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Stafford is not on a pedestal but a shaky skateboard.
They have been doing their 10 days less instruction days for 3 years now.It is a pilot project.They do not loose any instruction time or days,as 16 min's were added to each day to make up for the 10.DUH. Students need the break and it works.We are leaders in creative ideas.NOT followers. Wendy
"We are leaders in creative ideas.NOT followers."
Oh, I see. Is that what you call using a bullhorn in a public meeting and verbally attacking a trustee, or perhaps it was the heckling, yelling across the gym and stomping around that was the creative part?
Not the kind of leadership I would choose to model for my kids but then you are the leaders with the creative ideas. Oh, by the way, how is that working for you?
I'll give you, Wendy that you can be upset that your child's school is possibly closing. What I suggested is that the rest of the district follows suit in regards to less days, longer classes DUH. Don't forget that it was not long ago that all the district secondary schools cut days and added minutes as a cost saving measure. Then they were reverted back as soon as they could.
If it is true about the shaky skateboard does that mean that you believe it should close? For I would only fight for something on solid ground, especially with earthquakes coming.
If I am to understand Anonymous was that you with the bull horn?
I still stand that for the fact of the demograhics etc. of the Stafford cohort that it would be better to have the students in school instead of unsupervised on the street. For Mr. MacFarlane did make that clear in his presentation.
NOTE: Wendy Minar is on the Stafford PAC, ( http://www.sd35.bc.ca/hds/pac.html ) and is obviously a concerned & passionate Langley community activist and was also recently quoted on the following CKNW link.
http://www.cknw.com/news/
news_lo...=news_local.cfm
It would appear that the model of activism that is being subscribed to leans toward that of the APC rather than those used by Al Gore or Simon Jackson, founder of the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition.
Is that what the parents want modeled for their children? If not, the local parent community should not turn a blind eye, but use community pressure to reign those yahoos in. Too often the "it's not my responsibility" and "they have a right, too" is used by the "group of others" as an excuse not to set community standards or expectations, thus the descent down the slippery slope.
Taking a page out of the Bradshaw community handbook might do a world of good.
As a person involved in the debate I was sorry to see parents on my side of the argument behaving in such a way. It was sad to see the frustration of people boil over to such an extent. The only way we will convince the Trustees their plan should move in a different direction is to show them the error of their ways and to give them positive alternatives to shutting a growing and thriving high school.
I was at the debate as well and do not support such behaviour in a public meeting--it is not a hockey game. However, it was an extreme reaction out of frustration. On the other side of the pendulum swing there is the school board chair, who shows almost no emotion or sympathy towards the parents and never explains his vote or thought. In fact, he usually acts bored with the whole process. I think for many parents there, the feeling was that it has been the parents ONLY who have been presenting alternative options. There has never been any feedback from the Board regarding those options. It must be frustrating to spend all of your spare time after working and taking care of your kids to research middle schools, alternative options, attend these meetings until after midnight (and there have been many) and keep going the next day. The parents who are presenting and participating in this process are contributing because they perceive this plan is not in their child's best interest. It is clear that many felt the plan will absolutely impact negatively on their children's safety. When one considers the stakes--your kid's education and their safety--it is a big deal. While I don't condone the behaviour, I am willing to be a bit understand and I think the bullhorn lady has got the message loud and clear. But for crying out loud, if you thought that some bad decisions were being made that would significantly and possibly fatally impact your child, would you not get just a little crazy? I would hope so.
Yes, the School Board should take their time and explain their decision-making process.
No, the final decision will not "fatally impact your child".
Get a grip!
And leave the friggin' bullhorn at home.
This bunch is comes off like a gang of small-minded bullies who will say or do anything to have their way.
I hope their kids will turn out.
Actually OK, You are mistaken,
With the walk to the high school some of these kids will end up crossing roads during peak traffic times. There is a high risk for fatal traffic accidents. There is also the increased vulnerability with walking long distances for these kids to be picked up by others. I think perhaps it's you who needs to get a grip on the reality of the world in which we live in. Your quick use of names and categorization leads me to also wonder about how you convince people to see things your way. It's quite an intolerant view you have.
"With the walk to the high school some of these kids will end up crossing roads during peak traffic times."
Get real! Kids in Vancouver have to cross many major streets to get to their school, and it is always peak traffic time, with even greater risk of getting "picked up by others" as you say.
Kids up north have the opposite problem walking alone with no help in sight or yelling distance, if you need help.
Getting kids to school has always been the parent's responsibility.
The district has said that it will look at the transportation issue. I don't doubt that a shuttle bus from HDS to LSS could be provided for a nominal fee (cost recovery).
Well, we don't live in Vancouver. Perhaps it would work better for the kids from LSS to walk to the city. Maybe you don't have a problem with that? Also, you are forgetting there are 11 year olds closer to LSS that will need to make the walk to HDS. Furthermore, there will be elementary children walking further unaccompanied by older siblings (who would be going to the middle school). Traffic safety is one of the many issues that needs to be addressed and it cannot be ignored or flippantly put aside. Maybe you need to do someof the walks yourself with a student or two who will be expected to do them. Then you'll get the picture.
