to be mean and it was apparent she didn't like being mean( or was skilled at making you feel good about hearing no). I see a future for her as she learns to navigate public school politics. She took the fall for ending self contained spectrum, and she took it like a soldier. It's an unusual move going to VP, but it shows her humility and intent to improve. I also think she is a great role model as a young woman who can take a lot of heat and stay in the kitchen.(as the man who cooks in our family, I don't mean that in a sexist way).Au revoir mais pas adieunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76163431841377178352011-10-22T11:35:38.368-07:002011-10-22T11:35:38.368-07:00Musing,
Interesting, and something I hadn't th...Musing,<br />Interesting, and something I hadn't thought of before.<br /><br />I think basing a program on differentiation is building a house on an imaginary foundation. I just don't think differentiation is do-able on a broad scale. It's too hard, too much work, and we can't expect teachers to all be superheros. We need a system that works with just average folks, which is what most of us are.<br /><br />Maybe we need to completely rethink how we teach kids. <br /><br />Musing as wellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-70137306554282278772011-10-22T09:15:18.423-07:002011-10-22T09:15:18.423-07:00I know there is considerable interest in regroupin...I know there is considerable interest in regrouping for reading and writing as well as math but for some reason it has been put on the back burner. Differentiation initially took the form of giving Spectrum students extra vocab words, however, as it was written on the homework sheet for the entire 5th grade that non-Spectrum students could do as many of the words as they wanted, even just one, and Spectrum had to do extra, this did not sit well with parents. <br />The staff has added several new students to advanced walk to math and it seems good. I don't know if adding walk to reading is a logistical problem or it's felt to be too much grouping and therefore possibly demeaning to the twice grouped in the lower level kids. <br />My latest musings on the anti-grouping sentiment is that it reflects strongly the conservative values of the Magnolia area. We have a few parents who were schooled in the USSR and they are shocked that students are not taught by ability in the US. They grew up in a school system, like most in the world, that is a meritocracy. The brightest are expected to do more and hard work is rewarded. They need to realize that in the US we have more a aristocracy. Success in life depends on wealth as much as talent. Magnolia kids are going to go to good colleges because they have money, not because they are the smartest. <br />Saturday musingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-56999218841292352462011-10-21T17:41:28.196-07:002011-10-21T17:41:28.196-07:00Optimistic -- I think you are right -- it IS a who...Optimistic -- I think you are right -- it IS a wholesale change, and Hamlin is a MUCH smaller school with MUCH smaller classes (and the usual ability of private schools to toss out behaviorally challenged kids, etc.) That said -- if the principal was committed to wholesale change AND could get buy in from the staff -- it could be done. Even if you just committed all mornings to "walk to." A teacher coming in at Hamlin would know, from day 1 that although they had kids A through Z in their "class," they were also somewhere on the ladder with respect to the walk to classes, and would be teaching any number of OTHER kids during the day. It requires tight coordination of timing, curricular materials, lots of discussion among staff as to who is moving where, and when -- and sufficient similarity of pedagogy and teaching method (and Hamlin excels at this as they are all Slingerland trained and their kids require high fidelity to a single teaching method). That being said -- to me all that hard work on the staff/organization side it holds LOTS of potential on the student learning side.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-18895683930683799222011-10-21T17:38:33.674-07:002011-10-21T17:38:33.674-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-51113993326516980472011-10-21T17:33:23.884-07:002011-10-21T17:33:23.884-07:00To elaborate, Lawton Parent, my understanding was ...To elaborate, Lawton Parent, my understanding was that the overly-influential parent was involved in the campaign to eliminate the Spectrum program. When Spectrum parents who didn't like the change (some were supportive of it) were alerted to the impending change (by mistake, through back channels, as there was an attempt to keep things under wraps) and wanted to have a say as well, they were cut off.<br /><br />Unforced error by the principal.<br /><br />Saw it allAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-726791548803565632011-10-21T17:22:07.825-07:002011-10-21T17:22:07.825-07:00Lawton Person,
