State Education Dept. issues deficiency report on Buffalo Schoo...

Silver Stag wrote:

The real problem is that initially these children had no proper supervision at home prior to their first educational experience in Kindergarten. It STARTS with family training and respect for others. Evidently these children weren't taught this. They weren't taught responsibility either. Children NEDD/REQUIRE GUIDANCE, preferably from their natural parents. Theyare the one's responsible for the clildren's birth as well as their upbringing. The schools can only work with what they get.

I agree with everything you say. The fact is these kids are problem kids because of the way they were brought up. That being said. Why on God's Green Earth should taxpayers cough up $7.1 million for these kids? These kids cannot fit in any structured environment. These kids will not fit into any structured environment. I'd dare say the vast majority of these kids had been introduced into the legal system by now. In the final analysis, most of these kids are on a one way ticket to the NYS Department of Corrections. The problem is....What do we do about it? I say NOTHING!!!! Let nature take its course. That 7.1 million can be spent on the students who are trying to get an education. In business, 10% of your clients represent 90% of your headaches. I'd bet the same is true of education. We have to stop directing an inordinate amount of resources to problems. These are problem kids. They will not get it no matter how much time and money you pour in to them. The only thing we can say after spending $7.1 million dollars is....."At least we tried" That is a very high price tag just to say that. That $7.1 million represents money that was earned by somebody...every dollar of it.

There is only one way to end this situation. With the exception of City Honors, the Buffalo School system is a mess. The only way to fix it is to start over on a blank sheet of paper. I could go into the litany of what is wrong but we all know the problems. This contract should be the FINAL contract for all teachers and administrators. Then Buffalo should contract with Edison Schools and let them operate the Buffalo School System. They can't do worse than the current situation. In fact, its impossible to do worse!!!! Let the teachers and administrators apply to Edison if they wish to continue with their careers. The current system as it is presently cannot be fixed. It's time to scrap it.

Edison is a profit making corporation. Are you a stock holder or something? There track record isn't very good either. Their one goal is to make a profit, not to benefit children.

EIWNC wrote:

Edison is a profit making corporation. Are you a stock holder or something? There track record isn't very good either. Their one goal is to make a profit, not to benefit children.

What is wrong with for profit corporations. No I am not a stockholder. I suppose the track record of the Buffalo School System is so great that we shouldn't even consider Edison right? So their goal is to make a profit......what is the goal of the Buffalo Teachers Federation? Let me guess....the children. The fact is the Board of Education and the Buffalo Teachers Federation put kids at the bottom of the list. There is no accountability to anyone. The BTF and BOE deliver garbage results at premium prices. The taxpayers spend $20 million extra just to have two health insurance plans. True its by contract, but contracts end. I say a radical approach is needed. Given the track record of the Buffalo Public Schools I say both the union and administrators should be out and Edison Schools should be in.

By the way are you a *ahem* educator?

One problem is the school system's failure to use some of the tools that are available to them. NYS school districts are mandated to supply a Free and Appropriate Public Education to students. So, Buffalo is forced to find a way to "educate" these children. The children are out of control and disruptive, so they move them to a wharehouse to get them out of traditional classrooms. I would like to know if Buffalo files a PINS petition on each and every one of the students as they enter this school setting. The basis of the filing would be to improve both attendance and conduct of the student. Perhaps for some of these students, the threat of secured or non-secured detention might improve SOME of the students' performance? Sounds like putting a band aid on a broken leg, but the fact is, these students are failing because they don't care when they walk in the door. They come from homes which do not place any value on the educational system. No amount of money that gets thrown at the school will change that. Of course, then it just places the onus of responsibility for these students on another governmental agency, but I know how much these parents get put out when their children get dragged into Family Court and then the families are suddenly subject to court supervision. MAYBE, a few familes might actually step up to the plate and force some accountability in their children...but then, the county would have to hire more people to supervise, and that would cost more.....never mind...the system is broken.

