Attention Jones Elementary Parents

Do you have a gripe about the way that Jones Elementary is being managed by Angela Marcellus? Post your gripe here, we would like to hear your complaints and comments.

Jones Is Fed Up wrote:

Do you have a gripe about the way that Jones Elementary is being managed by Angela Marcellus? Post your gripe here, we would like to hear your complaints and comments.

No problems here...Everything is just fine!

Where to begin. Many, not all, parents are not happy. The majority of faculty at that school are not happy. The Principal and the grey headed lady at the front desk are rude and most do not feel welcome when they go in there. The Principal does not handle disciplinary issues at all. She is not truthful in many different situations. Central office seems to ignore parental complaints. She also retaliates if you do complain against her. Taks scores continue to decline. She allows the PTA President and others to roam the office like they are paid employees. The whole school is a mess and no one will do anything about it. People can lie to themselves, but it is a mess up there.

I have seen so much unrest at this school. I know teachers are lied to. There is no TRUST, how can we teach children when there is so much unrest on our campus. Someone needs to listen to the staff. We are afraid of our jobs and retribution. Someone needs to just listen. We have lost a wonder AP because of Mrs. Marcellus.

The staff at Jones is so tired of their principal. No one can make a single discision without going to Mrs. Marcellus first. Teachers should have the right to decide things for their own classrooms.:( Have you seen on the Thursday folder the "AM" on each sheet of paper. That is a prime example of her wanting total controll over everything.

As for the AP leaving... she is leaving because she can't do anything without checking with AM first. When teachers ask her simple questions, she answers with "You better ask Angela." Absolutely pathetic. Good leaders know how to allow others to do their jobs.

Good leaders lead by example. What kind of example is Mrs. Marcellus.... TERRIBLE. She lies to her staff, cause trouble between people in order to undermind someone, and generally leaves sadness and chaos in her wake.

Rocky wrote:

I have seen so much unrest at this school. I know teachers are lied to. There is no TRUST, how can we teach children when there is so much unrest on our campus. Someone needs to listen to the staff. We are afraid of our jobs and retribution. Someone needs to just listen. We have lost a wonder AP because of Mrs. Marcellus.

I think you meant wonderful VP. Yes, the school is losing a wonderful VP and it won't stop there if something isn't done. I think parents are just as afraid of retribution as the teachers are. Someone has to step up though. I know some parents have been called into the office and told to stay out of situations or their PTA days are over. Teachers are called in for things they do after hours on their own time that have nothing to do with school. The school needs to worry less about after school activities and worry more about falling TAKS scores and unhappy teachers. The school has some serious behavorial problems that are completely ignored.

If you don't know what is going on at the school then you are walking around like an ostrich with your head in the sand. You must drop your kids off and pick them up without entering the building. It is pathetic. If all the parents had half of a clue what happened at school you would scream. Over half of the teachers requested transfers last year and as many are unhappy but stuck due to the economy, hiring freeze, FEAR, badgering, threatening that they recv

Whats going on there? Be specific, for the parents who are concerned!

Specific? Ok. GOOD teachers are being run off. She gets into their personal life. She does nothing with students that threaten other children. She actually defends them. The teachers filled out a survey on her and the results were not good. She tried to say they weren't accurate.

Look parents, when your teachers aren't happy and hate coming to school every day, what kind of education do you think your child is getting? Does anyone look at the TAKS scores every year? Since Sylvia left, they have dropped every single year. Sylvia left Jones with an exemplary rating and we may not even get recognized this year. How many more good teachers have to leave?? How low do our TAKS scores have to go? How many parents have to be threatened not to get involved? How many VP's are we going to go through?

I agree with "worried mom". You would have to be living in a cave not to know that the faculty is unhappy and how horribly things are handled up there. Jones has the worst reputation in the whole school district. Something needs to be done, but everyone seems to be afraid of doing something about it, including me. Parents and faculty need to ban together and stand up for our kids and teachers.

I agree that both parents and teachers need to ban together to oust Mrs. Marcellus. I know the teachers are scared, because for most of them this is their livelyhood we are talking about. Please don't think that the teacher's aren't trying to help their students. We are working very hard at it. It is just difficult to speak up when the adminstration of the school doesn't support you and actually underminds your attempts to better the school. I love my students and this school, but it is getting more and more difficult to work for Angela Marcellus.

Why does the school website say that Jones is an exemplary school?
Why hasnt anyone gone to the school board with complaints? Dont they see the teachers/administration leaving and low test scores and wonder what is going on in the school?

There is a group going to Dr. Burton and the School Board.

