Friday, April 24, 2015

Mike Miles Must Go!

I have thought this for many years now.  the man leading the DISD is not fit to be there. He has brought discord and disharmony from administrators and classroom teachers. Now it is reaching epic proportions with parents, as well.

Imagine having a school so devoted to students and doing so well, that it actually increases property values in South Dallas.  Imagine it performing year after year as a great school in a mixed environment of languages.  And imagine parents taking a position to be the backbone of the school financially, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last decade or so to meet the needs of the school when DISD money wouldn't cover things. Now imagine those same parents standing up to the Dallas School board and saying enough is enough. LEAVE OUR PRINCIPAL ALONE.

The big question is why would a superintendent mess with such a positive and affirmative school?  Mike Miles does it out of vindictive retribution.

Teachers and parents have spoken out against the district's policies and against Miles himself. So The man who has driven the Dallas Schools into the ground with over testing and huge bureaucratic regulations, as well as the alienation of classroom teachers, that same man, Mike Miles, has decided to get rid of Rosemont Elementary's principal, Anna Brining. And he has done it because teachers and parents spoke out and put egg on his face.

It is time for Miles to leave Dallas. Now.

Just about the only public figure who still supports the renegade superintendent is Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawllings. Maybe it is because they both run their boards the same way. Or that they are both named Mike.

Miles has a secrecy about his policies and a defensive posture about every criticism that is leveled against his school system ‚ even positive ones. He is out of control, and therefore, his school district has become out of control. Instead of getting better, Dallas Schools are slipping backward. Rosemont was one of the few Dallas schools that actually atttract4d white parents into a neighborhood; instead of fleeing to the private school systems or the suburbs.

And Miles wants to ruin Rosemont. All because he wants to vilify the principal of a school supported by people who know better than to sit down and shut up when they see and hear bullshit coming out of the DISD.  Last night's board meeting let the rest of Dallas know that the stench has gotten so bad, that even these parents can't keep quiet anymore.

Miles has to go.



DISD trustees hear from parents upset by dismissal of Rosemont Elementary principal

Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
Dozens of Rosemont Elementary supporters stood as parent Blake Martensen spoke to the DISD board Thursday in support of principal Anna Brining.
Dallas ISD trustees got an earful at Thursday’s board meeting from parents upset that the principal of Rosemont Elementary School will not be returning next school year.

Anna Brining has been principal for 15 years at the campus, and parents credit her with much of its success. Brining has said that she was told her contract would not be picked up next year.

“I was distressed to learn that Ms. Brining’s contract would not be renewed next year,” parent Ron Horick told trustees. “It is my hope that the trustees will consider the appropriate action to prevent this injustice.”
At least 10 people addressed the board — and dozens more stood in support and applauded the speakers while wearing blue shirts with the words “Rosemont Rocks.”

District officials haven’t said why Brining is being dismissed. But Superintendent Mike Miles said this week that Rosemont Elementary is academically underperforming compared with similar schools.

Some trustees told audience members that the pleas to keep Brining were registering with them.
“I appreciate what you’re doing tonight,” trustee Lew Blackburn said. “I appreciate you sticking up for your principal, and for your school, and for your children.”

Trustee Eric Cowan, who has a daughter at Rosemont and represents the area that includes the school, left his board seat to sit in the audience with the Rosemont supporters. Once back in his seat, Cowan told audience members that he has seen the data and that Rosemont can do better just like every school.

“No matter what happens over the next four months, let’s pledge to ourselves and our students that we’re going to come together and do better for our neighborhood,” Cowan told the audience to applause. “I look forward to having conversations in the future, and thank you for being here. I’m pretty sure they heard you.”

Rosemont includes an elementary school and a middle school. Both have a dual-language program in which English- and Spanish-speaking students are taught in the same classroom in both languages.

Rosemont Elementary received “met standard” from the state with no distinctions. The middle school component was rated as “met standard” and received four out of five distinctions. Schools can receive a “met standard” or “improvement required” rating and various distinctions.

Brining has said that she was not told of any concerns with academics. She said that she began to be subjected to disciplinary action, including the first official “letter of reprimand” in her 22-year education career, after a couple of events.

Those events, she said, involved outspokenness by parents at the school about Miles and what they consider excessive student testing, as well as a survey in which only 17 percent of teachers said they felt the district was headed in the right direction. Seventy-two percent said they felt Rosemont was headed in the right direction.

Brining said her boss cited performance issues, including allegations that she has missed deadlines on filing reports.
Brining was evaluated by her boss, executive director Suzanne Villalpandom who oversees Sunset High School and all the schools that send students to it, which includes Rosemont. A principal’s annual evaluation is 60 percent based on performance and 40 percent on academic achievement.

District records obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that Brining received a rating of “Proficient I” – the fourth-highest of eight possible ratings – on her principal evaluation after the 2013-14 school year. She has led Rosemont since 2000.

“We were never notified the school was viewed as under-performing,” said Ramon Mejia, who spoke in support of Brining. “This is retribution because we are actively involved in the lives of our children. We demand the reinstatement of Ms. Brining.”

Follow Tawnell D. Hobbs at @tawnell.

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