I think, unfortunately, this issue is a symptom of a much larger problem in the City of Buffalo. It is clear, however, that the Buffalo BOE and the BTF idea of throwing money at the problem certainly hasn't worked.

oops wrote:

One problem is the school system's failure to use some of the tools that are available to them. NYS school districts are mandated to supply a Free and Appropriate Public Education to students. So, Buffalo is forced to find a way to "educate" these children. The children are out of control and disruptive, so they move them to a wharehouse to get them out of traditional classrooms. I would like to know if Buffalo files a PINS petition on each and every one of the students as they enter this school setting. The basis of the filing would be to improve both attendance and conduct of the student. Perhaps for some of these students, the threat of secured or non-secured detention might improve SOME of the students' performance? Sounds like putting a band aid on a broken leg, but the fact is, these students are failing because they don't care when they walk in the door. They come from homes which do not place any value on the educational system. No amount of money that gets thrown at the school will change that. Of course, then it just places the onus of responsibility for these students on another governmental agency, but I know how much these parents get put out when their children get dragged into Family Court and then the families are suddenly subject to court supervision. MAYBE, a few familes might actually step up to the plate and force some accountability in their children...but then, the county would have to hire more people to supervise, and that would cost more.....never mind...the system is broken.
I think, unfortunately, this issue is a symptom of a much larger problem in the City of Buffalo. It is clear, however, that the Buffalo BOE and the BTF idea of throwing money at the problem certainly hasn't worked.

I think we have to rethink the mandate of "free and appropriate education". That mandate presumes cooperative kids. That mandate should not cover violent kids and kids that are so disruptive that the other students are put on the back burner because the teacher has to deal with their problems. These problem kids have the same opportunities as others. What they do with it is their own business. I think we have to come to the realization that simply put there are "screw-ups" in this world. No amount of money, no program, or alternative school is going to turn a screw-up into a straight A student. Can some of these kids be turned around? Yes.....but I'm tired of bearing the cost and quite frankly its not fair to the other students. Most, if not all of these problems kids will be unemployed and wind up in the legal system. We are going to pay now AND we are going to pay later. I say throw the hooligans out of school! There is no sense wasting another dollar, or one more minute of a teacher's time with them. Resources need to be focused on where they do the most good....on the kids that want to learn, not screw-ups. The good administrators, teachers, and students shouldn't have to put up with the nonsense these hooligans deliver on a daily basis. Excuses will cease to be excuses the moment they are no longer tolerated.

thenycommie wrote:

<quoted text>
I think we have to rethink the mandate of "free and appropriate education". That mandate presumes cooperative kids. That mandate should not cover violent kids and kids that are so disruptive that the other students are put on the back burner because the teacher has to deal with their problems. These problem kids have the same opportunities as others. What they do with it is their own business. I think we have to come to the realization that simply put there are "screw-ups" in this world. No amount of money, no program, or alternative school is going to turn a screw-up into a straight A student. Can some of these kids be turned around? Yes.....but I'm tired of bearing the cost and quite frankly its not fair to the other students. Most, if not all of these problems kids will be unemployed and wind up in the legal system. We are going to pay now AND we are going to pay later. I say throw the hooligans out of school! There is no sense wasting another dollar, or one more minute of a teacher's time with them. Resources need to be focused on where they do the most good....on the kids that want to learn, not screw-ups. The good administrators, teachers, and students shouldn't have to put up with the nonsense these hooligans deliver on a daily basis. Excuses will cease to be excuses the moment they are no longer tolerated.

I agree with you 100% that these students have no business in the traditional classrooms wasting everyone's time. If the district utilized the PINS process and utilized it consistently, some of these hooligans would be placed in foster care or other more structured and more restrictive living arrangements (up to and including secured detention) where their behavior and school functioning would be more strictly monitored and enforced by those who are paid (and choose) to deal with it. Yes, it sounds severe and costly, but as you said, we can pay now AND pay later, or we can pay more now and maybe not pay as much later. There is nothing as eye opening for some of these punks as when they lose their "freedom" at the ripe age of 12 and every move they make 24/7 is montiored and scheduled and restricted. There is also nothing more eye opening to their parents as when the taxpayer subsidized benefits for said child revert back to the County who is forced to maintain that child outside of the home. Ok, it's a severe solution, I understand, but the solution exists in principle for a reason. I would also support a reduction in taxpayer benefits for the upkeep of these children within their family home unless they are maintaining themselves appropriately in school - attendance and behaviorally. The parents of these students currently have little incentive to "encourage" their children to behave and succeed. Perhaps a reduction in any monthly governmental subsidy would be incentive. The whole concept of Free and Appropriate Public Education is actually designed to address students with true disabilities, not lazy budding criminals. School 44 is not entirely made up with students with IEP or 504 Plans, so many of these students are strictly choosing to opt out of their right to an education. Perhaps that right to opt out of an education should come with some other tangible consequences. But again, any solution would be costly at some level.