I don't know why anyone should be surprised. It is not Mrs. Marcellus's fault. She has never been a principal before and they throw her into a school following someone who loves kids, loves the teachers, and shows it to everyone. Then they give her no help, do not teach her how to lead, and never question when things go badly. The first clue should have been when close to 30 teachers tried to leave that first year. It is someone's fault at the admin. They were not helping this woman become a good instructional leader. She has no clue. It is not her fault.

curious mom wrote:

Whats going on there? Be specific, for the parents who are concerned!

It would be hard to be specific without exposing the identity of juvenile students. You can review the academic performance on the web and for yourself see that the progress of our students has declined. You would have to be involved in the school on a regular basis to see the students sent to the principals office to be sent back to class with no behavior change. Over this last year students who pose a threat to other students were not removed from the classroom until administration was pressured. Kids that should be protected were not yet those who were not in danger were reported to the authorities. The faculty make no decisions and no one person can teach all the classes. Comments are made by administration talking about other families like is is one big GOSSIP fest. The Administration is blind to think that the people dont know if you talk about others you will talk about all. Last year I personally sat in on a meeting where the teacher was chastized in front of her peers for voicing an opinion. That teacher left the school before this year began with many others. I don't know how blind someone has to be. Just hang around the school and not on the last day or awards day or field day and look at the daily operation. The AP Mrs Bruning was wonderful and so is but was not found fit to be a principal so guess what she also left. The current AP is excellent and again where is she going. AWAY There seems to be a trend.

Please tell me that someone from the administration office is reading these notes.

Erica wrote:

I don't know why anyone should be surprised. It is not Mrs. Marcellus's fault. She has never been a principal before and they throw her into a school following someone who loves kids, loves the teachers, and shows it to everyone. Then they give her no help, do not teach her how to lead, and never question when things go badly. The first clue should have been when close to 30 teachers tried to leave that first year. It is someone's fault at the admin. They were not helping this woman become a good instructional leader. She has no clue. It is not her fault.

TEACH HER TO BE A LEADER!!!!! There were people who applied for this job and were turned down who already knew the job. Leadership is a characteristic you possess. You earn respect by respecting others not bullying them. You gain a team to work with by encouraging everyone to participate and listen to their ideas and implement them instead of ignoring and treating qualified teachers like they don't know what they are doing. And by the way she has as much HELP as anyone in that position. She chooses to manage everything herself having her fingers on every move in the building. Bottom line the buck stops at the principals office. Inconsistencies, opinions and loss of control

Susan wrote:

Please tell me that someone from the administration office is reading these notes.

THey will when they are sent to them!!

Erica wrote:

I don't know why anyone should be surprised. It is not Mrs. Marcellus's fault. She has never been a principal before and they throw her into a school following someone who loves kids, loves the teachers, and shows it to everyone. Then they give her no help, do not teach her how to lead, and never question when things go badly. The first clue should have been when close to 30 teachers tried to leave that first year. It is someone's fault at the admin. They were not helping this woman become a good instructional leader. She has no clue. It is not her fault.

It would be nice if someone at admin would pay attention to her terrible leadership skills. As for helping her... she wasn't thrown into this job without some training. Every principal has to have years of education and training to qualify for the principal position. Unfortunately Angela doesn't have the skills to apply her learning to her job. She is making a lot of us unhappy. Just ask the teachers she is tell TODAY that they have to move classrooms 2 days from now. Enpugh time? I think not.

Iv also had a problem with the administration ignoring discipline issues in my childs classroom. Several students practically lived in the office yet nothing was ever done about it. I was treated coldly for asking what the discipline policy was and why nothing was ever done. The behavior was interfering with my childs learning but he was seen as the problem.(My son is an A student)

Jones Teacher wrote:

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It would be nice if someone at admin would pay attention to her terrible leadership skills. As for helping her... she wasn't thrown into this job without some training. Every principal has to have years of education and training to qualify for the principal position. Unfortunately Angela doesn't have the skills to apply her learning to her job. She is making a lot of us unhappy. Just ask the teachers she is tell TODAY that they have to move classrooms 2 days from now. Enpugh time? I think not.

Think back! There has been NO site based management at Jones since Sylvia Miller left. Mrs. Marcellus chooses her teachers with NO input from the teams they will work with. 3 years of this policy has created chaos. Now, she is trying to fix the chaos by dictating and moving teachers. Will someone PLEASE tell her these are not good management skills. She is not thinking about her teachers. She told us DAY 1 - she was at Jones to raise the bar. I ask central office, after 3 years has the bar been raised? No, we work in chaos. As I write, who knows who will teach where next year. Are teams advised? No. Are teams upset? Yes. What will it take for Central Office Admin. to look into what is really going on at Jones?