Inaugural Post by "The Truth About CCPS"

First and foremost, a tip of the cap to Mr. Zane for inviting me onto this blog. We have agreed to disagree when necessary but that discussion is good for all! Thanks Tim!

CECIL SUPERINTENDENT/SOME MEMBERS

OF BOARD OF ED. FAILING STUDENTS & COMMUNITY

Superintendent Mismanages District, Uses “Bully” Tactics,

Condescends to Students, Faculty, Community

The Superintendent of CCPS, Dr. Carl D. Roberts Ed. D., is making multiple questionable decisions. He refuses to listen to concerns that are directed in a proper manner (let alone those brought in anger). We are frustrated because we do not see any way to handle these issues other than once again bringing them to an unresponsive and very rude Superintendent. Many of these concerns are not new and have been percolating over a minimum of 3-5 years. Some of the more urgent concerns are as follows:

Student Safety and Health at North East Middle School: The spokesperson for the North East Middle School P.T.S.O. recently took a tour of the school with Dr. Roberts, Principal Kevin Dougherty and the man’s father (30+ years of construction experience). Despite requests from parents and students for remedy, some dating back 2-3 years, fire extinguishers are still not maintained properly (one was even empty), soap dispensers are unavailable to students in the bathrooms and the building itself is in severe disrepair. In addition, according to the district’s records, there is approximately 80% asbestos tile remaining throughout the school. The district maintains that the asbestos is properly maintained but biannual inspections as well as overall concerns about proper maintenance of the school (if they can’t provide soap, how can we be certain that they can maintain asbestos?) show that a problem may still exist. Further, the school’s denial regarding the carpet covering most of the asbestos and how it does not properly encapsulate the asbestos is uneducated at best. The P.T.S.O. even offered to pay for proper air quality testing but that offer was rejected. Why the school district won’t simply allow for a full inspection…even if it’s just to say “we told you so!”… is beyond me?!

• Of note: The P.T.S.O. made a presentation last October seeking renovation of N.E.M.S. They were told that the request came too late for that budget year and were asked to return in June to review the concerns at the beginning of the budget process. After the aforementioned tour, Dr. Roberts thought they were all done and when he found out otherwise, he sent an e-mail (the morning of the presentation) to the presenter that could best be characterized as an attempt to strong-arm him. So, although they were invited to make this presentation, Dr. Roberts, Board President Koch and Board V.P. Sopa treated this man with total disdain and rudeness. His children were in tears after seeing their Dad hacked up by these people (He kept his cool thank goodness).


• Also, of note: The district has policies regarding the timing of such presentations and what materials will be made available to the Board prior to them. We found it interesting that both the Math presentation in May and my June presentation were placed in the 4:45 p.m. timeframe which is in violation of the Board’s policy (and also when working parents cannot easily attend…I even had to use vacation time for it.). Dr. Roberts also demands that all materials be provided ahead of the presentation rather than following the Board’s own policy that all materials must be presented to the President of the Board of Education immediately prior to the presentation. In the case of the P.T.S.O., Dr. Roberts sat down with the Board prior to the meeting and (according to a reliable source from inside the meeting room) set them up for the hostility.


• Of note: During the 2005-06 school year, the school’s choral director (Dr. Joyce E. Hongsermeier) allegedly assaulted a child. At about the same time, multiple parents expressed complaints to the Principal regarding her behavior as well as how poorly prepared the students were for their Winter concert. Now I do not have the exact facts in hand but I can tell you that she remained in place until after the Spring concert in May. Soon thereafter, she allegedly assaulted another child and was subsequently arrested and charged with the assault. I’m not certain as to the final resolution of this matter but she eventually resigned her post. The public was surprised to find out about all of this 8 months later. The district was hiding the issue rather than being in front of it.

Math Curriculum: This issue is one that I do not truly have a lot of personal information on. I can tell you from the experiences of my daughters that the current math program is inadequate. A group of parents has been fighting with the Board and Dr. Roberts for at least 3 years now on this topic. The greatest concern to me is that of all the CCPS students who move on to Cecil Community College, nearly 80% of them need to take remedial math. A great deal more information can be found at this group’s website, www.ccpsmath.org.

• Of note: As you will see on this website, teachers are in fear of speaking up and were only willing to make comments in this anonymous forum. Dr. Roberts denies that he bullies these teachers but when more than 2 or 3 teachers agree I tend to believe the teachers. His actions in a Board of Education meeting even caused Kirsten M. Kammerer (District 5 Member) to get into a heated discussion over how he simply refuses to hear the other side of this argument. Mrs. Kammerer is one of the few people we can count on in these areas…she’s just one of five though.


• Of note: Dr. Roberts recommended to the Board (and they accepted) that a study be done through UMBC regarding the math curriculum. While this is certainly not a bad step, there is so much information on the Integrated/Everyday Math curriculum available (most sharing the same concerns as the CCPSMath folks) that a study is really a waste of time and money.

Annual Principal Rotation/Poor Planning: Superintendent Roberts rotates principals around the district with no rhyme nor reason. According to educational experts principal rotation should take place not less than 7-8 years barring any specific needs such as retirements or dismissals. An article by Dr. Paul J. Hagerty found in the American Association of School Administrators’ The School Administrator (“Basing Principal Rotation on System Needs”, November 1998) shares his belief that “Less rather than more; later rather than sooner” is the way to go.

• Of note: On average, approx. 30% of Cecil County Public School principals and assistants are rotated on a yearly basis (since 2000). According to the Cecil Whig (“Principals now know the schools they’ll lead”, June 7, 2007), this latest set added up to 23 moves.


• Of note: Due to an opening in the CCPS administration, Elkton H.S. Principal Vincent Cariello was promoted even though Elkton H.S. is in the middle of a multi-million dollar renovation. This void was to be filled by Randy Sheaffer of Bohemia Manor H.S. Mr. Sheaffer was one year away from retiring and was much beloved by his students, parents and faculty. When the students and parents went before the Superintendent and Board of Education to express their frustration with the move (admittedly some polite and some not so polite) they were all treated like they were uneducated (“These decisions are not made by throwing out a bunch of marbles”, Dr. Roberts. Donna Zane, meanwhile, responded to demands that the elected board members listen to the will of the public by saying she does not make decisions based on whether it will win her votes. “My decisions are based on what’s best for 17,000 students, and if that means I’m not here in four years then so be it,” she said.)

Non-Transparency in Hiring Practices and Budget Presentation: Although you’d have to investigate this further, there surely seems to be some insider dealing happening at CCPS. For example, when the district’s Public Information Officer, Karen L. Emery moved on to a new position elsewhere, she was replaced without any public search (or interior as I understand) and essentially at the direction of Dr. Roberts, by a recent college graduate with no work experience (22 year-old Kelly Keeton). Her starting salary? $53,000! This type of transaction seems to be the norm as is the lack of public notice and knowledge of the budget process. Most districts (to my knowledge) publish the entire budget online and/or in the local newspaper. Not this one!

• Of note: More than a few high-level administrators have left for other positions in the past year. While sometimes this happens, I cannot help but wonder if some were due to the stress of working with Dr. Roberts.

All I can say at this point is this:

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32 NIV