Brighton Renamed as Martin Luther King
The community is invited to Brighton Elementary School on Tuesday, April 6, to share comments and learn more about a proposal to change the name of the school to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary.
Is this how they honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Is this an appropriate way to honor his work and his memory? Is there no more appropriate way?
Is this how they honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Is this an appropriate way to honor his work and his memory? Is there no more appropriate way?
Comments
Is this compensation for the 10% WASL Math Black student pass rate at Cleveland for three years under PD3.
The PD3 results of three years of an unmonitored experimentation on Cleveland Students sent Cleveland HS straight to the failing 47 schools (nice job SPS Central Staff.. now blow up the school and remove it from the traditional community).
PD3 was similar to the decade long reform math experiment on students by the SPS that MGJ has vowed to continue with her appeal of the Judge Julie Spector decision (backed by Carr, Martin-Morris, Maier, & Sundquist).
Check out the all time high Black-White Math achievement gap of 51.5%
Maybe the SPS can put a really big MLK Jr. sign on Brighton and that will make everything just Super-Duper.
From the time the District started talking about closing MLK they have been looking for another building to put his name on.
A lot of folks thought that Madrona would have been a good choice, but less so if Madrona were to become more of a neighborhood school. Then again, should it be a school that is with a black/white ratio like Brighton (48.0%/3.8%) or a school where the demographics more closely match those of the District as a whole?
The Dream wasn't just that black children would get a good education, but that they would get that education in an integrated school. I think we need to move past the idea that Martin Luther King Jr. was a hero for the black community (which, of course, he was and is) and towards the idea that Martin Luther King Jr. was a hero for all Americans, for the American ideal, and, indeed, for all people around the world.
While it is tempting to choose a building with a lot of black students, I think it would be more apt to choose a building with a more mixed demographic - an integrated building.
Thoughts?
I graduated from Tacoma's Catholic Bellarmine High School in 1964. I took photos of James Meredith's speaking engagement in 1962 at UPS for our school newspaper "The Lion". BHS had 66 graduates and 2 were African Americans in 1964.
I've taught in a variety of diverse teaching situations.
Forty-six years later take a look at "Bellarmine Prep" and scholarships for low income etc. pretty darn impressive when you consider those 5 are not needs based.... There are also needs based scholarships open to all students.
Now look at the SPS and their awful graduation rates for Black children and many other of color or Low Income and the ever widening achievement Gaps in math ...
Why isn't there some SPS intelligent action instead of more insipid words about closing the gap and everyone accountable and everyone achieving .....???
With the current math appeal of the Spector Decision by MGJ ...
It is really hard to have MLK Jr. as a hero for MGJ, Sundquist, Maier, Carr, & Martin-Morris, passing the straight face test.
Toss in:
#1 the unmonitored Cleveland PD3 math disaster with average Math Pass rate of 10% for three years,
#2 the Student Assignment Plan with no credible definition of "quality school",
#3 the 36 hours for the district legal staff to admit the SPS had been served with a "Writ of Mandamus" .. It is on video Duh!!!
#4 The failure to supply the documents required in the Cleveland NTN debacle decision of Feb 3, 2010 in compliance with the law.
#5 The ongoing set asides of funds targeted to help educationally disadvantaged learners for other purposes like expensive counter productive "Performance Management" and "STEM" etc.
#6 Bellarmine says it proclaims the "Gospel" message and like flawed Christrian folks everywhere struggles on to fulfill the message brought by Jesus Christ. So what message comes out of the SPS leadership's actions?
What I see far to often from MGJ and crew looks like "MLK Jr." Who is that?
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Well you get the general idea of my thoughts by now.
Let me make this item perfectly clear:
Article IX preamble Wash. Constitution.....
It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.
I just do not see ... the Actions of the School Board and the arrogant Superintendent as a reverence for each person.
This administration will not even follow the law ... so reverencing is just out of the question.
All is well.
My vote would be August Wilson Elementary.
I'm all for honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. But if they want all the new folks in the neighborhood to send their kids to public school around here, I recommend they focus on something else. Like education. And communication.