School Board President Malik Evans says it's more than one "snow job"
being orchestrated and implemented in the chambers of City Hall during Rochester's
winter months.Evans views Mayoral Control as divisive and undemocratic. "Residents
of the City should have a clear and dominant voice in a system that's responsible
for the educational development of their children, "he said. The way Mayoral
Control is modeled would take away the fundamental "Right" of residents
to exercise the power of voting in order to have their voices and suggestions
become a part of the discussion. If Mayoral Control is implemented City residents
will lose that Right."
Mayor Duffy released an 11 page document in
January entitled, "A Framework for Change in School Governance." The
document laid out a litany of problems that exist in the current system that needs
to be improved. The Mayor wants to dissolve the School Board in light of the Board's
educational assessment consisting of statistics that indicate students who attend
City schools are performing "below the standard."
On page 4,
of the document Mayor Duffy implied, "Contrary to statements made by the
School Board, we cannot be "patient" while waiting for more incremental
progress," he said. Parents, neighborhood leaders and employers aren't satisfied
with the results the School Board has gotten for the last 30 years and neither
am I. I will no longer stand on the sidelines and concede the field to adults
who accept failure."
"The stars are aligned for the City schools
to keep improving," Evans said. "The Strategic Plan" put in place
by Superintendant Jean- Claude Brizard in collaboration with the School Board
has produced positive results. The graduation rate was 39 percent a few years
ago, now its 52 percent."
Evans agrees with the goal set by Superintendant
Brizard to improve the graduation rate to 75 percent or higher in 5 years. In
response to Brizard's position on "Mayoral Control" Evans said, "I
brought him to town but I can't speak for him. Superintendant Brizard is trying
to stay out of it but I hope he's for the kids."
In addition he stated,
"Under the current system of the School Board Brizard has the freedom to
do what he wants to do. That wouldn't be guaranteed if he becomes a political
football in City politics."
Although Evans hasn't been granted the
full support of his Superintendant, the Mayor has publicly endorsed Brizard as
his Chief Education Official within the Mayoral Control model. On page 3, in "A
Framework for Change in School Governance," he said. "I have the utmost
faith in Superintendant Jean-Claude Brizard. "I pledge to give him maximum
authority to implement his "Strategic Plan."
"So what's new,
if the Mayor is going to keep the same Superintendant with the primary initiative
to implement the same Strategic Plan that was developed in collaboration with
the School Board? Aren't we already doing this? Evans said. "The Mayor is
bringing the issue to the community not from the community. I think money is the
true motive in the Mayors commitment to take over Rochester's City Schools."
The
embattled School Board President strongly believes Mayoral Control is ineffective
and a waste of taxpayers money and resources. To support his claim, Evans points
to recent reports on the effectiveness of Mayoral Control published by The National
Association of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is considered the best single,
independent measure of school performance. NAEP conducts assessments periodically
in mathematics, reading, writing, science and other areas. NAEP assessments are
administered uniformly to all participating students using the same test booklets
and identical procedures across the nation. Therefore NAEP results serve as a
common metric for all states and selected urban districts that take the assessment.
On
page 6, of the Mayor's "A Framework for Change in School Governance,"
he said. "New York City is thus the only school district in New York State
that the Governor and State legislature have allowed to be fully under City responsibility.
Their results on State tests since the inception of this governance change are
irrefutably positive." In addition, the Mayor highlighted increased percentages
in academic performances in specific subjects including, English and Math among
the 4th grade and 8th grade students who attend New York City's schools. "Their
4-year cohort graduate rate has risen from 53 percent in 2005 to 62 percent in
2008," he said.
The NAEP review of New York City's school system after
the implementation of Mayoral Control is in direct contrast with Mayor Duffy's
assessment.
The NAEP published a report exclaiming that, "New York
City showed almost no academic improvement between 2003, when the Mayor's reforms
was introduced and 2007. It noted there were no significant gains for New York
City's students- black, Hispanic, white, Asian or lower- income. The NAEP also
reported that New York City's graduation percentage rose to 52 percent from 44
percent not the claim made by the State Department of Education that the graduation
rate rose from 53 percent to 62 percent between 2003 and 2007. "A lot of
information on Mayoral Control has been "pumped up with a variety of dubious
means, the NAEP reported."
"Our neighborhoods are on life support,"
Evans said. "The City should be concentrating on drafting resourceful and
effective legislation that would begin to help eradicate poverty and get a handled
on the massive unemployment issue among City residents."
Evans accuses
the Mayor of trying to hide his failures in policy development and leadership
ability. Evans pointed out that 54 percent of people living in the City are living
in poverty and Rochester ranks 11th in the nation in child poverty. Evans argues
the Mayor's inability to create a safe and nourishing environment in communities'
at risk and his failure to grow businesses and attract corporations to tackle
high unemployment has stemmed many of the major problems School Board officials
and administrators has to faced in the process of educating students who attend
City schools.
"The School Board is being used as a scapegoat and a
whipping board," Evans said. "The City should be focused on youth, family
and neighborhood stabilization. It is the role of the City to counteract impoverished
conditions in the communities of constituents," he said. "Placing blame
doesn't help anybody."
In a suggestive tone Evans inquired, other
communities around Rochester should find ways to become supportive in helping
to improve the academic success of students who attend City schools. "We
are all in the same boat," said Evans.
School Board President Malik Evans says it's more than one "snow job"
being orchestrated and implemented in the chambers of City Hall during Rochester's
winter months.