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Bedden throws MLK teachers under the bus
The RTD’s Zachary Reid says that this includes all teachers in core subjects plus special education, with administration and teachers in electives apparently safe for the moment.
I am calling this bullshit.
Conditions at MLK have been bad for years, but the teachers are not the problem.
Longterm staff at MLK have seen the school decline since former principal Aaron Dixon left. If you recall, the school was fully accredited as recently as 2010.
Dixon’s replacement, Dr.Valerie Harris, was immediately recognized as ineffectual and replaced mid-year after 2 1/2 years of plummeting student performance. I worked at MLK during this time, and can attest firsthand to the chaos that was allowed to permeate the school. Food fights became common, the halls became wild, students were rarely given consequences for their behavior, and teachers were essentially abandoned in the name of chasing bi-weekly test scores.
I confiscated bullets, weed, knives, and handcuffs, all from students who had allegedly been searched on the way into school. I was threatened and physically assaulted by students, cursed at on a daily basis, and called upon to break up fights on a weekly basis. All the while given more paperwork and reports to fill out explaining how I was teaching my students.
By all accounts, the lack of order and discipline inside the school have been allowed to continue under new principal Ricky Hopkins.
Last May, teachers at MLK released a letter to the media decrying conditions at the school, detailing threatening, disruptive, and disorderly students, and the administration’s lack of response. This followed complaints by teachers at the end of the previous year after a student with a knife threatened a teacher.
Want some some numbers to back this up? According to the school and system report cards on the Virginia Department of Education site, Richmond Public Schools reported 11,997 school safety violations system-wide during the 2013-2014 school year (PDF), 7,776 of which were for Disorderly or Disruptive Behavior Offenses.
MLK Middle alone was responsible for 3,082 of these school safety violations (PDF), or 25.6% of all in RPS that year. In addition, MLK was responsible for 2,539 of the Disorderly or Disruptive Behavior Offenses reports, or 32.6% of the system total. For some context: there are approximately 40 schools in the system. For some further context, there were 198 total offenses at Richmond’s Albert Hill MS (93 for Disorderly or Disruptive), 113 at Chesterfield’s Robious Middle School (35 for Disorderly or Disruptive), and 443 at Henrico’s John Rolfe (144 for Disorderly or Disruptive).
The numbers would be worse, except that behavior considered reportable at other schools is so common that teachers don’t bother to put the paperwork in. What would have happened at your middle school if you called your teacher a motherfucker?
For more context:MLK and four of it’s feeder elementary schools are among the 15 poorest in Central Virginia. In addition to the greater Church Hill area, MLK pulls students from Mosby Court, Creighton Court, Fairfield Court, Whitcomb Court, Blackwell, Fulton, and Highland Park.
MLK was and is a difficult place to work, perhaps the most challenging educational environment in the region. For the most part, teachers are at MLK because they want to be there, to be where they are needed the most.
To blame the teachers for MLK’s failings is misguided and mean. It has been shown that the school can succeed under a strong principal and when there is order at the school.
— ∮∮∮ —
Martin Luther King Jr Middle School
Richmond Public Schools
Great article. Thanks for putting this in perspective.
Holy shit, John, those are some eye-opening numbers. And it sucks what Bedden’s doing. A friend of mine is a middle school teacher in Newark, New Jersey and has told me similar tales, but at least the superintendent up there is trying to make things better.
John thanks for the article and I hope Bedden reads it. And takes it seriously.
Wow, thanks for your commitment and dedication
Thank you for writing this. I wouldn’t blame some of those teachers for going elsewhere- who wants to face such hazardous work environment?
The teachers aren’t the problem and the costly new facility’s probably not the problem…January 2014, mayor Dwight Jones introduces the new $41 million school: “It is my hope that the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School will inspire our youth to not only envision a brighter future, but to also strive for even greater heights.” Some sort of disconnect here for sure.
I wonder how the district intends to replace these teachers. Last fall, Richmond Public Schools struggled to hire enough teachers for all of its schools. How will this work? I don’t fault Bedden for trying to make a change but I’m not convinced this is the answer.
I’m sure the replacements for these roles will be just lining up around the building…
Unless they’re offering combat pay, it would take a death wish to work at MLK. I’ve got to imagine that at the very least they’ll get some pretty bad adverse selection.
I’ve yet to see any of the big shots at city hall named
accountable for turning MLK around. If they’re going to hold teachers under the microscope, I think it’s only fair that one of the people making $100K+ to run the schools feel the same heat.
Moreover, who would take the job? I wouldn’t get close enough to that place to throw a rock at it. You’d have to be a masochist.