None of the conditions you describe is news to many parents in the rest of the province... and I am not being flippant, just real. It's hard to judge if all you only know is your own experience.
I will repeat again, the district has said that it will look at the transportation issue. It has done so when it moved Ft. Langley students into the DWP catchment and has worked and will work with the Township regarding Aldergrove Elem. and Bradshaw Elem.
Don't dangle a red herring and expect sensible people to bite. Of course safety is a concern. That is not the real issue.
It is however one of the issues to be dealt with.
I feel so much better now that you have assured me all the transportation issues will be resolved. You are very good at making problems just disappear!
Thank you so much for your insight and sentivities to this most controversial issue. I see you have most valuable and educated opinions in just about all topics.
I'm sure you know the real issue isn't about student's education or the educational merits of a middle school either. It's all about money and whose choices will be honored.
Thanks for your reply mf,
Can you admit that using a bullhorn at a School Board Meeting is a bit much? In my opinion, it doesn't reflect well on the group who endorse such tactics.
OK, you need to understand that one person with a bullhorn doesn't represent the whole community. WM is a very passionate person and unfortunately, that passion took her over at the last meeting. Other members of the community spoke with her before the meeting and asked her to refrain from using it.
What bothers me is that everyone is so preoccupied with the bullhorn and have completely forgotten about the fact that the senior staff provided everyone with false information about Stafford's academic performance. Why aren't people concerned with that? That's a huge error - 54% passing English 10 when in fact 93% did? That's more than just a typo.
JC
You're right. Many of us are getting more and more exasperated. The information coming from the School Board is woefully sparse and much of it has been inaccurate or misleading. I asked for a retraction and apology for the "error" in the statistics and have been ignored completely. I would certainly have expected an apology from Sr. Mgt on such a grievious mistake at the meeting as soon as it was pointed out. Instead it was left on the website for days despite my repeated requests for it to be pulled immediately. I am sure I was not the only one to be asking. I have had it with the insults and lack of interest from some board members who then try to make us out to be the bad ones.
I support the position.
I admire the passion.
But if some get too pushy, these actions will take center stage away from the cause and support from the community will surely fall away.
PS mf,
In my opinion, we should all be intollerant of bullies.
mf,
If being obstinate and snide is working for you, then please continue. But, for the record that is not what I said but rather what you choose to infer.
There are no easy answers, but it is difficult to have a dialogue when cynicism sits on one side. I, at least, am willing to listen and whether I agree with their proposals or not, choose to believe that the people who are working on this are trying their best.
While I don't agree with the bullhorn tactic, I certainly don't find it any more distasteful than the rude and ignorant letters that one of the fundamental parents, DG, used to constantly send in to the newspapers. She would slam other schools and any who would oppose the spending of district money to support the segregation of her kids. Did anybody ever hear the 'nicer people' at the fundamental school apologize for her behavior?!
JC said: "WM is a very passionate person and unfortunately, that passion took her over at the last meeting."
I will but that WM is passionate, but you do not accidentally bring a megaphone to a meeting. She even offered it Dave Hall at one point during the uproar. He had the sense to decline.
Darlene: While the Fundamental community was certainly vocal and passionate and some of their letters may have been over the top, I can't see how you could say that is as bad as what happened last Tuesday. No one in the fundametnal communtiy brought bullhorns or shouted down trustees to the point of them leaving behind the protection of security guards. Perhaps the letters you describe were off base (I did not see them), but to say they were as bad as last Tuesday's spectical? In fairness, that is not even in the same ballpark.
I don't think this is an isolated incident. Read the Langley Times, in which one student threatened to block traffic tomorrow morning (May 30, 2007).
HD Stafford Students, Adminstrators and Parents and now resorting to intimidation, obstruction and fear mongering to get their point across. What an embarassment, and what a horrible role model for future generation!
What can I say? As a former student of Stafford, I put up with numerous cases of bullying, harassment, racial insults and much more, for my five long years.
If Stafford is going to be turned into middle school, I can't say that I'll be crying!
Hi OK,
I don't agree with the megaphone. I don't support the use of the megaphone at the board mtg. I also didn't like the shouting. But, I did understand where the anger and frustration was coming from.
Last night's meeting was much more civilized although I'm not sure that a lot more info was imparted. It sounds as though due to lack of staffing, the senior admin will not be focussing energies on looking into alternatives. I think it will be up to the community to continue to present the alternatives. Many of us have done so and will continue to do so. Some were suggested last night in private conversations but shot down immediately without explanation. I think that's where the frustration comes in.
Hi Anonymous,
Now I understand where your comments come from. Thanks for the explanation.
Thanks for your reply mf,
I understand your frustration.
Somehow, through a balanced dialogue and mutual consideration, I want to believe that understanding and reason will prevail.
Best wishes for happy landings.
