Posted on Thu, 05/01/2008 - 22:54 — by TAG
I grew up in Antioch. My 25 and 22 year old also attended AUSD without any problems. This year I had to get my 13 year old out of Park Middle school because the school is not a safe place. There was a girl bullying her and no consequences were handed down by the female VP, Ms. Imai. But I called APD and battery charges were filed against this bully. My daughter and her friends were continually telling Ms. Imai when this bully was cutting class, picking on them, etc. and Ms. Imai never did anything about this. And sad to say but within the last few weeks Ms. Imai was breaking up a fight at Park Middle and she was assaulted. I bet those children will be out of Park Middle without a blink of an eye! But when a child assaults another child the administration does nothing!!! I did what so many people from Richmond, San Pablo, Oakland, Hayward, etc. did to the AUSD....I have a relative in a better school district so I use their address and my daughter is safe, getting an excellent education, flourishing and happy in another school district!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 72
Was the girl stabbed at Antioch High School or Deer Valley? Andy
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
deervalley..maybe the first major incident of the year..
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 20
I heard that, despite the headline in the Times, the injured girl was not a DVHS student and this incident did not occur on or in front of the school. It did occur on Lonetree, but down the street near Gas City. So while this is an alarming occurence it has nothing whatsoever to do with AUSD or Deer Valley High School. I also heard that the "girls" that attacked her included at least one adult woman. The most telling thing of all in this report is that the stabbed girl did not cooperate with the police trying to help her. Without her help they can not do much to track down and arrest those involved.
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 16
PMS was NOT this way when Mr. Bergerhouse was principal and Mr. McDonald was VP. My son attended 2 years ago and it was the safest school in the district....It's sad that this has happened.
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 112
"PMS was NOT this way when Mr. Bergerhouse was principal and Mr. McDonald was VP."
I agree. This is my grandson's second year there. It has SOOOOO gone downhill since Bergerhouse went to DVHS. Administration is weak. They have kids roaming the halls rather than on suspension because they would "lose money". Kids are destroying the infrastructure..ie: blowing up toilets, breaking off sinks, wiping their excrement on walls...and it's not just the boys! doing these things. My grandson has manners and is expected to behave...just the kind bullies LOVE to torment. If these kids don't want the free education, kick their collective as**s out. Let the parent deal with their education and leave the good kids alone to learn!
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31
I'm sorry...but what does this story have to do with a stabbing at DV?
However to comment on your situation at PMS, I'm not sure how far you took it... but if you had contacted Dr. Simms Office (AUSD Superintendent) I'm most certain that something would have been done. Violence is not and should never be tolerated.
Proud Member of UCBN
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
Violence, i.e., stabbing, assault, bullying...at AUSD....Yes, Dr. Simms is the Superintendent of our schools here in Antioch.. but Charles Miller is the Associate Superintendent of Middle Schools and I contacted him, to no avail, therefore I opted to use my relatives address and send my child to a better school district!
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7
In my opinion, Dr. Simms has been one of the worst things that has happened to this school district. She approved the placement of three inexperienced administrators to run PMS and this is the result. It has been such a failure that none of these administrators will be rehired for next year so now what happens, you have an administration that does not care what happens for this year because they are not being rehired, and next school year, three new administrators with no idea of what is happening at PMS will have to start from scratch.
What has been Dr. Simms response to the problems at PMS? I have been told that the district hired a consultant, (I thought the district didn’t have any money) who is telling the staff that too many minorities are receiving referrals and that the staff needs to remember to give “compliments” to the troublemakers so they will feel better about themselves and not cause problems. This is your tax dollars at work.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
Ms. Imai had never been an administrator before. She worked with troubled kids for years-this was what she told me! No Experience at all! Mr. Lockwood has been a teacher for a while but never admin. and Mr. Delao is lost in the confusion! I have been told that the three would not be back, but that Ms. Imai is going to be principal of another school.
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 119
I have said this before and I will say it again so there will be no misunderstanding, I do not work for Antioch Unified School Distric, I do not have any Children that attend Antioch Schools, but I do have a friend that does and this is what I have heard along with I would assume many others.
Violence and intimidation is rampant in not only Deer Valley High School but also the Middle Schools, Many of the Principals and Vice Principals are relatively new in their positions and are afraid of the District as they do not want to lose their jobs.