I actually commend Dr. Bedden for his courage in taking an axe approach towards the deplorable educational environment and culture at MLK. This is not an indictment of the MLK faculty, but a commentary on how the re-establishment of a relationally based educational culuture can promote greater student engagement, particularly in a middle school setting. I’m confident that throughout the re-hiring and new hiring processes, the cream of the existing crop will rise to the top. “You either change people or you change people.” Read that again if you need to. Leadership at the school level has a lot to do with it as well, but empowerment comes from the top and good leadership empowers at all levels. I can’t wait to see what MLK will be with a full complement of educators to match the facility. I’ll continue to pray for the students, MLK staff and Dr. Bedden. Change is not incremental. It is swift, uncomfortable and sometimes unpopular. We brought him here to affect change and now that he makes a move, we’re ready to throw him under an RPS bus. That’s more Richmond BS. I’m praying for a better outcome for our kids. Let’s give him a chance to lead.
Thank you John!
Sucks ass. A friend of mine teaches there. She is so sad about the conditions but loves her students. RPS needs to get its shit together already.
Thank you Mr. Murden for exposing the facts. I’m so very saddened at the thought of MLK ‘s future.
If: “To blame the teachers for MLK’s failings is misguided and mean.”
Then: To ‘not’ blame the kids (and their parents/guardians) would be shamefully blind.
Approximately 644 students, causing 3,082 safety violations! (That’s ~4.78 violations per pupil.) Ummm, Houston, we have a “bad” batch of kids here…ill-mannered, undisciplined, and underperforming.
So, John, if we can’t blame the teachers and we ought not blame the kids (and we all know that the edifice holds no blame), I guess we can just place all the blame squarely on the janitors.
Thank you John for exposing the truth about RPS as
it relate to MLK .
This story should gain more press. I really feel sorry for MLK teachers because they have to tolerate a lot and they are being mistreated. If the children are being disruptive how are the teachers suppose to teach and it’s not fair to the children that want to learn. If this environment is chaotic and not conducive to the learning environment then how can teachers teach and how can scores increase. These conditions sounds like there out of the teachers hands and they should not be blamed for the shortcomings of the school district especially if the children don’t receive consequences for their behavior. Teachers should not be at fault and they should not have to reapply for there jobs.
G. – You actually have about 10% of the student body racking up the vast majority of incidents. I’d guess that 80% of the student body never gets in trouble.
@21. Would getting rid of or isolating the rambunctious crowd fix things? That would be about 125 kids. After 2 major infractions they could be put in a more structured, stricter environment. Though it would take a set of pretty tough administrators to deal with such a concentrated group. What about diluting the concentration of trouble kids by spreading them out in other schools? Does Franklin Military serve the same communities? What are their strategies for keeping law and order?
I’ve heard a lot of concern over the past few years about MLK, but not a lot of proactive solutions (I don’t think Bedden’s play is going to solve the problem) Any suggestions from staff or knowledgeable observers of what can be done, practically, to deal with the situation?
What’s going on here? (from this morning’s RTD)
So sick of the school board drama.
http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/article_492af90a-68aa-52f5-ad19-b68bdc0ecd8d.html
@spacecat – There is a seperate school for repeat offenders, but it’s incredibly difficult to get students moved there. The bar is very high. Before that happens, they’ll switch students to a different regular school, which inevitably means that MLK also gets the worst behaved students from Henderson and Boushall middle schools.
Franklin is a city-wide, opt-in school, though many students from this area do attend. Students apply to get in, it is a privilege to go there. Students who blow it get sent back to their regular school.
Great article John. The administration needs to put logistical and disciplinary systems in place to ensure teachers and students have what they need to succeed.
RPS will solve the teacher shortage just like every other urban school system that cannot attract nor retain quality teachers – Teach for America. It is coming folks, be prepared. Kudos to those who think they can impact change by signing up to TFA however as years of studies have shown us they do not.
I think it’s reasonable to look at this situation not as an indictment on the staff who have served in a tremendously stressful environment but rather as an poor performing environment in need of a reboot. I agree that we can’t blame the teachers but at the same time we need to take bold steps to see a change in culture at the school.
As I read this, no one has been told that they are losing their job. Additionally, the new principal was just instated in January and so I think we need to give him and those who selected him time before we cast judgment.
I’d also suggest that if school board members Shonda Harris-Muhammed and Kimberly Gray are in agreement on this issue, we might want to take a second look at what could be divine intervention.
I think we can all agree that this is not fair to the individual teachers and at the same time concur that this may be necessary. The school is in desperate need of a fresh start and a new bricks and mortar isn’t enough. The bigger injustice in my mind is if we allowed MLK’s poor culture to continue without taking bold steps to give those students who want to make the most of their education the best chance possible.
