LAST WEEK'S ISSUE: --All 193 staff members at Annapolis High School must reapply for their jobs in a drastic step announced last week by Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell.
He hopes the radical move will reverse anemic student performance and head off a state takeover that county school officials feel may be in the future of their flagship high school.
Academic hurdles, along with persistent discipline problems, have marred the school's reputation in recent years.
The Annapolis High reform involves not only a staff overhaul, but a longer school year, a longer school day and an infusion of support personnel to work closely with teachers and administrators to pinpoint academic trouble spots.
Did Maxwell do the right thing by requiring all staffers at Annapolis High to reapply for their jobs and instituting other changes?
Action seems like totalitarian decree
Superintendent Kevin Maxwell's decision to require all administrative staff and teachers at Annapolis High School to reapply for their position is an unsupported indictment of the entire school that smacks of a decree by a totalitarian regime.
As a parent of a student in the junior class, I have seen firsthand the commitment, excitement and qualifications of several teachers at the school. I do not profess to know that all the teachers possess these same qualities. However, to have the entire staff treated alike when surely there are many teachers and administrators that are qualified and committed is to throw the baby out with the bath water.
My child informed me that one of these teachers has indicated that they will not go through this process and is looking to transfer to another school. This is the devastation that such a short-sighted, knee-jerk reaction causes.
This particular teacher is exactly the type of person I want teaching my child as they prepare for college. I am sure this teacher is feeling, and rightfully so, as though someone has spit in their face.
This decision further lays the entire fault, unjustifiably, at the feet of the school. There does not seem to be any evidence that the reason for failure lies with the teachers and administrators who run the school any more then it does with the students who attend the school.
Teachers can make classes exciting and interesting but teachers cannot teach students who do not want to learn, do not attend class, or have the support system at home that encourages success.
Part of an education is teaching young people to take responsibility for their own actions. This decision absolves the students and their families from any responsibility. While I agree something must be done to make improvements, to take such a drastic step without first identifying the reason for failure, is an ignorant decision that in the end may very well cause the state to take the action which Maxwell seeks to prevent.
William M. Davis Annapolis
Policy should extend to middle schools
If Maxwell has all his Annapolis teachers reapply for their jobs, it would appear to me that his program would only be 50 percent effective.
He should also do the same with the middle schools that feed Annapolis High. It appears that middle school students aren't coming prepared for the more rigorous work of the senior high.
Julius G. Angelucci Severna Park
The writer is a retired Anne Arundel County teacher.
Education doesn't need clean slate
As a 2000 graduate of Annapolis High School, I was first enraged and ultimately saddened when my parents told me about the "zero-basing" policy to be put into effect next year.
Having taught college freshmen in Florida for the past two years and seen the hellacious effects of standardized testing on public education, I cannot express how upsetting it is to see the same kinds of measures being taken in my hometown.
Reform policies nationwide have forced both lawmakers and instructors to ask: What is the future of public education? A series of standardized tests issued by state-appointed teachers with the same "vision"? What about equipping young people with skills for the future taught by passionate teachers whose main concerns are nurturing individual educational growth and not calculating mass intelligence via rote testing?
Many jobs now require individuals to be resourceful, creative and flexible - not rigid and bureaucratic.
It seems to me, a product of Annapolis High School (where I played sports, was in marching band, helped edit the literary magazine, studied abroad in Germany and enjoyed time on stage in several plays), that what education so desperately needs is sagacious hiring practices, continuing efforts to instill creativity in young people via music and art programs, and a heartfelt effort towards getting money for programs like special education, after-school activities and resources for libraries.
Not wiping the slate clean.
Vast generalizations on my part, and perhaps a bit naive. But as a former student, a current taxpayer, and perhaps a future mother, "zero basing" is yet another step toward conforming all public schools to a set of rigid standardization that leaves little room for creative cognitive growth.
The word "sagacious" in this letter is brought to you by Diana Peckham, an English teacher at Annapolis High School. I learned it in her classroom in the ninth grade.
Lindsay A. Smith Tampa, Florida
Some other ideas for high school
Three ideas to make Annapolis High School better:
1. Make teachers and students attend summer school, just like the real world when you don't finish your work (with no additional pay).
2. Make the superintendent reapply for his job. He is the one who is ultimately in charge.
3. Make students reapply to go to school. A paper essay on why I should go to a selected school is required at a lot of colleges and could be used and graded to send some of the students back to middle school where they belong.
David Hartman Arnold
Maxwell won't take blame for failures
Maxwell did not do the right thing for the students and staff at Annapolis High.
He did what most of these overpaid superintendents do: He took the easy road, the one that required the minimum amount of work and understanding by his staff and laid the blame for his own failures on the students and staff.
The supposed failures at Annapolis High School are the result of many complexities which cannot be solved by such inane practices as firing everyone just for the effect. To obtain the successes we all want will require years of cooperative engagement by students, parents, teachers and staff.
Most significantly, success will depend on the leadership that Maxwell is supposed to be bringing to the table.
I know personally of the complete dedication of the Annapolis teachers and principal. Maxwell's disrespectful act deserves condemnation and intervention by the state. Hire a leader who can bring innovative solutions and who can motivate all the interested parties toward improvement.
Curt Hess Annapolis
The writer is a parent of an 11th-grade student.
Testing sets school up for failure
Annapolis High's performance has nothing to do with the principal or the teachers. The building is crawling with dedicated, talented and effective teachers.