Anon said: HD Stafford Students, Adminstrators and Parents and now resorting to intimidation, obstruction and fear mongering to get their point across. What an embarassment, and what a horrible role model for future generation!
This was solely a student initiative. Neither the administration nor the staff were involved. And from I understand, it was a very peaceful march.
Anonymous:
I can assure you the quote from Langley Times was not about "intimidation," "obstruction" or "fear mongering." That was my sister quoted, and she simply meant to point out that such a large number of kids having to walk that path everyday will not only be unsafe, but it will also cause more traffic problems. With so many extra children needing to walk along major routes with no sidewalks and cross major roads every day, traffic will be held up, it is not a threat, it will be an every day reality.
Keith Richmond:
In regards to your defense of the Fundamental Community, maybe what was written to the papers does not compare to bullhorns in public meetings, but what happpened behind closed doors was an entirly different story. I've personally experienced it.
Firstly I would like to say that the walk itself was an interesting event. I cannot say that is was either good nor bad: the police escorted our group to CLA parking lot on our walk there, making sure that no harm came to the students on the route that the School District Senior Management forbade the teachers to support (as it was "too dangerous"). The march to CLA, next door to LSS, was completely peaceful where the only aggression was spent trying to keep oneself from falling into rush hour traffic. The reality of the walk to and from LSS, from the HDS area, was revealed through our return. The police were not present to escort the students back to school, and the students did not walk in one massive, double-file line as we had when we first embarked. The frightening truth was present instead: students, in groups of about 4-8, walked back, hugging the road-side edge of the major routes shoulders' in their wide clumps. I, personally, walked behind a group of 7 grade 8 students, of which 2 girls walked the whole way on the actual road, as I feared for their safety and wanted to be as close as possible to help if the need arose. This was the point that we wanted to make with our walk. The students will not have a police escort to and from school everyday and the dangers of the route are evident.
The second thing I would like to point out in response to the blog entries, is that without being quoted entirely, my words seem to have been gravely misinterpreted:
Krisandra Reid: "We're going to be holding up traffic, we're going to be doing all sorts of things."
There was more said than had been quoted, most all of which I could repeat, but the point of my statement was not at all a threat. Those who were present (and/or saw it on the news) understood that I was speaking out of concern for the situation. I had said that we would be doing "all sorts of things" in the walk that would not be intentional but that would be a direct result of having so many students walk that route to school. Traffic would be held up simply because 30 or so students cannot cross a street in a walk light that lasts less than a minute. Students would find themselves dodging traffic as drivers, whose only concern is getting to work on time and merging as soon as possible, ignore them. "All sorts of [negative] things" would result from the appalling situation of student pedestrians and cars (traveling at highway speeds) sharing the road. If anything, my words displayed how we, the students, feel threatened by the School District's decisions to land us this as our only option. Personally, the only antagonism that I have shown towards the School District and Board was when I walked up to a trustee at the last school board meeting and told her that she should be ashamed of herself for voting the way that she did. This small act may be looked at as being "out of line", but the way that many people see it, the School District's entire approach to this situation, let alone their astronomic actions, have been totally and utterly "out of line" in regards to respect, responsibility, and common decency. Yes, I am an outspoken person. Yes, I have taken the helm in some situations and spoken on behalf of the students of HDS. But one thing I am not is a contortionist: I will not take one element of a quote or action and twist it to demean or disgrace another, as many have done to the members of the HDS community. This is a moral that has been incubated within many HDS students, as they have never once tried to sacrifice the honour of another school for their own gains; throughout this entire process, the HDS community has attempted to help the rest of the district while trying to save themselves at the same time. Yes, there has been one, just one, past HDS student who commented publicly as having had a poor experience as a student, but the fact that he has stated that the conversion to a middle school would be a fit punishment should be proof enough that this whole ordeal is ridiculous. I do not condone bullying in any form, but in the case of the articulate student who expressed his own experience, the people involved with bullying this student are not those who are being affected by the decisions today. Today’s students, and the future generations, should not be punished for the wrongful actions of those before them; over the last few years, the HDS community has made astounding improvements for its students as a whole, one of which has been the fight against bullying. Any alterations to an institution that a spiteful person regards to as a PUNISHMENT cannot possibly be beneficial to the school, community, or students. As a graduating student, I feel that I have an overriding obligation to my school and my peers. I will not, by any means, give up on HD Stafford Secondary, as it truly does not deserve the treatment that it has received by the School District over the past few years. We, as a community, will not stand idly by as it is attempted to gut out our school and tear out the soul of its existence. We have worked too hard to erect our flags of excellence and we will not leave them to be burned. We are not a minority. We will not stand down.
Krisandra Reid
Hear,Hear. And this my friends comes from a very passionate Gordon Shrum winner this yr.Also a Laurel's award winner.Plus straight A student book awards.3 in fact.A drama queen(star roles)Choir member & the list goes on.....
We r all passionate of Stafford School.Because it is a GREAT successful school in many different areas.We have pride and will hold our heads up high whatever the outcome is.
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