Hey everyone. I’m a reporter with 8News and I’m looking to interview someone with knowledge of what’s going on today, whether it’s a parent, teacher, neighbor etc. If you’re willing or know anyone that is, please email me at twronka@wric.com. Thank you!
The problems lies with the leadership, the staff, and the teachers. There are many good teachers, but there are many who are not good, too. And no wonder – how can they possibly attract qualified folks who would want to work there, especially for the money offered. That school is a mess and the staff is pretty rude, as are some of the teachers.
Ask anyone who is at MLK now or was at Thompson while Mr. Hopkins was principal, there is not order or accountability for students who wildly disrupt the school setting.
Teachers are not the problem, and any school system that follows this path will further its decline.
RPS and Dr. Bedden have been saying that they want to try new actions to fix the system, but these moves will only do more to attract inexperienced teachers. The school will only provide a detrimental education, and our city’s cycle of poverty will continue unabated
John & other teachers, I keep hearing stories about teachers who are charged w/ DUI’s & similar offenses or records of poor performance (whatever that means) get transferred to other city schools. Is this true & what do you think about the impact of this on student performance?
John, you lived with the situation. Facility’s not the problem and there are lots of good teachers…what do you suggest?
Commended for all the very this very true article JM.
1. What does DUI have to do with student performance.
2. My suggestion is to come sub for a day or two all your thoughts will change as SOON as you enter.
3. We are focused on MLK but what about the elementary schools that pass them on to MLK expecting teachers to perform a miracle on 34th street.
4. Good luck to the next set of excellent teachers who do not mind getting disrespected DAILY, along with developing impeccable LP, daily meetings, lunches in the classroom, biweekly, lack of laptops, riots, crowded hallways during instruction, threats, failing grades but still being advised to pass them. Good Luck
@ann – Get the school under control. Set and enforce high expectations for behavior. This starts at the top. But they’re afraid of what that would look like on paper…
Then rebuild the school environment, bottom up, towards something even more positive.
Since I don’t send my kids to MLK, I know that I can’t speak to the problems there or offer any solutions. However, the statistics there and first person accounts I have heard from other teachers who teach/ have taught there only re-inforce our decision not to send our kids there. Teachers cannot be expected to perform to the best of their abilities, nor can the students, at MLK, and it’s a damn shame all around
John…what will it take to get the school under control?
GET THE PARENTS UNDER CONTROL…………..then it will trickle down to the students.
I worked in the RPS system for 40 years and loved every moment I spent with the children and staff. The problem is the parents and environment from which these children come. When parents have laid a good foundation in the home, children know that inappropriate behavior will not be accepted without consequence. Evidently, the 80% that’s not causing the problem, think differently and want something in life. Dr. Bedden needs to summon all parents of disruptive students to a meeting and let them know that ” they” are going to be held responsible for their child/children’s behavior. The fact is…some of the children act better than the parent(s). It is a sad situation. I thank God that I have memories I can treasure of my stay in RPS….I loved it.
I wonder if this changes if Bedden gets the Boston job? (I also wonder what Bedden has done here that makes him a decent candidate for that role)
This kind of shit is why we’re moving to the suburbs before our kids have to go to school. As long as RPS continues to throw big money at all these unaccountable administrators while performance continues to suck, I can’t imagine we’re the only ones.
@Alex, it probably isn’t the appropriate forum, but I send my kids to All Saints Catholic School, in City’s Northside. We were signed up for St Patrick’s here in Church Hill when they closed, and they were sending their kids over there. Diverse student body, so the student’s are exposed to different backgrounds and a more realistic representation of the real world. One of the lowest tuition rates around AND we didn’t have to move to the suburbs! Plus, my oldest just got into Maggie Walker from there, so top-notch education.
Sorry to sound like a commercial, back to your regularly scheduled rant!
‘Fixing’ the parents of the children who act out is not a realistic option. Far beyond the scope of government or the RPS system. Lecturing or sanctioning those parents will do nothing.
The solution needs to come from within the school system. If that means expelling or otherwise isolating the children who are causing the problems, so that the other 80% can actually get an education, so be it.
I like the move bc it means that the teachers that really want to leave can do so and the ones that want to stay can say why. After you have been in an environment like that sometimes it’s time for you to leave and you may not even realize it. Happens in all types of relationships.
While I don’t think the teachers are specifically they problem, some bad teachers may be part of the problem. The staff is what is most immediately in Bedden’s control to change, particularly considering how bad morale is there. If he can make the staff change while also making the leadership at the school stronger it should have an overall positive effect. Good luck to all involved…
I guess morale would be down if teachers have to deal with children cursing and threatening them on a on going daily basis without any help from the Administration. These teachers are human too.
Also, do you really think just changing the teachers will fix the problem if you have the same students, parents and administrators. If you are going to change the equation you need to change the whole thing not just one element of the equation.
