http://disqus.com/by/cadets/enMon, 31 Aug 2009 15:47:03 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-15664457<p>To bcinsider - please email me directly at dallen001@nycap.rr.com</p><p>cadets</p>cadetsMon, 31 Aug 2009 15:47:03 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-15664415<p>To Mockery of justice - please email me at dallen001@nycap.rr.com</p>cadetsMon, 31 Aug 2009 15:46:07 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-15008519<p>BC is top heavy with administrators, even in the current economic climate, and yet they reportedly gave Dr. Waltz several positive observations before deciding to turn around and terminate her. This inconsistency would seem to call for a thorough review of administrative practices that led to this result. However, I doubt this will ever take place. During my career, especially during the Loomis years, the district would adroitly close ranks to cover up and spin such situations to keep them from the public eye. In a time where the call for tranparency is louder than ever, there is much to expose right here in our own backyard.</p>cadetsTue, 18 Aug 2009 09:35:53 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14953363<p>Remember dismissing someone you yourself hired would require the admission your original decision was in error. I know under Loomis the administration never once owned up to a mistake despite there being several instances where they should have.</p><p>Loomis was also a clever manipulator of board members. He seemed to have them believing they worked for him instead of the other way around. Even when they caught him in wrongdoing, they appeared incapable of applying appropriate consequences. The result was Loomis remaining Superintendent for over 20 years, the second longest run at this position in the state and an administration largely based on fear and control and his own ego.</p><p>Mike Tebbano was a good man as Music Supervisor, but he did work under Loomis, and it would be hard to avoid his influence. I observed other administrators being corrupted by Loomis while the ones that fought to be independent and do the right thing eventually left.</p><p>Gaining a majority on the school board was also tried and failed during the Loomis regime. It is not easy to battle such entrenched control, ignorance, and apathy. However, an independent school system is too important not to keep trying.</p>cadetsMon, 17 Aug 2009 08:13:00 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14913568<p>Unless there is a truly independent school board, the central administration <br>is no different than a dictatorship. Not only does this put staff in peril, <br>but it also effectively discourages criticism, even if constructive, and <br>thereby diminishes the quality of education.</p>cadetsSun, 16 Aug 2009 13:32:25 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14912175<p>Such behavior, unfortunately, is typical at BC. Dr. Waltz seems to be a <br>dedicated professional who put her students first, even before her own <br>lunch. At BC, however, they will go after a teacher they do not like, even <br>if it means the students are collateral damage. The only people in a <br>position to supervise central administration would be the School Board, but <br>they accept as their only source of information, the Superintendent, the <br>very individual they are supposed to be supervising; at least that was true <br>under Loomis.</p>cadetsSun, 16 Aug 2009 12:38:24 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14909235<p>It was my personal experience at BC that if an administrator did not like a teacher, they would use any parent complaint against that teacher. If any teacher disagreed with any district position or program, even while paricipating in what administrators liked to decribe as collaboration, they became victims of retaliation. If a teacher called attention to weaknesses in programs or administrative actions, or simply disagreed on philosophy, they found themselves "in trouble". Parents are a vital part of the educational process. Without their constructive involvment success for their children becomes less likely. However, parental concerns should be directed first to the staff member who works with the child. If staff members were properly screened in the hiring process, and properly supervised in their positions, most parental concerns would be more easily dealt with and many even avoided. Since retiring from BC I have worked in other schools where it has been refreshing to have the support of administration, which teachers who deserve it, should have. BC has long had difficulty with ever admitting a mistake, especially at the administrative level. Sometimes I felt they were more interested in looking good than doing good.</p>cadetsSun, 16 Aug 2009 11:10:20 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14905983<p>No doubt there are some teachers who are not competent, although it is debatable if those are the ones who were dismissed or harrassed in all cases. The question I have and had throughout all my years of teaching at BC is who supervises the supervisors, including the ones at the top? The incompetence, and in some cases, unethical behavior, of certain administrators were tolerated without question.</p>cadetsSun, 16 Aug 2009 07:37:54 -0000http://spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tK1250110093t4a832a8d4ad84#comment-14829857<p>As a former BC teacher of 32 years, this story is all too painfully familiar. I guess the cast may change, but the sript remains the same.</p>cadetsFri, 14 Aug 2009 08:40:43 -0000