Monday, May 21, 2018
Getting serious about school safety
"It’s time to set aside political agendas and get serious about school safety," says Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James.
Ugly letters from parents force Ada coach to leave
"After leading the Ada High baseball team to one of its most successful seasons in recent history, head coach Austin Jarvis announced his resignation Friday morning," The Ada News reports.
Jarvis took over a Cougar baseball program that had managed just 14 wins combined over its past two seasons. ... However, after being eliminated in regional play the following day, Jarvis returned to the Ada High baseball facility and found a couple of nasty, anonymous letters from parents taped to the locker room door. ...
“This is basically what it said. ‘You’re obviously a good coach, but you’re not a good fit for Ada and you need to find somewhere else to go. It also said, ‘Your kids have brought down the school and are bad influences and have negatively affected the team and school.’ Both my daughter and my son were named. That was our welcome home after the regional tournament,” he recalled.
“They also attacked my faith and my Christianity and basically accused me of not being a Christian. From that and some other emails sent along those same lines, we decided maybe we should take that advice and find somewhere else to go.”
Jarvis said he and his wife, Jamie, made the gut-wrenching decision to leave Ada City Schools—and the baseball program—Thursday evening.
“My wife’s comment to me last night was, ‘We just left a school we were really happy with in Victory Christian and when we left, the parents were hugging us and crying and not wanting us to leave. Then we come here and people are posting letters telling us to get out of town after a good season,’” Jarvis said. “We don’t need to put up with that. It’s just the best thing for our family at this point to move on and go somewhere where the community supports us and wants us here.”
Jarvis said he and his coaching staff had problems with parents at different times this spring, and the letters were not an isolated incident.
“(Finding the notes) wasn’t a surprise. It was kind of the icing on the cake,” he said. “We had some issues all throughout the season. Mostly playing-time things where parents don’t see reality.” ...
Jarvis said one of the most hurtful things about the entire situation was bringing his children into the situation.
“It’s sad that these are parents. If they would just stay out of it, it would be much better for everybody. Me as a coach, I can handle it. I don’t think it’s justified or warranted, but I can handle it,” he said. “But to attack my kids is crossing a line. They’re no different than their kids. They’re still kids. To attack them by name is just not right, just plain and simple.”
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Student shoved in locker by teacher, Tulsa mother says
"This has been one of my biggest fears since I have put her in public schools," the News on 6 quotes the mother as saying. "It's like my biggest fear has come back to haunt me."
Teacher 'advocacy' time
"The Oklahoma City School Board voted unanimously this week to close schools on Nov. 6, Election Day, to allow teachers and staff the chance to 'engage in continued advocacy,'" The Oklahoman's editorial board notes today.
Yukon Public Schools is doing the same thing, and no doubt other districts will as well. Apparently, taking advantage of absentee voting, or the early voting days available prior to Election Day (including, this year, Saturday Nov. 3), or getting to the polls on Election Day at 7 a.m., before the school day begins, or voting after school that day (polls are open until 7 p.m.)—as Oklahomans of all professions will do—is asking too much of school employees. Instead, boards are deciding it's better to inconvenience parents on that day and extend the school calendar by a day so educators can “advocate.” It's a head-scratching development.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Edmond teacher assistant accused of being high on meth at elementary school
"An Edmond schoolteacher assistant was arrested Tuesday afternoon after she appeared to be high on meth at her work," News 9 reports.
OKC elementary school teacher arrested for allegedly violating fellow teacher in school hall
"A Martin Luther King Elementary School teacher was arrested and charged with sexual battery against a fellow female teacher Wednesday," KFOR reports.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Virtual classroom just the ticket for Norman student
Excellent story by Joy Hampton in The Norman Transcript.
To be treated as professionals, teachers must act as professionals
No, the teacher strikes do not help students, write William J. Bennett and Karen Nussle. https://t.co/9FySqMFKsZ #ewopinion pic.twitter.com/mdmaQwPuwp— Education Week (@educationweek) May 16, 2018
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Former teacher says ‘many cases’ of abuse not reported ‘for several days or weeks’
"The number of cases where an Oklahoma teacher or school employee has been accused of or convicted of molesting children seems to grow every year," The Oklahoman's editorial board points out today.
Sadly, in some cases other school employees have engaged in foot-dragging before reporting suspected abuse, so lawmakers deserve credit for tightening up state law on reporting. House Bill 2259, by Rep. Dell Kerbs and Sen. Ron Sharp, both R-Shawnee, requires individuals to "immediately" report suspected child abuse or neglect of children to the Department of Human Services Child Abuse Hotline. Reporting is already mandated in state law, but Sharp, a former coach and teacher, noted there have been "many cases" where abuse was not reported "for several days or weeks after it's discovered." That there was a need for lawmakers to legislate basic morality is nearly as sad as the fact so many Oklahoma children are being abused in the first place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)