When parents of children in Gilroy unified School District write
in to the Dispatch with concerns about the academic program, they
often end up having to defend themselves. It always troubles me
when I read these parent letters, because I know what is coming a
day or two after the publication of the letter from an exasperated
parent: denial or dismissal.
When parents of children in Gilroy unified School District write in to the Dispatch with concerns about the academic program, they often end up having to defend themselves. It always troubles me when I read these parent letters, because I know what is coming a day or two after the publication of the letter from an exasperated parent: denial or dismissal.
Any parent who is advocating for an excellent education for their child is to be commended. Any parent who is writing to the Dispatch has probably already gone through many visits to the school in an attempt to remedy the situation. By the time their complaint becomes public, the system has already failed them. If the system is failing their child, a parent has the right to be angry. I’ve been there many times, I can completely empathize with the people who have spoken, emailed and written to me over the years. Here are a few examples of parent complaints about the schools that I have heard since the beginning of this school year.
– My child’s teacher is habitually late to class.
– My child is the only child in the class who is performing above grade level and they are bored in class.
– This school only cares about test scores.
-Some of the kids in her accelerated class can’t keep up, so everyone suffers.
– The principal doesn’t listen to the parents.
– My child is being picked on and the school is doing nothing about it.
– I can’t switch my child out of a class that he is failing.
– My child is in a class full of troublemakers and he is not able to concentrate.
– My daughter gets picked on because she is the only non-Hispanic kid in her Math class.
– My child has had a substitute for over two months.
– My child is struggling and no one is helping.
– We moved to Gilroy this summer and this school is not as good as our old school.
– My son’s English is not very good and my child gets teased because of it.
– My daughter has special needs and the school is not listening to me.
– My child has a great teacher who is being persecuted by the principal.
– The tutors at the school are useless.
– My child is not being disciplined at school and his behavior at home has changed.
– My child is in a classroom that would not meet safety codes.
– The kids at this school use profanity and no one seems to mind.
– My child can’t do math for two hours at a time.
– Class needs to be more than 45 minutes a day if they expect my child to learn Algebra I.
– My child does not have a Science class like the other sixth graders.
– It’s not fair if all three middle schools don’t offer Spanish as an elective.
– My child has an incompetent teacher.
– My child doesn’t get enough PE/Art/Music.
I don’t know if these complaints are the whole truth, but every one of these concerns is a valid concern. I don’t hear from these parents and immediately start to deconstruct their story. I certainly don’t feel the need to look at this list and start writing about the good things which are going on in our schools. There are many good things going on in all of our schools, but problems persist. Until some of the items on the above list (along with others which parents have written about recently) are addressed, I can’t muster up much of a cheer for the little victories.
I can bestow a cheer to Janice Krahenbuhl, who has been educating Gilroy students for 38 years. That the recognition didn’t come sooner is a surprise, but maybe it is appropriate that she is being honored as “Teacher of the Year” in her final year of teaching. I can also bestow a cheer to those members of the Accountability Task Force who are diligently working as district watchdogs. I look forward to reading the findings of this group.
Since we are less than a week away from appointing a new school board member, I think it is a good time to for a little reflection about what it means to oversee the district today.
While past school board experience may be an asset, our schools have changed dramatically in the past few years. In other words, this isn’t your father’s school board. Times have changed; more is expected of students and teachers while less money is available. The newest board member must be keenly aware of their fiscal responsibility to the entire community, including those families who have opted out of GUSD.
I look forward to hearing from all of the potential candidates and seeing how they intend to work with the parents who want nothing more than what is best for their child.