The whole thing is very simple, Antioch Schools do NOT require any proof of residence other than a notraized statement saying that they live at such and such address this is going on while many other School Districts are requiring three or more documents that prove that the student is elligible to attend school in that district.
You couple that up with the Section 8 fiasco and what would a sane person expect to happen.
There are two new positions at the District level that Antioch Schools have never had before, an Adminstrative Assistant for Dr. Simms and a Public Information Person, I must ask that why does Dr.Simms need these two positions when there are almost 100 Employees in Classified Postions that are either losing their job altogether or are required to move to another school in either the same position or a lesser postition, Not one person at the District Level has lost their job.
As long as The District allows anybody to attend the Schools that can walk in, and as long as the admininstration does not make an all out effort to control the Bullying, Thefts, Intimidation and Violence that are plaguing the Schools not one thing will change.
Good luck to anybody that has a good, decent Kid and sends them to any Antioch Unified School District Facility.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
502PIR----you hit the nail directly on the head!!! Bullying, Thefts, Intimidation and Violence are ramped. Thank you for your response!
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
I really do need to make one correction and then refrain from further comment. It is not true that Dr. Sims has a "personal assistant." I know that in this message you did not use the term "personal assistant" however that term was used in past threads so i will take this time to correct that rumor at the same time I correct the rumor that Dr. Sims has created a new administrative assistant position.
It is not true that Dr. Sim's administrative assistant is a newly created position. Dr. Sims does in fact have an administrative assistant. This is a clerical position. The superintendent before her had an administrative assistant. The two assistant superintendents have administrative assistants. All the principals have administrative assistants. In fact, district administrators at school sites, at off sites and the district office have administrative assistants.
I understand that you got this information from somebody else, but it is wrong information.
Iris
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
Well, Iris can you comment on the bullying, thefts, etc. at PMS? Also, some of the teachers are not teaching the children what they need to know for the CST testing. Until this year Antioch teachers have been great for my 13 year old, but 7th grade at PMS this year was awful! The math department for the 7th graders is lacking. And is it true that Ms. Imai had never been a teacher or Administrator until her VPship at PMS? I am an educator with 20 plus years of teaching math and science. And I will reinterate I grew up in the AUSD.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
I make a point of only making comments about issues where I have either intimate knowledge of the subject matter, or have enough experience in the area in question that I can offer an intelligent opinion. That is not the case with the questions you are asking. I would strongly suggest you contact our Chief Academic Officer, Christine Hiroshima and ask your questions. That is her area of expertise and authority.
Iris
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 119
Iris, I will grant you that my use of Personal Assistant was in error, However the the hiring of Ms. Hiroshima as Chief Academic officer is not in error, That is a new position, one that the District has never had previously, as is your Position I might add. I have previously posted that I have seen on Newscasts the Superintendent of The Los Angeles, San Francisco and Bakersfield all speaking for their Districts, They apparently do not need a spokesperson to impart information to the public.
In your as position as Public Information Officer why are you so reluctant to release to the Public exactly what is going on in the Schools, I.E. daily assaults, thefts, bullying and imtimidation, Why would it be such a big problem for Ms, Hirshima or Dr. Simms to explain to the public, I.E. Taxpayers why the District does not ask for proof of residence other than a Notarized Statement that the Child in question lives at such and such address, As you know many other Districts require multiple documents to verify that the Child lives in the District that they will be attending.
Lastly I will again state that I am not an Employee of The District, I do not have a relatives that are employees of The District, I have never been an Emloyee nor have I ever had any relatives that were. What I am is a Taxpayer and life long resident of East County, I do not think that the questions that I and others are asking are out of line, I do not believe that they would be difficult questions to answer, It appears that the word transparency is not part of the lexicon of the Antioch Unified School District.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
Let me be clear here. I am not at all reluctant to answer your questions, but here is the issue. We have something in this country called the Public Information Act. I have posted on the Antioch Unified School District website a form called a "Public Information Request." Anything that is public information and occurs within our schools is available to you, and I am mandated by law to provide that information to you within 10 calendar days. All you have to do is request it.
