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How do we make Warwick Schools more attractive? We keep programs other cities have cut due to budget constraints, we celebrate the success of our students and we promote the fact that we not only have the best special education in RI, we challenge the average students but also provide accelerated instruction for our students that need more.
I would like to explain further the problem Warwick Schools have with the
educational gap between Warwick's highest performing students and our lowest
performing students. Warwick schools have received deficiencies by the
Department of Education for multiple years and are in a "Warning" status. I have
talked with several administrators in the last 6 months and they have confirmed this
for me. I first became aware of it while I was on the School Committee. A Jr high
school was placed on warning and if the Jr High school did not close the gap
between these 2 groups the Dept of Ed would take corrective action just as action
was taken in Central Falls. It was explained to me by an administrator that in the
last 2 years not only was the gap not closed but the gap increased because the
lowest performing students did not increase performance, and the highest
performing students (ALAP and Honors students) did increase performance.
Warwick Schools have been under a warning status and according to the
administrator I spoke with, if the gap is not closed by the end of the year, the State
will take corrective action. The schools have the money to keep ALAP. They are
choosing not to keep ALAP.
I find no reasonable explanation why they would not want to keep it. I have heard
that principals have complained that ALAP creates a scheduling issue as they must
use a classroom and there might not be room so they have to work to find a room
for them. This is a complaint that has been forwarded to the Director of Elementary
Ed. I have heard that teachers don't like students being taken out of the classroom.
Karen Bachus is doing interviews with students? She should be talking with the
parents not the students. If you ask any student a question the right way, you can
get the answer you want. Her solution, after school program with stipends for
teachers. More money for teachers? I'm not surprised. There is no reason NOT to
keep this program until a real solution is found. This program has existed for 30+
years.
I believe that Warwick schools has given up on trying to close the gap by
increasing the performance of the lowest performing students and they are
attempting to slow the learning of the highest performing students to correct the
gap. Why would they want to do this? It is simple. According to the administrator
that I spoke with, the Department of Ed will come into the schools that have not
closed the gap and they will relieve all administrators at the school from their job.
The principal will be relieved of their job and will lose their certification in the State
of RI. The teachers can be let go and only 50% will be able to be rehired. It will be
just like Central Falls right here in Warwick.
This is a very real problem for the Warwick Schools. If the lowest performing
students can not increase their scores at the elementary level, then the
Superintendent should be let go. The director of Elementary Education should be
let go, the Principals at those schools should be let go, the teachers should be let
go and the School Committee should take action to NOT renew all of the people I
have listed. Instead, they will attempt to correct the problem by cutting the program
that benefits the highest performing students. It is immoral, and I will not stand for it.
I am surprised that we have not seen a full story on this in the Beacon. It would
take a simple call to the Dept of Ed to ask which schools are under warning and
what the consequences are if they do not improve performance.
It should be noted that all students by RI policy are to be provided a free AND
APPROPRIATE education. This means students at each level of the learning
spectrum. I fought for every special education student while on the committee, I
fought for every accelerated student while on the committee and I will fight for every
student even if I am not on the committee. It is appropriate that these students
receive this instruction. If they do not receive this instruction, I expect each parent
of an ALAP student to go to the school immediately and ask for an IEP for their
student. Request... demand an IEP for your student. The Warwick Schools must
provide a response by law as to why they will not provide an appropriate education
for your student. It will certainly cost much less to provide ALAP to every student
who qualifies than to create an IEP for each student.
I know this seems like a drastic course of action to preserve the program but
administration does not care about the program, finds no benefit to keeping the
program and the program will be lost forever. Switching to an after school program
is a temporary solution as the after school program will immediately be cut.
Finally, Warwick administration insists that the program costs $325,000. The fact is
that outside of the 2.5 Teachers assigned to the program only $2650 is spent on
the program. If the 2.5 Teachers are returned to the regular classroom which is the
plan, only $2650 will be saved. $2650 plus the salaries of the 3 teachers that do
not need to be recalled from the lay off list. Ten of the lowest paid teachers have
been laid off and of these 10, 3 will stay laid off if the ALAP program in not
reinstated. The salaries and benefits of these 3 teachers is approximately
$165,000 at a maximum. So, if the 3 ALAP teachers return to the classroom, the
schools save $165K plus the $2650, a total of $167,650. The school committee
currently has a $170K surplus that must be placed somewhere. They can easily
reinstate the program. In fact, if they take the 2.5 ALAP teachers and place them in
the classroom, they increase costs because the .5 teacher becomes a full time
teacher so they have a net loss because the ALAP teacher is a higher step than the
teacher that would be recalled from the lay off list.
The argument to take the ALAP budget, $2650 for supplies and disperse it among
all the Warwick students is a joke as well. If you take $2650 and divide it amongst
9500 students, that is 28 Cents per student. I believe 28 cents buys a pencil today.
So, we can provide a pencil to each student on the first day of class, let
administrators keep their jobs by closing the gap between our highest performing
students and our lowest performing students by lowering the bar rather than
working harder to prepare our low performing students or we can keep a program
that has served the Students of Warwick for decades. What do you think is the right
thing to do. Please contact your School committee member and let them know
what you think. Jennifer Ahearn and Eugene Nadeau have already voted to keep
ALAP. Contact BEth Furtado, Karen Bachus and Teri Mederios. Contact the
Superintendent too. Let him know you are want this program in the Warwick
Schools.
Great schools are the back bone of a Great city and many people relocating look at
schools as a primary reason for choosing where to live. When we have a school
system that people can be proud of then people will move here and this will
stabilize our finances by broadening our tax base. I want people to move here and
I don't want people to leave. Cutting this program is a terrible choice and once it is
cut people will chose not to come here and more will chose to leave. Saving this
program is a step in the right direction to making this city stronger.
Former School Committee Vice Chair,
Patrick Maloney Jr.
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