Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 11-10-17

Feature
NAACP And Community Meet With School District Representatives Over 7 Failing Schools That Teach Predominantly Black Students
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The Hillsborough County School District’s proposed plan to improve 7 failing schools was met with some skepticism at a meeting on Monday evening.
Hundreds filled a lecture room at Leary Technical Center to hear Superintendent Jeff Eakins detail the district’s plans for predominantly Black populated schools, Foster, Me- morial, Mort, Oak Park, Potter, Sheehy, and Booker T. Wash- ington schools.
All 7 schools have earned D or F grades for the last three years from the state and cur- rently are in the final year of “district-managed turnaround status.”
The District leaders say they are working to improve each school’s grade by the end of the school year.
The meeting came on the heels of a letter sent last month from the State Board of Educa- tion notifying the District it must select a turnaround op- tion plan for the schools to im-
plement for the 2018-2019 school year.
State law requires that if schools again receive a D or F grade, the District must either reassign students to another school, convert into a charter, become a District-managed charter, or seek support from an external operator.
The School District leaders last month settled on the latter, which involves bringing con- sultants into the schools, but keeps them in control of opera- tions.
The consultants would pro- vide support for teachers and could make changes to the school’s staffing, curriculum, teacher training, and other areas. The District’s adminis- tration expects to hire one or more consultants in January.
Supt. Eakins assured the audience that he and his staff would keep the community abreast of every step it takes re- garding the schools and that he was dedicated to their improve- ment.
“I’m here because I own it,” he said. “I’m not going to shy
SUPERINTENDENT JEFF EAKINS
away from it.”
But those assurances fell on
deaf ears with parent and ac- tivist Connie Burton, who said she wasn’t impressed with the proposal.
“I do not have confidence in you,” she told Eakins.
Nona Judge, a parent, concurred.
She called the plan to bring in external operators “BS” and stated that Eakins and School Board members should vacate
their positions.
“You guys keep doing the
same things over and over and nothing has changed,” she said. “You guys have failed our kids.”
Others called for the School District to implement more tu- toring and mentoring pro- grams and do more to engage parents.
The latter is especially im- portant, but District outreach is dismal following the downsiz- ing of parent resource centers, said parent advocate, Felicia Romano.
“Your customer...is the par- ent and the student, but you don’t talk to them,” she said. “I don’t know how you create a way forward without feedback.”
School Board member, Tamara Shamburger said the “fundamental change” that is necessary for seven “turn- around” schools should be ap- plied throughout the District.
“We need to change what we’re doing for all schools,” she said. “Although we’ve seen a lit- tle bit of progress, we know we have more work to do.”
But the work isn’t the Dis-
trict’s alone; citizens also need to step up and do their part, Shamburger said.
“You can’t expect an ‘A’ school in an ‘F’ community,” she said. “We’re always fighting an uphill battle, but there’s a lot we need to do.”
NAACP Responds
Ms. Yvette Lewis, Presi- dent of the Hillsborough County Branch of the NAACP said her concerns go beyond
the current problem.
“I have two questions that
still have not been answered. I want to know, ‘When the Exter- nal Operators turn the schools around will they go back under the control of the District?; and ‘What is the timeline for the schools to be turned around?’
“We don’t know who the External Operators will be. They could be someone from anywhere in the country who are not familiar with the needs of our community. That is why we, the NAACP, asked for a seat at the table when they are being
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