I am not mandated by law to chat with you on a message board. Further, my job description is also public information and keeps me busy at least 14 hours a day including many weekends, so I in no way feel that my job is not justified. Please feel free to request a copy of my job description, however, I will tell you that my job is vastly larger than that of "spokesperson" for the district and it is very insulting to have you reduce it to that. I have invited anybody who is really interested in knowing what the Office of Public Information and Community Engagement is really all about to call me directly at 776-2019. So far, I have had no takers. That makes me wonder if the issue is really lack of information, or simply just a desire to be angry about something. I know that the budget cuts are painful, but they were not initiated by the district, it was initiated by the state budget cuts to education. Over 7,000 parents and teachers oin this district "got it" and sent letters protesting the cuts to the state.
The Chief Academic Office also has a job description, and you can request it by exercising your rights under the public information act.
Last, please do take the time to call me or submit a public information request before June 30, 2008. After that date I will be volunteering my time to the district as I continue to work with a very key initiative the district is involved in.
Iris
Iris
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 119
Iris, That is the first thing that you have said that makes sense, I am angry, I am angry because you cannot answer the simplest question which I doubt very much would violate The Public Information Act, Why does the AUSD allow anybody and everybody to attend Antioch Public Schools without any proof whatsoever that they live in Antioch. Is that so difficult to answer or is that the big secret that everybody knows about anyway.
I give you credit though you are a Master of the Spin.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
Well I too am angry. I am angry because you constantly make accusations on this board and demand answers that you could simply pick up the phone and ask me, or you could file a public information request and get your responses that way. Instead you choose to sit behind this board and make unsubstantiated remarks and attacks on people who are working harder than you will ever know to resolve some of these issues. I am anything but a spin doctor, and I am not afraid to have open honest dialogue with people who really step up to the plate and come forward to have discussions with me. Further, I never said that talking with you or answering your questions is a violation of the public information act. You are obviously the one attempting to "spin" the facts.
I could understand you being angry if you had ever tried to have a conversation with me and I refused to talk with you, but this is not having a conversation. this is a message board and it is nearly impossible to have a real discussion that will lead to understanding. You need to know that I will never again respond to you on this board because it is pointless unless you are willing to come forth and learn the facts in some other venue besides this one. I would also like to hear your ideas on how to help with solutions once you know the actual facts.
Again, my number is 776-2019, and my office is at 510 G Street.
Iris
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 164
502-
What part of "contact the AUSD directly" don't you understand? All you have to do is fill out a form and submit it to the district and they HAVE to answer your questions. That is what Iris has been telling you this whole time. If you want to know the district policy on "proof of residence" then submit the question to the district. How hard is that to understand?
I too have issues with AUSD and I have been communicating directly with Ms. Hiroshima. When I didn't hear back from her I emailed Iris directly at her AUSD email address with my complaint. Not only did Iris reply to me on her own time(she is currently out of town), but she had Ms. Hiroshima responde also. Now did I like the answers that I got??? Absolutely not. However, to sit here and drill someone on a message board is quite elementary. At what job would they allow and administrative person to reply to your "rants" on a message board? I call them "rants" because all you have to do is contact the AUSD directly and the HAVE to responde to you. Instead you are trying to get your answers through a message board? It's real easy to post things that you "know" on this message board. How about sending the AUSD an email with your name on it. Then you become a "real" person with a "real" question.
As I said, I have an ongoing issue with the AUSD. However, if you want a real answer you need to get it directly from them, on their letterhead, with their name on it. Then when you don't like something about it you have it in writing and can challenge their policy.
99% of the time I agree with the things that you post. I agree with you about the threats and violence problem in the AUSD. But if you want answers, it's real simple how to get them. When you don't follow the procedure, then it sounds like you are just an angry citizen who is not willing to make the effort to get the "real" answers.
I have to agree with Iris on this one. She would be crazy to try to explain district policies on a message board. Just contact her and set up a meeting, face to face, then you will get some answers.
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 61
I called yesterday too and left phone and e-mail information. Got a nice message back. Also got the following article from department of education. Sure don't like the content of the article, but it answers my question. Gonna try to get in and meet the lady in person before she leaves June 30. She seems nice enough.
Me
PS, here is the article I got:
BUDGET CRISIS REPORT CARD: Other States Lure California Teachers Away Vol. 4 May 9, 2008
Our budget crisis is striking at the very heart of one of California’s most precious resources: our teachers.
On May 15, more than 14,000 teachers who previously received pink slip notices will learn their fate, as districts send out their final layoff notices. The nationwide economic slump and housing crisis have placed many people in a bind, but now thousands of our teachers face the prospect of losing their jobs, as well.
