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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2007 > August > 06 > Entry
Dayton Public Schools: Off to a hot start
(Students hustle to class at the high school formerly known as Colonel White.)
In a couple months, the students at what used to be called Colonel White High School in Dayton will be in the cool comfort of a new, air conditioned building on Hoover Avenue, where Roth High School once stood.
But today, they were sweltering in an old building going by a new name. Colonel White is now called Thurgood Marshall High School, a name picked by the students.
“It’s 94 outside, so you know its like 110 in here,” said senior Ci’Erra Mallory as she sat with friends at a round lunch table, out of reach of one of the tall fans placed around the room.
That was nothing. Earlier at Stivers School for the Arts I visited a freshman Spanish class with 32 kids and one of four old wooden windows stuck shut. A small box fan pulled air in from the outside and an even smaller oscillating fan did its best to move it around within the room. Principal Erin Dooley told me 35 kids are actually registered in the class.
It was hot all around the district this morning on the first day of school in Dayton. So far I’ve visited five schools. Here’s a quick summary of what I saw and what I learned:
Stivers School for the Arts
I was surprised to learn that the $70,000 raised by the school’s support group, the Seedling Foundation, has not yet been spent to hire back any adjunct staff that was laid off. Just 25 of 70 adjunct staff were kept from last year, Dooley said.
Even so, the school managed to keep its arts program largely intact. Dooley said all eight arts magnet programs are still operating and she didn’t have to drop a single advanced placement or honors course. How did she do it?
“It was the teachers,” she said simply.
In the summer, about three quarters of the teaching staff showed up for a meeting at which the future Stivers was plotted out. Teachers agreed to take larger class sizes and teach extra sections without extra pay to balance out for small high-end classes that were kept in the schedule. With adjuncts, they tried to keep those that taught classes on, with hopes of hiring back those who taught private lessons and other specialties.
Dooley said meetings are planned soon to figure out how to bring back some of the adjuncts and how many will return. This also was the first of two schools where I ran into Superintendent Percy Mack and board member Stacy Thompson.
Thurgood Marshall High School
There was mixed reaction among the students at the former Colonel White to the idea of renaming this school. Everyone will move into a new school building in October. Some students liked the idea of being the first to open the new school. Some said they felt a little sad leaving a school they think of as home behind. And some wondered if history wasn’t being lost a little with the discarding of the Colonel White name.
I also spoke to Phyllis J. Edmons, principal of the Academic Magnet Academy — a college prep program within Colonel White that has had success raising test scores and the graduation rate.
She said magnet teachers, who previously were confined to the AMA, will now have to teach classes that include non-AMA students. The AMA teachers also have lost their dedicated time for working on collaborative projects. I suppose this is why I’ve heard from some uneasy AMA parents worried about the future of the program. But Edmons was optimistic things would be OK.
Fairview Elementary School
I was hoping to get to Fairview in time to catch some parents dropping kids off, but I got there about five minutes too late. Still, I had a nice chat with second year Principal Charles Davis, who said the morning had gone pretty smoothly thus far.
I also got to talk with a few of the teachers, who seemed in good spirits. For an old school, Fairview is nicely maintained and clean. A teacher mentioned to me that the school is getting an influx of African immigrant families.
Fairview Middle School/Edison Elementary School
This was an unusual set up. As part of the budget cuts, the board closed Edison and moved the entire school — staff, students, etc. — to Fairview. Edison now operates in half the building.
In the other half, last year’s seventh grade from Fairview Middle School is now the eighth grade class. New seventh graders were not added and after this year, the middle school will cease to exist. Then Edison can occupy the building alone until a rebuilt Edison school reopens back on its old location in west Dayton.
The school sign in front has been split down the middle with Edison now on one side and Fairview Middle on the other. There are two offices — one for each school. Edison’s administration operates out of the former attendance office.
The Fairview Middle kids were pretty down on the whole idea. They said they felt like they got the worst side of the building. Several were disappointed, also, that middle school sports were cut. A tall young man named Ryan Durr who played on the basketball team pointed me to a trophy case.
“See those three with the nets over them?” he said. “We won those last year in basketball. We were city champs.”
The plan right now is for no middle school sports this year. But I also ran into Randy Faison, a teacher at Fairview, who hopes to change that. Faison, a football coach at Dunbar High School this year and a one time school board candidate, said a concerned parents group has raised about a third of the $200,000 needed to restore middle school sports. He said he would get me information about how people could contribute to the effort.
Belle Haven Elementary School
You know, one of the things I like about covering Dayton Public Schools is that people tend to be very open and friendly, even when I show up unexpectedly. That’s not always true.
I stopped at Belle Haven late this morning because earlier in the day someone told me only about a third of the staff there returned from last year. Many of their teachers, I was told, were young and lost their jobs to the cuts.
Belle Haven was close to the other schools I was visiting this morning, so I stopped in just to ask about this.
It’s a beautiful new school with air conditioning and many other amenities. That includes tight security. Unlike other buildings, where I often let myself in and meander to the office, at Belle Haven you are ushered via electronic locked doors into the main office first. For safety’s sake, that’s probably a good thing. But it’s not as fun for me.
At the office they called down second year Principal Wyetta Hayden, who took me to her office and asked why I was there. I told her what I heard about the staff changeover.
“We have a full staff here,” she said.
That’s not what I asked. Had there actually been two-thirds of the staff leave and replaced by new people?
She repeated “we have a full staff here” about 10 or 11 times in the next few minutes of conversation.
How many teachers do you have total, I asked?
“Couldn’t you get that information from Jill Moberley (the district’s communication’s chief)?” she asked.