Re-read my post. (Maybe you need g...Lawton Person,<br /><br />Re-read my post. (Maybe you need glasses?) I did not say that a parent "had more sway than staff." I am aware of staff and district actions to disassemble the program. <br /><br />I did say that the principal felt one parent had been overly influential and that is why she stopped listening to parents entirely. And I did say that I felt that assessment was accurate.<br /><br />I stand by my post.<br /><br />Saw it allAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37240032545249662582011-10-21T16:54:48.291-07:002011-10-21T16:54:48.291-07:00Jan,
You make the case for fluid groupings to help...Jan,<br />You make the case for fluid groupings to help challenge all students but I think the problem is the amount of organizational work required. Frankly, one walk to per day is fairly rare in SPS and getting two or more would be difficult. Could Lawton make lemonade and be the model for this? I think the ball is in the staff's court right now. They made promises and I would like to hear if they plan on delivering. I know that parents, and i would say especially Spectrum parents, are more than willing to provide the volunteer power required. Staff needs to give it a try. <br /><br />OptomisticAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13183561848069316272011-10-21T16:45:38.637-07:002011-10-21T16:45:38.637-07:00Saw it All,
You need glasses. The district sent re...Saw it All,<br />You need glasses. The district sent reps out every month to BLT meetings in 2009-10 to listen to parent ravings about the evil Spectrum cabal and the "bait and switch" that supposedly occurred when blending was abandoned after 1 year. The district and the principals called the shots and to think that any parent has more sway at that school than staff is ludicrous.Lawton Personnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-46672172903356152822011-10-21T14:16:55.911-07:002011-10-21T14:16:55.911-07:00JMHO -- boy, I wish (on the homework issue) you ha...JMHO -- boy, I wish (on the homework issue) you had been MY mother! Lots of precious kid time wasted, in my opinion, on "stupid" homework -- while real learning (math, music, reading, playing) is starved for time. <br /><br />On differentiation -- yes, I have seen it work, though not at a public school. At Hamlin Robinson, they get dyslexic kids in a constant flow, at all grade levels, and with all sorts of abilities. Their reading abilities may differ hugely from their math abilities. They do school-wide walks to subjects that allow kids to consistently work at whatever level is appropriate. We weren't there for a long time, but my sense is that the groupings are fluid enough that a kid walking to one room who falls behind is swiftly moved to another group -- same if they move ahead. In other words -- it is not that you base a whole year's groupings on a spring or fall MAP test. If a child thinks they can/should be in a higher group -- they just bear down and get there. The idea was that most kids would learn compensatory language strategies and return to public schools -- so they were interested in facilitating as quick a move upward as possible. It DID mean that the entire school -- ALL of them -- had to conform to a schedule for subjects that facilitated this. But it also made the entire school very cohesive in terms of helping kids learn as fast as they chose. <br /><br />IF we abandoned MAP for more nimble, flexible grouping AND had an entire school "on board," I think you could do really incredible things with walk to math, walk to reading, and walk to writing. Because of the possibility of content gaps, it would be harder to do with science and history/social studies -- but if schools worked on a 3 year rotation (same stuff covered K-2 as in 3-5 -- but at higher levels) you could, at least, "ability group" kids more effectively, knowing that if you let a first grader have science with the 2nd graders, they would cover the same subject again.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-46884246939792104002011-10-21T12:12:36.513-07:002011-10-21T12:12:36.513-07:00The thing that the Administration (nominal and de ...The thing that the Administration (nominal and de facto) at Lawton didn't understand is that listening to and involving the Spectrum families isn't the same as deferring to them and allowing them to dictate policy. They were so on guard against the Spectrum families and anything they had to say that the families felt like personae non gratae at the school. <br /><br />The principal, who indeed walked into a hornet's nest, kicked that nest by failing to understand the difference between respecting and deferring. She felt that one parent had been allowed to be overly influential in the process and that that had created a big problem. An accurate assessment. Her solution, however, was to cut communications off entirely with the parent community on the issue. <br /><br />I'm sure she learned a lot from the situation, and will become a stronger principal as she gains experience.<br /><br />Saw it allAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65834149817857026402011-10-21T11:37:13.020-07:002011-10-21T11:37:13.020-07:00I go back 7 years and have researched this with pa...I go back 7 years and have researched this with parents who go back at least 10 or more years. It is true Lawton did not have "self contained" - meaning it that only Spectrum students in a class b/c the numbers have traditionally been low. (estimates betweeen 5-12 or so per grade) BUT for all those years since becoming a Spectrum school, Lawton <b>did have the cohort grouped all together in the same homeroom classroom.