Thanks to this perfect storm of events, school districts from Texas, Nevada, Virginia, Kansas, and Hawaii are now actively recruiting our educators by offering them signing bonuses to fill their own teacher shortages.
We have seen ads placed by these out-of-state districts on freeway billboards, in newspapers, and on the radio. Some are also sending delegations to California and contacting teachers unions directly to lure our educators away.
· The Hawaii Department of Education is in the process of planning a third recruiting trip to the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas and is offering additional bonuses to Special Education teachers.
· Recruiters from Kansas have contacted the California Federation of Teachers directly for advice on how to advertise to talented teachers facing layoffs.
· The Clark County School District in Henderson, Nevada has been running print advertisements in all of California’s major markets and advertising at California State Universities in San Francisco, Long Beach, and Dominguez Hills. They also began recruiting in California in April and have two more trips planned in May and June.
· The Houston Independent School District plans on running advertisements in newspapers across the state and sending recruiters to help fill the 1200 vacant positions in its schools. The Aldine Independent School District has already begun advertising in the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle in hopes of attracting teachers to Texas.
· The Fort Worth Independent School District has caught the attention of many pink-slipped teachers with billboards in San Diego and San Francisco reading: “Your Future is in Our Classroom.” They have already received about 40 applications online and a number of educators have flown to Texas for interviews. Recruiters from Fort Worth ISD will be in San Diego next week.
The loss of quality educators will be detrimental to the quality of education in California. Passionate and talented teachers will be pulled away to other states in search of job opportunities and economic stability. We need to retain these exceptional teachers in order to continue working toward closing California’s achievement gap and providing the highest-quality education to all of our students.
For more information on California's budget crisis, please visit: www.cde.ca.gov
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7
Not to slam Iris, but the “call me” if you have questions about District policy is a cop out. This is a public school district and information as to what the district requires for proof of residency or disciplinary policy does not require that you fill out a “freedom of information act”. It should not be filtered out on a piecemeal basis to individuals over the phone. The District can easily post this information on their web site for everyone to see. Other districts do it, why it is that Antioch doesn’t? Could it be that the District doesn’t want the public to know how weak the policy is? Or maybe it is because they don’t want people to know that it is not being followed.
There are many good administrators and teachers in this district that have given up because they don’t get any support from the top. The teachers joke about the “zero tolerance” policy because they have seen that the district fails to enforce it. They joke about the residency policy because it is not enforced. If you can scam your way and get enrolled in the district once, you will never again have to show proof of residency. (Why doesn’t the District require that proof of residency be shown every year?) When the teachers and staff try to enforce policy and discipline problem students, they are told by a CONSULTANT hired by the district that they are disciplining too many minority students and to stop doing it. This same consultant is telling the staff that they need to give more “compliments” to the troublemakers. I’m sorry, but if a large number of minority students happen to be causing problems, then they need to be disciplined just like anyone else. RACE SHOULD NOT BE A FACTOR. This is not an issue of race, it is an issue of conduct.
The schools of this district are turning into inner city schools because of the policies of Dr. Simms and the failure of the School Board to take action. They have turned all of their efforts towards cleaning up the image of DVHS because of the negative press that that school has received in the past. They fail to understand that if you correct behavioral problems that students have when they are in elementary and middle school, they will not be a problem when they get to high school.
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 723
Thank you TJAW. You have said it very well. A consultant was hired? When? Who?
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 50
The website listing district policies regarding enrollment is here: http://www.antioch.k12.ca.us/Superintendents-Office/Board-policies5000.a... A complete redesign of the website in addition to the establishment of policies regarding digital and print media in order to address local, state and federal compliance issues tends to be the major portion of the job of a Public Information Officer. (Hence why Iris is not a Press Secretary or PR Hack as some have said- the job requires legal training) I just hope that now that Iris has be chased away from the District, (I am sure in no small part due to the behavior of some people on these boards) they can find someone even nearly as competent to fill the position. The last thing we, as a community, need right now is an expensive law suit against the district because of non-compliance with Public Information laws.
TJAW, you cite both lack of information and the lack of enforcement. I think they are two different issues. The information is there-.
Regarding enforcement, I feel like the current school board inherited a sinking ship and is doing a great job in repairing it. I have neighbors that were sending their kids to schools is Oakland in order to get away from the problems in Antioch Public Schools under the previous administration. There has been a change in the racial and socioeconomic makeup of our city and I feel like the previous administration just looked the other way and failed to ask the tough questions. While you may not like the current tactics (and if what you say is true, I'm not sure I do either) at least we are starting some conversation about it.