The teachers should not be blamed and Punished for RPS shortcomings.
How can RPS blame there Teachers. It sounds like this school is out of control and has no structure. This schools needs a strong male administrator who does not tolerate disruptive and disrespectful students.
Students and parents should be held accountable. The teachers can’t do it alone. It’s unrealistic for the education system to solely rely on teachers to do all of the work.
At schools like MLk it’s only so much that teachers can do especially if they have no support from Administration.
The district didn’t care about MLK three years ago. This school was treated like the step child now all of a sudden because this is a new school the district wants to pick on the staff. MLk is not the only Richmond school not meeting accreditation. A third of RPS schools are not performing so why MLK ? Is it because it’s new and they want rezone.
If a third of RPS schools are failing then evidently it’s something that the district is doing wrong and not there teachers.
The district should be ashamed of treating there staff this way that they are. I’m very disappointed, we should be showing are teachers appreciation instead of mistreating and firing them after everything that they do. There doing the best that they can under the circumstances that they are provided with.
Who would want to work at a school like MLK it sounds like the staff go through hell and back everyday. I pray for those teachers.
To everyone that thinks that it’s fair for teachers at MLK to get fired take a day to visit MLK , put yourself in the teachers shoes so that you can really see what’s going on. A least take time to visit the school then judge the situation.
@Ben J Not to change the thread all around, but why is it that the school needs a “strong male administrator”?
Hopefully Bedden leaves to Boston!
I hope this really pans out and they have no teachers, it would really make a stance of what the problem is.
Also why did they only choose to elimiate “half” of the teachers?
I’m sure these teachers would rather be in chesterfield, henrico or hanover school systems!
Shitty administration, Shitty school board, 20% shitty parents and students.
What they dont realize is their number of “problems” will increase inititially. But when they get rid of the problem makers, the numbers will decrease significantly!
Some kids are just not able to be in a normal classroom. Just like we displace Autisitic and severly LD kids, these troublemakers should be also displaced from the classrooms.
@spacecat that’s the ONLY way
@S
Changing a large group of peoples culture and lifestyle is near impossible….
So you have to move to the next option.
This is a tough issue and one that I don’t know much about. I have met Dr. Bedden and was impressed with him and do respect some of the folks on the school board as well. I can understand people’s frustration with teachers potentially losing their jobs. Especially teachers that work for not a lot of money under very difficult conditions! I’m super impressed with any teacher who chooses to work in such a challenging environment.
I personally have no good ideas and wouldn’t know where to begin but I do have one life experience that is maybe applicable to the situation and may be worth sharing.
I’ve been coaching high school boys soccer for the last 11 years. About six or seven years ago I inherited A team that had come in last place in the league for three years straight and hadn’t won a single game in the league. This team played in a very very difficult league. Potentially The most difficult in Virginia. The players on my team I discovered were very good players but as soon as we got down and behind in the game they had a hard time fighting through and believing they had a chance to win. Three years of hard work and no victories made it hard for these players to believe in each other and believe in the system they were in. I couldn’t believe that these players or their parents didn’t ever switch teams or go play in a less difficult environment. I remembered back on my high school years and how much fun it was to compete and I felt really bad for my players. They seem to have lost the joy of competing because they felt like they couldn’t win.
The next season we had a very large amount of players try out for my team. I made a very difficult decision to cut at least half of the players on my team and replace them with other players that frankly were not way way better than the players that I cut. The players that I brought onto the team had not played in this league before but not competed in such a difficult environment. These players were used to being the best players in their inferior league and they were used to winning and believing in themselves and each other.
Many of the players that I cut from my team went on to play for other teams. Some went to top level teams and some dropped to more mid level teams. Over the next several years I had the opportunity to coach against the players that I cut. What I observed was many of the players that I cut from my team started to love soccer again in their new environment. They grew more confident and more skilled and found success in the sport they loved. In addition, the new players that I brought onto my team brought a high level of confidence and our team had great success. The new players were not necessarily much better than the old players they were just able to approach the teamwith a different attitude than the old players.
My old players who we competed against from time to time loved to play against my team. They loved to compete against me and show me that I was wrong about them. I know how they felt because I had also been cut from soccer teams growing up and loved to compete against my old coaches. That said I was not wrong about them. I knew they were good players and I thought if they played in a different environment for a while they could regain their passion for the game and have great success.