“Yes, I could,” I said. “But since you are the principal and I’m in your office right now I thought I’d ask you.”
That was about as good as it got. I apologized for interrupting her day and arriving unannounced, excused myself and headed off for the next school on list.
Check back here on the blog later for more on the first day of school.
(Image credit: Jan Underwood, DDN)
Permalink | Comments (15) | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By educatormom
August 8, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this
I agree with teachermom. It is child abuse and endangerment to have students or teachers in school in the summer months. Plus, dps should not be spending money on ice, water bottles, etc. when all they have to do is start school after Labor Day. Water is not going to cool you down when it is this hot. It condensates all over the papers, gets spilled, causes students to have to waist more time by going to the restroom more often. If we need air conditioning on in our homes, students and teachers should not have to be without it in school. I don’t see what is wrong with following a traditional calendar like we have done for years. It is less heat, less interruptions to the school year, etc. Therefore, more learning. This experiment is not working.By Laura
August 8, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
Mamma’s girl has a point. But another side is that some reporters from other media have earned a pretty bad reputation for twisting information to suit their story so you have to understand if some principals and teachers are less than thrilled to talk the the media. I don’t know if that is the actual reason but very possible. Then again, maybe the heat was making her cranky!By Mamma's Girl
August 8, 2007 10:52 AM | Link to this
The experience you had at Belle Haven is a telling one. You thought it was rude that the principal didn’t really answer your questions or give you any information. Did you ever think there was a good reason for that? Maybe she’s very upset about what happened to her school, but she is also aware that she needs to stay on the district’s good side to keep her own job. Didn’t your mother ever tell you, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”?By laura
August 7, 2007 4:22 PM | Link to this
Unclear: the policy is SUPPOSED to be that if the heat index will be 100 by noon, the schools will close. However, that does not take into account the heat the brick buildings retain for days and the conditions of the schools that are several stories high. My classroom is on a single floor but faces the sun from about 9am till early evening. It is over 100 many times when the prediction isn’t even for it to be that high. As to ice, I’ve taught in DPS for nearly 30 years and never have seen ice. I’ve seen water a few times. By the time it was passed out, it was barely cool. Don’t believe all you hear from DPS.By Laura
August 7, 2007 12:52 AM | Link to this
Each building is given “an allowance”. The principal is usually the one who decides how to spend the money. If he or she wants to buy water, they can. Or they can buy books for the teachers to not read or they can use it for consultants or buy paper- hahaha. I wonder how many kids would have to get sick to shut this experiment down? This year-round garbage should never have been started until every building had air conditioning. What are they going to do if we are out all this week and it happens again and/or we have a bad winter? We will end up going in July!By null
August 6, 2007 11:39 PM | Link to this
Why dont you all come out to TheDPS Concerned Parents Meeting held every second Tuesday of the month. Next Meeting is Aug 14 to the dayton culture/rta transit building on Edwin C Moses at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there!By Old Coach
August 6, 2007 10:07 PM | Link to this
OUCH!!!! Looks like we forgot about customer service at Belle Haven. On the other hand glad to see in the Patterson-Kennedy article that their principal made up for it.By null
August 6, 2007 8:33 PM | Link to this
Now, why should the water be purchased from the school’s budget???By Teacher
August 6, 2007 7:22 PM | Link to this
WATER BOTTLES! Yeah right. Our school houses about 800 students and I did not see one water bottle brought in, unless it was something the parents sent in. Not only that, the water fountains spewed out warm water, one water fountain I turned on actually spewed out BROWN water. I would like to see some of the administrators work in the same heat they make these students work in, and drink the same water they do.By teachermom
August 6, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe what I am hearing. Parents calling downtown who are concerned about their children are being told we are giving out ice and water bottles ! What a lie. We don’t even have a machine that dispenses ice ! Get real. When the news tells you to bring your ANIMALS inside to cool off in the AC but children have no access to it at school the priorities have gotten really confused. When is DPS going to admit this experimental calendar is a dismal failure ? Even if we were just below the heat warnings the students are not in an environment that is conducive to learning. Keeping school open during this weather should be considered CHILD ABUSE and ENDANGERMENT and someone needs to consider calling some authorities on this one to hold some people accountable.By Unclear
August 6, 2007 5:46 PM | Link to this
What is the District’s policy? We have not been able to get a clear answer.By dayton teacher
August 6, 2007 5:34 PM | Link to this
Water can be purchased from the district. It comes out of building funds.By dps chick
August 6, 2007 5:12 PM | Link to this
Urban Girl, I’m with you on that… I have yet to see any of that water and ice that they are supposedly sending to the schools. The only help I have seen is what the TEACHERS have purchased, chilled and brought for their students. I suppose that tell us who REALLY cares about the children—the teachers!By urban_girl 75
August 6, 2007 4:46 PM | Link to this
It was extrememly hot in my classroom today. I do not have a/c, but I do have 5 fans. The temperature in my room registered at 100, so I was right there with the heat index. My 30 students were sweating so badly and water was not enough to help them cool down. I heard that DPS was passing out water and ice. None of that came to my building today. What is DPS going to do tomorrow when the heat index is supposed to be above 100 during the morning?By Retired Administrator
August 6, 2007 2:41 PM | Link to this
As a retired building admninistrator I am shocked to see that the board is not following the heat index guidelines that were given out several years ago. No one should be subject to the harsh heat conditions that students are being subjected to today and the rest of the week. The weather forecasters on Sunday evenings 11:00 news told everyone what the heat index would be for the next several days starting today. School should have been cancelled or students sent home early.