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Mid-year principal shakeup at MLK
02/11/2014 4:10 AM by John M
“We are in a sense of emergency, not a sense of urgency,” says Richmond Public School Board Member, Shonda Harris-Muhammed.
She confirmed that principal at Martin Luther King Middle School, Dr. Valerie Harris, is retiring. The school’s new leader, currently the principal at Thompson Middle School, will start at MLK next week.
Who downtown let the situation get so bad at MLK?
Principal leaving Richmond’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle; more changes could be coming
http://www.timesdispatch.com/local/city-of-richmond/principal-leaving-richmond-s-martin-luther-king-jr-middle-more/article_e3ce0e07-248b-5ddf-892c-4787160ba60f.html
Everybody will be up for discussion, and I mean everybody. I did not sugarcoat it,” Harris-Muhammed said.
Am I the only one who is willing to bet that everyone does not include Harris-Muhammed (who probably should be first on the list)?
And, pardon my language, what the fuck does “If those things do not [improve] in a positive direction on the Bell Curve” mean? I get what a Bell Curve is but can’t figure out why that’s relevant here. Couldn’t they just say “improve?” Is this some veiled reference to the controversial book that made all kinds of nasty charges of racial differences in IQs?
No wonder kids can’t learn in RPS. Listening to the board members and administrators makes me want to bang my head into a desk to make them stop talking. How many other places put their stupidest people at the top of the pile?
Harris-Muhammed is the last person that should be throwing stones. Everybody should “be up for discussion-and I mean everybody”, indeed. See: school board member unable to prove she earned doctorate (http://www.timesdispatch.com/local/education/school-board-member-can-t-prove-she-earned-doctorate/article_0f9777ac-b0c4-5ccc-9369-ae088dd57166.html) and husband arrested for growing pot (http://www.timesdispatch.com/local/crime/husband-of-school-board-member-arrested-for-manufacturing-marijuana/article_44f3ba9a-9e54-5bb8-8c44-cf1faaae6811.html )
Do we pay this knuckleheaded Harris-Muhammed lady a salary or is she a volunteer?
Sadly, this is precisely the type of person I’d expect on the Board for Richmond City Public Schools. If the school is underperforming, look no further than to it’s leaders.
@5 Alex, they are paid. Not much, I think, not sure of the amount but here’s a section from their policy manual. “POLICY 1-2.5 COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES
Compensation
The administration shall include in each annual budget a request for sufficient funds, in
an amount not to exceed the limits proposed under the law, to compensate members of the
School Board. Compensation of School Board members shall be set after the budget is
approved.
Expenses
Members of the School Board shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the
performance of official duties including, but not limited to, travel, food and lodging in
accordance with Policy 1-2.4. School Board members may be reimbursed for private
transportation at the same rate authorized for Richmond Public Schools employees, including
travel to and from regular and special meetings.
Application for reimbursement for allowable expenses shall be submitted to the school
board clerk for approval by the School Board on the proper form within thirty days following the
date when the expense incurred.
LEGAL REFERENCE: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§2.2-2823, 2.2-2825, 22.1-
32, 22.1-55
Adopted December 3, 2007
Revised/Adopted December 6, 2010”
@7 – thanks for clearing that up. I’ve wondered that for a while. It’s at least some consolation that it’s small since we waste enough on various other assorted administrators and such.
The biggest cost is of course the kids that are hurt by having to attend schools run by buffoons with fake degrees and big wigs stuffing their pockets. I truly feel sorry for the parents who can’t afford to send their kids to a private alternative.
We need a voucher system fast.
@ Alex – For the longest time I have endured your insulting and uninformed comments presented on CHPN without a comment of my own because I did not think your comments were worthy of a response.
Your posts on this thread have pushed me over that edge because you reached a new high in ignorant and uninformed comments about Richmond Public Schools and those trying hard to make it all that it can and should be – the people that you collectively call “buffoons”.
One of those administrators you just collectively dissed is your District’s School Board representative and current School Board Chair Donald Coleman. I have the opportunity to work closely with Don on a regular basis and I can assure you that he is no buffoon. And at a monthly compensation of about $1,000 for the 30-40 hours a week he works in the name of RPS, he is hardly “stuffing his pockets”. The reality is that he and his fellow Board Members need to be paid more and they need to have a paid liaison as well.