I have no idea all the reasons behind Dr. Bedden’s decision and I personally have no idea how to solve any of the problems in the school system. I also have no idea how good the teachers are at the school but I know John and trust his experience that there are a lot of great teachers there! I have no idea who will remain at MLK and who will go. But I do know the city and the world needs great teachers and I would encourage any teacher that is removed from the school environment to not give up on their passion. This world needs that passion! Obviously it sucks to lose your job and I don’t want to make light of that. I only want to share the possibility that it is possible Dr. Bedden, The school board or whoever will be making the decisions does not necessarily think the teachers they are removing are bad teachers or that teachers are to blame for the
situation at the school.
Maybe my little story applies maybe it does not. I really don’t know. I don’t even have any kids. I just know this is an important and difficult issue and if my 2 cents are worth anything then it was worth sharing. 🙂
Dave nice story, but I think it would apply more to getting rid of certain students, not teachers.
I really don’t think the teachers are encouraging this type of behavior.
Give the new teachers 6 months after being threatened, called fuckerfucker’s and administration does nothing to support them…. We will be in the same situation next year.
Look at Franklin Military academy. They dont mess around- its an honor to go there… you mess up, you’re out.
I am very uncomfortable with the way everyone is blaming all the kids and all the parents, but none of the teachers. I am sure there are good and bad kids, good and bad parents – and good and bad teachers.
The kids that go to this school are OUR neighbors. There parents are OUR neighbors. Are you really saying that all of them are no good?
On the surface, that is really rather racist, I think.
And do you really think ALL the teachers are excellent, suffering, and dedicated? That has not been true for any school my kids have been to yet. In fact, the good/great teachers are in the minority. And they have made a big difference in my children’s education. But there are a great many poor to awful teachers out there in RPS as well. They don’t pay them much, and they often get what they pay for – or they get first year teachers who do not know how to handle it yet.
Realistically, there are few solutions to this problem aside from taking drastic measures. Changing the teachers will have little impact on this situation. The parents, weak administration and school board should be more to blame for this situation than teachers.
Radical Solution 1- Break up the concentration of poverty. In conjunction with RRHA, initiate a 5 year plan to begin phasing out the “Courts”. No replacement should be considered. Let the market handle this situation and folks will be forced to move into other housing (including the counties). Doing this in a phased approach will allow the market time to meet the demand for housing. Section 8 is available and there are plenty of properties that could house these folks throughout the metro area. The “courts” are feeding this school….bad behavior will not change with intervention from the family. We all know, that’s not going to happen, so address the root cause–concentrated poverty. The bad behavior will be de-concentrated and “shared” with the counties.
Radical Solution #2- Remove the trouble makers from the school. Send them to a boot-camp style school set up specifically to address bad behavior.
Set up a militaristic environment and supplement the environment with mental health professionals to help get these kids back on track.
@Tiny
No we are saying that 10-20% of them are causing most of problems. And as John M has said, MLK is a harboring grounds from the surrounding schools for trouble makers. Trouble makers from other schools are sent to MLK.
This, combined with the kids are being disciplend with only a slap on the wrist, and sent right back to the classroom is the problem.
Im sure there are some teachers that arent the best, but the main problem is:
1) the parents (or lack thereof) are allowing the kids to be this way
and
2) The administration at MLK allowing these dsruptive kids to still be present.
You know what is really scary? How grossly understimated these “problem” numbers are at MLK. Most of the occurances are NOT EVEN REPORTED at MLK. If you dont think thats true… ask some of the teachers, or kids who are actually trying to go to school in a cordle manner.
Don’t we have separate regional alternative education schools? Where kids who have repetitive discipline problems get placed? I thought Virginia had them, but is there some reason some of these students aren’t being moved to them? They’re set up for students who are trouble-makers with staff that can better handle these students’ challenges. I found it very disturbing to hear that trouble makers at other RPS middle schools are being sent to MLK. That does not seem fair to the teachers or other students at MLK. Wow.
All a matter of discipline at home or rather, lack of. It has been unfolding the past 2-3 generations which will also include current teachers. The “time out” no hands on approach is now rearing its ugly head. Allowing children to grow up “free range” so to speak, and to openly express themselves… yeah right. Children are given too many freedoms before the age of 18. Not in the world I grew up in and so I can sit back and see the downward spiral. No discipline = no respect for others, no respect for rules or the law, no respect for themselves. And now parents and teachers running scared where the children have the upper hand over them. What is wrong with this picture? Just my .02¢ worth.
Whoa – only spots for 41 students in the whole Richmond area, and for grades 6-12:
Metro-Richmond Alternative Education Program
Richmond City; Hanover and Henrico Counties
?Focus: The participating school divisions have established a regional alternative education program serving 41 students in grades 6-12.
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/alternative_ed/programs.shtml
It seems like the City of Richmond might need to establish it’s own alt-ed school instead of a defacto one at MLK. But again, that may be an issue the administration would have to handle, and of course funding.
I know several teachers who work at MLK.