</b> So call it, nearly self contained, or cohort grouped - I've even heard it called "as self contained as it could be" but they the key was that there was critical mass of those in the advanced learning program. Since the numbers were generally low, the classrooms were completed with other students. OR there were split grade level classrooms that accomplished the same delivery of year ahead curriculum to Spectrum students. Ed always called this "blended."<br /><br />In 2008-9 the 2nd and 3rd grade cohorts were big (over 20) and in the spring of 2007 Ed Noh conducted a community meeting to see if families would be open to splitting those two cohorts <b>for the 2008-9 school year, in those two grades.</b> I presume that staff had been having the same discussions, but don't know that for sure.<br /><br />2008-9 saw the 2nd and 3rd grades split. Noh leaves in June, 2009. Raines arrives in August, 2009 and realizes the Spectrum students have been divided among all classrooms, at all grade levels and seeks guidance from the district, who evidently said, Spectrum kids need to be grouped together per SPS policy. Last minute shuffle and all kids are reassigned, and "as self contained as it could be" is back for the 2009-10 school year, but those same 2 cohorts are still big. (now they are in 3rd and 4th grades) Bledsoe came in and kept the "as self contained as it could be" for the 2010-11 school year (those large cohorts are now in 4th and 5th grades). Helm came in and kept those classroom placments intact instead of trying to shuffle them around and because families had been told by Bledsoe how the classrooms would be formed for the following year. <br /><br />While those details are very important as to understanding the history of Spectrum at Lawton (and specifically to correct the recurring misinformation that we had only self contained when Raines and Bledsoe brought it to the school, b/c that's inaccurate) I totally agree that the pot blew off the kettle b/c of the lack of transparancy and collaboration with all the stakeholders. It could have played out very differently. Parents made enrollment choices (came out of cluster to attend Spectrum (at least 40), chose to stay at the neighborhood school v. moving to APP) based on the program as defined by the SPS. To alter that without consulting those families was in bad faith - both by SPS in granting the permission to change and the staff and whoever else lobbied for it without engaging the Spectrum familiesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-18525911751923572322011-10-21T11:16:10.511-07:002011-10-21T11:16:10.511-07:00Has anyone seen differentiation actually fully rea...Has anyone seen differentiation actually fully realized on a school-wide level, I mean other than in their dreams? :)<br /><br />I don't mean one brilliantly motivated and hard-working teacher applying it, I mean even the "just average" teachers applying it and making it work?<br /><br />Schools are justifying changes to the Spectrum program based entirely upon what is theoretically possible, but may not be achievable in actuality. <br /><br />I've been on the lookout for it but not seen it, this rare thing, differentiation.<br /><br />As far as homework, if your kid is frustrated by it, don't do it, unless s/he will be building on it in class and therefore needs to have it to function in class. I don't worry about teaching my kids to do what their teacher says. If anything, my kids are overly worried about pleasing their teachers. I believe i am more in tune with what they need. My kids practice their music and read. We sometimes drill on math skills, because I think EDM gives skill development short shrift. The rest of their time is free for them to use how they please. <br /><br />Allowing a kid to get frustrated by homework is teaching them to hate homework.....don't let them get burned out in elementary school. <br /><br /><br />JMHOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37208263246259584042011-10-21T10:14:45.332-07:002011-10-21T10:14:45.332-07:00The devil is always in the details. The word of a...The devil is always in the details. The word of advice I would give Whittier is if you are looking at changes to your spectrum delivery then ask for it to be an open process. Ask for it to have some enforceable methods of delivery where differentiation does happen. I believe cluster groupings can work, but the district has to support it with adequate resources, principal and staff have to support it by implementing the plan with integrity and parents need to work with their kids and each other to help support that endeavor. Otherwise, it will be another wasted effort.