Report Inappropriate Comments

For quite some time now, a broad and entrenched culture of underachievement has taken hold of the Warwick school department. It extends from severe academic deficiencies, through athletic defeatism, to teacher absenteeism. In what other industry do those who insist on being called "professionals" fail to show up for work in the numbers cited above due to an apparent "...lack of convenient parking"? This is not hyperbole. Consider the following data from Tollgate High School:

22% of the student body is now deemed to be educationally handicapped and in need of individualized instruction. What is in the water in that part of the city!? 75.64% of Tollgate students, or three-quarters, do not meet expectations in Math. Such deplorable outcomes clearly result in rampant medical disease amongst faculty, as 1 in 6 called in sick at least 18 times last year. Perhaps the state Health Department needs to get involved, since chronic absenteeism plagues not only faculty but students, as well, as almost 1 in 3 students was absent for over 10% of the school year. This is all staggering, and Ms. Bachus' "surprise and concern" is a 'surprise' only those who have taken up residence on Mars in recent years.

But cheer up. Only about three miles to the south lies East Greenwich High School with it's strikingly similar climate, and they get their drinking water from the same Scituate Reservoir. Hence, it's curious that only 8.6% of students at EG are in need of individualized instruction, and only 24% are not meeting expectations in Math. There must be something at EG that also makes inhabitants immune from disease, as a tiny 1.6% of students were absent for 10% of the last school year and only 4.4% of teachers called in sick at least 18 times. Maybe it's the balanced diets from all those nice restaurants on Main Street that keep the teachers so much healthier than those in Warwick. And attention Warwick Taxpayer: EG spends about 16% less per student than Warwick.

To summarize, lots of kids aren't showing up at Tollgate. For those who DO show up, there's a reasonable chance they'll be supervised by a substitute teacher in at least one class, resulting in a strong likelihood that they will not meet measurable academic expectations. This all comes as a "surprise" and "concern" to those elected to oversee this disaster, and "dispersions" are "never" cast by a teachers' union (an entity that has long outlived its usefulness) comically demanding to be referred to as "professionals". If the Warwick public schools were truly an investment (as we're always lectured), you would make a fortune shorting the position.

I do commend Supt. Thornton for the following statement: "...if you have a large segment of your workforce chronically absent, it’s going to affect your performance." So either start holding your workforce accountable, or call the Dept. of Health. Something is very, very wrong.