I hate to waste an entire column responding to a letter writer,
Susan Nisonger (letter February 7), but that’s what is needed
today.
I hate to waste an entire column responding to a letter writer, Susan Nisonger (letter February 7), but that’s what is needed today.
I will admit that I was disturbed by what I considered to be the waste of taxpayer money employing Enid Lee at Gilroy High School.
Now that Susan has informed us that IIUSP funds were used to pay for Ms. Lee, I have moved well beyond being merely annoyed. IIUSP funds are to be used for one thing and one thing only, raising API scores. I have printed out all pertinent information regarding the use of IIUSP funds. I know more than I really want to know about these funds. Contrary to what Susan wrote, IIUSP money can be used for materials which would help raise API scores. She is correct that those funds could not be used for leaking roofs.
Here is the condensed version of the IIUSP process. Upon notice of the IIUSP funds being made available to Gilroy High, all parents of students enrolled in the school were to be notified by mail that the school would be receiving those funds.
Parents were supposed to be invited to a meeting to help decide how to best use those IIUSP funds to raise API scores. The school community needed to come up with a plan, and the implementation of the plan would be decided with input from parents. The state allows the school to contract an external evaluator to help with this plan.
Enid Lee is not listed as an external evaluator, but perhaps she was hired under the clause which allows the school to “contract with an entity that has proven, successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in low-performing schools. These entities may include, but are not limited to, the following: (A) Institutions of Higher Education; (B) County Offices of Education; (C) School District Personnel.”
I guess retaining Enid Lee would fall under the category: (D) Other. I will assume that all of the above steps were taken at Gilroy High and I hope someone can enlighten me as to when this meeting took place. The school action plan would have been approved by the school board, so I assume it will relatively easy for me to get a look at the plan.
Ms. Nisonger’s letter is riddled with inaccuracies. I did not personally attack Enid Lee. I think she has every right to run a business and sell her ideas. She has the same right to run a business as say, Anthony Robbins. They are both self-help gurus, and there will always be someone willing to pay for their expertise. I have no problem with her as a businesswoman.
However, Enid Lee is not an expert on raising API scores.
I would like some evidence that her racial sensitivity methods improved test scores. I assume that some data on her past success in this area was the motivating factor in retaining her. If that data is lacking, I must conclude that the hiring of Enid Lee was on the “to do” list of the former principal of Gilroy High.
I wouldn’t dream of placing Enid Lee in the same category as Martin Luther King Jr. It surprises me that you believe that the holiday’s true purpose is to acknowledge the accomplishments of African Americans. The King holiday honors one particularly outstanding American. The King holiday is no more a celebration of African-American contributions than Lincoln holiday is a celebration of the Republican party.
As to her personal situation, I feel for Ms. Nisonger. ALL parents need to be advocates for their children. Your son should benefit from having his African-American father as his personal role model.
Since you are a teacher, you have the tools available to help educate your child outside the classroom. I would venture to guess that you are in the minority of Gilroy educators who were “shocked” to find out that 80 percent of English language learners were scoring below the 39th percentile of the API.
Yes it is a sobering statistic, but our district was not serving these students well through the years. Those children were in GUSD since first grade and were being promoted faithfully, every year falling further behind. We have just started addressing that disaster this year. At all of our schools, children are being taught at their instructional level.
If you are three or four years behind in reading, the language arts program which GUSD has adopted will give you a shot at finally succeeding. The High Point Program being used in the junior high schools is succeeding in raising the reading and comprehension level for students who were formerly trapped in classrooms where they kept slipping through the cracks.
Yes, I am a proponent of extending the honors program because our school district has an obligation to meet the needs of all students who were not being taught at their instructional level.
Finally, Ms. Nisonger asks what I think we should do about racism. Well that is a challenge for us all. I don’t propose or advocate being colorblind. I embrace the spectrum of skin pigmentation and unique facial features that keep us from all looking exactly alike. You asked – so here is my answer. If you want to overcome racism, don’t be a racist. Raise your children to love and respect their fellow man. Perhaps the answer is as simple as one family at a time.
Denise Baer Apuzzo has lived in Gilroy for 5 years. She is married and is a parent of three children who attend Gilroy public schools. You can reach her at: [email protected]. Her column is published each Thursday in The Dispatch.