<br /><br />-mag parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57870236858367495602011-10-21T09:53:47.123-07:002011-10-21T09:53:47.123-07:00Self-contained was the issue. It works well for th...Self-contained was the issue. It works well for those in the program and not so well for the rest. At Lawton the "discussion" degenerated into Spectrum parents being labeled as elitist snobs controlling the school and this was not a good way to convince them that their kids would be better off in blended classrooms. Then the staff petition and the secrecy behind the waiver added to the feelings of distrust. It seemed that the parents opposing self-contained were very conspiracy minded when in fact the Spectrum parents were only excited to have their kids in a quite rigorous academic environment. It, in some ways, felt like private school. Spectrum parents had a good thing. They knew it, everyone knew it. The question was how to take it away from them and the staff and some parents got pretty mean about it. Spectrum parents didn't create the program, they took advantage of the opportunity which was presented and many of them felt it was very good for their kids. To get called names and have decisions made with no input or even notification is very alienating. Spectrum parents(who liked self-contained) advocated for their kids and that is only normal, but the difference is they did not sneak around getting signatures and have unreported meetings with then CAO Enfield. They got blindsided and then cast as the bad, selfish, elitist parents. The well got poisoned by the secretive and malicious nature of the attack on self-contained Spectrum parents. Parents who liked self-contained are not like the people who were described at meeting after meeting of the BLT and those parents and staff who felt it necessary to demonize them should consider more appropriate methods in the future. Staff seemed particularly unprofessional. They are too busy to research and make a strong case for blending, so they get surrogates in the form of angry parents to do their dirty work for them. They present a paper outlining their reasoning that would get a D- in a high school English class and expect that to cool he flames? I mean if they wanted to make a point, do the homework, it was insulting to the parents who attended the ill-fated Spectrum meeting.<br />Are Spectrum advocates blameless in all of this? I'd say yes they are. They had a program that worked for their kids and they wanted to keep it. They had no ill intent towards staff or non-Spectrum kids and parents. Any plan to keep the good parts of self-contained and expand it to the whole school would have been well received, I'm guessing. <br />I think the fact that pro self-contained parents are still at the school volunteering and being civil is testimony to their good intentions. Did Lawton raise the bar for all kids as intended or just lower it for the Spectrum classes? With no walk to reading program in place, it looks like the latter.Lawton Fly on the Wallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-32566713315678251792011-10-21T09:45:44.598-07:002011-10-21T09:45:44.598-07:00NLM wrote, "And then when you take into accou...NLM wrote, <i>"And then when you take into account that the official homework policy is that the school *WILL NOT* differentiate for any learner..."</i><br /><br />This is a really interesting point that I haven't seen discussed before in the Lawton and Wedgwood Spectrum conversations. <br /><br />We had the same experience before transferring to APP. It seemed that some differentiation was going on in the class for math, but every child got the same homework, and my child would literally get angry and defiant about having to waste her time doing homework on topics she'd already mastered. It was a dilemma because you don't want to teach your child to defy or ignore their teacher, but it's hard to spend so much time night after night arguing about homework too, particularly when you agree that your child is getting nothing out of it. (and, yes, we were told we could substitute some other homework of our choice if we wanted to, but that wasn't practical for a variety of reasons.)<br /><br />So, how's it working out in ALO programs and the new Spectrum cluster models? Is any school differentiating homework? Is a lack of differentiated homework an issue for others? Are schools aware of the potential problems that "too easy" homework causes?Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07777580098975083499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6941653443485310422011-10-21T09:09:41.914-07:002011-10-21T09:09:41.914-07:00The changes in the Lawton Spectrum program wouldn&...The changes in the Lawton Spectrum program wouldn't be so bad if there was more transparency as to how these classes are/were balanced. I know what the CAS reports say was supposed to happen; I'm not sure that's what actually happened. And then when you take into account that the official homework policy is that the school *WILL NOT* differentiate for any learner, it's hard to imagine much support for differentiation within the classroom either. If this is all that's going to be available under NSAP in this cluster (just due to capacity issues), then it's time for us to consider homeschool.NLMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21291063129917723232011-10-21T08:15:50.742-07:002011-10-21T08:15:50.742-07:00If so, I stand corrrected on that point.
