More Junior High Experience

Disclaimer:  I am just complaining here.  Boring to you non-educationgeeks

Me:  {sigh} I guess I will go try to get Casey registered at local junior high x

Me:  {in front office} Hi, we recently moved to the area and I still have not registered my son for 7th grade yet

Lady:  Okay, you need to go the counseling office

Me: {Returning after finding door locked} Actually, just like the other junior high we tried to visit, the counseling office is closed on the one day I can get here before school is out.  Sorry, we are just trying to adjust to such a big school system, we came from California.

Lady:  Uh, you came from California and you think THIS is a big school system.

Me: Yes.  Well I mean the schools here are really large.

Lady: {Getting on the horn} Yeah, counselor chick?  You have a parent up here who wants to register her son, and your door is locked.  Yes. Okay.  Sending her over.

Counselor:  {blah blah paperwork}

Me:  Great.  Okay, so do you have a paper that describes your mission, vision, or your educational approach or whatever?

Counselor (and now another counselor hovering): Uhhh....Well we do some GREAT stuff, we just don't write it down.  I mean, people come from all over the state to see the stuff we do!

Me:  Of course, that is wonderful.  Can you give me an example?

Counselor duo:  Welll....Oh I know!  We have this cool thing called *free time where kids can go get extra help if they want, or they can just play around and stuff, really motivates them to get their work done so they can play.  It is awesome.  Our principal is really data driven and we really help kids by allowing them to learn at their own pace--so it isn't IF they learn, it is WHEN they learn.  So teachers are really flexible in allowing them to make up work, get extra help etc.  We totally allow late work and that free time is their chance to get the help they need.

Me: {Actually that IS kind of awesome, I LOVE free time}  Oh cool, I get it, that is great, you really help kids if they don't get it the first time, that is wonderful to hear.  What about the first time around, you know, the first time the teachers teach the material?  What is their educational philosophy, or what kind of professional development do they get or.. you know?

Counselor duo:  Uh... I am not really sure what you mean by educational philosophy, but they go to trainings and stuff.  I mean, I always hear people say "Man that teacher has been around FOREVER" so we have really good teachers.  We also have really high attendance due to our new tardy and attendance policy.  He goes to district meetings and they are like handing out stacks to everyone of their attendance and like one page to him.

Me:  Oh really, what is your attendance rate?

Counselor duo:  Oh.  We don't know.  Wait here comes the principal! He might know.

Data-driven principal:  It's high.  Way high.  I don't know if off the top of my head.

Okay stop.  Collaborate and listen.  (Wait that line makes NO sense because you don't really need to collaborate to listen). 

If you are a non-educator and still reading, you might miss this subtlety, but I have worked with close to 100 principals in the span of my life and I have NEVER met a principal who did not know his attendance numbers within a few percentage.  Do you know why?  Because THAT is the number that funds your school.  Like literally, you get dollars for attendance.

Every high school, every junior high, every elementary school principal knows that number because it represents your success in keeping kids at school.  The attendance rate represents your ability to take kids out of poverty and change their lives, or teach second language learners to adapt.  The attendance rate is what separates a good school from a great school.  The attendance rate is almost the sole criteria for principals in low performing broken urban schools AND if you have a higher attendance rate than your neighboring schools, even in a high performing school district you know it.

And if you are data-driven, you doubly know it.

So here is the real quandry--did he lie?  Or did he really not know it?  And which is worse?

Sorry friends, I must record these moments as my personal journey through the public education system gets worse by the minute.

We are sending him to that school by the way. Why?  Because they have mandatory music class so I can be a Tiger Parent via sending him to high-performing, high-attendance junior high schools in my community.  I always wanted to be a Tiger mom I just don't have the guts.  Now I can let the school system at least force him to take the music classes and live in peace.

Plus I am going to formulate some good public comments for the school board meetings next year.  Can't wait until my travel slows down.


*Names have been changed to protect the innocent