January 17, 2008 6:28 AM
Loudoun County Public Schools: a question
When teachers or other school personnel have problems at one school and you simply move them to another where they repeat the same pattern, doesn't that remind you of another institution that has been viciously blamed for the same abuse?
Why the double standard? Why are teachers protected rather than rehabilitated?
Much as I love Loudoun County Public Schools and many, many of its teachers - and much as I thank God every day my children have great advantage being served in these schools - the administration needs a huge overhaul. And it should begin at the top, for leadership filters down.
I have found the administration to be arrogant and excruciatingly unresponsive. Moving from Leesburg and locking themselves away in the Ashburn fortress has only made matters worse. A parent approaching the building feels like a feudal vassal approaching the Powers-That-Be with simple requests that may or may not be heard - all at the whim of people who are supposed to be public servants. (I once stood there as the receptionist successfully reached a person I wanted to see for five minutes and he told her I'd have to make an appointment and come back. I live 45 minutes away and would have been happy to wait.)
Most businesses - those whose employees aren't on the public payroll - have standards for answering correspondence within a certain time frame. Not Loudoun County Public Schools, where for parents posting letters and emails is like throwing a note in a bottle into the sea. You hope in vain it might wash up on the shore of someone with a little heart.
I have lived in a state which is bureaucracy-laden and inefficient and this is how it starts (and Loudoun County Public Schools is already at least six years into this process): Public servants begin to think of themselves as above their fellow citizens. They delight in their "power" - how little it might be - and seek to acquire more. They begin to make bad decisions - not treating others the way they themselves would like to be treated. They begin to protect and defend the status quo rather than trying to improve. They treat parents like "little people" or nobodies. They deflect criticism, circle the wagons, stonewall and obstruct justice. Their use of their position - through aggression (angry and/or inappropriate conduct) or neglect (not showing up where they should be) - becomes abuse.
Leadership filters down from the top. I can only assume that the atmosphere of imperiousness surrounding Loudoun County Public Schools must be the product of a leader with a certain mindset.
In case His Leaderhipness is listening, I'd just like to say that there are students and parents hurting because of this arrogant behavior and policies of neglect. How can a school system improve if problem employees are not dealt with? How can individual employees improve if they are protected from criticism/feedback from parents? How can parents trust in a school system which responds to crisis by preparing for lawsuits rather than by acknowledging the parent's concerns, thanking them for letting you know, and getting to work as a team (rather than adversaries) to address the problem?
As in previous correspondence, I'm not expecting an answer. Just consider this another Message in a Bottle from a mom about to get her children up and head them off for another day at school.
Posted in Loudoun County, Public schools | Permalink
Comments
I'm a married young woman who doesn't have any children, but I really appreciate your willingness to open up about your struggle with the school district.
I can remember my own mother having to fight numerous battles that quite frankly should not have been fought simply because they were too arrogant or too lazy to correct simple problems here in Florida.
Case in point: One year my brothers were both being terrorized by bullies, now this was after Columbine and after a shooting had just occurred on the other side of the state. The administration's response: Well boys will be boys.
So my mother decided to enroll them in a new charter school that the county had just opened up near thier home. They were in school for six weeks and still had not received text books.
Don't even get me started on how absolutely absurdly difficult it was for my mom to schedule a parent-teacher conference.
My mom had had enough, so she started home-schooling my brothers until they moved to Arkansas. Ironically a state that one doesn't necessarily think of as educational proficient but my mom was pleasantly surprised and has been pleased for the past 3 years with the education my brothers have received.
It's a shame that it took moving over 1,000 miles for them to finally get a decent education.
Lord only knows what my husband and I are going to do down here in Florida when we have children.
Posted by: Jennifer K. | January 17, 2008 8:31 AM
I'm really sorry you've had these experiences with the LCPS system. I have four children ranging from kindergarten to a junior in high school and my experiences with their schools have been wonderful. My high school student has had many problems with peers and the administrators at her school ( Broad Run HS ) have been wonderful at listening and keeping me "in the loop" as to what was done. I've never felt like I couldn't voice my concerns and I've never had any bad experiences like the ones you have mentioned and I've been dealing with the LCPS since my 17 year old was in kindergarten.
Posted by: Liz S. | April 26, 2008 10:14 PM
Dear Liz -
I'm not sure whether you are trying to defuse what I've said.
Maybe you haven't been reading at my blog long enough to know that I too have had wonderful experience with the LCPS school system with my kids who do not have special needs. My experience is a bit broader than yours: I've had a total of nine children in eight schools for six years. Four of those children have special needs (3 are adopted).
I have made it a point to give praise where praise is due. But I also have the right and responsibility to do my best to correct a bad situation - not only for my child's sake, but for others. This weighs especially heavy on a parent with children with special needs because many of these children cannot communicate to their parents when they are bored, patronized, or simply being babysat for rather than educated.
Until 2007 we didn't have problems with our special needs kids. This post was the result of a struggle of several months to get LCPS to deal with a problem they could have fixed in week. Many bureaucracies tend to grow rigid and self-protective. Their character flaws, like that of individuals, are not revealed so much when things are going according to plan, but when they hit a bump in the road.
My experience is that LCPS are providing a quality education and quality teachers. They are not perfect, however, and there are bound to be problem teachers. When this is revealed, the wrong approach is circling the wagons - or having people like yourself without the specific experience dismiss the parent who is advocating for her children by defending the status quo - especially when it's a status quo you know nothing about - special education.
Posted by: barbara | April 27, 2008 7:51 AM