When a school is being judged solely by numerical test scores, it is bound to not meet the prescribed standards because of the large and burgeoning Hispanic population that naturally has language comprehension issues and the high percentage of low-income students who come to school unprepared because of lack of supervision at home.
There is so much opportunity at Annapolis High that you have to make a concerted effort to not get something out of the school.
Students are recognized in the local paper almost daily for accomplishments in writing, music, math, drama, sports and community service. Many programs are in place to help those who want to succeed, but the student is the one who has to take the initiative.
The school is being judged on a systemic problem that will only be exacerbated by this action. It will demoralize teachers and staff and encourage them to go to other schools where their Herculean efforts to serve a diverse and challenging population of teens will be applauded and rewarded.
This is a bad idea, indeed.
Jean Tullier Annapolis
Community needs to help at-risk students
Dr. Maxwell should have given the teachers, parents and students a chance to speak out about their school before he decided that every worker will have to reapply for their jobs.
We all know the reason why we have a high percentage of students failing the state standard tests. Perhaps we should look at spreading some of the at-risk students from higher crime areas into other county schools, so that kids can mix with a more diverse group of other students and experience different types of role models. Everyone in the community needs to help.
Eileen Proulx West Annapolis
Student behavior has to be addressed
As a parent of an Annapolis High School student, I agree that changes are needed to improve the learning experience at the school.
But the tactics taken by Dr. Maxwell insinuate that the main problem is with the quality of the teachers, when the root of the problem is with seriously undisciplined children who do not belong in this environment.
Donald Lilley, the school's principal, and his staff of teachers and administrators have repeatedly reached out to these children and their parents only to be met with apathy, at best.
It is time to recognize the need for an alternative educational program for these children. Funding for this program can be found in part by overhauling the school system's budget and significantly reducing the number of unnecessary, non-teaching positions. The answer here is not more money, but better use of available resources.
Requiring the teachers to reapply for their positions could help improve the level of professionalism at the school, but only if the bigger problem of student behavior is addressed. And in the future, it sounds like Dr. Maxwell could learn a few things himself about employee relations and team building. The hurried manner in which he addressed the teachers and Mr. Lilley, without providing a Q&A; session, is shameful and shows little courage as a leader.
George Sass Annapolis
School houses excellent program
Superintendent Maxwell's decision to zero-base the entire staff at Annapolis High School was akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Within the struggling classrooms is a top-notch International Baccalaureate program that houses students who are surpassing national test scores, participating in national and international community service projects, winning math competitions, and running a model United Nations.
Why must these IB teachers reapply for their jobs?
It's an insult to their capabilities and dedication - and it wouldn't surprise me if many of them chose to apply to work in a different county this fall where they may once again find themselves to be a valued commodity. That would be a huge loss for Annapolis High.
Stacy Korbelak Odenton
The writer is the parent of an IB student at Annapolis High School.
Annapolis High is healing, not failing
I have three students attending AHS. I try to stay in touch with the staff, students and other parents as much as I can.
I find the school, staff, students and parents reflect the real world. It is a rich, warm and culturally diverse family.
There are problems but they are minor when compared to the richness of the culture and sprit that has evolved since Eric Smith and Deborah Williams stripped the school of its staff, spirit, dignity and history.
Annapolis High School is not failing. It is healing. What is failing is the school board and the community for allowing the school to be gutted five years ago.
Can we survive the second coming? If the staff has to be zero based so does the entire board.
In his letter on Wednesday, Dr. Maxwell said, "I hope to assemble a team to not only improve the school, but make it a showcase for Anne Arundel County."
Duh. Look again. It already is.
John Howser Annapolis
Try giving teachers support
If the number of murders increased or the number of fires due to arson became rampant, would there be a clean sweep from "top dog" police and fire chiefs, all the way down to new recruits? No. The reason is that they have no control over those variables.
By the same token, how can every staff member be held responsible for the AYP issues? Many interventions have been in place and yet, the students do not come. Tutoring by adults, teachers, peers, community members; extra study sessions; after-school HSA practice tests with transportation and pizza provided; teachers available for help; intervention for targeted at-risk youth, of which less than half signed up.
Our AYP failures in English 10 and the graduation rate certainly have a direct correlation to the absentee rate. Students not in their seats at school, are not going to pass standardized tests because they lack adequate preparation. And if you don't come to school, don't pass your courses, how can you graduate?
Take the pressure off the teachers. Give them support: longer school days that start later, alternative places for education for those unable to learn with the rest of the student body, and the end of the A/B day scheduling.
Try these interventions before you get rid of our teachers.
Pam Bukowski Annapolis
The writer is a parent, volunteer and former teacher at Annapolis High School.
Shake-up is good for school
As a parent of a freshman at Annapolis High School, I support the superintendent's decision.
There is a portion of the student body that has performed well and continues to perform well - but the contingent of students that continue to struggle, fall through the cracks and simply drop out is a concern not only for the school system but also the whole community.
Though change is difficult, in this case a shake-up is good.
The acknowledgment and action taken by this school administration should be applauded. The process for improvement should be supported and scrutinized by the public as well as the city, county and state governments.
Vicki Barstow Annapolis
Parents, community are the real problem
What an insult this is to the teachers.
The state wants to take over the school, but it doesn't have a plan or it would have suggested it by now.
The problem is not the teachers. It's the parents, the community. You can't force people to care.
Teachers should stand together and all relocate. Maybe Dr. Maxwell will teach a class or two.
Robert Moore Brooklyn Park