I heard weeks ago that a large number of teachers have given “notice” that they were leaving MLK. The opinion of current MLK teachers is that RPS is trying to disguise the fact that so many are “choosing” to leave, by “replacing” them. I would encourage anyone who is interested to speak with teachers from MLK.
John M, have you heard anything similar to what Teral is saying?
@Teral
a coverup is something that makes the most since of the whole “drama”. I bet Bedden and RPS are covering this up, just like the letter the teachers put out was not publicized like it should have…
There is a school board meeting Monday at MLK 530pm. Come out and show support for MLK teachers.
@spacecat. When I say that is the only way, i mean to change school climate. Realistically we can’t change parents and the only way to keep them accountable is to threaten their ebt and threaten their 40 dollar a month rent.
I started working through the thread, but ran out of time before I got to 62.
The “real problem”? We keep thinking there’s one “real problem.” This thread is evidence that it’s not simply one thing that causes a challenge like this, and there isn’t just one solution. As many folks mentioned, there are some disruptive students, some mediocre teachers, some poor administrators (as well as amazing versions of each.) There are also issues of unstable housing, a lack of healthy foods, high concentrations of poverty (and the array of elements that come from that), limited resources, etc.
Fixing one doesn’t change the impact of the rest. Nor does any fix immediately change a radically challenging situation.
In my opinion, the solution is more people engaging all these areas. You’ve got organizations like The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club and CHAT supplementing the academic and relational elements. You’ve got Urban Hope and BHC helping provide affordable, stable housing. You’ve got Child Savers and churches coming along side youth that have faced things that I never had to face.
We’ve got 62 comments on this thread; what if MLK had 62 new volunteers in the classrooms on Monday? My wife taught for 5 years in Title-1 school, and here best days were the ones when a volunteer was in the room. Sometimes those “problem children” just want deeply to have someones attention; a volunteer sitting with them can go a long way.
The dialogue should continue, but as someone who has worked with youth from struggling school systems, the one thing that I have seen make the most impact, especially on individual youth, is committed relationships. Long-term volunteers. Mentors. Service careers.
So if you want to see MLK change, I challenge you to find even an hour a month to get in there. It’ll be hard, but that’s how lasting transformation starts. (Or if you can’t volunteer during the school day, The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club and CHAT can alway use tutors.)
It is asinine to think that changing out the staff of MLK that is going to solve the problem of low performance.
Changing the staff no matter what qualifications they come with will not change the behaviors that are allowed to run rampant throughout the building.
Students are allowed to do almost anything they want with NO CONSEQUENCES to their actions.
It is always something new in terms of the protocol for handling discipline. At first administrators had 48 hours to get a referral processed but now referrals are being processed by the level of severity. I am still not sure at what level of severity has assigned consequences because students could be skipping, constantly disrupting instruction, cursing you out, using their phones during instruction, or fighting with little to no consequence.
Teachers call parents constantly (when most of numbers on ASPEN don’t work), have parent teacher conferences (where sometimes parents don’t show up or verbally attack teachers), and make home visits (where sometimes the addresses in APSEN are inaccurate) in hopes of trying to get behaviors under control.
In an article that attacked MLK teachers Dr. Bedden states that this decision was a calculated one, however they have no plan beyond moving teachers from their positions other than adding hall monitors and 1 more security staff. What is going to make a highly qualified teacher seek out MLK for a teaching position when their no plan in place that is going to make the situation better. They are making teachers jump through hoops to come back to a school where they will be disrespected, mistreated and underappreciated. Are teachers really expected to stand in line for a position at school that doesn’t even give teachers a lunch break everyday/ (Yes, teachers are made to eat in the class with their students every other day literally). Richmond Public Schoos do not value their teachers and do not take teachers in consideration when they make decisions. Without discipline and structure effective instruction can not take place. In terms of discipline RPS/ MLK has no standards but is surprised when their schools can’t pass the STANDARDS of learning assessments.
So many people are correct about a number of things:
1. Concentrated poverty. Poverty is concentrated at this school like none other I have worked and/or volunteered in before. Someone mentioned a few radical solutions and those honestly may be the more rational options to address this issue – and of course redistricting (though, with much of the city’s middle schools facing similar issues, that may not be quite as fixable as it sounds).
2. Getting Rid of Staff? – Having worked there, it was easy to come across a teacher or two that for any number of reasons didn’t belong in a place like MLK, but there are solid teachers in the building – lots of them – who have the hearts and the capacity to work with very challenging children; it’s difficult to imagine that preventing so many qualified teachers from returning is the answer – just ask the teachers who work there!
Those teachers understand the real issues that they are facing. Yet, instead of being supported regarding those issues- they are harassed for the simplest things like: not having on a tie, their style of hair, or being scolded in front of students for not holding up “Quiet Signs” in the hallways (among so many other extraneous things they are asked to do).