Richmond Public Schools certainly has lots of problems and MLK Middle is the poster child for most of them, but there are a lot of people like Don Coleman who are high in quality and low in compensation that are working to fix those problems.
You should be more respectful and maybe learn to just keep your thoughts to yourself.
The school board is a stepping stone. Think Delores McQuinn – school board to city council to state delegate.
I don’t know how the school board can justify or defend keeping Harris-Muhammad. She lied about her qualifications, drugs were found on her property and she’s married to a criminal. Nothing is going to get better for RPS while this group if losers are in charge.
For what it’s worth, I’m a fan of Harris-Muhammed. While she has had a some troubles, I think that she can be a great School Board rep for the 6th District.
I do not know her background beyond what is public, but I get the sense that she has a real idea of the struggle that the students from her district face. I see her imperfections as her own version of this same struggle.
She obviously values education as a means for students to succeed. She is one of the few Board members with actual classroom experience, and in a setting comparable to the areas in Richmond most needing change.
There are 3 basic levels to RPS as it really seems to work.
– At the top are the School Board and the Superintendent, both of which are new and hold promise.
– At the bottom are the individual schools, with cultures reflecting the neighborhoods which they draw from and carried by the teachers and in-building administration.
– Between the 2 is the administration downtown. From my direct experience, this is the location of the problem at RPS. This is where policy comes from, this is where the disconnect happens from reality. While there are some great people working at this level, something is also vastly broken and this is where a real clean-up needs to happen.
Don Coleman sounds like a good man who has found his calling. It’s people like him that we need in these positions. The problem is that for every Don Coleman, there seems to be 4-5 Shonda Harris-Muhammed’s who are in this for personal gain. Getting rid of cancers like this woman could be the first step in restoring confidence in our schools.
@9 – so you’re saying that we’ve got the right folks in charge and we’re running a fiscally sound school system without a lot of waste? I’d say you’re the misinformed one. Have you seen our scores, dropout rates, per pupil spending or any other stat that would support even an assessment of mediocrity for anything related to RPS? It’s a complete failure.
One or two good people does not a good school system make. I have no doubt that there’s a lot of good people at every level. There’s just enough bad that we should stop being so soft on this problem.
I’ll take your word that Don Coleman’s the kind of person we need. He sounds like it from your description. We just need a whole lot more of him and a whole lot less of the overpaid six figure folks who aren’t accountable for a thing.
Rick, by the way, I’m truly and utterly flattered that I’m finally “worthy” of your time. I imagine it must be hard work running for mayor.
If you find me misinformed, you’re always welcome to correct me at any time. I’m not delusional enough to think I’ve never been wrong before and welcome the back and forth from folks with different perspectives and additional information. What I say on here is meant to be provocative and I’m always willing to stand corrected.
Would welcome some examples of all these other things you think I’ve been wrong on before if you can spare a few more minutes of your time for my unworthy self.
@Alex- I’ve asked you before- please run for mayor…or President of the CHA. If not, how about Emperor of the free little book librarys? It could be a platform for bigger and better things…
Pierce, I appreciate the kind words but I don’t have the ability or desire to do the kind of sucking up needed for any sort of politics in this town. There aren’t enough folks I haven’t already pissed off by speaking my mind left to vote for me for even a Treasurer of a little free library role.
@11 John M: Where you’ve really hit it on the head is about the administration. I have a friend who was on school board years ago, and he said the thousands of dollars (prob. millions) that we spend on the administration in city hall are incredible and a lot of it is waste. I think Doug Wilder had it right when he threw them out, just wish it had worked to get them out. He had more than a clue about what was going on there. The teachers are not the problem; some of the home situations are a problem that must be hard to overcome, but the administration in city hall is absolutely an issue. I’m lumping principals who don’t keep order in with the administration, unless you think otherwise, and I will defer to you as I’ve never taught, and you most certainly have. I also know someone who teaches at Chimborazo Elem, and he might agree with that.
@9 Rick, I completely agree about Don Coleman, he seems to really care and want to make a difference. He’s certainly not in it for the money. I seem to remember reading something in Style about his brother, and the home life they had to overcome to get to where they are now.
Principal sets a new course at Richmond’s MLK
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/education/principal-sets-a-new-course-at-richmond-s-mlk/article_f70b2bc4-c49b-5e35-8a8c-7034f2127b9a.html