-Mag pare...If so, I stand corrrected on that point.<br />-Mag parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-85677515995328399492011-10-21T08:08:03.144-07:002011-10-21T08:08:03.144-07:00FYI - 'that parent' mentioned above in -ma...FYI - 'that parent' mentioned above in -mag parent's comment is a Spectrum parent.<br /><br />S. AllenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33908611528133970422011-10-21T08:00:46.177-07:002011-10-21T08:00:46.177-07:00A couple of corrections. It was under Ed Noh that...A couple of corrections. It was under Ed Noh that Lawton had a large enough spectrum cohort that could be placed in one classroom. Ed brought this issue up ONLY when there were enough students to fill the class because up to that point, there were not and a moot issue. The staff and Ed preferred to keep the spectrum kids in blended classrooms. In this blended classroom model, Ed discussed appropriate cohort size. Ed left and Ms. Raines was appointed in 2009. Ms. Raines was suing the district and her appointment was hadicapped by this from day 1. She was walking on eggshells and chose to follow district policies to the letter and that incuded how spectrum was delivered. It was because of this (until we got a formal waiver to do otherwise) that Lawton had its self contained. Ms. Raines left mid year and we had an interim principal, Ms. Bledsoe to finish the year and who made no chages to self-containment. At the end of that year, a waiver petition signed by most of the staff was brought to Dr. Enfield (CAO at the time) and Dr. Vaughn. A teacher rep and a parent (who was not a spectrum parent, but was against self contained classroom) presented the petition to waive. The petition was approved. <br /><br />Ms. Helm was not in the picture at this point of the petition. She was selected at the end of that school year and became our new principal starting in Fall 2010. When she came on board, the waiver was in place (which at that point, MOST of the Lawton community did not have knowledge of). She announced she did not wish to change the class roster which included self contained class at the beginning of the school year, but will do so the following year. Thus began the journey to where we are today.<br /><br />I don't place blame on Ms. Raines or Ms. Helm as to what happened. They came and went through Lawton's principal revolving door. What I hope the Lawton community would learn from all of this is you do need to have engagement, transparency, and consensus building when you want to change a program that will affect even a small, but significant group of kids and their parents. I believe we would have found a common ground and worked it out. It was about trust and not taking the short cuts. <br /><br />-mag parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40328334820405321952011-10-21T06:38:41.129-07:002011-10-21T06:38:41.129-07:00Ms Hattendorf's comment highlights an importan...Ms Hattendorf's comment highlights an important point.<br /><br />A small school, one with only one or two classes per grade, is a completely inappropriate choice as a Spectrum site.<br /><br />Yet the District did that at Lawton and at other schools.<br /><br />They did it because they used to place programs based primarily on politics and space available. Smaller, under-enrolled schools had the space for the program so they got it, even if it were a program that could not be supported at a small school.<br /><br />High Point was a designated Spectrum site when it had only one class per grade. How is that even possible?<br /><br />The previous board tried to fix the corrupt and dysfunctional program placement process. They set a program placement policy. This board has looked the other way as that policy has been violated.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-7579916957879230442011-10-20T22:32:42.208-07:002011-10-20T22:32:42.208-07:00Some history on Lawton: For years it did NOT have ...Some history on Lawton: For years it did NOT have a self-contained Spectrum program. (My time there dates back 8 years. I served on both the Building Leadership Team and the PTA board) It had mixed-grade classes and it had "walk to math and reading" in grades 3 to 5, though it wasn't called that. We just called them math and reading blocs. <br /><br />This was a conscious decision on the part of staff and parents; Lawton had to get a pass from central. SPS wanted Lawton to go with a self-contained program for a number of years, and Lawton resisted. Why? Because it was a small school with 2 classes per grade, and with self-containment kids viewed the divisions as smart and dumb. Also, there weren't enough Spectrum kids to fill a self-contained class. <br /><br />The community worked out its own site-based solution to differentiated learning.<br /><br />When Beverly Raines started, the self-contained program was brought to Lawton. The school was bigger, and there was at least grade that could do a self-contained class. Some parents undoubtedly preferred it, others strongly opposed. When parents and staff tried to discuss it, they were essentially told this is the way it is. <br /><br />When Ms. Helms started, the community wanted to revisit the Sprectrum issue. Especially the staff. <br /><br />- Ramona Hattendorf, Lawton and McClure parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com