Students – So many great kids attend this school! What I’ve found to be most startling is having a student transfer into my new school from MLK and hearing them explain the noticeable differences. The students KNoW when systems are in place that work for them – and that is what students at MLK also need. It’s unfortunate that systems aren’t in place and followed in many of their homes and communities, so why not at school.
On the same note, there needs to be a zero tolerance policy for disruptive behavior. Will it spike referrals and other statistics? In the beginning, yes – but at least negative behaviors will wane as it becomes understood that this is not a school where X is tolerated.
Add to that, positive behavior support systems. They had three during my time at MLK, but neither system was carried out in depth. Training was minimal. And there was no accountability (nor much evidence) for using the programs. Thus, they became ineffective.
Administration. To be nice, I’ll say: they need to be supportive, stern, and have a track record for proven success!!!
I have just defined Dr. Bedden. In my opinion, we should all be doing whatever it takes to keep him in Richmond.
And despite some recent shenanigans of a few members of the school board, we actually have members on there who are making things happen! There are leaders on this board who I believe in… Time and chance come to us all. Give them this time and chance. Support them. Show up. Demand change.
The community has to rally together if we want to see some of the same successes at MLK that have occurred at, say: Chimborazo.
John,
Have you thought about joining the School Board?
Not for me
@Guilty Parent
This school needs a strong male administrator because of the Demographics that the school is serving. Many of these children live in single parent homes and they don’t have positive male figures. These children have a little bit more respect for men over women. This is probably because their primary care taker is a woman and there use to being disrespectful to women. Think about the generation of these children and popular culture, they witness the lack of respect that society has for woman through music and videos etc.. Now of course this is not every scenario for single mom parents, but in most cases with this population it is. This school seems to be having a lot of the same issues that East Side High school on the 1980s film ” Lean On Me ” had. This school needs a Joe Clark. If you have not seen the film check it out. This was a true story about a inner city school in the same situation. This school needs a strong male administrator who is a no that’s going to make effective decisions. These children need discipline. I don’t care who you get to come in the school to teach, if it’s no discipline then the test scores will not increase because teachers can’t teach.
Sorry Typo:
I meant to say these children needs a strong male administrator who is going to make effective decisions.
John I think that you should do a interview with channel 8 for the sake of the teachers and students at MLK tell there story John.
John,
Will you be attending the school board meeting at MLK on Monday ?
There will be a school board meeting Monday evening at 5:30. All of those in support of the teachers please come out and support. They need all of the support that they can get.
@Nick – I’m not sure, honestly. As far as it goes, this is a done deal… I’ve heard back from Shonda Harris-Muhammed and Donald Coleman, and they’re 100% behind this.
John:
Given that we have never spoken about this issue, I welcome any conversation and ideas you would like to share or discuss. I do believe that there is either misinformation or lack of information surrounding this situation. For example, the entire administrative team was replaced (principal last February, one AP this past July and the other in August). If deemed necessary by the new Executive Director of Secondary Schools, we will make more changes. Also, I have met with the faculty and staff on at least two occasions where they shared concerns about their current teachers/staff. I am a true believer in collaboration when possible and welcome any realistic ideas and solutions to our challenges at MLK. A conversation may or may not change things but it surely could possibly provide more ideas that could help. If you recall my statement in the press, it indicated support for both teachers and students to have an environment to support academic success. If you would like to discuss this situation and some of the additional information, please feel free to reach out at rpssupt@richmond.k12.va.us.
Hey Dr.Bedden,
Thanks for responding here, that’s a pleasant surprise. I’ve been a fan of yours so far, until this past week. It feels like you are making at least one misstep at this point, two if you end up going to Boston.
I’ve heard a great deal about the new administrative team. I worked with Mr.Hopkins when I first started teaching. Y’all should def try again. Find someone who can bring order to the school. Find someone who supports the teachers when they ask for a safe environment to be able to really teach.
My most direct suggestion is this: don’t cast doubt and fear on the good teachers that you have at MLK and the rest of RPS. The way this is being handled makes them all look suspect.
If there are teachers that need to go (and I’m sure there are), then do so directly.
In the long run, I support what you are going for here. The school culture must be rebuilt. It is shameful, though, that you are essentially putting the school’s failures on the backs of the teaching staff.
John:
Thank you for your feedback and concerns. Again, if you care to talk we can do so. Hope your Sunday is restful. Take care!