The new board, and the new Superintendent seem to be moving in the right direction. DVHS' gain in Mr. Bergerhouse was PMS' loss- no question. But, they are trying to make it work. Last time I was at PMS, Mr. Bravo (the Asst. Superintendent of Secondary Education with many years of experience- he was here before Dr. Sims) was on campus trying to help in any way he could.
If memory severs, the District is the single largest employer in the city. It is a business with literally thousands of employees- most of which are protected by EdCode. It is going to take some time to see the change macroscopically. I understand that when it is your kid getting pocket searched or jumped at the bus stop, that doesn't help. You have the right to want to make the change happen faster. Rather than individually working to take down those who are trying, why can't we all band together and see what we can do as a team to make this work?
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 61
I appreciate the link and the thoughtful dialogue. I feel like this was the best post on the thread because it seems like you really thought this stuff through. There are only a couple of things I see a little differently. The first is that I thought several of the board members have been around way before the new superintendent and actually contributed to the problems within the district, mostly because of a lack of strong and informed governance. The second is that I can't quite figure out where the superintendent is going. Can you shed some light there?
Me
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 50
Thanks for your kind comments. I love it when these board can produce some positive dialogue. I can speak to 3 of the 5 board members. Walter Ruehlig and Gary Agopian were first elected in 2004 and Terri Shaw was first elected in 2006. I know Joyce Seelinger and Claire Smith have been around for longer, but honestly I don't know how much longer. Anyway, a majority of votes on the board is very new and they each have been voted in as "change candidates"- a reaction to schools already in distress. Again, I think things have improved (however slowly) over the last four years. What I see in Dr Sims that I appreciate is contemplative, problem solving leadership. At times I wish things would happen faster, but I trust that issues are being discussed, researched and thought about in order to build long term solutions rather than short term fixes. She recognizes that we are no longer the small town so many fondly remember and brings to the table big-city experience in dealing with issues like racial tension, violence and building a sustainable student and family culture. What we are seeing right now, I believe, is the result of the band-aids being "torn off." It hurts. However, I think long term, student focussed reform is on the way. DVHS, AHS, AMS, BDMS are all doing better (in different ways) than they have in the recent past- and all under relatively new leadership. (Unfortunately, I can't speak with any real knowledge on elementary schools.) Any way, that's why I try to keep the faith and not leave town. If quoting Sam Cooke wasn't so overdone, I would do it here.
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2441
HelpUsFixIt, your posts on this subject are very informative. With a couple clicks, that link took me right to the pdf page outlining non-resident policy.
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7
HelpUsFixIt, Here is the district Homepage http://www.antioch.k12.ca.us/ Please explain how a person is to find the page you linked to starting from the Homepage. Other districts have simple links that go straight to these policies from their home page. I started at the home page and clicked on the "Parents" tab. Couldn't find it there. Clicked on the "Students " tab, not there either. Clicked on "Public Information" tab, nope not there. Where is this page hiding? The only way anyone is able to locate this page is to first, know it exist, and then go to the sitemap to find it under "School Board". There is not a "School Board" link on the home page, and besides that, shouldn't this information be linked under the "Parents" or "Public Information" section.
Sort of makes one think that the District doesn't want the public to know the policies, that way no one can complain that the District is not following them.
Oop's my mistake, you can go to this page by clicking the small "District @ a Glance" tab in the lower right hand corner and scrolling 3\4 down the page where you see the "School Board" heading and then click the small blue "Policies" title. Then pick "Students" out of the fourteen choices on that page. This will take you to a page where one of the eight choices is "Admission and Attendance", this will take you to a page where one of the seventeen choices under this category is " Admission of Resident Students", click on this and read the four page pdf. file that explains the residency requirements. Yep standing out right there for everyone to see. How in the world could anyone miss it? Way to go AUSD.
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 50
I got to it from Leadership Team (top of the page) -> Policies (left hand column). Perhaps it could be a cleaner interface, everyone's browsing is different. I don't think they tried to hide it, I just think there is a lot of information there and they probably didn't think that reading school policy was something that most visitors to the website would have a "page one" interest in.
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 61
If you were trying to make a point, I missed it. In fact, I wouldn't be so quick to let everyone on the board know that I hadn't already checked the website, or called somebody at the district and asked if the policies were on the website before I started complaining about not knowing what they are.
Me
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
"There are many good administrators and teachers in this district that have given up because they don’t get any support from the top. The teachers joke about the “zero tolerance” policy because they have seen that the district fails to enforce it."
I gave up also...I am a product of the AUSD of the 60's and 70's. And my two older children products of AUSD of the 90's. Because of LACK of zero tolerance at PMS, I gave up and got my child out of here!!!
Thanks TJAW..this is exactly what is going on here.
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 61
To 502PIR,
I hope you don't mind me asking, but why does it matter that you you don't work for the AUSD or that you grew up in Antioch? I notice you keep saying it as if it has some special meaning.
By the way, I have a friend at the district who is losing her job so I don't know where you got that junk about no district person losing their job from. Plus how do you know so much if you don't work for the district. Just asking because if you are close enough to people inside to know all this I am wondering why you can't get them to answer your questions or get you a meeting with somebody that can. Since so many people have questions about the district on this thread, why don't you use your hook-up to get the answers for us?
Me
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 13
Don't blame the school, blame Dr. Sims. She has tied the hands of all school personel. She has mandated a no suspension rule for all schools. Children caught with drugs=no suspension. Got a knife=no suspension, depending on how long the blade is. The ZERO tolerance policy has disappeared. It is ALL about the ADA. So the district gets MO' MONEY, but our kids pay the price.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
This type pf mandate has never come before our senior cabinet or our board. The board would have had to have passed such a mandate. This has never happened nor has it even been implied. Please show us all the school board agenda where this has been proposed. The minutes for all school board meetings are on the district website.
Thanks
Iris
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2441
Tag, I know what you are saying because my nephew is having a bully problem of his own right now at PMS, but his parents are trying to deal with it through the proper channels, but also not put him in a position of retaliation from the bully. The kids don't want to speak up half the time. It's a frustrating situation.
I'm not that familiar with the administration, but I wonder how much of it has to do with the kid's behavior? We are seeing lots of problems in society in general that are caused by bad behavior. We hear the police and civic leaders getting blamed all the time for other people's behavior, but how much can they really do to control it? Everybody is facing funding cutbacks too and that compounds the problem and then you have the economy bad that probably affects some of the kids because they have more problems at home. I'm not trying to deflect the blame, because somebody has to be accountable, but sometimes it seems it's too heavily weighted in one direction. Are they doing the best they can given all the circumstances? I don't really know.
Every public school district seems to be going through tough times. An article today said people are trying to oust Superintendent McHenry from the Mt. Diablo School District. I have no idea how the school districts are run, but it seems like all the cutbacks that are dictated by the State have a hand in all the problems too.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
Joe, please tell your nephew's parents to go over the PMS administration and go to APD. the current admin will do nothing to protect your nephew! I know. My daughter sat in the office for 3 hours without my knowledge while the admin tried to find the girl that was bullying my straight A student! My daughter called me from her cell phone and said, "Mom you have to come get me." she would not tell me why over the phone. I immediately got to PMS and she was being protected by one of her friends that is a real big girl standing outside of the gate into PMS. The admin had no idea that my daughter was not in the office anymore and went home with me. I went to the school the next day and called APD and battery charges were filed. But no consequences from the PMS admin.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
Bazooka,
Please call me at 776-2019 about this when I get back to the office on monday so that I can make sure you are in touch with someone that can help you. I know that other posters don't believe that calling me directly will help, but you know me and know that I will do my best. I can't necessarily get anyone to take an anonymous remark on the message boards seriously, but if you call me , I promise I will do everything I can to help. You can also e-mail me with your contact info if you'd like me to call you tomorrow so we don't have to wait until monday.
Let me know,
Iris
Iris
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 45
kids are the way they are thanks to their parents. If a parent doesn't care, then neither does the kids. And these are the type of kids we are having problems with in our schools. This in not just happening in Antioch...It happens all over. In addtion, the buget cuts are coming down from the state. each district decides where they need to trim the fat.... I do not think that teacher's don't care, i feel that they are probably overwhelmed with the mass amounts of requirments that they have to fullfill. Admin is keeping themselves busy with the constant kid problems, classroom observations, and many more things. There is just not enough time in the day to complete everything.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 40
Iris please answer--why so many thefts, assualts, etc. no consequences-the teachers not teaching up to standards. You always seem to answer everything else to the districts/Superintendents defense.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
I say the same thing to you that I said to 501. If you are really interested in information and being a part of the solution, call me or come by the district office. You seem to only want to discuss these issues from behind a discussion board. How in the world is that helpful? This type of "in the shadows" nattering and complaining without real face to face dialogue is useless.