@Mary T @Clay Street Hi, I am a Student Reporter at VCU and I am doing a story about the current turning over of teachers at MLK Middle and I would love to get in contact with to get your opinion/ perspective of the current situation to add to my story. It would just be a few brief questions that would not take long. Please add me as a friend and message me on facebook or reach out to me by email at Fowlerm@vcu.edu
I was glad to see Dr. Bedden respond to this article. I trust his judgement on what course needs to be taken. He’s not here to make friends and be best buddies with people. That’s what got us into this mess. His job is to get the schools back in order. There is no doubt that putting Teachers on the line to show why they should remain in place will inspire them to step up their game. That’s common sense.
@ That’s very unfortunate !! Thank you John
Thank you Brave One!
Parents, teachers blame student discipline issues, not teachers, for MLK Middle failings
http://wtvr.com/2015/02/23/parents-and-teachers-say-student-discipline-issues-not-teachers-to-blame-for-failings-at-mlk-middle/
There is an attitude in richmond school systems that the failure is the students. the approach of Bedden is fresh and real. students don’t fail teachers do and when given a chance and no results it is time to replace the failing teachers. I watched a failing brother and sister after some tutoring from one of the local college professors graduated top of their class.It was clear that these kids can learn and they were not being taught. It is appropriate that he make changes and I hear the students think for the first time there is someone that represents them above the students . I only hope that he doesn’t have to do the same at other schools and their teachers will get the message.Thanks Dr Bedden
@Mark
Could the problem also be that kids can not learn and be productive because of the trouble makers who are not allowed to be removed from their classes? Could it be some kids are not learning because they are scared of over kids and what is going on in their school?
Mark, statistics dont lie. Look at John’s numbers, the stats from MLK. Those numbers dont lie. There IS a problem with some if the kids who attend the school
There may be a problem with some of the teachers, but not nearly half of them. Thats just like saying that half of the kids are bad.
What really doesnt make since to me about Beddens plan is:
How is removing 1/2 of teachers effective, if they also believe that no student “should be left behind” and kicked out if warranted?
Answer that question for me.
You gave one story about some failing kids who who were taught from a”college professor”. Thats not reality. Thats not logical. If we could offer 1 on 1 college professors to every RPS child, there WOULD be success. But the reality is, no one wants to teach in RPS because of the horrible statistics, lack of pay, and treatment from RPS administrators.
A version of the essay above appears in the current issue of Style Weekly at
Scapegoats
http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/scapegoats/Content?oid=2177505
Honestly, what a lot a sheep. It gets posted by John ad you are automatically on board. What do most of the posters here even know about that school besides “statistics”, when can be used to support almost any point of view. Which poster here had actually interacted with the current staff/teachers employed at mlk right now – not severs years ago?
89 – another neighbor, Remember this post from May 14, 2014 about some anonymous MLK teachers who wrote a letter which listed factors including the administration’s efforts to diminish the dangers the teachers face daily? This is recent enough for me to believe everything I’ve heard about the school, either from this website or elsewhere. If you haven’t read it, here’s the link:
http://chpn.net/news/2014/05/14/anonymous-email-decries-conditions-at-mlk-middle-school_33803/
I have read it and I also know that some of those teachers mentioned in the letter actually make the situation worse by how they deal with the kids. Some of them simply have no skills in dealing with conflict and actually pushed some of the kids into even worse behavior rather than being able at all to de-escalate the situation.
Teachers coming to Richmond Public Schools need more than just book knowledge to teach. Teachers do not get a perfect environment to teach in – that’s just reality.
We need a way to deal with kids with behavior issues that helps to resolve the issue WITHOUT basically “throwing” them away. Overwhelmed, inexperienced teachers do not seem to have that skill set. Nor do the many teachers up there on some kind of power trip. Nor do the administration and staff. It all starts with show others respect.
1635 disorderly incidents at MLK Middle School last year
http://m.nbc12.com/nbc12/db_330650/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=pJED59ZW
16% in all of RPS
Let’s keep this thread alive
@KB you are exactly right. It’s such a coincidence that the teachers asked for help last year. The teachers even stated that the disruptive behavior contributed to an overall low performance.
The New Superintendent and the school board are citing that these issues are the teachers fault and the reasons why children are not performing.
This does not make too much since to me to fire teachers for something that they can not control, especially when teachers were crying out for help last school year.
I spoke with a teacher at MLK last night who is not having to re-apply. I was told, from this person’s point of view, that the administration there is not handling trouble-makers effectively. Teachers are not being backed up. What is going to happen in another few years when we are having this same conversation, about these same problems, if/ when they move on to Armstrong?
What about we have the conversation that these MLK grads are the ones doing the robberies, murders home invasions and drug deals?
F MLK’s admin and school board for allowing it to happen, they will see, I hope no one wants to teach there. I hope they have to shut it down due to lack of teachers. They should boycott it! DO they really think that teachers are going to come running in to teach there with their reputation and pay? Hell to the No