Further, when I have a criticism of the superintendent or the district, I bring it directly to the superintendent and/or the management team and I work through it until I am comfortable with the solution. You should try that because simply complaining about it on this board gets nobody anywhere.
You can call me at 776-2019 if you'd like to talk with me in particular, or come by the office. Otherwise, you can forget about me responding to you on this board again.
Iris
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1
Iris, you’re the “Public Information Officer” and you carry on berating people on this post as if you are a junior high kid fighting with her sister? As someone who is to inform the public on the dealings of the Antioch School District you should treat an online forum as you would any written media, but instead you’re personally attacking posters who are asking you legitimate questions. Why does the Antioch School District not properly check a student’s residency before letting them into a school? I know for a fact that this was being done a few years ago in an effort to weed out the troublemakers, but once we got the new administrator that stopped. You may want people to call your office in order to discuss this, for which I’m sure we’ll only receive your voice mail, but you can also answer the question here or post the official answer if you have one prepared. By not doing so you’re continuing to fuel the anger that parents in this town have over the districts desire for State funding vs. the safety and education of our children.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
First let me start by saying, i am not on the district's time today, nor am i responding to you as the PIO, I am responding as Iris. The facts are that I have never not returned a call or responded to a parent, concerned citizen, or anyone else who has called my office and asked for information. Further what you classify as berating is me attempting to get people to engage my office and other district officials for their answers and not simply pass on untruths on the message boards. That is not a helpful practice for them or anyone else reading the boards. That simply perpetuates more feelings of apathy for parents who have legitimate concerns and are looking for real answers and solutions. The reason why I am not going to get into trying to answer very detailed and complicated answers on the board is because I do take these issues seriously and whenever someone has called my office and expressed a concern it has typically resulted in me facilitating a discussion with the appropriate party.
We have a large district with staff who have expertise in particular areas. If someone asked me about the public information act, the community engagement projects we are involved with like ACHA, YIN, the Parent Roundtable, etc, I would talk with them directly. But when posters ask questions like why aren't teachers teaching the way they should, that is a question for educational services, and although I can facilitate a conversation with the right party about that, I can't answer for them.
Last, I will admit that you make one very good point, and that is that I should not be having discussions on this board in my official capacity. That is exactly why people will need to contact me through the district either by phone, public information request or in person. Iris
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 45
after reading these comments it is really disturbing that many posters are talking a lot of crap to Iris through a computer and not following through with a phone call.. Oh that is probably becasue you all want to [bleep], [bleep], [bleep]. she has offered for you all to call her on the phone to ask the questions and no follow through. That is crap!
Did you think maybe the Iris doesn' t have all the answers? She seems like the go to person. But I don't think Iris makes the decision about who comes to the AUSD. In addtion, in no way would the school board policy enforce a no suspension policy on fighting, weapons...etc. I don't even have kids here in this district, but i do know of kids that were suspended from a recent fight with DVHS students. So now what. Leave Iris alone, she is nice enough to provide information on her own time.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
I really appreciate your comments. I really do have a genuine desire to be as helpful as I can, and hope people will hear you and call me.
Iris
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 119
it is more than apparent that Iris is not going to reply, I would doubt that asking whether or not that AUSD will allow a student to attend an Antioch School with no real verification that they are a resident of Antioch would be violating the Public Information Act, I also doubt that answering the question as to whether or not her Position with the District and the position that Ms. hiroshima holds existed Prior to Dr. Simms taking over the job of Superintendant violates the Public Information Act, Iris has accused me of making unsubstantiated statements, The fact is that AUSD allows a child to attend Schools with NO VERIFICATION OF RESIDENCE other than a Notarized statement, which isn't worth the paper that it is written on.
And if anybody thinks that there is not a tremendous amount of violence, physical attacks and thefts going on daily in our schools they either do not care or are uninformed.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 99
501, this argument is pointless. I can only do what I can do, and that is to offer you and everybody else the option to call me directly and get your questions answered.
The moment I respond to these last few posts, I am shutting down this account. So for the last time, my number is 776-2019. Iris